Tuesday PA Capitol & COVID NewsClips 12.22.20

Senate swearing in day January 5

House swearing in day January 5; House 2021 Voting Session Days

TODAY 2:00: Michael Huff, Director Of Testing & Contact Tracing to provide update on case investigations and contact tracing.  Watch Live: https://www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentofhealth/ or pacast.com/live/doh 

A Week Without Mail In One Lehigh Valley Neighborhood: Post Office Delays Amid Holidays, COVID Upset Residents

Federal Stimulus Won’t Erase PennDOT’s Funding Gap Or Plans For New Tolls Or Taxes

AP-Mark Scolforo: PA Supreme Court Opening Tops PA’s 2021 Judicial Races

Op-Ed: Asset Forfeitures Provide Windfalls For Law Enforcement

Katie Meyer: History Will Remember 2020, Here’s 4 Ways It Will Shape PA Politics Moving Forward

2020 Was An Ugly Year In Harrisburg, Don’t Expect 2021 To Be Much Better

AP: Republican Voter Fraud: DA Charges Man Of Casting Dead Mother’s Ballot With Intent To Vote For Trump

Delaware County Republican Charged With Registering Dead Relatives To Vote For Trump In Presidential Election

Officials Finally Found A Case Of A Dead Person Voting, Accusing A Republican Of Pretending To Be His Dead Mom To Vote For Trump

PA Republican Cong. Kelly Files Another Suit In U.S. Supreme Court To Invalidate Mail-In Voting Before Primary Election

PA Republican Cong. Kelly Wants To Take Away PA Right To Vote By Mail In 2021 And Beyond

Republican President Pro Tempore Corman To Create Bipartisan Special Committee To Review Election, Offer Reforms

Jan Murphy: PA Senate Republican Leader Calls For Special Committee To Review 2020 Election

Corman Announces Plans To Establish Committee To Review PA’s 2020 Election

Op-Ed: The Election Is Over And COVID Is Surging. Where Are Harrisburg Republicans? - House Democratic Leadership

Spotlight PA: PA Election Officials Are Burnt Out And Leaving Their Jobs After 2020 ‘Nightmare’

Philly Advocates Push PA Lawmakers To Adopt Tiny Homes Building Codes

Ford Turner: PA’s Overdose Deaths During COVID Pandemic Jump 12%, Big Increases In Schuylkill, Lehigh Counties

Carlos Vega Announces Bid For Philly DA

Editorial: Local Groups Do Great Work Assisting Homeless, But Govt Must Do More

Homeless Encampment Caught In Middle Of Land Battle Between Businessman, Lehigh Valley Township

AP: PA’s Jobless Rate Falls Again In Nov., Dips Below U.S. Rate

Editorial: State Skirts Responsibility On Private Charter Schools

Elizabethtown College Surpasses Campaign Goal By Raising $74.5 Million

Op-Ed: The Daunting Task Of Reshaping State-Owned University System

National/International

Republicans Criticize Democratic PA Cong. Lamb For Not Showing Up To Vote Sunday In Congress, The Day Lamb And His Wife Announce The Birth Of Their Baby Boy [So Much For Family Values]

AP: U.S. Attorney General: ‘No Reason’ For Special Counsel On Election, Biden’s Son

Bloomberg: U.S. Attorney General Says Russia Likely To Blame In Hacking, Breaking With Trump

Twitter Now Labels Every Trump Tweet About Election Fraud With ‘Election Officials Have Certified Joe Biden As The Winner Of The U.S. Presidential Election’

Coronavirus

Dept. Of Health Reports 231 Additional Deaths Due To COVID; 7,962 New Cases-- 12.22.20

Dept. Of Health Reports 156 Additional Deaths Due To COVID; 15,100 New Cases [2 Days]-- 12.21.20 

PA Health Secretary: Commonwealth Has Hit COVID ‘Plateau’

Allegheny County Reports PA’s Highest Batch Of New COVID Cases

Vaccines Roll Out, Holidays Approach, Cases Continue Surge In NE PA

Westmoreland County COVID Rate 5 Times Higher Than ‘Substantial’ Threshold

‘I Want My Life Back’ State College Man Shares Experience As COVID Long Hauler

Dept. Of Health COVID Investigations, Contact Tracing, Monitoring Efforts Dec. 6-12

Gov. Wolf: Early Warning COVID Monitoring Dashboard Update For Dec. 11-17

All PA Counties Continue To Have Substantial Spread Of COVID, But Positive Test Rate Dips

Dept. Of Health Unveils New Case Investigation Tool: Connect & Protect Form

PA Health Officials Launch Online Form To Speed COVID Case Probes

Dept. Of Health: 22 More Hospitals Receive Pfizer Vaccine; Moderna Doses To Be Shipped To 51 Hospitals This Week

Health Secretary: Vaccine Recipients Still Must Take Care

AP: 17,000+ Doses Of Vaccine Administered To Health Care Workers In PA

Nearly 18,000 Medical Workers Receive Vaccine In PA So Far, Nursing Home Vaccinations Begin Next Week

COVID Vaccinations In PA, NJ Nursing Homes To Start Dec. 28 CVS, Walgreens Say

PA To Release COVID Vaccine Distribution Plan To Nursing Homes

Some NE PA Employers Unsure About Mandatory Vaccinations

Rite Aid Expands Free COVID Testing To Total Of 400 Drive-Thrus

Philly’s New Mobile Testing Truck Is Designed To Contain COVID Clusters With Rapid Response

SCI Cambridge Springs Reports First Death of Inmate With COVID

Federal Judge Orders Philly To Test All Staff, Prisoners At City Jails For COVID

AP: Heavily Criticized Veterans’ Home Sued Over COVID Outbreak

State Police Liquor Enforcement Issues 28 NOVs, 41 Warnings On COVID Violations

Allegheny County Restaurants Cited By Health Dept. For Defying Shut Down Order

Western PA Restaurant, Bar Owners Decry Wolf’s COVID Orders

Gym Opens In Defiance Of State Restrictions In Lackawanna County

PA State Officials Offer Resources For Anxiety, Depression Amid Holiday Season

How Erie County Used Its $25 Million In Federal CARES Act Relief Funding

Montgomery, Bucks County House Members To Reintroduce Legislation To Help Local Bars, Restaurants

New COVID Relief Bill Includes Help With Utility Bills For PA Residents In Need

COVID Housing Assistance Leaves Gaps, Here’s How Lancaster County Groups Aim To Fill Them

Jan Murphy: PA Colleges And Universities Alter Plans For Spring Semester Due To COVID

Lancaster School District Superintendent Fought To Supercharge Learning, She Didn’t Plan On COVID

Editorial: Grading For Fairness, Not Speed - COVID-Slide

Partial Closure Of Erie County Courthouse Extended Due To COVID

Central PA Food Bank Sees Sizable Jump In Demand During COVID Pandemic

Katie Meyer: History Will Remember 2020, Here’s 4 Ways It Will Shape PA Politics Moving Forward

2020 Was An Ugly Year In Harrisburg, Don’t Expect 2021 To Be Much Better

PA Lawmakers Propose Ideas To Help Restaurants Amid COVID Crisis

Editorial: PA Senate Democrats’ Relief Plan Isn’t The Right One For PA

Allentown Native And Voice Of Doc McStuffins’ Lambie Lends Her Name To Local COVID Awareness Efforts

National/International

NPR: Biden Receives COVID Vaccine: ‘There’s Nothing To Worry About’

The Hill: Congress Unveils $2.3 Trillion Govt. Spending & Virus Relief Package

NPR: Here’s What’s In Congressional COVID Relief Package

AP: Congress’ Rescue Aid: A Dose Of Support, But Is It Enough?

Op-Ed: We Should Be Fired Up About Scrooge-Like $600 Federal Stimulus Checks And PA’s Bungling Of Housing Aid

AP: Probe: Trump Officials Attacked CDC Virus Reports

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FairDistrictsPA: Fix Our Broken Redistricting Process 

[Posted: December 22, 2020]