HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro is set to deliver a second budget proposal to Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday with a firmer grasp on how he wants to pursue several top priorities, his state in a relatively strong fiscal position and lessons learned from last year’s ugly budget fight.

Most details of the Democratic governor’s budget plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which starts July 1, remain under wraps. But Shapiro has made it clear he will seek more money for higher education and public transit agencies and possibly underfunded public schools.

He also wants to spend more money to attract major companies and seems ready to revisit the controversial item that helped sow a protracted budget fight last year: creating a new private school voucher program.

Shapiro’s first budget proposal disappointed many allies who felt it wasn’t bold enough. This year, he’s returning with bigger proposals based on recommendations from his task forces or appointees.

Shapiro faces a number of cost pressures, too, from health care for the poor to county-run mental health services.

One other difference this year is that Shapiro is expected to deliver his budget address to a joint session of the House and Senate in the Capitol Rotunda. Governors historically deliver the speech in the House chamber, but workers have put up scaffolding there to repair damage from a water leak a year ago.

Whatever Shapiro proposes will require passage from the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and the Republican-controlled Senate. Appropriations Committee hearings start Feb. 20.

Here’s what to watch for Tuesday:

THE BUDGET BASICS

Shapiro will almost certainly propose an operating budget that spends above this year’s $45 billion approved plan.

That’s partly because an extra federal pandemic-era Medicaid subsidy, worth about $1 billion a year, is ending and Shapiro has said he wants to spend more money on several priorities.

Those include nearly $300 million more for public transit agencies, a roughly 25% increase, and a substantial, but undisclosed, increase for state-owned universities.

Shapiro also wants to spend big to attract large industrial facilities, such as a microchip factory, by getting large tracts of land permitted and prepared for construction.

“We need to invest if we want to compete nationally and internationally,” Shapiro said last month.

Also, pressure is on Shapiro to respond more fully to last year’s court decision that found Pennsylvania’s system of funding public schools violates the constitutional rights of students in poorer districts.

Last month, Shapiro’s appointees backed a non-binding recommendation to send $1.3 billion more next year to public schools, including subsidies for high-tax districts and school construction. He hasn’t said whether his budget proposal will reflect that recommendation.

THE FISCAL SITUATION

Tax collections are meeting expectations and Shapiro has a strong cash cushion, for now.

The state expects to have $13 billion in cash when the fiscal year ends June 30, thanks to federal COVID-19 aid over the past four years and inflation-juiced tax collections that filled up the state’s treasury.

Meanwhile, a credit rating upgrade in November was Pennsylvania’s first since it drew six downgrades between 2012 and 2017, including two by each of the big three rating agencies, while grappling with entrenched post-recession deficits.

Still, Pennsylvania is running deficits again, using $1 billion in surplus cash to prop up this year’s spending.

The state also is saddled with a slow-growing economy and grim demographic trends showing a shrinking working-age population and a fast-growing retirement-age population that pays less in taxes and costs more to care for.

SHAPIRO’S PRIORITIES

Shapiro has made a list of items that he considers to be unfinished business.

That includes raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which Republicans have blocked in the Senate, and creating a new $100 million private school voucher program that Democrats in the House have blocked.

The voucher program is particularly radioactive for Democrats and Shapiro’s support for it sets him apart from other Democratic governors around the country.

Like 19 other states, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is at the federal minimum of $7.25.

TAXES

Shapiro has said he will propose a budget that cuts taxes, without offering further details.

Shapiro and lawmakers in December approved an increase in the monthly fee on phone bills, from $1.65 to $1.95, to raise another $60 million for county 911 emergency response services.

OTHER COST PRESSURES

School boards say they are paying too much to charter schools and Democratic lawmakers are pushing to restart a dormant program subsidizing school construction projects.

Meanwhile, providers of services for the intellectually disabled and autistic say the system is beset by underfunding and staffing shortages.

Counties say the safety-net mental health services they manage are in dire need of more money to create more beds and attract more counselors for waiting lists of people who need help.

(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)

The Beaver Valley Mall was closed yesterday due to a water main break that occurred in the early morning hours on Sunday. 

The Center Township Water Authority had shut off the water service at 7:30 AM, and the mall offices closed soon thereafter, according to Water Authority manager Bill DiCiccio, Jr.

No details on the cause of the water line break is available at this time; however Beaver County Radio has learned that the Center At The Mall is closed today due to the water issues.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published February 3, 2024 6:07 P.M.

(East Palestine, OH) A year after a Norfolk Southern train hauling hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, the town and nearby communities are still feeling the effects. On an unseasonably warm Saturday, residents gathered for a commemoration and commitment ceremony hosted by activist group We Refuse To Die.

The event featured music, prayer, and a ritual of remembrance to the derailment and was officiated by Marcia Dinkins of the Black Appalachian Coalition of Ohio and Beka Economopoulos of The Natural History Museum in Washington. Community members from Ohio and Pennsylvania gave testimonies of their experiences, in addition to testimonies from other frontline community members where disasters have occurred including California, Missouri, Louisiana and West Virginia.

Following the ceremony, a monument was installed outside of a local family home. A procession of a masked group carried a carved post of a deer head into the yard of Daren and Stella Grimble, mounting it to face the site of the derailment.

Following the event, Beaver County Radio had the opportunity to speak with a Beaver County resident who says she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to return home.

Hilary Flint of Enon Valley has been living in western New York since shortly after the derailment, and she says she experienced effects to her health. Flint says her home became overtaken by a strong smell after the controlled explosion of tankers. She says because she lived farther out than the one by two-mile radius, no one was willing to help including the EPA. A month after the derailment, she was able to get independent testing done by Wayne State University, who found evidence of vinyl chloride and other chemicals the train was hauling on her property. She noted that her water was fine, but dioxins were found in her soil and ethylhexyl acrylate was detected in an air purifier inside her home.

She said “The EPA has seen the data, I’ve taken it to Senators Fetterman, Casey, Representatives”, “I went to Columbus, Harrisburg to DC, everyone’s seen it.” She says they all tell her the levels aren’t considered high enough to be a harm to health.

Flint had to take a new job and she is currently renting her home in New York. She states that anytime she returns to her home in Enon Valley, she experiences nose bleeds within a day or two. She says Norfolk Southern reimbursed her for some time in a hotel but otherwise isn’t a part of their relocation program. She thinks Pennsylvania and Beaver County were behind on being prepared for a situation like this, noting an example that emergency alerts weren’t sent to residents. Flint is a part of and helps lead multiple local organization efforts in response to the derailment.

She would like to see a disaster declaration declared, citing more recourses such as health care could be provided if President Joe Biden would sign a declaration into order. Under the affordable care act, communities that have experienced toxic harm can receive Medicare for life.

Beaver County Radio visited a stream on the outskirts of East Palestine and saw a clearly visible sheen of chemical matter in the water. Clean up and restoration efforts are still underway at the derailment site. The site is heavily guarded by security and Beaver County Radio was stopped when making an attempt to photograph the area, being told by security that no photography of the site is allowed.

Efforts are still ongoing by elected officials for rail safety reform and various issues amongst the cloud of events that took place in East Palestine. President Joe Biden says he is going to visit the town in February but has not yet confirmed when. Norfolk Southern has made promises to “make things right” in the community, and in 2023 they funded things such as a carnival as well as a fireworks display.

During Beaver County Radio’s anniversary visit to East Palestine, one Norfolk Southern train was seen roaring through town.

More Photos & Video:

(Story by BCR Intern Isaiah Wise)
(Photo/Commonwealth Media Services)

Michelle Henry, Pittsburgh Attorney General and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala have collaborated together to launch the Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force. 

The Task Force  is focusing on bolstering personnel, resources, technology, and community outreach efforts to combat firearms trafficking and gun violence in Allegheny County.  

It was announced by collaborating agencies about the formation of the Task Force at a press event this past week at the Allegheny County Courthouse.

In the press event Zappala expressed how pleased they are to expand and enhance their partnership with the office of the Attorney General to aggressively disrupt the flow of guns. Zappala is thankful for the dedication to make Allegheny County safer for their constituents. 

The Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force is working consistently to investigate and prosecute offenders of gun crimes and all the issues of gun violence to make residents in Pennsylvania safer.

NEW YORK (AP) — Big Tech stocks are once again carrying Wall Street toward record heights Friday, even as worries about the downside of a hot job market keep the overall market in check.

Big gains for Meta Platforms and Amazon, which are two of the market’s most influential stocks, had the S&P 500 index 0.8% higher in midday trading and on track for another all-time high. They also pushed the Nasdaq composite up 1.4%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was up by just 14 points, or less than 0.1% And more stocks were falling overall on Wall Street than rising. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks slumped 0.8%.

Stocks were feeling pressure from higher yields in the bond market after a report showed U.S. employers hired many more workers last month than economists expected.

While the strength is a boon for workers and keeps the risk of a recession at bay, the worry is that it could keep upward pressure on inflation. That in turn would mean a longer wait for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates.

Hopes for such cuts, which can relax the pressure on the economy and goose investment prices, have been a major reason the U.S. stock market has surged to record heights. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week that it’s unlikely cuts will begin as soon as traders had been hoping.

“The Fed threw some cold water on the idea of a March rate cut less than 48 hours ago, and today’s surprisingly strong jobs report won’t dry things off,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.” It’s definitely not the type of data the Fed had in mind when they said they wanted to see more evidence that inflationary pressures were under control.”

The yield for the 10-year Treasury leaped immediately after the release of the jobs report and was up to 4.04% from 3.88% late Thursday.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, also rose sharply. It jumped to 4.37% from 4.21%.

Traders had already pushed out bets for the timing of the first Fed rate cut to May from March following Powell’s warning earlier this week. After the jobs report, some traders shifted even further out the calendar to June, according to data from CME Group.

Besides the overall hiring number, the jobs report included many signals showing much more strength than expected. Average hourly earnings for workers rose more in January than forecast. The unemployment rate unexpectedly did not get worse. And the government said hiring was actually much stronger in December than it had earlier reported.

The question for the stock market will be whether the upside of such strength outweighs the downside. That is, will a stronger economy with plenty of people working make up for delayed or dashed hopes for quick and significant cuts to interest rates?

“The big payroll gains and wage gains aren’t something to be feared,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “The Fed has stepped back from its insistence that the labor market needs to weaken before inflation sustainably falls.”

He pointed to a report earlier this week that showed an increase in productivity for U.S. workers, which could help offset the effect of higher wages.

The jobs report landed on Wall Street amid a maelstrom of profit reports that could have helped move the market on their own.

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, soared 20.8% after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected and said it would start paying a dividend to its investors.

Amazon rallied 7.3% after it likewise reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

They’re both members of a small group of Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” that have been disproportionately responsible for Wall Street’s run to a record. Their huge gains have set expectations very high for their growth, which they need to meet to justify the big runs for their stock prices.

Apple, another member of the Magnificent Seven, was inching up by 0.1% after erasing an earlier loss. It also reported better profit than expected.

Cigna and Chevron both climbed after reporting stronger profit for the last three months of 2023 than expected. Cigna jumped 6.6% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500, while Chevron rose 3.1%.

Keeping Chevron’s gain in check was a drop in oil prices. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude sank 2.1% to $72.27. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2% to $77.13 per barrel.

In markets abroad, stocks tumbled 1.5% in Shanghai to cap their worst week in five years. Worries about a faltering economic recovery and troubles for the real estate industry have made the market one of the world’s worst recently.

The International Monetary Fund forecast the Chinese economy would grow at a 4.6% pace this year and 4% in 2025, dropping from 5.2% last year.

Stocks were mixed elsewhere in Asia and Europe.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo/CCBC)

The Community College of Beaver County Announced on Friday that Kara Eltschlager of Peters Township was selected to serve as site manager for the Washington County College Center, where CCBC classes will be available for students in Washington, Fayette, and Greene counties.

Eltschlager has ten-plus years of experience in media and event planning, and will be overseeing the daily operations and overall growth of the new facility.

“I am excited to be back home and contribute to the expansion of CCBC in Washington County,” said Eltschlager. “I look forward to crafting meaningful relationships within the community and providing opportunities for students of diverse ages. Our mission and enthusiasm are keenly directed toward the strategic implementation of a recruitment plan aimed to elevate awareness and establish a robust community college presence in Washington County for years to come.”