National Newspaper Week was celebrated at the Pennsylvania Capitol over two days, beginning Tuesday with the distribution of small gift bags to legislators that included an Americana-themed coaster and candy.
On Wednesday, 15 editors and publishers traveled to the Capitol for an action-packed Day on the Hill. The day began with meetings with local lawmakers, followed by remarks from House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Delaware/Philadelphia), House Local Government Committee Chairman Robert Freeman (D-Northampton) and Rep. Justin Fleming (D-Dauphin).
The group then gathered in the ornate House chamber, where McClinton recognized them from the rostrum while they were seated in the gallery. From there, they headed to the Governor’s Reception Room, where Will Simons, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s communications director, discussed the wide-ranging responsibilities of his role.
Capitol Historian Jason Wilson provided a lunchtime presentation on the history of the Ryan Office Building, the oldest structure on the Capitol Complex. Later, the group met briefly with Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, toured his Capitol office and took in the sweeping view of State Street down to the Susquehanna River from its balcony.
The day continued with visits to the stately Senate chamber and Senate Library before concluding with an hourlong tour of the Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Vault. The vault houses an eclectic collection of unclaimed items, including military medals, jewelry, guitars and other valuables left behind by Pennsylvanians.
Although unclaimed cash is not stored in the vault, Treasury staff told the group that the newspapers represented on the tour collectively have about $54,000 in unclaimed funds waiting to be recovered from the state.
To download pictures from the day, click here.
To download pictures from our tour of the Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Vault, click here.
More Photos from PNA’s Day on the Hill
