https://twitter.com/pghpolice/status/1480649849146167296?s=21

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The death toll was adjusted Monday to 17 people, including eight children. That’s down from the 19 deaths initially reported. Fifteen others remain in critical condition.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2022/01/10/bronx-deadly-fire-investigation/

HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court declined Monday to block an entire subpoena to state election officials in what Republican state lawmakers call a “forensic investigation” of 2020′s presidential election, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that Democrats stole the election.

But the statewide Commonwealth Court that issued the seven-page order did not immediately greenlight the release of some information that Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro challenged as being protected by privacy laws.

https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-election-subpoena-court-20220111-dwjzgv72ezhefpkjblsxdwsn4a-story.html

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A special election in the 5th Pennsylvania Senate district has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, the day of the primary election.

The election is being held to complete the term of former Sen. John Sabatina Jr., who resigned after he was elected in November to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said Saturday that the vote was scheduled on the primary election day for the convenience of voters and to save taxpayer money.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/pennsylvania/articles/2022-01-08/special-election-slated-for-pennsylvania-5th-senate-district

Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler announced Monday that a special election will be held April 5 to fill the state House seat vacated by now-Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey.

Cutler is also expected to call for a special election to fill the seat vacated by Jake Wheatley, who will be Gainey’s new chief of staff.

Gainey, 51, of Lincoln-Lemington, was in his fifth term in Harrisburg, while Wheatley, 50, of the Hill District, was in his 10th.

Gainey became Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor when he was sworn in last week and soon after named Wheatley as his chief of staff.

Special elections are typically held on the same day as the next primary or general election, said Mike Straub, a Cutler spokesman. The ongoing redistricting process complicated that.

In the May primary election, voters will be voting based on new, redistricted maps that reflect the 2020 census. That means the geographic areas comprising those districts will be slightly different.

In the special election, voters will be choosing candidates to represent the 24th (Gainey’s former district) and 19th (Wheatley) districts as they are currently laid out. Gainey’s district includes part of Pittsburgh and neighboring Wilkinsburg, while Wheatley’s district also includes part of Pittsburgh.

“This special election is to complete the term under the current, or old, map,” Cutler said of the special election to replace Gainey. “Therefore, holding the election on its own unique date, and not coinciding this special election with the primary, eliminates potential confusion for voters.”

Having a special election is imperative because, without one, people living in the two legislative districts would have no representation until early next year, said G. Terry Madonna, senior fellow in residence for political affairs at Millersville University.

It is unclear when the special election to fill Wheatley’s seat will be held.

Holding the special election the same day as the primary could boost voter turnout, said Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College.

https://triblive.com/news/politics-election/special-elections-planned-to-fill-legislative-seats-left-by-pittsburgh-mayor-ed-gainey-jake-wheatley/

HARRISBURG — In May, GOP lawmakers who control the state House and Senate hired the chair of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania to represent them in legal matters at $575 an hour.

Within three weeks, Lawrence Tabas — one of the state’s top election lawyers — and his law firm had charged the chambers more than $36,000 for 78 hours of work, records show.

What Tabas did for the legislature, however, is a mystery.

Republican leaders redacted all details about his work from his contract and other public records, continuing into 2021 a stubborn pattern of secrecy surrounding the legislature’s agreements with private lawyers, an ongoing review by The Caucus and Spotlight PA shows.

In eight cases that began in 2021, or continued to be billed that year, the House and Senate wholly blacked out the reasons for hiring the private law firm, records obtained through a Right-to-Know request show. In other cases, lawmakers drafted the contract with the outside law firms using language so vague that it is impossible to tell what the case was about.

In doing so, those leaders have continued to flout a 2013 decision by the state’s highest court that ruled general descriptions of legal services, and the identity of who is being represented, are public information. The Caucus and Spotlight PA are appealing the redactions.

“Where the taxpayers are footing the bill for the legal services, they are entitled to know the general nature of the services provided for the fees charged,” a panel of Commonwealth Court judges wrote following the state Supreme Court’s decision.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/01/pa-legislatures-redacted-legal-bills-flout-court-ruling-leave-taxpayers-guessing.html