Norfolk Southern reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed after a toxic train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The deal, announced Tuesday, resolves all claims within a 20-mile radius of the accident in East Palestine, Ohio, that unfolded in February 2023. It is pending federal court approval. The Center Square reached out to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office for comment but did not receive a response before this publication. Both the governor’s administration and President Joe Biden have been openly critical, however, of Norfolk Southern’s response to the d ..read more

A proposed $100 million settlement in the Northern Tier to offer service upgrades and consumer refunds for low-quality phone and internet service may soon move forward. A panel of administrative judges recommended that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission accept the settlement, avoiding litigation and compelling Frontier to invest in its rural infrastructure. The $100 million settlement should be accepted by the PUC “in its entirety and without modification,” Administrative Law Judges Steven Haas and John Coogan wrote in their initial decision. Longstanding customer compla ..read more

As the public awaits more details of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s higher education reform plans, Republican legislators offer some ideas of their own. During a Wednesday press conference, a gaggle of House and Senate leaders pushed for the creation of a grant program that offers scholarships to students who commit to stay in Pennsylvania. They also want to launch a similar deal for out-of-state students to get in-state tuition if they put down roots in the commonwealth. Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_98da322e-f785-11ee-b76c-8b42348a3761.html --- Support this podcast: h ..read more

Japanese-owned Nippon Steel says that the company’s longtime presence in the United States makes it an ideal partner to help grow the industry domestically. The comment comes after the White House and former President Donald Trump criticized the company’s $14.9 billion plan to acquire U.S. Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh. President Joe Biden, although opposed, has made no promises to block the potential deal. Trump said he’d do so if elected in November. Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_c5a07e0c-f128-11ee-a49e-ef811cbcbf90.html --- Support this podcast: https ..read more

Hundreds of inmates die in Pennsylvania’s state prisons and county jails, but oversight is superficial at best. Deaths in custody rose from 171 in 2019 to 239 in 2020 in state prisons, and 56 prisoners died in county jails in 2020, a two-decade high in Pennsylvania. And numbers could be higher — reporting requirements for both institutions are weak. This story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_3e3931b8-f112-11ee-b2ea-bf5f94e186c2.html --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support ..read more

On a cold, windy, wet Wednesday in South Philadelphia, Dave McCormick stopped at Geno’s to grab four “wiz wit” cheesesteaks. The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate met a few dozen supporters and campaign staffers at the well-known cheesesteak spot – walking the last block after his tour bus ran into trouble on 10th Street, the narrow lane and cramped parking making a wide turn tricky. “It was awesome, I ate everything,” McCormick said of the cheesesteak. This story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_e3749edc-f208-11ee-8016-1f3a13194738.html --- Support this podcast: https ..read more

More than a year beyond the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical burn that brought national attention to East Palestine, residents on the Ohio and Pennsylvania sides of the border feel abandoned, forgotten and discarded by legislators. “Our Pennsylvania constitutional rights were violated and continue to be violated,” said Sheila Stiegler, an organic farmer in Lawrence County near East Palestine. "We are here with our expectations for our rights to be restored and upheld." Stiegler and other nearby residents testified during a Senate committee hearing on the aftereffects of the derai ..read more

For the fourth year in a row, legislators think Pennsylvania’s election law needs more updates. And for the fourth year in a row, there’s little consensus about what those reforms should look like. It’s typically a question of convenience versus security, though both camps would argue it’s not that simple. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support ..read more

Gov. Josh Shapiro won’t send the Pennsylvania National Guard to the Mexican border. In response to legislation approved in the state Senate on Tuesday, the administration told The Center Square that congressional immigration reform is the solution to border security concerns. “Governor Shapiro has been clear that our country needs a secure border and Congress needs to pass comprehensive reform to fix our broken immigration system,” said Manuel Bonder, the governor’s spokesman. “This issue requires leaders in both parties to step up and deliver real, comprehensive solutions — not more of the fa ..read more

Pennsylvanians worry about pollution and other harms to nature — but their primary concern is keeping energy bills low and ensuring reliable power. And, to deal with climate change, almost 8 in 10 Pennsylvanians aren’t willing to spend $100 or more every year out of pocket. A new survey on Pennsylvanians’ energy thoughts, released by the Commonwealth Foundation on Thursday, shows strong support for maintaining energy independence, but also highlights contradictory thinking on energy policy. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/suppor ..read more