Max Baer, the chief justice of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, died on Friday at the age of 74, months before he was set to retire after two decades on the court.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was the first to report the news.

Justice Debra Todd is now the first female chief justice in state history. 

An appointment will be made to replace Baer, but the question is by who.

THE CONTEXT: Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) supports outgoing Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf filling the vacancy in the closing months of his administration. It's unclear if he will.

Any appointment by Wolf would require two-thirds support from the Republican-led state Senate, and with mere days left in the legislative session, lawmakers told PennLive that's unlikely to happen.

If it doesn't, the next governor of Pennsylvania, who will be chosen by voters in next month's general election, will be left to fill the pivotal vacancy before voters pick Baer's replacement in 2023 for a 10-year term.

Baer was part of a 5-2 (now 4-2) Democratic majority on the high court that upheld Pennsylvania's expanded mail voting law, a decision that only further fueled Republican criticism of the court. 

Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University law professor and an expert on Pennsylvania's high court, told Spotlight PA's Stephen Caruso that Baer was a "consensus builder" who "tried to differ and find a middle path." 

Wolf has ordered state flags at half-staff. A public memorial service for Baer will be held at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

PAPER CHASE: Before Buzzfeed-branded airport stores there was a Philadelphia Tribune-branded airport store. The "oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the country" launched its shop in 2020 on its home turf. Apparently, the idea is catching on. 

IN MEMORIAM: Clarence Smoyer, a Carbon County native and World War II tank gunner whose destruction of a fearsome Nazi tank in a duel was caught on film and shown in newsreels around the world, died at his home in Allentown on Friday, the Morning Call (paywall) reports. He was 99. 

LOGO LIFT: The convenience store chain Wawa is accusing Democratic New Jersey congressional candidate Matt Jenkins of copying their goose logo and using it in his campaign, Politico reports. A cease-and-desist letter has been issued. Jenkins told Politico any similarities are coincidental.

FALL FEST: I was in the northern tier over the weekend and there was lots of color popping on the trees. Here's the leaf-peeping forecast for your neck of the woods, via the state's weekly fall foliage report.

FOOD FIGHT: This Reddit post about a Blair County hoagie topped with a mountain of onions — that look like sauerkraut — touched off a feisty debate in the comments about what a "true Pennsylvania hoagie" is.