Stephen Caruso

Before the 2022 election, I said House Ds had a narrow path -- I think I once compared it to a treacherous rope bridge over a volcano mouth -- but a path. DS found it and took it then. I feel similarly about 2026 for Senate Ds, except it'll be a better national environment for the party.

TRANSPORTATION FUNDING MAY NOT LOOM AS LARGE IN THE CAPITOL DISCOURSE THIS YEAR, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN IT'S A DEAD ISSUE. State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) raised it Monday in his questioning of PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll, namely to ask: Why are there billions of tax dollars sitting in the state’s Public Transportation Trust Fund? They are dollars for long-term capital projects like buying new train cars or building bus shelters, Carroll responded, not paying salaries or buying gas. Still, Pittman continued to hammer the point.

“My premise is that [SEPTA and Pittsburgh Regional Transit] just aren't able to make use of those dollars” for projects, Pittman said. In reply, Carroll said: “I wish they were speedier with project delivery.” Pittman took the admission as proof of his premise and to argue that using capital funds for operating expenses was the right move. IT MUST BE SAID: HAVING MONEY SITTING IN THE BANK AS AGENCIES BEG FOR MORE DOES SEEM ODD. But if you dig in, this appearance of spare cash is to be expected. First off, Carroll noted that funds only come out of the trust fund as a reimbursement for a completed project. So a local agency must gather funds on its own to pay upfront before it can receive state dollars.

And to even move certain projects forward, agencies need to show that they have the money to “pay, say, the first three years of the project,” Leslie Richards, who led PennDOT under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and later headed SEPTA, told Access Harrisburg. That’s especially true, she added, to get federal funding. “You can't start a billion-dollar project if you only have $100,000. Then how are you gonna finish it?” Added Barry Schoch, PennDOT secretary under former GOP Gov. Tom Corbett: “You always want to have some cash balance, right? Just like your checkbook at home — you want to have some cash balance. It's always there in case of emergency,” such as a freak storm washing away a bridge.

Pennsylvania has billions sitting in a bank account for transit. The Senate GOP say it's a sign that agencies aren't making use of those dollars even as they ask for more. But two former PennDOT chiefs say the truth is nuanced due to how capital projects financing actually works.

PA governor race 2026: Shapiro’s huge cash lead Shapiro tapped billionaires, unions, and more to raise $23 million in 2025. Garrity relied more heavily on small donations and raised $1.5 million.

Some gubernatorial CF takeaways? Stacy Garrity would need 7,000 more donors than she's had over her entire career giving $250 to match one Mike Bloomberg check to Josh Shapiro. And Shapiro dropped $84k on "presidential-level service in private aviation."
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/03...

Home equity loan firm paid for testimony before PA House A lending firm, Point, offered Amazon gift cards to customers who submitted testimony for a Pennsylvania House hearing, drawing backlash from legislators.

A Silicon Valley lending firm offered its customers gift cards to oppose a Pennsylvania bill that they oppose. Lawmakers in both parties who want to regulate them say it's unethical and needs scrutiny.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/03...

The Texas Senate primary is a battle for the Democratic Party's soul. James Talarico is a "choir boy." Jasmine Crockett is a "street fighter." Their race will set the tone for the midterms clash to come.

"There is a familiar bait and switch with a lot of buzzy Democratic candidates—that something about their identity will unlock a prodigal base that has strayed and needs merely to be shown the way." These candidates "are invariably white and male."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

As someone who deployed three times in service to our nation, I will always stand with the brave men and women of our military who serve with strength, discipline, and honor to protect our nation. My heart is also with the people of Iran who are courageously seeking freedom and basic human rights in the face of oppression. The Iranian people deserve dignity, opportunity, and the ability to determine their own future. God Bless the United States Armed Forces 🙏🏻🇺🇸

Garrity on the attack: "I will always stand with the brave men and women of our military who serve with strength, discipline, and honor to protect our nation.

My heart is also with the people of Iran who are courageously seeking freedom and basic human rights in the face of oppression."

Gov. Josh Shapiro says in a statement he questions the Iran war's legality & strategy. "By taking unilateral action, without a broad coalition of international partners, [Trump] is putting our brave servicemembers at greater risk and undermining our national security interests."

Shapiro vows to block ICE detention centers in PA Gov. Shapiro vowed to block immigrant detention facilities in Berks and Schuylkill Counties after a bipartisan meeting with local officials.

ICYMI: Gov. Josh Shapiro this week promised to use "every tool at his disposal," namely lawsuits and permitting, to block the federal government from locating proposed ICE detention centers in Pennsylvania.
www.spotlightpa.org/berks/2026/0...

"My proposed legislation will not eliminate law enforcement’s access to this data but will establish clear guidelines on how it can be obtained," she wrote in a memo to colleagues.
www.palegis.us/senate/co-sp...

State Sen. Maria Collett (D., Montgomery) wants to ban Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies from buying personal information through data brokers and instead require a search warrant to acquire any digital data.

Because I don't care about that?

In a Pennsylvania state House special election yesterday, the Democratic candidates won with less than 7% turnout, per the county election board. In a district of 60,000+ people with 32,000 voters, just 2,250 decided the outcome. This was a race that could have flipped the chamber.

Rape crisis centers push for $12.5M in PA budget Funding has been flat in 6 out of the past 10 PA budgets for rape crisis centers. They say they’re stretched too thin and services are suffering.

New: Pennsylvania's nonprofit rape crisis centers, which provide support groups, counseling, legal aid, and crisis intervention hotlines, have been flat funded in 6 of the commonwealth's last 10 budgets. Now they say they are at their fiscal limit.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02...

A black and white photo of a man in a three piece suit with a stern face, long but well kept white hair and a short salt and pepper beard perched on his jaw.

Frederick Douglass, one of America's greatest agitators and orators, passed away 131 years ago today.

PA data center tax break expected to cost $2B Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration estimates the annual cost of the tax break will rise by hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years.

New: Pennsylvania lawmakers approved a sales tax exemption for data centers in 2021. Its exact cost is unknown, but new estimates released by the Shapiro administration this month say it will have cost the commonwealth $2 billion by 2031. W/ @katehuangpu.bsky.social

Good morning everyone. Today is the start of the three week petition period in Pennsylvania, during which hopefuls for elected office can gather signatures from people in their districts to get on the ballot.

I became Senior VP at a multi-million dollar company at age 26. My salary was $600k. This was in 2018. How did I do it? Blacked out lines CEO (my dad) promoted me to SVP. There are no gimmicks. There are no shortcuts.

This is blackout poetry to me

How PA agencies under Shapiro’s control cooperate with ICE Gov. Josh Shapiro has not hidden that PA works with ICE, nor has he promised new limits on existing cooperation.

What does collaboration with ICE look like in PA? ICE can access state data without a warrant. Troopers cannot ask about immigration status, but can and do tell ICE if they otherwise discover someone is undocumented. And prisons honor some ICE detainers.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02...

PA budget 2026: Shapiro pitches more money for poor schools, legal weed Shapiro wants PA lawmakers to tax slot-like skill games and legalized marijuana to help pay for new spending.

News: Gov. Josh Shapiro pitched a $53.3 billion spending plan Tuesday that puts more money into education and transit (in 2027) while asking policymakers to tackle housing and energy affordability in earnest.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02...

What to expect from Gov. Shapiro’s pitch for the PA budget Governor Shapiro is expected to address rising housing costs, increased energy demand, and unfinished business from prior years in Tuesday's budget pitch.

New: Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to address housing costs, energy demand, and unfinished business like education funding and transit in his budget pitch tomorrow. W/ @katehuangpu.bsky.social
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02...

Construction will begin this year, and be complete by 2031. Eli Lilly claims the factory will employ 2,000 temporary construction workers to build it and 850 permanent workers once complete. That's ~$35k per job.

News: Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is building a new manufacturing plant in the Lehigh Valley to produce weight loss drugs, the firm announced today. Pennsylvania is kicking in $75 million in grants and $25 million in tax credits to the project.

PA lawmaker with second job that raised ethics concerns resigns PA Rep. Seth Grove, who planned to retire later this year, began working for the Pennsylvania Concrete and Aggregates Association this month.

News: State Rep. Seth Grove (R., York), a vocal conservative who led Pennsylvania Republicans efforts to review the 2020 election while simultaneously factchecking Trump, has resigned. He was under fire for taking a second job as head of a trade group for concrete manufacturers.

PA’s new vape registry law suffers from loopholes, other issues PA’s first major effort to tackle vaping suffers from loopholes, insufficient funding for enforcement, and limited public health backing.

New: Pennsylvania policymakers passed a law last year, similar to ones passed in 11 other states, to crackdown on illicit vapes and fight teen smoking. But public health experts are skeptical it'll do much, citing loopholes and limited state funding.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/01...

A Tweet from Gov. Josh Shapiro's gubernatorial account: "ICE’s clear abuses of power are only creating danger in our communities. We saw it with the killing of Renee Good, and we see it with more horrific videos of another killing today. Law enforcement’s goal should always be to keep people safe and build trust with the community. That’s what the Pennsylvania State Police and our local partners do every day. ICE, directed by Donald Trump and his Administration, is violating people’s constitutional rights. It’s past time for them to stop wreaking havoc on our communities."

Pennsylvania state law enforcement currently cooperates with ICE, per Shapiro's public comments and an administration statement. It is unclear if this tweet signals a policy change or not.

This is about state campaign finance laws. Pennsylvania's allow for unlimited donations directly to candidates.

State Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) wants to ax the commonwealth's data center equipment sales tax exemption.

New: A divide among Pennsylvania Democrats over immigration enforcement has been on display this month. But you have to read between the lines. Plus, a bunch of legislative primary and general election updates as 2026 kicks off. All in this week's Access Harrisburg.

Trump officials investigate protesters who interrupted Minnesota church service, targeting ICE official | CNN A Sunday morning church service in the Twin Cities interrupted by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters is the latest flash point in escalating tensions between the Trump administration ...

Outrage over a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul Sunday -- which attorney general Pam Bondi says will be "met with the full force of federal law" -- recalls even MORE disruptive church protests led by angry steelworkers in PGH in 1984. (Thread)
www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/u...

Not at all a dumb q! I am not an legal Beagle but my understanding is that this could not be transfered into a regular federal PAC (w/ its limits) but could be used in a federal super PAC.