More than a decade ago, when the state Public Utility Commission was first considering how to adopt a new anti-terrorism law to keep infrastructural designs confidential, critics spoke about the need for balance.

The secrecy, meant to protect vulnerabilities, could also create unintended risks, and critics had said the commission needed a system to ensure that powerful utility companies did not take advantage.

Now, there is bipartisan agreement that those concerns have come to pass, Spotlight PA reports. Some of the protections meant to ensure that the law was working have fallen by the wayside. Yet, a recent decision by Commonwealth Court could make the law stronger than ever, making it even harder and more expensive for residents to challenge what remains confidential.

Despite a consensus, powerful special interests are standing in the way of major changes.

THE CONTEXT: The law, known as the CSI Act, was implemented before the fracking boom in Pennsylvania, which led to a proliferation of pipelines, most notably the Mariner East system.

A Spotlight PA investigation found that the law has at times prevented people who live near the pipelines from getting the safety information they need to draft detailed emergency plans should disaster strike.

Two lawmakers introduced legislation last year that would abolish the CSI Act and depend instead on the state's Right-to-Know Law. But little has happened.

“We are an energy state, and I understand people don’t want to quote-unquote kill the goose that laid the golden egg," one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Chris Quinn (R., Delaware), said. “I don’t see us making any broad, drastic 180 on some of our current policies. But we can move things and improve things.”

"These college kids are like, ‘Whatever, I’m not going to get [COVID].'"

— Mummer Justyn Myers said his brigade, the Lobster Club, won't be marching on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia, but several thousand others say they will despite the official parade's cancelation 

SLICE OF HISTORY: As a public service, The York Dispatch has digitized its archive and made it available via Newspapers.com. This is great news not only for Pennsylvania but for me personally, since I love to search for strange, old stories like this one about a Pittsburgh man who drunkenly stole a streetcar.  In 2018, I dug through newspaper archives for decades-old letters from Pennsylvania kids to Santa and found a gem from a “considerate urchin” in Scranton who reminded Santa not to "burn your wiskers."

WANTED: The Pennsylvania State Police is looking for people to donate horses for its mounted units. The animals "must have quiet, sound dispositions and be free of serious stable vices," so please don't try to give away your chatty, annoying stallion. 

TAKE 5: Instead of doomscrolling last night, I played with Google's "Blob Opera" for a truly ridiculous amount of time. You don't have to know how to read music (or even have a good ear) to get sucked in.

PAINFUL PAST: I was only a little kid at the time, but the memory of visiting the Philadelphia Zoo soon after the 1995 Christmas Eve fire is still clear in my mind. As we approach the 25th anniversary, Philadelphia magazine examines the legacy of the blaze that killed 23 primates.

CHRISTMAS CITY, PA: A Los Angeles Times journalist from Bethlehem, Pa. walked around her hometown to see just how Christmas-y it really is. Apparently, there's a Live Advent Calendar (sure, why not?), a human Santa Claus kept safely behind glass (because, COVID-19), and extremely high-alcohol, local beer. Sounds like a lovely place to spend a holiday.