It was expected Gov. Josh Shapiro talked a lot about energy in his budget address Tuesday morning and he did. Shapiro said lawmakers need to take action to make sure utility companies "don't get one dollar more than what they need to meet their customers' needs." "I'm working with the PUC to prevent excessive utility profits this year. But the General Assembly needs to take action to lower costs for consumers going forward, by giving the PUC a series of benchmarks to follow when determining how much profit a utility company can make," Shapiro said. He also focused considerable time on a lack of houses and housing prices and rent that he says are too high. Among his proposals is a $1 billion Critical Infrastructure Fund. "This fund will be supported by issuing bonds that will go towards housing and other needed infrastructure projects. Thanks to our improved bond rating, the Commonwealth will save $25 million compared to what this would've cost just two years ago," the governor said. Shapiro's budget proposal spends $53.26 billion, about $4.6 billion more than projected revenues would bring in. He'd like to fill that gap by dipping into the Commonwealth's Rainy Day Fund.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Scott Martin is calling Gov. Shapiro's budget proposal "a disappointing start." He says taking money from the Rainy Day Fund to fill a budget gap is not the way to go. "This budget proposal is looking to remove $4.6 billion of that this year. Again, it's another one-time source of revenue that you'd be taking to put into recurring expenses," Martin says. House Minority Appropriations Chairman Jim Struzzi agrees. "If we continue to drain our reserves we are not going to have that money in the future, and unfortunately the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for that," Struzzi says. Schuylkill and Carbon County St. Sen. Dave Argall says, "Now is not the time to drain our emergency reserves or expand government spending to unsustainable levels."
The only home the Lehigh Valley IronPigs have ever known is getting a new name in about a year-and-a-half. "The IronPigs will be concluding our naming rights partnership with Coca-Cola in September 2027. At that time, our current agreement will come to a successful completion," says IronPigs GM Kurt Landes. He says at that time the team will begin what he calls a deliberate and thoughful search for a new naming rights partner. ABARTA Coca-Cola officials say “ABARTA Coca-Cola Beverages has truly cherished the relationship we’ve built with the IronPigs and the Lehigh Valley community over the past two decades.”
Those massive piles of snow might get a little deeper later this week. "As we make the transition Friday night, there will be some light snow and flurries. I don't think there will be a lot, probably a coating to an inch and maybe two in some places," says Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg. He says whatever snow we do get won't melt this weekend. Daytime highs this weekend are not expected above 20 degrees.
The Mayor of Easton is reminding residents they can't save parking spots on the street. Mayor Sal Panto says he sympathizes with people who lose their parking spot after they shoveled it out, but streets are public property. He said the city is trying to overlook it, but it is illegal. The mayor said the city won't make a decision on ticketing the spot savers until next week.
Gas prices across Pennsylvania saw a fairly significant increase over the past seven days. According to AAA East Central's Gas Price Report, the average price for a gallon of gas went six cents higher than the week before. As of Monday, that price was $3.07 a gallon. That figure is 27 cents below last year's number. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price was $3.03 on Monday, a nickel more than one week earlier, but 18 cents below last year's cost.
State Police are reminding everyone to make sure there's no snow and ice on their vehicles before they drive off. This comes after at least two women in Pennsylvania suffered severe facial injuries after ice crashed into their cars. In both cases the ice flew off tractor-trailer trucks. "I saw it and I knew there wasn't really anything I could do to avoid. I think I was just bracing for impact. The glass shattered. There were tiny little pieces everywhere. It was like sand was in my mouth. I was crunching on it," says Allegheny County's Madeline Grace.
Pennsylvania Congressman Lloyd Smucker is filing a defamation lawsuit against the publisher of LancasterOnline. The Republican Representative claims the news outlet defamed him in an editorial last year that said he was lying to his constituents by claiming Democrats "demanded taxpayer-funded free healthcare for illegal immigrants." Smucker alleges LNP Media Group published the article despite having information that "directly contradicted" the author. LNP stands by the editorial, stating that expressing opinions is protected speech under the First Amendment.
Two bills introduced in the New Jersey Legislature would allow for speed cameras to be posted in school zones around the state. This would reverse the Garden State's current ban on traffic cameras, after doing away with red light cameras in 2014, when state Transportation officials decided the trial run was not worth extending. The Assembly and Senate companion bills are aimed at catching drivers who speed through school zones, and who pass stopped school buses. The measures as written would fine drivers 250-to 300-dollars per infraction.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and wide receiver DK Metcalf are being sued over a fan altercation in Detroit back in December. That Lions fan, Ryan Kennedy, is asking for 100-million dollars in compensation. Kennedy says he has been falsely accused of using a racial slur before Metcalf grabbed him by his shirt and swiped up at his face as he stood in the stands during the December 21st game at Ford Field. Former NFL star Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is also named as a defendant in the litigation, with Kennedy claiming Johnson repeated the false racial slur statement on a podcast.