Pennsylvania category, Page 132
Pennsylvania will lose a U.S. House seat after redistricting
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 will lose one of its seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Census Bureau has confirmed, setting...
Pennsylvania officials set sights on vaccinating homebound residents
As the pace of covid-19 vaccinations continues to accelerate in Pennsylvania, state officials have turned their attention to people who are unable to leave their homes. “Now we’re at the point where supply is coming close to demand,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday during a news conference in Reading. “We...
Judge sets hearing on former Penn State president Graham Spanier’s pending jail sentence
HARRISBURG — Graham Spanier’s lawyers are expected to be in a Pennsylvania courtroom next month as a judge considers whether the former Penn State president should have to report to jail to start serving his sentence related to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. Dauphin County President Judge John F....
Allegheny County posts lowest single-day covid case report in 6 months
For the first time since Oct. 26, Allegheny County has posted a single-day covid case number below 100. Monday’s report by the Allegheny County Health Department shows 94 new coronavirus cases, something that hasn’t happened in the past six months. While health officials have often said Monday’s case counts are...
Prototype of 1st U.S. dollar coins auctioned for $840,000
A piece of copper that was struck by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1794 and was a prototype for the fledgling nation’s money was auctioned off for $840,000, considerably more than expected, an official said. Heritage auctions spokesman Eric Bradley said the “No Stars Flowing Hair Dollar” opened at...
Last week of April honors ‘father of Pennsylvania forestry,’ Joseph T. Rothrock
Joseph T. Rothrock dedicated much of his life to educating Pennsylvanians about the importance of the forests and natural areas that were once much more abundant in the Keystone State. Born in 1839 in Mifflin County, Rothrock began his career as a botanist and surgeon before starting the “Michaux Forestry...
Why it’s dangerous that workers in Pa. prisons, covid-19 hot spots, aren’t getting vaccinated
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 — A delayed upgrade to the state Department of Corrections’ dashboard on covid-19 rates in prisons has revealed that only...
Relief for child sex abuse survivors revived in Pa. Senate after Wolf administration error
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — A key state Senate committee on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to temporarily allow survivors of decades-old child sexual abuse...
Your guide to Pa.’s 2021 primary ballot questions
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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. All Pennsylvania voters — yes, that includes independents and minor-party members — will be asked to consider four ballot questions on...
Pennsylvania sees new trend in covid hospitalizations: 3 days of decline
To start the month, the state had increases in covid hospitalizations in 13 of the first 14 days of April. But a trend in the last few days shows numbers going the other way, with hospitalizations in Pennsylvania dropping by about 6% since Wednesday. Pennsylvania The state had 2,656 covid-19...
Covid cases taper in Pa., but deaths, hospitalizations remain a concern
Pennsylvania continues to see the coronavirus claim lives and put people in the hospital at a rising rate, even as reported cases of covid-19 trend downward. Cases Pennsylvania on Friday reported 4,188 additional cases of covid-19, the fewest in four days. The seven-day average of cases dropped to 4,050, the...
Authorities believe remains are those of missing Amish teen Linda StoltzfoosVideo
LANCASTER — Authorities strongly believe that remains found a day earlier in a grave along railroad tracks in southern Pennsylvania are those of a young Amish woman who disappeared last summer, a county prosecutor said Thursday. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams told a news conference that a coroner has...
State police seize $17.7 million worth of illegal drugs during first 3 months of 2021Video
State police seized nearly $5.6 million worth of cocaine during the first three months of 2021. Troopers seized 253 pounds of cocaine in January, February and March, according to state police data. That’s almost as much of the drug as troopers confiscated during all of 2020. The number of drug...
Covid case numbers continue to decline in Pennsylvania
For the fourth straight day, Pennsylvania’s new covid-19 case report reduces the seven-day case average — something that hasn’t happened since early March. It’s a hopeful sign, considering that from March 9, when the most recent covid-case surge began, through April 18, the state managed to lower its seven-day case...
Police: Rite Aid employee steals more than $38K in lottery tickets in Jackson Township
A 29-year-old Pennsylvania woman is facing felony theft charges after she allegedly stole more than $38,000 in lottery tickets while she was working at a Rite Aid in Jackson Township. Danielle Elaine Miller, of the first block of Lawson Court, West Manchester Township, is charged with theft by unlawful taking...
10 months after Amish woman Linda Stoltzfoos disappeared, human remains found in rural Lancaster County
Investigators searching rural Lancaster County have found human remains in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos, authorities announced Wednesday. Stoltzfoos was reported missing on June 21, 2020, and 34-year-old Justo Smoker was charged with her kidnapping and death last year. The Lancaster District Attorney’s Office said...
Man pumping gas at Lehigh County convenience store killed, shooter deadVideo
ALLENTOWN — A man opened fire early Wednesday at a convenience store in Pennsylvania, apparently at random, killing a truck driver who was pumping gas and wounding another man before taking his own life, officials said. The man had first shot at a car on a highway several miles away...
Allegheny County’s covid case average drops to lowest in month
Allegheny County reported 340 more covid cases on Wednesday, as weekly numbers returned to lower averages. The county’s seven-day average of new cases dropped from 491 on Tuesday to 351 on Wednesday. It’s the lowest seven-day average since 326 on March 25. For the month, the county is averaging 436...
Key GOP lawmaker eyes photo ID, signature matching as Pa. considers voting changes
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. HARRISBURG — Local officials charged with implementing any changes lawmakers might make to Pennsylvania’s Election Code are begging Democrats...
Medical marijuana program in Pa. celebrates 5-year anniversary
Diana Briggs remembers the days when her son Ryan suffered through 400 seizures a day. She believes the legalization of medical marijuana — five years ago — in Pennsylvania changed his life. Ryan, who went through a medical emergency at birth 21 years ago, is now a special-needs adult with...
Trio of Pa. bills addresses gaps in drug rehabilitation process
Pennsylvania legislators unanimously passed several bills Tuesday aimed at ensuring that friends and family of people struggling with addiction issues are kept “in the loop,” so to speak. House Bill 944, written by State Reps. Mark Longietti, D-Mercer, and Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, would require in-patient rehabilitation facilities to notify a...
Pa. highway deaths rose in 2020 despite less traffic
Statewide traffic deaths increased in 2020 from the record low set in 2019 despite a 20% decrease in traffic, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT reported 1,129 highway fatalities in 2020, up 79 from the 1,059 recorded in 2019. That 6.6% increase is similar to the national estimate...
Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County see most reported covid deaths in months
Months-long highs for covid deaths were reported Tuesday in Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County. The additional covid deaths also continued a trend that has been going on at the state and county level for two and three months, respectively. Deaths Pennsylvania on Tuesday reported the most additional covid deaths since late...
4 referendums to appear on primary ballots in May; all registered voters eligible
All 8.8 million of Pennsylvania’s registered voters will be able to cast ballots on May 18, when four referendums will appear, including three that seek the change the state’s constitution. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 3. Voters will have until 5 p.m. May 11...
Pa. pensions board votes to raise rates for 94K school employees
HARRISBURG — The board of Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system on Monday night voted to raise contribution rates for tens of thousands of public school employees after a mistake in a calculation of the fund’s long-term investment performance was revealed last month. The board of the $64 billion Public School...
