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Corbett-era officials still control charter school oversight?

  • Emily Previti/PA Post
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 Matt Rourke / Associated Press

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From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:

Many capitol offices have been closed for at least part of a day due to the weather this week — but our reporters are still getting statewide news, as you’ll see from the roundup below. -Emily Previti, Newsletter Producer/Reporter

Controversy at the capitol

  • Enrollment at the 14 state-owned universities within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has been declining, and has reached a nearly 20-year low amid projections of continued high school graduation declines. PASSHE officials are pledging to transform the system, and made their case — along with a request for an extra $40 million — to state lawmakers during the second day of budget hearings, Marc Levy of The Associated Press reports.

  • This story from WHYY’s The Notebook reveals the state’s Charter Advisory Board still consists entirely of people appointed by former Gov. Tom Corbett. That’s somewhat shocking, given how distinct Gov. Tom Wolf’s education policies are supposed to be from those of his predecessor. To get a sense of the board’s role in the charter application process, check out PublicSource’s coverage of one ongoing case in Pittsburgh.

  • Local 98 might be based in Philadelphia, but its political action committee has contributed heavily to campaigns for the Commonwealth’s highest elected offices. Dave Davies has the latest on the union corruption case: Its international parent organization has installed monitors amid the scandal.

Best of the rest

Min Xian / WPSU

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Marino during an interview at WPSU before the November 2018 election.

  • Former U.S. Rep. Tom Marino now says his recent, abrupt resignation is health-related. Marino, who stepped down at the start of his fifth term, initially said he was taking a private-sector job. But then, the Republican told The Daily Item he decided to leave office after finding out he needs kidney surgery. Meanwhile, Democrats have nominated 35-year-old attorney and IT instructor Marc Friedenberg to run to serve out Marino’s term against whomever the GOP selects.

  • Harrisburg’s Roman Catholic Diocese is the latest in Pennsylvania to announce it will compensate clergy sexual abuse victims who are not pressing charges or whose cases are past the statute of limitations. Katie Meyer provides more context in this story for WITF.

  • StateImpact Pennsylvania’s ‘energy, explained’ podcast features Howard Berkes talking about how he and other NPR and Frontline reporters investigated regulators’ failure to stop thousands of coal miners from being exposed to toxic dust now linked to an epidemic of black lung disease. Listen here.


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