The FBI has launched a corruption investigation into the Wolf Administration regarding its approval of a controversial pipeline project that stretches across the state, the Associated Press is reporting.

 

The nation’s top law enforcement agency is probing whether or not Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration forced staff at the Department of Environmental Protection to approve the Mariner East pipeline project, and whether or not Wolf or his staff received anything in return, according to the AP’s Marc Levy.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor on Tuesday said that an ethane cracker plant in southwestern Pennsylvania could play a role in transitioning the state toward an energy efficient future.

 

Speaking to KDKA Radio, Gov. Tom Wolf said that the Shell petrochemical complex in Beaver County will prove critical to producing materials needed to push Pennsylvania toward sustainable energy, including components for solar panels and electric vehicles. 

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto proposed his 2020 budget plan to city council during their Tuesday morning meeting. In a presentation that boasted progress from 2019, Peduto promised no tax increases and a plan that ensured the city’s continued growth in the year to come. 

The 2020 operating budget consists of a  $608 million operating budget and an $108 million capital budget. 

Economists, lawmakers and business owners have framed the state’s workforce needs in economic, political and moral terms. Now an advocacy group and the state’s adjutant general are arguing it may be an issue of national security as well.

A bipartisan cadre of lawmakers, former military officers and Gov. Tom Wolf gathered Tuesday to unveil a report from the state chapter of Mission Readiness, which argues the state’s workforce needs to be better trained and that more investment is needed in early childhood education, K-12 schooling and physical fitness for the commonwealth’s youth.

At least one candidate has announced their plans to take on Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the next election, with Pittsburgh lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh announcing Tuesday she plans to seek the GOP nomination in the race.

In addition to her work at the law firm Leech Tishman, Heidelbaugh also represented the Republican State Committee in a 2009 suit against the liberal activist group ACORN for voter fraud--a move that gained her national attention, including an appearance before a Congressional committee investigating the matter. She also served as an at-large member of Allegheny County Council from 2011 to 2015.