By Ian Karbal | Reporter

By Ian Karbal

Speaking outside the Governor’s Residence a day after the election, state Sen. Vince Hughes (D-Philadelphia), a self-described “elder statesman” in Pennsylvania Democratic politics, singled out one man in particular for his role in their party’s decisive wins.

“He took every ounce of his own personal political cachet and he put it on the line to make sure that this mission was accomplished so that we can get real stuff done for the people of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Hughes said. “Gov. Josh Shapiro, my friend from a long time ago, thank you.”

Along with Shapiro’s overwhelming victory in the gubernatorial race, Pennsylvania Democrats won a majority in the state Senate for the first time in more than 30 years. They also expanded their majority in the state House and won the largest majority of Pennsylvania’s Congressional seats since the 2008 election that sent former President Barack Obama to the White House.

While the victories were part of a national wave for the party, Democrats across Pennsylvania have highlighted Shapiro’s role in their success in the state. And Shapiro hasn’t been shy about touting those victories.

By Peter Hall

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio urged Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies to avoid or rescind agreements to work with federal immigration agents as he presented findings of a study of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in his western Pennsylvania district.

The study found nearly two-thirds of all ICE detentions in the 17th Congressional District occurred in Beaver County, where the sheriff’s department and eight municipal police departments have 287(g) agreements with ICE. 

The portion of Deluzio’s district in Allegheny County saw fewer ICE detentions despite having a larger population and a greater number of foreign-born residents. It also has only one police force, in Springdale, that works with ICE while two others, Coraopolis and Stowe Township, canceled their agreements, the report found. 

By Oliver Morrison, Public Source

The number of people banning themselves from gambling activities in Pennsylvania has been surging, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

This has been particularly true since the first online casino opened in 2019. It’s not just changing how many people are banning themselves – it’s changing who is banning themselves and where, according to a Public Source analysis of the board’s publicly available data.

Prior to the first online casinos opening, the people banning themselves largely lived in and around counties where in-person casinos operated.

But that’s no longer the case. Some of the counties with the highest problem gambling rates are a long drive from a casino.

By Whitney Downard

More than 12,000 businesses and social clubs have removed skill games in the three weeks since Pennsylvania State Police started enforcing a court order that found the slot machine-like terminals fell under state gambling laws. 

PSP reported that just 68 places held onto the devices after Oct. 14 out of the 12,202 establishments they visited. The agency said it had seized 14 machines and $1,913, but investigations are ongoing. 

The Attorney General’s Office previously estimated there were as many as 70,000 skill games machines around the state, many providing a vital stream of income to gas stations, grocery stores and laundromats. 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in June that skill games must be regulated like other gaming, meaning the terminals could only be placed in businesses that are licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

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

Election Day might be behind us, but our coverage is just beginning. The Pennsylvania Capital-Star spent the election season helping people across the commonwealth make informed decisions through our voter guide.

Now, we’ll be following the results because everyone deserves to know what their elected leaders are doing in their name and how their policy decisions impact their communities.

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