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A daily newsletter by  |
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| Today: Casino gamble, email access, new accusers, on the road, Shapiro speculation, hospitals for sale, and the Olympics. Welcome to August. |
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Casino owners say a state tax on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because it isn't also imposed on unregulated — but increasingly common — skill games. They've asked the state's high court to weigh in, endangering more than $1 billion in annual tax revenue, the Associated Press reports.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, asks the state Supreme Court to force parity or bar the state from collecting taxes on slot machines altogether.
It's the latest salvo in a pressure campaign by casino interests to see skill games — eyed as a growing source of competition — reined in.
The lawsuit comes weeks after the finalization of a state budget that did not include new taxes on skill games as some lawmakers — and the governor — had wanted. The issue was ultimately tabled.
Wealthy interests on both sides of the issue have spent years throwing their weight around, wooing lawmakers, and, in at least one case, drafting related legislation for them through lobbyists and lawyers. |
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NOTABLE / QUOTABLE
“We will begin the largest deportation operation in American history.”
—Former President Donald Trump in Harrisburg on Wednesday, his first Pennsylvania rally since the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler |
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| A hermit thrush in Clear Creek State Park, via @john_mccullough_photography. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
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 WATER WORDS: The State College Borough Water Authority attempted to take over Rock Spring Water Company's troubled, leak-prone system in 2023, but talks fell through with little explanation. Spotlight PA obtained emails after the water authority denied a related public records request. Here's what the correspondence shows.   LEGAL LOOPHOLE: More than seven years after Pennsylvania banned the spread of toxic and potentially radioactive fracking wastewater on dusty or icy roads, Grist reports the practice persists. "Conventional oil and gas companies have found a loophole that allows them to skirt these rules with impunity," the outlet writes. |
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UNDER REVIEW: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear arguments in the death of Philadelphia teacher Ellen Greenberg, whose family is challenging the finding on her death certificate, or as one attorney put it to CBS3: "Whether coroners and medical examiners have absolute power."
FREE FILING: Pennsylvania is opting into the Internal Revenue Service’s free online platform for filing federal taxes, Direct File. Here's why Gov. Shapiro calls it a "game changer," via the Capital-Star.
ROAD WARRIOR: Meet Mason Jones, aka "Mason the Guardrail Kid," a Lancaster County 12-year-old whose crusade to get dangerous Pennsylvania guardrails fixed has earned him some 26,000 TikTok followers.
'CLARK KENT': Fan-favorite Stephen Nedoroscik, whose pummel horse pummeling helped propel Team USA to a men's gymnastics bronze medal in this Olympics, is a Penn State grad and Rubik's Cube ace.
UNDERDOGS: Half of the USA's women's field hockey team in this Olympics is from Pennsylvania. They're an underdog to watch as they vie for the first U.S. medal in the sport since 1984. Their next game is today. |
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Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted. Please include your first name and last initial. A Z L I U C I Q Z
Yesterday's answer: Tigress
Congrats to our daily winners: Eric F., Marty M., Carolyn R., Ada M., Bob G., Jane R., Barb K., Bonnie M., Barbara F., Bob C., Irene R., Martha O., Stacy S., Julie K., Daniel M., Jon W., Rosemary C., Starr B., Beth T., Don H., MaryLou P., Kimberly B., Elaine C., Jeff F., Carol T., Rhonda B., Judith D., Beth H., Timothy A., David T., John P., Perry H., Richard A., Marie B., Michael T., Nancy H., Kimberly D., Jeffrey F., Ed M., Annette I., Wendy A., Louie C., Johnny C., Richard P., Susan N.-Z., Jill C., Beth Y., Jodi M., Dan E., Tish M., Tom M., Rich C., David W., Shelley D., Rick D., Stanley J., and Robert E.
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THE VEEPSTAKES: Speculation is ramping up about Gov. Josh Shapiro's future as Kamala Harris' running mate following reports of a VP launch in Philadelphia next week. A national women's group is urging Harris to "
HOSPITAL SALE: Community Health Systems is leaving Pennsylvania altogether and