Pennsylvania category, Page 138
In Pennsylvania, Biden to highlight aid to small businesses
WASHINGTON — After opening his presidency by playing down expectations for combating the pandemic, President Joe Biden and his top messengers are touring the country to raise hopes over his $1.9 trillion relief package. The president — as well as his vice president and his wife — is promising that...
FBI says Pennsylvania woman filmed inside Capitol on Jan. 6
SCRANTON — A Pennsylvania woman allegedly cheered on rioters as they stormed into the U.S. Capitol in early January and was photographed in a trashed conference room inside the building, the FBI said in a newly unsealed affidavit. Annie C. Howell of Swoyersville was charged earlier this month with trespassing,...
Allegheny County’s covid hospitalization number drops to October level
Allegheny County has its fewest number of covid-19 patients hospitalized since October, according to the latest state Department of Health data. On Tuesday, there were 135 covid patients hospitalized, down from 153 on Monday. That number has decreased since 172 were hospitalized on Thursday. Tuesday’s number was the lowest since...
Pa. lawmaker wants license plate stickers reinstated, saying state loses millions without them
Some Pennsylvania lawmakers don’t want new bridge tolls to help fund PennDOT projects, but one lawmaker thinks some old technology could help the funding woes — license plate registration stickers. PennDOT stopped issuing the registration expiration stickers in January 2017 to save money. The department estimated the move would save...
Pa. House spends $445,000 for 2 meeting rooms, but conservatives said it was needed
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives spent nearly $500,000 to allow it to do more of what government does a lot: hold meetings. That money was used to renovate two old courtrooms that had been sitting vacant for over a decade and transform them into large meeting rooms to accommodate more...
Pa. lawmakers launch new push for child sex abuse lawsuit window
Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday launched a rarely used emergency process to amend the state constitution, advancing a proposal that would give victims of child sexual abuse a two-year window to file otherwise outdated civil lawsuits. The House Judiciary Committee voted for the amendment, drafted because the Department of State under...
Partisan Pa. websites masquerading as local news threaten trust in journalism, new report finds
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 — The majority of news outlets in Pennsylvania rank high on trustworthiness, but there is a growing crop of digital...
Wolf: Bar service in Pa. to return, alcohol curfew to lift on Easter
Pennsylvania bars and restaurants can resume bar service, sell alcohol without a food purchase and operate at 75% capacity beginning April 4, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. The curfew on alcohol sales also will be lifted. Currently, bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. and clear tables...
Pennsylvania surpasses 11% fully vaccinated for covid
More than 1.4 million Pennsylvanians have now been fully vaccinated against covid-19, according to the latest data released Monday. That means more than 11.2% of every resident — including the 20.6% that are under 18 and not eligible for the vaccine — have received either both doses of the Pfizer...
Pa. cheerleader’s mom accused of making ‘deepfakes’ of rivals
DOYLESTOWN — A Pennsylvania woman is accused of doctoring photos and video of her daughter’s cheerleading rivals to try to get them kicked off the squad, officials said. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office last week charged Raffaela Spone, 50, with three misdemeanor counts of cyber harassment of a child...
National Park Service expands protected historic battlefields in Pennsylvania by 73 acres
The National Park Service has announced $2,188,052.50 in grants from the American Battlefield Protection Program to protect 225.33 acres at three Civil War and Revolutionary War battlefields. The grants will be used to acquire portions of Brandywine and Gettysburg battlefields in Pennsylvania and Shepherdstown Battlefield in West Virginia. The Battlefield...
During height of coronavirus pandemic, Pa. lawmakers still cashed in big on meals, lodging
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 — Within weeks of the first coronavirus cases last spring, as large swaths of Pennsylvania’s economy shut down, the state...
Average U.S. price of gas up 25 cents a gallon in past 3 weeks
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 25 cents a gallon over the past three weeks to $2.89. The average price in Pennsylvania rose to $3.03 per gallon on Sunday, according to price tracking service GasBuddy, with the Pittsburgh region averaging $3.06. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg...
Wolf says all Phase 1A Pennsylvanians can have vaccine appointments by month’s end
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday said he is confident Pennsylvania can meet President Biden’s goal of making every adult eligible for the vaccine by May 1, including a pledge to have appointments made for all Phase 1A residents in the next two weeks and promises to elevate the priority of...
Gov. Wolf seeks to phase out Pennsylvania’s gas tax
Amid a deepening stalemate over financing highways and public transit, Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday proposed phasing out Pennsylvania’s gasoline tax, the second-highest in the nation, and appointed a commission to recommend alternative ways to pay for the state’s needs. Wolf ordered a commission of several dozen lawmakers, transportation industry...
Philly to dim lights to make it safer for birds in flight
The lights of Philadelphia might not shine as bright in the coming weeks as a coalition in the City of Brotherly Love tries to prevent millions of migrating birds that pass through twice a year from slamming into skyscrapers and crashing to the sidewalk. Bird Safe Philly on Thursday announced...
Unemployment rises in Pennsylvania, as payrolls grow too
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose in January, as the labor force shrank but payrolls rebounded, according to state figures released Friday. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 7.3%, up two-tenths of a percentage point from December’s adjusted rate, the state Department of Labor and Industry said. Upward revisions to Pennsylvania’s preliminary...
Philadelphia mayor calls for action after 3 killed, 6 injured
PHILADELPHIA — The city’s mayor on Friday called for action after three separate shootings left three people dead and six others injured. Two of those killed were teenagers. The gunfire began Thursday afternoon when a 16-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man were cut down by bullets that also wounded a...
Pennsylvania to lift last moratorium on utility shutoffs
Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission on Thursday approved the lifting of its year-old moratorium preventing utilities from terminating service to all non-paying customers, adopted as Gov. Tom Wolf began ordering shutdowns to fight the spreading coronavirus. The moratorium will lift April 1 for the state’s lower-income utility customers, but the commission...
Pennsylvania to pay $475K to family of pot suspect killed by dozer
READING — The state of Pennsylvania will pay $475,000 to the estate of a man who died underneath a bulldozer that Pennsylvania State Police had used to chase him for growing a handful of marijuana plants, according to a settlement revealed in court Thursday. Gregory Longenecker, 51, had fled into...
Allegheny County adds 19 new covid deaths; Westmoreland County covid numbers stable; state hospitalizations fall
Allegheny County on Thursday saw a slight uptick in cases and hospitalizations, and a higher than usual number of new deaths reported. Westmoreland County saw a decrease in both cases and hospitalizations and two new deaths. The state of Pennsylvania saw cases and deaths remain stable with hospitalizations continuing to...
New fed relief plan saves aid for 925,000 Pennsylvanians, state says
Congress extended a lifeline to about 925,000 Pennsylvanians who get federal unemployment benefits by giving final approval Wednesday to a $1.9 trillion covid relief package. The House on Wednesday passed the American Rescue Plan, after the Senate approved its own version of the controversial stimulus bill on March 6. President...
Lawmaker calls for halt to PennDOT plan to toll 9 bridges
The chairman of Pennsylvania’s Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday said he wants to halt plans to toll nine major bridges on interstates around the state. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria, introduced a bill to require legislative authorization of any proposed transportation project with a user fee, even it...
U.S. aid to Pa. draws GOP warning to use it for 1-time costs
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state government is expected to receive more than $7 billion from the $1.9 trillion covid-19 rescue package making its way through Congress, or almost one-fifth of its operating costs this year, with some warning that the one-time aid should be used only for one-time costs. Many across...
As food insecurity continues for millions, Pa. now taking SNAP applications by phone
Pennsylvanians can now apply for food assistance via phone, state officials said Tuesday. Applications to the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are now taken on 1-866-550-4355, in addition to the established methods of mailing in a paper form or going online. The state has seen an uptick in applications...
