📖 Today’s #PoliticsPA Playbook. Shapiro Opens Up About “Unhappy Childhood Home” In New Book. PA Senate Democrats Back Bill Requiring Employers To Provide Leave For Family Care. Lehigh County Evicts Homeland Security Over Back Rent. Governor’s Executive Chef Answers The Call
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Top Story
1. Shapiro Opens Up About “Unhappy Childhood Home” In New Book
“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is opening up for the first time about how growing up in a sometimes “unhappy childhood home” helped shape his approach to life and politics, including a desire for “control.”
Shapiro’s revelations, described in his new book due Jan. 27, offer insight into the psyche of a top Democrat who’s widely seen as a likely contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 2028.” | Axios
Elsewhere
RFK Jr. Set To Headline MAHA Rally In PA Capitol As Part Of ‘Eat Real Food’ Tour Kickoff. “Several GOP committees, including the Cumberland County GOP and the Susquehanna County Republicans, have noted in social media posts that the event is open to the public but attendance inside the Rotunda will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.” | PennLive
PA-03: Stanford Campaign Raises $467K in Q4. “Dr. Ala Stanford, a practicing physician for over 25 years, announced that her campaign raised $467,227.92 in the final three months of last year.” | PoliticsPA
State
2. PA Senate Democrats Back Bill Requiring Employers To Provide Leave For Family Care
“A committee of state Senate Democrats on Tuesday discussed a proposal to require Pennsylvania employers to provide 24 hours of paid leave for “small necessities” each year. The goal is to ensure employees who take care of family members like children or elderly parents are able to attend medical appointments, school activities, or respond to unexpected emergencies.
“This is legislation that gets at the key question: ‘What is work life balance?'” Sen. Art Haywood (D-Montgomery), the bill’s sponsor, said. “Employees are not just workers. They are also family members.”” | Penn Capital-Star
Elsewhere
Garrity Campaign Meeting With Lieutenant Governor Candidates. “So far, three Republican candidates have emerged in the lieutenant governor’s race: State Senator Cris Dush of Jefferson County, Bucks County businessman Brian Thomas, and former gubernatorial candidate and Westmoreland County resident John Ventre.” | abc27
HD-193: Wallen Selected as GOP Candidate for Special Election. “Catherine Wallen, owner of Orchard Views LLC Farm, was unanimously selected as the Republican candidate for the 193rd Legislative District special election on March 17.” | PoliticsPA
PA Officials Urge Lawmakers To Tax Data Centers, Offset Home Energy Spikes. “Public Utilities Commission Chair Stephen DeFrank said inflation, supply chain problems, growing demand and hurdles to creating more in-state energy are all contributing to a rise in average electricity prices.” | WITF
Around The Commonwealth
3. ‘We’re Going To Deport ICE’: Lehigh County Evicts Homeland Security Over Back Rent
“Lehigh County officials have started the legal process of evicting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from a county-owned office space after the federal government went nearly three years without paying rent.
County sources say the Hamilton Street space has primarily been used by Homeland Security Investigations agents assisting in efforts to curb human trafficking throughout the Lehigh Valley.
But Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley and Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel focused much of their attention in a Tuesday news conference on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” | LehighValleyNews
Elsewhere
Penn Files Response To Federal Antisemitism Lawsuit, Calls Government Demands ‘Disconcerting’. “Penn filed a brief on Tuesday challenging an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission subpoena that requested information about Jewish students, faculty, and campus groups.” | Daily Pennsylvanian
‘Potential Deals Emerging’ At Some Closing Penn State Campuses, Trustee Says. “Penn State officials say the process to repurpose seven of its closing commonwealth campuses is making “steady progress.”” | Valley News Dispatch
Editorial
4. What Do You Think?
* CRNAs: The Science and Heart of Anesthesia | Jodie Szlachta
* Why the Trump Administration’s Demand For A List Of Jews At Penn Is So Dangerous | Sigal Ben-Porath, Serena Mayeri and Amanda Shanor
* Who’s a Jew? The Government Should Never Ask | Jonathan Zimmerman
* The Madness of King Trump Threatens U.S. and Global Security | Trudy Rubin
* A Dark Year With the Threatener-in-Chief | Gene Collier
* RFK Jr.’s Strategy for Restoring “Trust” | Paul Offit
* What Fetterman Said — and What People Heard — About ICE | TribLive
1 Thing
5. When Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Family Is Hungry, This Executive Chef Answers Call
“Prestigious jobs in the culinary field usually go hand in hand with a degree from an equally prestigious culinary school.
So how did Barry Crumlich work his way up the ladder from washing dishes as a teenager to his role as executive chef in the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion?
Add in the fact that the Harrisburg native wasn’t even looking for a new job when former Gov. Mark Schweiker was looking for a chef in late 2001.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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