Author

A 3-decade veteran of the news business, John L. Micek is the Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning political reporter, Micek’s career has taken him from small town meetings and Chicago City Hall to Congress and the Pennsylvania Capitol. His weekly column on U.S. politics is syndicated to 800 newspapers nationwide by Cagle Syndicate. He also contributes commentary and analysis to broadcast outlets in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Micek’s first novel, “Ordinary Angels,” was released in 2019 by Sunbury Press.
Huge $1.7T spending package passes in U.S. Senate with bipartisan backing
By: Jennifer Shutt and John L. Micek - December 22, 2022
Casting his last vote in Washington, Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, of Pa., opposed the bill.
Citing Medicaid costs, GOP governors call for an end to pandemic public health emergency
By: Clark Kauffman and John L. Micek - December 22, 2022
'It is time we move on from the pandemic,” the governors’ Monday letter argued.
The ACLU-Pa.’s Reggie Shuford is leaving | Thursday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - December 22, 2022
(*This story was updated at 8:25 a.m. on Thursday, 12/21/22 to clarify information around an email that Reggie Shuford sent to the ACLU’s members and supporters about his decision to step down.) After more than a decade on the frontlines of some of the state’s preeminent civil liberties and political battles, Reggie Shuford, the executive director […]
Feds sending Pa. $98M for health infrastructure upgrades | Wednesday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - December 21, 2022
The money will be used to pay for staffing and planning upgrades, as well as data modernization, the state's top public health official said.
In Philly, other cities the ‘starter’ home is disappearing | Tuesday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - December 20, 2022
In too many American cities, renters can't make the leap to homeownership, recent data shows.
Pa. residents bought nearly 71K guns in November, data show | Monday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - December 19, 2022
Nationwide, Americans bought about 1.36M guns last month, according to an analysis of FBI data.
Botched executions reached ‘astonishing’ high in 2022, report finds
By: John L. Micek - December 18, 2022
Two more death row prisoners were exonerated in 2022, even as society’s ultimate sanction became more geographically isolated, with only a handful of states carrying out executions in the last year, according to a new report. The number of botched executions also reached an “astonishing” level, according to the research by the Death Penalty Information […]
GOP is ‘bigger’ than one man, Pa. Sen. Toomey says in farewell remarks | Friday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek and Peter Hall - December 16, 2022
The Lehigh Valley lawmaker, who is retiring, reflected on his 12 years representing the state.
A new Congress? The same low expectations | Thursday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - December 15, 2022
Will divided government yield greater results? Voters aren’t sold, according to a new poll.
Federal marriage protection law is a win, but ‘more work remains,’ Pa. Rep. Benham says in D.C.
By: Jennifer Shutt and John L. Micek - December 14, 2022
At the White House, President Joe Biden signs law extending historic marriage protections to same-sex and interracial couples.
Wolf admin announces $5M for traffic signal tech to make Pa. roads safer | Wednesday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - December 14, 2022
Twenty Pa. municipalities will benefit from the money, Gov. Tom Wolf's office said.
Pa. U.S. Rep. Scott Perry among lawmakers on text chain about efforts to overturn 2020 election
By: John L. Micek - December 13, 2022
Perry, the chair of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, was one of the most active correspondents on the text chain.