Pennsylvania category, Page 104
Pennsylvania fast-tracks $225M in pandemic aid to hospitals
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday fast-tracked legislation to spend $225 million to help hospitals struggling to keep staff on board as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has packed hospitals with unvaccinated patients. The bill has backing from Gov. Tom Wolf and House leaders, and was expected to...
Pennsylvania monkey truck crash spawns conspiracy theories after woman at scene falls illVideo
A Pennsylvania woman first on the scene of last week’s lab monkey truck crash near Danville is now the center of online conspiracy theories after falling ill. The Daily Mail reports the woman, Michele Fallon who lives near Danville, Montour County, is now suffering symptoms after one of the cynomolgus...
Trio of lawmakers calls for anti-discrimination statute after Chambersburg revokes LGBTG+ ordinanceVideo
The heads of Pennsylvania’s legislative LGBTQ+ Caucuses are calling on the General Assembly to enact a non-discriminatory statute one day after a borough became the first in the commonwealth to revoke such a measure at the local level. State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, Brian Sims, D-Phila., and Sen. Katie Muth,...
GOP-led Chambersburg becomes 1st Pa. town to revoke LGBTQ inclusive law
Chambersburg on Monday became the first municipal authority in the commonwealth to repeal protections for residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity. By a 7-3 Republican majority vote, the Chambersburg Borough Council made good on its pledge, repealing the ordinance citing a host of reasons,...
Pennsylvania rolls out ‘strike team’ to ease hospital crunch
SELLERSVILLE — Pennsylvania has deployed its first pandemic “strike team” of out-of-state health care workers to a suburban Philadelphia hospital under severe strain from covid-19, the state’s top health official announced Monday. The team, which includes nurses and respiratory therapists, started Saturday night at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville. Workers...
What delayed redistricting maps could mean for May primary in Pa.
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — The lawmakers in charge of drawing Pennsylvania’s new political maps...
Pa. state prison visits suspended amid covid-19 surge, staffing shortages
Citing the impact of the latest covid-19 surge on staffing, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will suspend in-person visits at all state prisons beginning Thursday through Feb. 28. “Staffing levels have been significantly impacted throughout the winter months by the same uptick in covid-19 cases that our communities are experiencing,”...
Central Pa. borough poised to become 1st to repeal LGBTQ protections
A central Pennsylvania borough is poised to become the first municipality to repeal anti-discrimination safeguards that protect residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity. The plan by Chambersburg Borough Council to vote Monday to rescind the anti-discrimination ordinance comes only four months after the borough...
All 100 lab monkeys accounted for after several escape crash
DANVILLE — The last of the escaped monkeys from the crash of a truck towing a trailer load of 100 of the animals was accounted for by late Saturday, a day after the pickup collided with a dump truck on a Pennsylvania highway, authorities said. Several monkeys had escaped following...
Sheetz now offers an unlimited ‘fryz’ subscription service
If you want it, you can most likely subscribe to it these days. This definitely rings true for movies, TV, music, groceries, food, and wine deliveries. Now Sheetz has thrown its hat in the subscription service ring, and fries are the focus. Sheetz now offers a subscription service for fries...
Wolf joins Pittsburgh leaders to tout Pennsylvania’s fiscal improvementsVideo
Gov. Tom Wolf joined Pittsburgh leaders Thursday at an event to promote fiscal improvements the state has seen during his tenure. Wolf joined Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald at the Energy Innovation Center in the Hill District — a site that Fitzgerald hailed as a...
Former Pa. House Speaker Mike Turzai declares he is not running for governor
For weeks, there was talk that former Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai was toying with the idea of jumping into the crowded field of Republicans competing to be the party’s gubernatorial nominee. This week, he declared he is not a candidate. In a statement, Turzai said, “While I did not...
Budd Dwyer’s suicide at press conference still shocks after 35 years
An unhinged politician. A room full of reporters and photographers. And a .357 magnum tucked in a manila envelope. These three volatile elements combusted on Jan. 22, 1987, into one of the most enduring and shocking episodes in Pennsylvania history. It began as a press conference in which everyone expected...
State Rep. Eric Nelson wants ‘natural immunity’ exemption for employer vaccine mandates
A Hempfield Republican is seeking support for a state bill that would exempt people who have been infected with covid-19 from employer mandates requiring covid vaccines and booster shots. State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, said he intends to introduce a bill in February that would allow workers with natural immunity...
Pennsylvania Senate passes bills aimed at ransomware, data breaches
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate passed a package of legislation on Wednesday aimed at preventing data security breaches and requiring victims and law enforcement officials to be notified when they do happen. The bills’ passage comes barely two weeks after the state’s unemployment compensation system acknowledged that hackers changed bank...
Report: Trump’s bid to overturn Pa. election results foiled by GOP’s ‘hedged’ wording on ‘fake’ elector ballots
Former President Donald Trump’s GOP electors in Pennsylvania weren’t willing to go all the way in the January 2021 bid by the ex-president’s campaign to overturn election results in as many as seven so-called “swing states.” As Lancasteronline reports, the bid in the commonwealth hit a snag because the state’s...
3 officers charged in shooting death of 8-year-old girl outside Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — Three police officers have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment after firing their weapons in the direction of a crowd of people exiting a high school football game outside of Philadelphia, killing an 8-year-old girl and injuring three people. A grand jury recommended the charges against the...
Pa. GOP answered Wolf vetoes with constitution changes in strategy that’s here to stay
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed more than 50 bills as he begins his final year in office, a number...
Pa. state police seize $72 million in illegal drugs in 2021
Cocaine’s comeback made a big leap in 2021, with Pennsylvania State Police confiscating nearly 1,000 pounds of the illegal drug. The 986 pounds seized by troopers last year, valued at $21.7 million, was more than the combined amount in 2020 (300 pounds) and 2019 (425 pounds.) In all, state police...
Mehmet Oz is spending millions on TV to boost his Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. He’s not alone in an ultra-wealthy GOP fieldVideo
PHILADELPHIA — If you live in Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance you’ve been seeing Mehmet Oz on your television — and not like you used to. The celebrity surgeon and former talk show host known as “Dr. Oz” is pouring millions of dollars into campaign ads as he runs for...
Pa. legislature’s redacted legal bills flout court ruling, leave taxpayers guessing
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — In May, GOP lawmakers who control the state House and Senate hired the chair of the Republican Party of...
Megan’s Law for nursing homes gaining traction in Harrisburg
A state lawmaker is making good on a promise to repair a flawed system that permits aging and ailing convicted sex offenders to quietly enter long-term care facilities — often unbeknownst to patients and staff — where some easily are finding their next victims. A bill set to be introduced...
Voters could be flooded with proposed changes to the Pa. Constitution in 2023
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters could face at least five ballot questions about changing the state constitution next year after House Republicans...
Court puts hold on GOP inspection of county voting machines
An inspection of voting machines in a heavily Republican county in Pennsylvania had been poised to go forward Friday until an 11th-hour appeal to the state Supreme Court by lawyers for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf put it on hold. The high court decision came hours after a state judge rejected...
Philadelphia-area hospitals are overwhelmed, but not only by covid-19 patients
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia-area hospitals are jammed with patients, but not always because they are truly sick enough to be there. Staff shortages at nursing homes and home care companies, difficulty finding dialysis slots for covid-19 patients, and even a lack of space in city homeless shelters are forcing hospitals to...
