The Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Week in Focus for January 9, 2025

Описание: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s parent company says the paper will stop publishing in May.

Where does your Pennsylvania lawmaker stand on strikes in Venezuela?

This and more in the Week in Focus for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

First up,  After a years-long legal battle with its newsroom union, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s parent company says the paper will close in May, affecting both the print and digital operations. Parent company Block Communications says the decision was driven by recent court rulings against the Post-Gazette and in favor of the newsroom union.

The PG was founded in the 18th century as the Pittsburgh Gazette and is the oldest newspaper west of the Allegheny mountains.  

This comes after the Post-Gazette lost a major legal battle with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, representing workers who were on strike for more than three years. The company says court rulings would force it to operate under a 2014 union contract it calls outdated — and claims it’s lost more than $350 million over the past 20 years.

The announcement landed the same day the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a lower court order restoring that contract. 

The president of the national NewsGuild, says the owners would rather ‘destroy a long-standing newspaper’ than follow federal labor law — after spending millions fighting their own journalists.

He says the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh represents about 100 Post-Gazette workers.

Co-owner Allan Block declined to comment, hanging up when contacted.

Next up, Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation is mostly splitting along party lines over the Trump administration’s move to seize Venezuela’s president — with a few notable exceptions.

As Democrats warn the strike bypassed Congress and the Constitution, Republicans mostly praised it as a precise law enforcement action, not a war. Pennsylvania U-S Sen. John Fetterman stands out as a leading Democratic supporter of the strike while GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mackenzie break ranks, urging caution and a bigger role for Congress.

Neither Sen. Fetterman or Republican Sen. Dave McCormick responded to Capital-Star when asked to comment, but several others have included Democratic Rep. Summer Lee who shared via email that “We must pass a War Powers Resolution and stop this unilateral executive action immediately.” 

Republican Rob Bresnahan shared this statement via email: “Nicolás Maduro is a thug who stole an election and ran a narcoterrorist regime disguised as a government that spread violence, drugs, and chaos that cost thousands of American lives. The world is safer today because the United States acted decisively and stood up to evil.” 

And finally, in some 300 days, Pennsylvania voters will decide whether to reelect Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro for a second term.

Shapiro has been rising politically for over 20 years without losing an election and many expect him to eye a 2028 presidential run. Voters will judge his record — from three late budgets to a sexual harassment scandal involving a top aide — but experts say he has broad appeal 

Shapiro’s likely November opponent is Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a retired Army officer and business executive in her second term managing Pennsylvania’s finances.

I’m Natalie Bencivenga and this was your Week in Focus.