MONROE UNFILTERED: THE DAILY BUZZ | July 14
Fetterman Boasts about His Role in the Housing Bill, Swift(water) Justice, and McCormick’s Pennsylvania Tour
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
DAILY WEATHER
As Glenn Frey sang in Beverly Hills Cop, “The Heat is On.” It will be sunny, hot and dry today, with a high near 95°F, a low around 74°F and a light breeze (just a little air moving, but nothing to worry about). Hold onto your water bottles, because Wednesday brings a Heat Advisory from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the mercury topping out near 96°F. Truth be told, I don’t see why they don’t have one for today as well. Thursday eases back ever so slightly to 92°F. All the same hot weather warnings apply: keep cool, hydrate, and keep an eye on your neighbors.
Friday we finally dip below 90°F (don’t get too excited; we’ll settle at 88°F). The weekend will cool but brings some possible rainstorms as well: Saturday and Sunday both carry a coin-flip chance of afternoon thunderstorms (44% and 47%), with highs dropping into the low-to-mid 80s. As always, weekend forecasts are subject to change!
THE LEAD STORY: A HOUSING BILL BECOMES LAW, NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED
Remember the housing bill we first flagged back on June 30? Well, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law last Friday, after President Trump let a 10-day constitutional clock run out without either signing or vetoing it. The President had spent weeks calling the bill a "yawn" and holding it hostage to a separate, unrelated voter-ID measure that has stalled in the Senate. Congress didn't blink. The bill cleared the House 358-32 and the Senate 85-5 back in June.
The hometown angle: it includes two provisions authored by Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman. The Whole-Home Repairs Act is modeled on Pennsylvania's own program helping homeowners and small landlords fix up aging houses. The Housing Supply Frameworks Act is aimed at getting local zoning out of the way of new construction. Representative Rob Bresnahan was an early backer of the House version.
What it actually does: eases building rules, funds new housing supply, streamlines environmental review, cuts costs for manufactured homes, and includes provisions intended to discourage large institutional investors from acquiring single-family homes. Housing policy experts caution that most of it depends on how federal agencies implement it, so don't expect overnight relief. But for a county where "starter home" has become something of a punchline, a law aimed at loosening supply and reining in investor buyers is worth watching.
THE VIEW FROM THE 8TH
DC's Frequent Flyer Skips Monroe, Again. Senator Dave McCormick wrapped an 11-day, 32-stop tour late last week that his office says completed a full sweep of all 67 Pennsylvania counties since he took office. The itinerary swung through both of our smaller neighbors, Pike County (a stop at the Resort at Woodloch) and Wayne County (a community reception), on Day 4 alone. Monroe didn't make the cut this time; the senator's most recent confirmed public stop in Monroe County that we could find was back in August 2025 when he toured the Tobyhanna Army Depot. His office's tally of 297 statewide stops isn't published county-by-county, so that was our best estimate.
The Odd Couple Take a Bow. Separately, Senators McCormick and Fetterman's offices say Pennsylvania's privately funded pavilion, the one the two senators teamed up to sponsor at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, received a "Best in Show" honor at the closing ceremony. Not exactly high diplomacy, but we’ll celebrate any genuine bipartisan win.
WHAT WERE YA THINKIN’
Swift Justice in Swiftwater. Pocono Township Police say two masked men robbed the Sheetz in Swiftwater at gunpoint around 3 a.m. Sunday, grabbing an employee and ordering another to empty the register and hand over cartons of cigarettes. A witness followed their vehicle and gave police a description. Officers pulled surveillance footage and put out a lookout. About 20 minutes later, Pocono Mountain Regional Police located the vehicle in Mount Pocono and made the stop. Andre Knighton and Anthony Pena-Vega were taken into custody and are awaiting arraignment at the Monroe County Correctional Facility. Efficient work all around, even if the getaway plan left something to be desired.