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PODCAST

Pennsylvania in Focus

The Center Square

The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of Pennsylvania from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.

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All Episodes

00:08:19

Democrats Flip Reliably Red State Senate Seat in...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/29

(The Center Square) – Democrats in Pennsylvania flipped a reliably red seat in the state Senate on Tuesday by less than 500 votes. East Petersburg Mayor James Malone’s victory over Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons surprised all. In November, President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick won the region by wide margins. Malone will replace former Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lititz, who resigned earlier this year to serve as McCormick’s state director in Pennsylvania. Aument had been

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00:07:51

One Pennsylvania Doctor’s Love Letter to Rural Health...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/28

(The Center Square) - The facts and figures around rural healthcare in Pennsylvania are grave. That’s why it was unsurprising to hear Gov. Josh Shapiro say in a press conference on rural healthcare that Sullivan County, home to just under 6,000 people and falling, did not have a single physician. Dr. Sam Schrack operates the Laporte Health Center where he’s been for three years. “I’ll be in office tomorrow as usual,” he wrote in an email to The Center Square. “If you really want to find out what the

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00:10:09

Another Pennsylvania Legislative Session, Another...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/22

(The Center Square) - House Democrats are once again making the attempt to turn 2021 recommendations from the bipartisan, bicameral Juvenile Justice Task Force into legislative action. Last year, they were successful in passing laws derived from just two of the task force’s 35 recommendations. According to Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, when broken down into action items the recommendations are more than double that. This year, they’re proposing 10 bills to begin to close the gap in what has been

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00:06:47

Report: Pennsylvania and U.S. Straddle Two Visions...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/21

(The Center Square) - As Pennsylvania grapples with ways to better care for and rehabilitate the tens of thousands of people held in its prison system, a sweeping report shows the nation at a crossroads and taxpayers holding a $182 billion price tag for incarceration. The Prison Policy Initiative, or PPI, is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for criminal justice reform. In its recent view of the ‘Whole Pie’ of mass incarceration, the PPI pulled together data from the thousands of disparate

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00:05:50

Trump Freezes UPenn Out of $175M Over Women’s...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/20

(The Center Square) – The Trump administration froze $175 million in federal funds to the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, citing its promised crackdown on institutions that support athlete policies permitting men in women's sports. The president’s rapid response team confirmed the move on X, saying “promises made, promises kept” – an oft-repeated refrain meant to connect the administration’s latest policy moves with campaign-era rhetoric. The Ivy League college was thrust into the forefront

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00:05:24

Private Equity Capitalizes on Pennsylvania's...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/15

(The Center Square) - Chester-Crozer Hospital is the nearest emergency department for thousands of residents, many of whom do not have private transportation. When news broke that it may soon be closing, it shed light on the role of private equity in Pennsylvania’s health care system. For now, doors are staying open thanks to funding from the Foundation for Delaware County, but a new buyer must be found soon. The Senate Democratic Policy Committee met this week to talk about the impact of hospital

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00:08:53

Bipartisan Support for Pennsylvania Cyber Charter...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/14

(The Center Square) - Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, signaled an appetite for additional cyber charter reforms this week. At least so it appears, according to an op-ed the No. 2-ranking Republican wrote detailing progress that’s been made and work still to be done. It's also significant given long-standing disagreements on how tuition for cyber charter schools should be calculated. Support this podcast:

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00:07:22

Shapiro’s Office Deleted Emails Relevant to Sexual...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/13

(The Center Square) – The Shapiro administration’s handling of a sexual misconduct complaint against a cabinet member, and one reporter’s request to know more about the investigation behind it, may cost taxpayers a lot of money. In a court transcript obtained by The Center Square, an attorney representing the Office of the Governor says the state deleted internal emails sent and received over an eight-day period by a deputy aide in its Legislative Affairs Office who reported the inappropriate

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00:07:29

Vital Snap Benefits for Pennsylvanians Face Several...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/08

(The Center Square) - Over 2 million Pennsylvanians receive funds from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Monthly, this brings about 367 million in federal dollars to the state. In budget hearings before the House Appropriations Committee, legislators sought to better understand who that money benefits, how it’s being used, and how it can be abused. According to Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, the program largely benefits children in low-income

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00:04:58

Humane Corrections to Pennsylvania State...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/07

(The Center Square) - The quality of life afforded the state’s prisoners is a perennial concern for families, human rights advocates and workers within the judicial system, including the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections itself. For the nearly 40,000 incarcerated Pennsylvanians, new approaches to corrections could make a big difference in their experience. For some, they already are. A program at SCI Chester called Little Scandinavia adopts principles from the prison model used in Sweden and

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00:05:00

RFK Jr. Pressed to Reevaluate Pennsylvania’s Medicaid...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/06

(The Center Square) — Pennsylvania will need to spend $2 billion over the next five years to cover its expanded Medicaid program. And while lawmakers are worried about finding the money to foot the bill, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services insists that doing so will lower costs in the long run. Senate Republicans are not yet convinced and hope the new Trump administration will agree to reevaluate the state’s waiver, approved just weeks before President Joe Biden stepped aside, amid the

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00:05:05

The Pennsylvania House Digs Into Big Education Budget

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/03/01

(The Center Square) – Education is the second largest spending area in the state’s budget after human services. For legislators on both sides of the aisle, the question that loomed the largest seemed to be, “Are we getting what we pay for?” It was a question that Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe and other officials who sat before the House Appropriations Committee for an all-day discussion on Monday heard again and again.Support this podcast:

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00:06:18

Report: Pennsylvania School Tax Credit Programs Turn...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/28

(The Center Square) – A new report found that despite record-high demand, Pennsylvania turned away nearly half of students applying for educational grants in 2023. That’s because red tape means not every dollar of the $600 million budgeted for the programs can be spent until a business or individual donor contributes in-kind, leaving at least $75 million on the table in December. It’s also more evidence why, the Commonwealth Foundation says, the state must do more to expand school choice options,

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00:05:39

Pennsylvania Earned Income Tax Credit Gets Another Look

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/27

(The Center Square) - There are 32 states, red and blue, who offer some version of an Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Pennsylvania isn’t one of them. The House Finance committee met with experts for an informational hearing on why that should change. The hearing largely centered around what are known as ALICE families and individuals, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These families live above the poverty line and often earn too much to receive assistance yet financial

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00:09:34

Maternal and Rural Health, Marijuana Major Priorities...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/22

(The Center Square) – "We all just need a little break. It’s been a tough hearing,” said Deptartment of Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen toward the end of her testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Legislators grappled with tough issues - and each other - as they pushed for clarity on the proposed 9.7% budget increase for the state’s primary health agency. There were differences of opinion on the most important objectives in a field with need in every direction,

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00:06:09

Higher Education in Pennsylvania Faces Declining...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/21

(The Center Square) - Appropriations hearings began with Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency taking the spotlight. The committee is undertaking consideration of a 6.5% requested increase in funding for the upcoming budget, a figure they say would enable them to keep student costs down. Tuition has been frozen at its current rate since 2018. PASSHE Chancellor Dr. Chris Fiorentino says that the current tuition represents an actual

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00:05:16

Hiring Difficulties, Trooper Cap Hamstringing...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/20

(The Center Square) – Ongoing political tension means law enforcement agencies across the nation still face hiring challenges. During their budget hearings in the General Assembly on Wednesday, representatives of the Pennsylvania State Police said they are having the same recruitment problems. “It’s speculation on my part, but my best guess is [law enforcement] it’s just not a sought after or valued profession,” said State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris when answering a question about

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00:05:31

Bipartisan Push Renewed to End ‘Death by...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/15

(The Center Square) – In Pennsylvania, it’s possible to be convicted of murder and receive a life sentence without parole without ever having harmed another person. This is how the state’s felony murder charge, also known as murder two or second-degree murder, works. And some lawmakers think it should change. House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Tim Briggs, D-King of Prussia, is re-introducing a bill that would allowing the possibility for parole after 25 years of the sentence has been

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00:05:15

Pennsylvanians Celebrate Return of Native Son

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/14

(The Center Square) - Western Pennsylvanians are celebrating Wednesday after the release of American history teacher Marc Fogel from a Russian labor camp in exchange for an unnamed Russian citizen. Fogel has been the focus of years of effort petitioning the U.S. government to push for his release. Legislators and family members were frustrated to see his name omitted from high-profile prisoner exchanges in 2022 and 2024. He was arrested by Russian authorities after about a half ounce of medical

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00:03:43

Hopes for Rural Health Care in Pennsylvania Pinned on...

Pennsylvania in Focus ·

2025/02/13

(The Center Square) – Health care workers willing to work in Pennsylvania’s underserved rural regions could get some help repaying student loans. This after the House Healthcare Committee renewed its drive to incentivize medical workers to live and work in rural areas of the state through student debt repayment. The committee voted unanimously to pass House Bill 157 last week to the chamber floor. The legislation would allow medical facilities to apply for grants to pass on to employees willing to

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449 results

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