new from me: how other transit agencies are adapting now that funding won't be included in this year's budget: pausing plans to expand, cutting services, and raising fares

www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/09...

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $244 million a year for mine cleanups in Pennsylvania for 15 years. Now, it's on hold thanks to President Donald Trump.

in the past, senate republicans have attributed that price rise to environmental policies such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which mandates that energy companies pay to emit carbon

meanwhile, senate republican leadership has said they're concerned that energy prices will continue to rise despite the price cap.

wcpanews.com/stories/6693...

enviro advocates applauded the move but emphasized that it doesn't address underlying issues, saying that PJM needs to improve its connection process and allow more energy sources to join the grid

following up here! PJM announced that it would lower its price cap in its next capacity auction, following the complaint from the Shapiro admin.

the cap is set to last for two years, the admin estimate that this move will save Pennsylvanians $21 billion.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/01...

other integral policy decisions include: how to expunge the criminal records of folks with marijuana-related convictions and distribute the economic benefits and tax revenue to communities impacted by the cannabis criminalization

however, consumer advocates voiced concerns that this model would allow large, inter-state cannabis companies to take over the market

meanwhile, Sen. Dan Laughlin (R., Erie) said he plans on re-introducing a legalization bill in the upper chamber that would back the other model, allowing medical marijuana sellers to expand.

(He intro'd the bill last session with Sen. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia)

but cannabis advocates have voiced concerns about the legality of forcing state employees to break federal law, as cannabis is still classified as a schedule I drug by the federal government,

Reps. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny) and Rick Krajewski (D., Philadelphia) said they would introduce a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis using state-owned stores, saying that the model would stabilize the new market.
www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis...

the key issue is whether Pa. will allow existing licensed sellers (ie., largely medical marijuana companies) expand into the recreational market

OR

create state-owned stores, like Pa. does with alcohol

new from me: the debate of how (and whether) to legalize recreational marijuana returns as the new legislative session starts!

www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/01...

there's no guarantee they'll take up Shapiro's complaint. But environmental, labor, and consumer advocates that I spoke with said they're hopeful that FERC will respond.

the Federal Energy Regulator Commission (FERC), which regulates PJM, has opened up a comment period and several orgs have filed to intervene in the case.

including energy companies (PSEG and Shell), attorney generals offices (NJ and MD), and the Pa Utilities Commission.

the devil is in the details here. Shapiro levied a targeted complaint against a metric PJM uses to cap electricity prices. but called it part of "the largest unjust wealth transfer in the history of U.S. energy markets"

new from me in the new year! a breakdown of why gov. Shapiro filed a complaint against Pennsylvania's electricity provider, PJM, to federal regulators.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/01...

when do the Philly tix go on sale!

it was a busy month!!