Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania ends attempt at CO2 regulation, leaving questions on how to address climate change

Published

4 months ago

November 14, 2025

Pennsylvania ends attempt at CO2 regulation, leaving questions on how to address climate change

The six-year battle over Pennsylvania’s attempt to curb climate pollution has ended with a few lines of legislation in the latest state budget.

Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democrats agreed to repeal the regulation that allows Pennsylvania to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in order to pass the overdue state budget.

Republican lawmakers have long been opposed to RGGI. They repeatedly voted on bills to overturn the program and took the issue to court.

Nothing will practically change in Pennsylvania as a result of the repeal, but RGGI supporters and observers said the state is giving up the potential for significant climate action.

“The state has just lost the most immediate lever it could pull, and which would’ve done so in a significant, unprecedented way in Pennsylvania history to cut climate pollution, create jobs, and lower people’s electricity bills,” said Robert Routh, Pennsylvania policy lead for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The budget deal also leaves several questions about how and whether the state will address climate change and the legal avenues that are available.

Lost opportunity

RGGI is a collaborative effort between ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector. It requires power plants to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit.

With an added cost to pollute under RGGI, burning fossil fuels becomes more expensive and sources with no emissions, such as wind and solar, are more competitive.

Pennsylvania is a major energy state. It’s the second-largest gas-producing state, the top electricity exporter, and emits the fourth-largest amount of carbon dioxide in the country. Pennsylvania’s RGGI rule marked the first time a large fossil fuel producer put a price on carbon.

Carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. Climate scientists agree emissions must be cut dramatically and quickly to avoid the worst effects of climate change, which include heat waves, increased precipitation, and flooding.

Many opponents to joining RGGI argued that the program would prematurely kill coal-fired power plants, cost the state jobs, stifle its energy economy, and raise electricity bills.

But plant closures and higher bills have come without RGGI participation, and the state hasn’t raised any additional money that could be used to ease those problems.

“ Pennsylvania coal plants are going to shut down regardless of whether we enter RGGI or not,” said Akshaya Jha, an assistant professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Now, as projected power demands are growing because of a rise in data centers and other uses, Jha said the economics suggest more gas plants and renewable energy projects will be built.

Penn State professor Seth Blumsack, who has studied the impact of RGGI in Pennsylvania, said joining the program mattered a lot to people who care about climate emissions and local air quality.

“If you’re not going to join RGGI, what are you going to do?” he said.

Blumsack co-authored a paper that found RGGI would benefit Pennsylvania’s energy economy overall and lead to improved health outcomes. The report also found electricity prices would rise, but the amount of money raised through the auctions would be more than enough to offset those costs.

Now that RGGI is off the table, Blumsack said the state still needs to answer questions of how to deal with pollution from the electricity sector, as well as growing power demands and electricity bills.

Jha said regional efforts, such as RGGI, can have more of an impact on emissions than local efforts, which is important for tackling the global problem of climate change.

“We’ve got a loss of opportunity for regional collaboration on an important issue and it’s not clear that this would’ve had substantial costs on Pennsylvania, on Pennsylvanian residents, or even Pennsylvania industry,” Jha said.

Path forward

Environmentalists said there’s no one piece of legislation that can replace what RGGI could have done for the state.

During the budget bill signing, Gov. Shapiro said Senate Republicans have been using RGGI “as an excuse to stall substantive conversations about energy.”

“It’s time to look forward, and I’m going to be aggressive about pushing for policies that create more jobs in the energy sector, bring more clean energy onto the grid, and reduce the cost of energy for Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said.

It remains to be seen if Republicans will engage with Shapiro on his energy plans.

Shapiro distanced himself from RGGI during his campaign for governor. He proposed his own version of a cap and trade program for the power sector called the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Program (PACER), that would be specific to Pennsylvania.

Bills to create PACER were introduced in the state House and Senate earlier this year, but have not been called up for a vote.

Routh, with NRDC, said the text of the PACER proposal relies heavily on the language of the RGGI regulation, which Republicans have spent years criticizing.

“It is unclear whether the bill as written now could possibly function even if we are in the political fantasy scenario where that could get action in either the House or the Senate,” Routh said.

There are several other proposals in the legislature that could benefit the environment that should now get priority, said Tom Gilbert, president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Those bills include supporting new energy storage and energy efficiency projects, electric transmission upgrades, and building cleaner manufacturing.

“Many of these would have been directly supported by RGGI with guidance from all stakeholders, but our challenge now is to craft an interwoven set of policies that move our state forward,” Gilbert said.

As important as RGGI was to some, the program was always framed by advocates as a big first step. More will need to be done, they said, to lower emissions and encourage cleaner sources of energy.

What is RGGI, anyway?

Gov. Tom Wolf directed the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2019 to write a regulation that would allow Pennsylvania to join RGGI.

The cap and trade program sets a limit on the total amount of emissions allowed within the region and power plants must buy “allowances” or credits through an auction to cover their emissions. The cap decreases over time. Money raised from the sale of allowances can be used to boost clean energy efforts and with bill assistance for residents.

Fossil fuel industry groups and Republican lawmakers claimed that the money raised through RGGI would amount to an illegal tax. In Pennsylvania, only the legislative branch can enact taxes.

Wolf and the DEP said the allowance cost is a fee for doing business. DEP said it has the authority to collect the fee under Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act.

The regulation was finished in 2022, but Pennsylvania has never participated in the RGGI auctions. The rule was quickly put on hold by a Commonwealth Court judge until legal challenges could be heard.

In 2023, Commonwealth Court ruled the regulation was unconstitutional. The case was appealed to the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments in May.

On Thursday, the DEP filed an application to discontinue its appeal.

If the case is declared moot, environmental advocates said the legal questions around the program will remain unresolved.

“Regardless of which way the Supreme Court would have decided the case, it is highly valuable to have to have gotten clarity on the legal claims at issue here…to articulate further what the Supreme Court justices, how they view the Environmental Rights Amendment in the context of this regulation,” Routh said.

Source link

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA States – FloWrestling

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA States – FloWrestling

Is Pennsylvania the most wrestling-centric state in the country? Does the Keystone State have the most talent? Or even the top talent? Is it harder to win a state title there than anywhere else?

These all are terrific questions, and the answers may vary depending on who you ask and where they’re from, much like our nation’s great pizza debate, where the answers will vary by region.

What we do know for sure, is that Pennsylvania is well-represented in the 2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings, but with the 2026 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships on the horizon, where do the competitors rank amongst their peers?

If you follow high school wrestling, you’ve probably already heard many of the names, whether it was at past PIAA events, national tournaments, international competition, college recruiting news or signings, etc.

Now, here they are listed by weight class in FloWrestling’s latest Pennsylvania-only rankings.

Among the most recognizable are Bishop McCort senior Bo Bassett (152 pounds), his brother and teammate Melvin Miller (172 pounds) and Adam Waters (189 pounds) from rival school Faith Christian Academy.

As you get ready to see who takes home the titles at the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships, set for March 5-7 at GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, here’s a look at where everyone falls in the pecking order:

What Are The Weight Classes For High School Wrestling In Pennsylvania?

Boys: 107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285
Girls: 100, 106, 112, 118, 124, 130, 136, 142, 148, 155, 170, 190, 235

Pennsylvania High School Wrestling Rankings Before 2026 PIAA State Championships

As of Feb. 22, 2026

Boys

Girls

When Are The 2026 PIAA Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships?

The 2026 PIAA Boys & Girls Individual State Wrestling Championships will take place March 5-7, live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app.

The first girls wrestling champions in PIAA action were determined in 2024.

The road back to GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, began with regional competition across 12 sites (eight boys, four girls) in February (Feb. 20-21; Feb. 22; Feb. 27-28; Feb. 28)

Among the highlights at the 2025 event was Bassett winning his second individual PIAA state championship and helping Bishop McCort to a Class AA runner-up finish behind Faith Christian.

Read more: 2025 PIAA Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets

How To Watch The 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships

Live coverage of the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships on March 5-7 will be broadcast on FloWrestling and the FloSports app, with news, notes, stats and more available on both platforms.

Archives will be available immediately following the conclusion of each match.

If you’re going to be in the area and want to catch the action in person, click here for spectator and ticket information.

Read more: 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Schedule & Brackets

2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Brackets

Here’s where you’ll be able to find the brackets for the 2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships:

2026 PIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships Schedule

Here’s a look at when everything is going down:

All Times Eastern

Wednesday, March 4

4-7 p.m. – Media registration
4-7 p.m. – School registration (AA/Girls/AAA)
4-7 p.m. – Qualifying wrestlers’ workout (AA/Girls/AAA) (six mats)
6 p.m. – Officials’ meeting

Thursday, March 5 (Session 1)

7:30 a.m. – Media registration
7:30 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA)
7:30 a.m. – Late school registration (AA)
7:45 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA)
8 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA)
9 a.m. – Preliminaries and first round (AA), six mats (52/104 matches)
12:30 p.m. – First-round consolations (AA), six mats
12:30 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (Girls)
12:30 p.m. – Late school registration (Girls)
12:45 p.m. – Skin condition check (Girls)
1 p.m. – Weigh-ins (Girls)
2 p.m. – First round (Girls), six mats (104 matches)
3 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AAA)
3 p.m. – Late school registration (AAA)
3:15 p.m. – Skin condition check (AAA)
3:30 p.m. – Weigh-ins (AAA)
3:30 p.m. – First-round consolations (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
4:30 p.m. – Preliminaries and first round (AAA), six mats (52/104 matches)
8 p.m. – First-round consolations (AAA), six mats (52 matches)

Friday, March 6 (Session 2/Session 3)

6:30 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA)
6:45 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA)
7 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA)
8 a.m. – Quarterfinals (AA), three mats (52 matches)
8 a.m. – Second-round consolations (AA), three mats (52 matches)
10:15 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (Girls)
10:30 a.m. – Third-round consolations (AA), three mats (52 matches)
10:30 a.m. – Skin condition check (Girls)
10:45 a.m. – Weigh-ins (Girls)
11:45 a.m. – Quarterfinals (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
12:45 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AAA)
1 p.m. – Skin condition check (AAA)
1:15 p.m. – Weigh-ins (AAA)
1:15 p.m. – Second-round consolations (Girls), six mats (52 matches)
2:15 p.m. – Quarterfinals (AAA), three mats (52 matches)
2:15 p.m. – Second-round consolations (AAA), three mats (52 matches)
4:45 p.m. – Third-round consolations (AAA), six mats (52 matches)
6:15 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
7 p.m. – Semifinals (AA/Girls/AAA), 2/2/2 mats (26/26/26 matches)
9 p.m. – Fourth-round consolations (AA/AAA), 2/2 mats (26/26 matches)
9 p.m. – Third-round consolations (Girls), two mats (26 matches)

Saturday, March 7 (Session 4/Session 5)

8 a.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
8:15 a.m. – Skin condition check (AA/Girls/AAA)
8:30 a.m. – Weigh-ins (AA/Girls/AAA)
8:45 a.m. – Skin condition check, finalists (AA/Girls/AAA)
9 a.m. – Weigh-in, finalists (AA/Girls/AAA)
9:30 a.m. – Fifth-round consolations (AA/AAA), 2/2 mats (26/26 matches)
9:30 a.m. – Fourth-round consolations (Girls), 2 mats (26 matches)
11:30 a.m. – Third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches (AA/Girls/AAA), 2/2/2 mats (39/39/39 matches)
11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. – Admit coaches and contestants (AA/Girls/AAA)
3:40 p.m. – Parade of Champions (AA/Girls/AAA)
4 p.m. – Championship Finals (AA/Girls/AAA), 1/1/1 mats (13/13/13 matches)

When Was The 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships?

The 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships took place Feb. 6-7 at the 1st Summit Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and included 20 teams that survived the preliminary and first round of the tournament, which was held Feb. 3 at host schools across the state.

The advancing teams made their way to Johnstown for two more days of intense competition, with the 1st Summit Arena hosting the quarterfinals through the championship matches.

In Pennsylvania this year, there were 475 schools participating in boys wrestling.

They were divided into two classifications – 228 schools in AA and 247 schools in AAA – which are further split into 12 districts. Class AA is for schools with 1-308 male enrollees, and Class AAA wrestling includes schools with 309-9999 male students.

Read more: 2026 PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships Schedule & Brackets

Did You Know: PIAA Wrestling Has A Long History

The first state wrestling championships in Keystone State happened in 1938, while the girls were added to the action in 2024. The PIAA Team Wrestling State Championships debuted in 1999.

There are 14 four-time individual state champions in Pennsylvania. Another 30 have won three times.

2025-2026 FloWrestling High School Wrestling Rankings

Top 20 as of Feb. 18, 2026

Curious about how the top wrestlers from each state stack up against competitors from across the country?

Click here to see the latest high school rankings from FloWrestling.

FULL DUAL: Bishop McCort vs. Faith Christian | 2026 PIAA AA Team State Finals

Faith Christian has been dominant in team wrestling in Pennsylvania, and Bishop McCort keeps falling just short.

Trackwrestling Has Joined The New FloWrestling

Trackwrestling officially has merged with FloWrestling, bringing its powerful tournament tracking tools and live data into a modern, all-in-one platform.

Fans can follow every bout with pro-grade brackets, mat schedules, team rosters and detailed wrestler profiles—all seamlessly integrated within FloWrestling.

This move delivers a faster, smarter and more connected experience for the wrestling community. Through the updated FloSports app, users can track live results, explore brackets and even sign up for free alerts so they never miss a match.

FloWrestling Archived Footage

Video footage from all events on FloWrestling will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The State Wrestling Conversation On Social

Source link

Pennsylvania

Man cited after abandoning car in frozen pond at Pennsylvania country club: Police

Published

14 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Man cited after abandoning car in frozen pond at Pennsylvania country club: Police

A man has been cited after police said he drove a vehicle into a frozen pond at a country club in Pennsylvania, left the scene, then spent the night in a hotel.

According to the East Lampeter Township Police Department, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, around 10:38 a.m., officers were called to the Lancaster Country Club after receiving reports about a vehicle in a pond.

Police said that, through an investigation, it was learned that Sung Chun, a 50-year-old man from Hoboken, New Jersey, had driven onto the property the day before around 8:30 p.m., crossed portions of the golf course, and ultimately ended up in a pond.

Chun then exited the vehicle and walked away without reporting the incident and spent the night at a nearby hotel, according to police.

Credit: East Lampeter Township Police Department

Police said Chun returned to the location while police were on scene investigating the incident and was ultimately cited with “Trespass by Motor Vehicle.”

Source link

Pennsylvania

State College, Pennsylvania: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

State College, Pennsylvania: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards

In rural Pennsylvania, State College houses Penn State against a backdrop of beautiful country scenery. The university hosts many events, arts performances, and lively festivals that give the town year-round excitement that blends student life with local charm. Visitors can attend a football game, explore nearby parks and trails, and savor the town’s growing culinary scene of pubs and local eateries.

Source link