☀️  TGIF. It’s the summer solstice – the longest day of the year

????  Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Shut Up and Drive. Rihanna.

PA Weather
????️  Ellwood City | Partly Sunny, 81
☀️  Hesston | Mostly Sunny, 82
☀️  Jim Thorpe | Mostly Sunny, 82

PA Sports
⚾  Phillies (45-30) | Miami 2-1 | Fri-Sun vs. NY Mets
⚾  Pirates (30-46) | Detroit 2-9, 8-4 | Fri-Sun vs. Texas
⚽  USMNT | Saudi Arabia 1-0 | Sun vs. Haiti (Concacaf Gold Cup)

PA Money | Futures (as of 7:40 a.m.)
????  Dow ???? -84.00 |  NASDAQ ???? -29.25 |  S&P ???? -8.00

????  Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Gov. Josh Shapiro.

????️  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.  Bipartisan Senate Resolution Denounces Rising Jew-Hatred

“On the heels of the arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence, the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington and the firebomb attack against participants in a peaceful march calling for the release of hostages captured by Hamas in Boulder, Colo., Pennsylvania’s senators, one Democrat and one Republican, introduced a resolution condemning the rise in violent antisemitism.

“Amid a despicable rise in antisemitism, including the hateful arson at Governor Shapiro’s home in Pennsylvania, the shocking violence in Boulder and the deadly attack on the Israeli embassy staff in D.C., we are starkly reminded that silence is complicity,” stated Sen. John Fetterman, who introduced the resolution with Sen. Dave McCormick.” (Jewish News Service)

Elsewhere

Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration. “The administration’s aggressive deportation push has alarmed voters, including some of the president’s supporters.” (Wall Street Journal)

Trump on Juneteenth: US Has ‘Too Many Non-Working Holidays’. ““Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “The workers don’t want it either,” he added.” (The Hill)

Donald Trump’s Golf Habit Is Costing Taxpayers Millions. “Donald Trump is reportedly planning to golf this weekend for the first time in quite some time — at least by his standards — and as he prepares to head out there is a new estimate of just how much he has spent playing the game since he was sworn in back on Jan. 20. And … well, the president has run up quite an incredible tab.” (PennLive)

State

2.   As PA Courts Data Centers, Illinois Serves as a Cautionary Tale

“While Pennsylvania is poised to see an economic boost as companies like Amazon and Microsoft move into the state, Illinois is already a top destination for data centers, and more are headed to that state.

Once they’re online, data centers require a lot of electricity, which is helping drive rates up around the country and grabbing headlines. What gets less attention is how much water they need, both to generate that electricity and dissipate the heat from the servers powering cloud computing, storage and artificial intelligence.” (Penn Capital-Star)

Elsewhere

Data Center Investment Comes With Concerns. “It’s a big achievement – Pennsylvania won out over other states for the largest capital investment in its history, $20 billion from Amazon for data centers and technology infrastructure. Though the project promises to create over 1,200 jobs, at least initially, not everyone is happy about where things are going.” (The Center Square)

Trump Not Planning Any Agriculture Carveouts From His Deportation Policies. “President Donald Trump is not planning imminent carveouts for the agriculture industry as his aides push ahead with more immigration raids at worksites, two administration officials told Semafor.” (Semafor)

Sen. Costa Hopes Road-and-Bridge Funding in Transit Bill Reduces Opposition to It. “Democratic Sen. Jay Costa hopes extra provisions added to a bill that puts $293 million into public transit — specifically, ones that arrange for a separate $500 million for road and bridge work — will win over Republican lawmakers and help Pittsburgh Regional Transit maintain service.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Around The Commonwealth

3.   Will Pennsylvania Lawmakers Legalize Marijuana? Top Lawmaker Shares Insight

“The wait might be getting longer for Pennsylvanians who want to legalize recreational marijuana.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget counted on hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and taxes on marijuana this year, but Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said it’s a non-starter in the budget deal currently being negotiated.” (abc27)

Elsewhere

Senator Names UPMC Kane As ‘At Risk’ With Federal Cuts. “A Massachusetts senator says UPMC Kane is one of the rural hospitals at risk if the “Big Beautiful Bill” passes with the cuts to Medicaid that have been proposed.” (Bradford Era)

Change to Allegheny County Property Assessment Figure Could Spark Wave of Appeals — And Further Cut Into Revenue. “Experts say a drop in the common level ratio could lead to an increase in assessment appeals and eat into tax revenue.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Green Party Seeks to Field Candidate in Allegheny County Council Special Election. “The Green Party of Allegheny County plans to challenge Republican control of an at-large seat on County Council this fall. Theron Gilliland, Jr., a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, will formally launch his bid on Sunday.” (WESA)

State, Local Officials Celebrate the Delaware as PA’s River of the Year. “The Delaware originates in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York and flows for more than 300 miles southward into Delaware Bay, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. In the Valley, the Delaware River acts as the border between Northampton County and New Jersey.” (LehighValleyNews)

Editorial

4.  Speak Your Mind

• We Encourage Political Violence When We Look the Other Way. (New York Times)
• Municipal Dissolution Could Give Struggling Communities Hope. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) 
• New Presidential Term, Same Old Budget Cuts. (Jonathan D. Salant)
• Why Philly Should Care About the NYC Mayor’s Race. (Larry Platt)
• Public Information Should Not Come with a Price Tag. (David Sanko)
• Juneteenth Reminds Us That Freedom Delayed Is Freedom Denied. (Tasliym Morales)
• As Life With a Green Card Gets Harder, Joy Is An Act of Resistance. (Anonymous)
• Pennsylvania is Closing Opportunity Gaps For Students, and We Can’t Stop Now. (Aaron Chapin)
• Why Should Pennsylvania Taxpayers Fund Cyber Charter Schools at the Same Tuition Rates That They Pay For Brick-And-Mortar Charter School Tuition? (Lawrence Feinberg)
• Democrats’ Proposed Cyber Charter Funding Cuts Would Hurt Pennsylvania Students. (Jennifer Morgan)

1 Thing

5.   Pups at the Pittsburgh Airport Bring Paws-Itivity During Busy Summer Travel

“Long lines at security, flight delays, crowded gates — summer is the busiest time of year at Pittsburgh International Airport.

But stressed out passengers should be on the lookout for some furry volunteers bringing calm with a wag of the tail. PIT PAWS, Pups Alleviating Worries and Stress, is the airport’s certified therapy dog program. Throughout the week, 43 good boys and girls hound down nervous fliers and seek out belly rubs.” (WESA)

Thanks for starting your weekend with us.
Make it a good one and we’ll see you again Monday.