Skip to main content
Main content

Shapiro's $80M pitch to attack PA's housing crisis

Plus, Yass could be a Trump cabinet pick.

The logo of PA Post, a free daily newsletter delivering the top news from across Pennsylvania every day.

A daily newsletter by The logo of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom producing investigative journalism for Pennsylvania.
Your Postmaster: Colin Deppen



Monday, March 18, 2024
Today: Housing help, Trump & Yass, drop-off dustup, social SCOTUS, and the Nazi plot to bomb Altoona. Welcome to the week.
Support Spotlight PA's vital journalism and for a limited time, all gifts will be DOUBLED! AN URGENT CALL: We must raise $25,000 by March 23 to keep Spotlight PA's unmatched brand of investigative journalism strong. Hurry a gift now and as a special bonus, every dollar you give will be DOUBLED »
CRISIS PLANS
State-level action to combat Pennsylvania’s persistent housing shortages and rising costs is being proposed on multiple fronts — including in Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's sophomore budget plan.

Shapiro wants $80 million for public legal defense against evictions, anti-homelessness initiatives, and a popular home repair grant program. Meanwhile, legislation is pending that aims to spur housing construction amid an estimated statewide shortfall of some 100,000 units.

Nothing is guaranteed, but the size and scope of the problem make doing nothing unpalatable for lawmakers in both major parties. 

Dana Hanchin, CEO of Lancaster-based HDC MidAtlantic, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, said the state will also be hard-pressed to achieve its goals around economic competitiveness and education without addressing the housing crunch more proactively. 

Read Spotlight PA’s full report: Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to spend $80M to attack Pennsylvania's housing crisis. Here's how.
NOTABLE / QUOTABLE

"I’ve been waiting 50 years for this."

—Real Estate Professor Emeritus Norm Miller on a landmark legal settlement, announced Friday, that could lead to lower home-buying costs nationwide
GIVE & GET 2X
Support Spotlight PA's investigative journalism for Pennsylvania and for a limited time, your gift will be DOUBLED.
We need your help: You won't find anyone else providing the reporting we provide, or getting the results we're getting for the people of Pennsylvania. At a time of hyper-partisanship and democracy under pressure, we need independent, nonpartisan, no-nonsense journalism more than ever.

Make a tax-deductible gift now & get it DOUBLED »

You can also give via PayPal or Venmo, or send a check to: Spotlight PA, PO Box 11728, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1728.

Thank you to the 275 people who have given so far, including Joseph K., who said, "Your investigative reporting is one of the best independent media sources for good old fashion local government 'muckraking.'"

Join Joseph and make a gift now »
📷 POST IT
Pitt's main campus in bloom, via your postmaster. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania.

Pink blooms on a magnolia tree framed against a bright blue sky. Tall brick buildings are also seen near the bottom of the frame.
DAILY RUNDOWN
Today's top news story in Pennsylvania.SECRETARY YASS? Pennsylvania's richest man, TikTok investor Jeff Yass, is being floated as a possible Donald Trump cabinet pick, should the latter win on Nov. 5. Bloomberg first reported that Yass was being considered for Treasury secretary. Yass and Trump had a falling out but recently made up, right before Trump's TikTok flip-flop.
  • Yass-linked PAC targets U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, via WESA
Today's second top news story in Pennsylvania.DROP BLOCK: A plan to add five ballot drop-off locations in Allegheny County has drawn a legal challenge. Members of the county's Republican committee, including Councilor Sam DeMarco, are suing the county and its Democratic executive over the plan, which they argue was improperly launched, TribLIVE reports.
  • Pennsylvania was deluged by election lawsuits in 2020 — experts say 2024 will be even more intense, via Spotlight PA
Today's third top news story in Pennsylvania.OFFICIAL USE: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday clarified when it's constitutional for public officials to block critical constituents on social media. Former President Trump was sued repeatedly for blocking people on Twitter, and then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was threatened with legal action for doing the same in 2020.
Today's fourth top news story in Pennsylvania.'ACCESS DENIED': A new complaint accuses the Philadelphia School District and the Pennsylvania Department of Education of denying education access to children with disabilities at a West Philadelphia juvenile detention center, in violation of federal law, The Inquirer (paywall) reports. The complaint points to a larger, systemwide breakdown.

Today's fifth top news story in Pennsylvania.IN BRIEF: The first GOP debate for state attorney general touched on abortion, DA Larry Krasner, and more; state Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D., Chester) wants to lift a ban on abortion coverage through Pennsylvania's Affordable Care Act marketplace; and dueling rallies are planned around a "Drag Queen Story Hour" in Lancaster.
🗞️ KNOW YOUR NEWS? Prove it with this week's news quiz: Trump’s TikTok flip-flop, 2024 pollbooks, and the State Police motif.
IN OTHER NEWS
MR. FIX-IT: The Biden administration wants antitrust law exemptions that would make it easier to repair ice cream machines at fast food chains. Here's a map of the McBroken machines in your neck of the woods.

'MATCH FIXING': Temple University says it's reviewing reports of possible "match fixing" by its men's basketball team. At least one game involving the team was flagged for unusual betting activity.

BOBBLEHEAD BOLO: TribLIVE has the latest on a suspected Jaromír Jágr bobblehead heist that plunged the Pittsburgh Penguins into crisis mode last week. The shipment made it to California, then disappeared.

CURVE PLOT: The Nazis tried to bomb Altoona's Horseshoe Curve during World War II, The Inquirer (paywall) reports, but one of eight saboteurs tasked with carrying out the mission wound up reporting it to the FBI.

ANGRY BIRD: Multiple cyclists were dive-bombed and injured by a mother peregrine falcon on a Lancaster County trail. Then that female was forced out by another. LNP (paywall) asks: Will the dive-bombings stop?
Spotlight PA's exclusive 'All Sun, No Shade' beach towel
 ON SALE NOW 

Our limited-edition 'All Sun, No Shade' breach towel is selling fast!

Promote government transparency & tan lines, all in support of Spotlight PA's vital journalism. SHOP THE SALE NOW >
SCRAMBLER
Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted.
 
I A L E U N E E V Q C

Friday's answer: Ulterior

Congrats to our weekly winner: Jon W.

Congrats to our daily winners: Bob C., Don H., Ted W., Richard A., Bruce B., Tracy S., Elaine C., Craig E., David T., Stacy S., Charles J., Susan N.-Z., Jane R., Barbara F., Kim C., Becky C., William Z., Alan B., Jeffrey F., Wendy A., Tom M., and Stanley J.
Like PA Post? Share it with a friend.

Love PA Post? Support it with a tax-deductible gift.

Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.
SUPPORT SPOTLIGHT PA
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan & nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania.

For sponsorship inquiries, email membership@spotlightpa.org.

Copyright © Spotlight PA, All rights reserved.

Spotlight PA
PO Box 11728
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1728

newsletters@spotlightpa.org

You're receiving this email because you subscribed to PA Post, a daily newsletter by Spotlight PA.


This email was sent to: <<Email Address>>

Receiving too many emails from Spotlight PA?

To change your newsletter subscriptions and frequency, you can update your preferences.

To stop receiving fundraising messages, you can update your preferences and select "Opt out of Fundraising."

To stop receiving ALL EMAILS from Spotlight PA, including all of our investigations and newsletters, you can completely unsubscribe here.