By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief

“Orchards are perennial crops and require special care year round. It’s impossible to walk away from an orchard … And that care requires money, regardless of whether we have a crop or not.” — Sarah Zost, a 4th generation apple grower and president of the State Horticulture Association of Pennsylvania, on new assistance for farmers impacted by the April freeze.

By Ian Karbal

Standing near the orchard of Three Springs Fruit Farm in Aspers, Adams County, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced new assistance for Pennsylvania fruit farmers affected by a severe freeze in April.

Temperatures that month dipped into the 20s, affecting fruit crops and causing losses estimated between $150 million and $200 million in Pennsylvania alone. 

According to Penn State Extension, around 53,000 farms operate in the commonwealth, nearly 3,000 of which produced fruit or berries in 2017.

“There’s plenty of fruit around, but it’s really about a quarter of what we’d expect,” said Ben Wenk, the owner of Three Springs  and a seventh generation farmer.

By Carter Walker of Votebeat

Two candidates with vastly different visions for elections are competing for Pennsylvania’s governorship this year.

On one side, incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has staked many of his policy stances on elections in opposition to President Donald Trump, while struggling to pass new election laws through the state legislature.

On the other hand, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Shapiro’s Republican challenger, has indicated she would defer to Trump’s election priorities, but her state-level legislative priorities are less clear.

And in the background, questions about Garrity’s views on the legitimacy of the 2020 election still loom.

By Mia Hollie of Pittsburgh’s Public Source

A recent economic impact study commissioned by VisitPITTSBURGH puts a big number on the 2026 NFL Draft’s benefit to the region: $177 million.

City and county tax figures offer another way to consider the draft’s financial impact, and they show a more complicated picture.

Some revenue sources increased during periods overlapping with the draft, though officials can’t say how much of those gains came from the event. Pittsburgh’s parking tax revenue fell, meanwhile, and the increase in county hotel taxes was smaller than the amount of hotel-tax funding directed toward draft planning.

Overall, the figures suggest that some regional businesses fared well during the draft — despite the less-than-ideal outcomes experienced by some business owners outside of the event’s campus.

Independent reporting on Pennsylvania's state government that impacts communities statewide — free to read and republish.

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By Hayley O’Brien of WITF

One person is dead and two members of the Pennsylvania State Police are injured following a crash between a state police helicopter and a small airplane Wednesday night in Cumberland County.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, state police and Penn State Medical officials shared details at a news conference Wednesday night at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.

The injured officers have been identified as Corporal Bryce Corman and Trooper Jason Mills. The Cumberland County Coroner identified the deceased pilot of the other plane as Paul Sokoloski, 57, of Hershey and a doctor at Penn State Health.

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