????  Holiday Break Time. The last Playbook before Christmas. We’ll return next week on Monday and Friday for a full roundup. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate.

????️  In Today’s PoliticsPA Playbook. Shapiro Schedules A Book Tour. Former Speaker Cutler Will Not Seek Reelection Next Year. PA Has Yet To Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste. Bourbon Maker Stops Production.

????  Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Do They Know It’s Christmas? Band Aid

PA Weather
????️  Plum | AM Rain, 48
☔  Hollidaysburg | Rain, 49
????️  Bethlehem | Wintry Mix, 38

PA Sports
????  Eagles (10-5) | Sun at Buffalo
????  Steelers (9-6) | Sun at Cleveland
????  Pitt (8-4) | Sat vs. East Carolina
????  Penn State (6-6) | Sat vs. Clemson
????  Flyers (18-10-7) | Vancouver 5-2 | Tue at Chicago | Sun at Seattle
????  Penguins (15-11-9) | Tue at Toronto | Sun at Chicago
????  Sixers (16-11) | Tue vs. Brooklyn | Fri at Chicago | Sun at OKC

????  What We’re Hearing. A survey of PA-07 Democratic primary voters finds a wide-open race. On an initial ballot test, 53% are not sure who they would support with 17% backing Lamont McClure. Once presented with biographical info, Bob Brooks moves to the head of the line at 30%.

????  The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free.

Top Story

1.   Shapiro Schedules A Book Tour As He Stands For Reelection, And Builds His 2028 Profile

“Days before his memoir is set to hit shelves Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will kick off his book tour at Philadelphia’s Parkway Central Library on Jan. 24.

Shapiro will swing through Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C., in the final week of January to promote his book Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service, according to events posted online.

The tour and the book, set for release Jan. 27, will fuel speculation about a potential presidential run in 2028 as Shapiro works to expand his national profile as he also seeks reelection in Pennsylvania next year.” | Philadelphia Inquirer

Elsewhere

US Cities Gird For World Cup Rush Hour. “When fans disembark at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, which is hosting six games including a July 4 knockout match that will coincide with celebrations of the United States’ 250th anniversary, they will be reliant on one of America’s most troubled transit agencies.” | POLITICO

McGovern Takes Town Hall Tour To GOP District In Pennsylvania. “Some Democratic lawmakers say that Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr., a Republican congressman elected this year to serve Pennsylvania’s 8th district, is missing in action — no town halls, public forums or public engagement. So Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, with a cohort of fellow Democrats, didn’t pass up the opportunity to talk with Pennsylvania voters on Dec. 13 as part of an ongoing “Progress for the People” tour.” | Greenfield Recorder

State

2.  Cutler, Former PA House Speaker, Will Not Seek Reelection Next Year

“State Rep. Bryan Cutler, a one-time speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and a 20-year veteran lawmaker representing the southern half of Lancaster County, on Monday told party officials he won’t run for reelection next year.

In a note to county Republican committee members, Cutler wrote, “After much prayer and discussions with my family I have decided to not seek endorsement or reelection for the Representative of the 100th House District.”” | LNP

Elsewhere

One Thousand Pennsylvanians Now Dropping Health Insurance Daily. “While the majority of people are renegotiating their budgets to cover the spike, a significant portion are unable and will enter 2026 without coverage, forgoing necessary surgeries and medication while straining the state’s systems of care.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Penn State Trustees Lost Access To Board’s File-Sharing Service After Spotlight PA Records Request. “Penn State revoked at least two trustees’ access to an online file-sharing platform central to an ongoing court case between Spotlight PA and the university, creating a two-tiered system for sharing information with members of its governing body and potentially closing an avenue for public transparency.” | Spotlight PA State College

Cozza Becomes Second Republican Seeking To Replace Kulik In Potential State House Battleground. “A second Republican candidate has joined the race to replace Coraopolis state House Democrat Anita Kulik, who says she won’t run for reelection next year.” | WESA

PA House Hopeful Calls For Public Debate Ahead Of Democrats’ Decision On Allentown Seat. “A city councilwoman running for the state House of Representatives is pushing for an opportunity to debate her opponents before a small group of Democrats decides the seat’s likely next holder.” | LehighValleyNews

Around The Commonwealth

3.   Twenty Years Into Fracking, PA Has Yet To Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste

“New research from the University of Pittsburgh suggests that the wastewater created by fracking the Marcellus formation, the ancient gas deposit beneath Pennsylvania, is far more radioactive than previously understood. And there is also evidence that some of it is getting into the environment.

But the state has barely shifted its approach to regulating the waste. “Nothing material has been done,” said John Quigley, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, who left in 2016. “Nothing has really changed.”” | Penn Capital-Star

Elsewhere

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk Vetoes City Council’s 2026 Budget, Saying 4% Tax Increase Needed. “If City Council fails to override Tuerk’s veto or find another budget compromise by Dec. 31, Tuerk’s proposed budget with a 4% tax increase will take effect next month.” | Allentown Morning Call

Erie Mayor Joe Schember ‘At Peace’ With Political Exit. “Joe Schember didn’t need Erie City Hall’s top job. Eight-plus years ago, Schember was a retired PNC Bank vice president and former Erie City Councilman who had left politics quietly. But the lure of local politics, and a desire to help move his hometown forward, pulled Schember back in.” | Erie Times-News

Feds Pull Plug On Passport Services, Threatening Finances, Access At Some PA Libraries. “The federal government is abruptly ending passport services programs at non-governmental sites nationwide, a move that eliminates much-needed funding to more than two dozen libraries in Pennsylvania that help thousands of residents seeking to travel abroad each year.” | PennLive

Supreme Court Justice Alito Grants Post-Gazette Time To Fight 3rd Circuit Panel Decision. “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Dec. 22 granted an emergency application by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s owners to delay a ruling from a federal appeals court panel that would send them back to the bargaining table with union employees.” | TribLIVE

Editorial

4.  What Do You Think?

• As Long As [REDACTED] Has His Thumb On The Scales Of Justice, The Epstein Files Were Always Going To Be [REDACTED] | Philadelphia Inquirer 
• After Major Tax Hike, City Must Tighten Its Belt | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Have We Had Enough of Donald Trump? | Carl Hisiro
• How Trump Can Turn the Midterms Around | John Tillman
• Pennsylvania’s Data Centers Won’t Use Too Much Water | Howard Neukrug
• Extremist PA Politicians Abandon Right to Life | Keith Rothfus
• One-Party Governance Is A Disservice To The People | Broad + Liberty
• Donald Trump Said What? | Pat Wandling

1 Thing

5.   Cloudy Future For Bourbon Has Jim Beam Closing Kentucky Distillery For A Year

“Bourbon maker Jim Beam is halting production at one of its distilleries in Kentucky for at least a year as the whiskey industry navigates tariffs from the Trump administration and slumping demand for a product that needs years of aging before it is ready.

Jim Beam said the decision to pause bourbon making at its Clermont location in 2026 will give the company time to invest in improvements at the distillery. The bottling and warehouse at the site will remain open, along with the James B. Beam Distilling Co. visitors center and restaurant.

Bourbon makers have to gamble well into the future. Jim Beam’s flagship bourbon requires at least four years of aging in barrels before being bottled.” | AP

Thank you for your support during the past year.
From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas.