Supremes schedule Sept. hearing on new Pa. maps

Mark your calendars: the state Supreme Court has scheduled a Sept. 13 hearing for the dozen challenges filed against the revised district maps for the state House and Senate. 

According to the schedule released this morning, the challenges will be heard during the court's session in Philadelphia.

New maps were approved in June after Pennsylvania's top court in January threw out an earlier update to district boundaries, which must be redrawn each decade to account for population shifts.

Earlier protests against the first set of maps -- arguing that mapmakers split too many political subdivisions into separate legislative districts -- drew limited attention during the January court session, but after that historic result, you can expect a closer focus on next month's hearing.