Pennsylvania category, Page 142
Dog license fee hike would address Pennsylvania bureau’s budget shortfall
Pennsylvania could regain the dubious moniker as the nation’s puppy mill capital without a hike in the state’s dog license fees this year, Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding warned Wednesday. He joined two state lawmakers and Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, seeking support for an annual...
Gisele Fetterman introduces PA Kindness Poem ProjectVideo
The new PA Kindness Poem Project kicked off today with a video introduction from Pennsylvania’s second lady, Gisele Barreto Fetterman. The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) has partnered with Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson on the project, which it describes as “a mission to help spread kindness throughout the state.”...
Pennsylvania reports 193 covid deaths, while cases remain steady, hospitalizations drop
Pennsylvania on Wednesday added 193 coronavirus deaths, the highest number of deaths reported on a single day this month. The total number of covid-related deaths in the state stands at 23,319. The newly reported deaths come after only seven were added Tuesday and 23 on Monday. The seven-day average of...
Vaccine mix-up prompts rescheduling shuffle in PennsylvaniaVideo
Vaccine providers in Pennsylvania could be short 55,000 first doses of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks after a “perfect storm of circumstances” meant some providers spent weeks giving out dedicated second-dose shots as first doses, health department leaders said Wednesday. In addition, 30,000 to 60,000 second-dose appointments could...
11 rescued from flooded Philadelphia streets following water main break
At least 11 people were rescued Tuesday evening after a large water main break in Philadelphia left cars submerged and the area completely flooded, authorities said. The 48-inch break occurred around 6 p.m. in the Nicetown area of North Philadelphia, news outlets reported. Flood waters consumed the streets, swamping cars...
Western Pa. GOP focuses ire on Pat Toomey, as Republicans battle for control of the party
The border separating Allegheny County from the surrounding metro area is beginning to look more like the fault lines shaking a Republican Party trying to come to terms with the aftermath of a second impeachment trial of former President Trump. County GOP chairs in Westmoreland, Washington, Fayette, Lawrence, York and...
Pa. jobless benefit scams at $2.5M; Arnold woman pleads guilty to defrauding system
While many jobless Pennsylvanians have struggled to get unemployment benefits during the covid pandemic, the state has paid out at least $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, state officials said Tuesday. That might be just the tip of the iceberg, the officials said. The $2.5 million was siphoned off by just...
Delay in census data could put transparency in Pa.’s redistricting process at risk
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, including TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — The data needed to redraw Pennsylvania’s political...
For just 2nd time in 2021, Pa. reports new covid deaths in single digits
Pennsylvania reported seven additional covid-19 deaths Tuesday, per the state Department of Health. The deaths reported Tuesday increase the state’s death total to 23,126, with 1,465 deaths reported in February. Only once before this year have health officials reported such a low number of new covid-related deaths: Feb. 8 when...
Kate Gosselin sells Pa. house for nearly $1.1 million
The Pennsylvania house of reality TV star Kate Gosselin has been sold. Gosselin of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” and later “Kate Plus 8” had listed her home in Wernersville, Berks County, for nearly $1.3 million, according to People Magazine. The house sold for $1,085,000 on Jan. 25, according to...
Pennsylvanians consumed an average of 753 drinks each in 2020, study says
A new study has found that people in Pennsylvania really kept their spirits high in 2020. The study found that those in the Keystone State drank an average total of 753 drinks each by the end of the year. While this may not be surprising because of how stressful 2020...
The inside story of how Pennsylvania failed to deliver millions in coronavirus rent relief
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 — It was late August, just past noon, and time was running out. Bryce Maretzki was in charge of a...
Pennsylvania GOP may meet to discuss Toomey impeachment vote
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican Party is planning a meeting to potentially censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey amid a growing GOP backlash over his vote to convict Donald Trump during the former president’s second impeachment trial, county party officials said Monday. County party chairs said the state GOP chairman, Lawrence Tabas,...
New Pa. covid cases, deaths continue downward trend
As February hits its midpoint, Pennsylvania is continuing to see its cases of coronavirus decline — along with the number of those hospitalized and dying from the virus. Over the past two days, there were 4,516 new cases of coronavirus reported in Pennsylvania, according to data released Monday by the...
Doctors’ groups disagree with Pennsylvania on limiting who can administer covid-19 vaccine
PHILADELPHIA — Physician groups say they are “deeply troubled” that the Pennsylvania Department of Health plans to remove primary care providers from the list of those permitted to administer the covid-19 vaccine. “This is a time when we need all hands on deck so we can get the majority of...
Pa.’s lack of data prevents tracking of racial, ethnic disparities in vaccine distribution
Despite numerous studies predicting the likelihood of racial disparities and a supposed focus on equity in the rollout, Pennsylvania’s data tracking race and ethnicity in vaccine distribution currently is lacking. More than a month into the state’s vaccine rollout, about 34% of race data as it relates to distribution is...
Sen. Pat Toomey breaks with Republicans to vote for Trump’s conviction
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., voted Saturday to convict former President Donald J. Trump in his second impeachment trial. Toomey is one of seven Republican senators who voted “guilty” on the charge of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. All 50 Democratic senators voted to convict. But...
Pennsylvania logs 4,000 more covid cases, 113 deaths
Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 4,088 new coronavirus cases, a slight increase, as hospitalizations continue to decrease in the Keystone State. The new data bring the total cases to 892,344. That’s a jump of almost 27,000 additional cases from this time last week. Two weeks ago, the increase was...
Pennsylvania grant program to support hemp industry, which shrunk in 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has announced a new grant program to promote the state’s hemp products, supporting a nascent agricultural industry that has faced plenty of growing pains. Pennsylvania farmers planted less than 1,000 acres of hemp last year, down about 75% from 2019. Less than half of those...
Philadelphia-area lawyer defending Trump accustomed to political disaster
HARRISBURG — Bruce L. Castor Jr. answered his cellphone, but he had no time to talk. “I’m 12 minutes from prime time,” he said, before heading to the well of the U.S. Senate to defend his client, Donald Trump, as one of the defense lawyers in the ex-president’s second impeachment...
Pennsylvania adds 3,987 covid cases, 99 deaths
Pennsylvania on Friday reported 3,987 additional cases of covid-19, keeping the seven-day average below 4,000 for the eighth consecutive day. The state’s seven-day case average has been trending mostly downward since peaking above 10,000 in mid-December. It currently sits at 3,797. Of the newly reported cases, 3,337 are confirmed via...
Kentucky man held for trial in pepper spraying of Capitol officers
A federal judge has ruled there is probable cause in the case against a man accused of spraying at least two officers with an irritant during the violent siege on the Capitol in January. During a probable cause hearing Thursday, federal prosecutors presented videos and photos of the Jan. 6...
Pa. state trooper, 3 others accused of illegal activity at strip club
MAYFIELD — A Pennsylvania state trooper and three other people were charged Thursday with operating a corrupt organization involving prostitution, gambling and money laundering at a Lackawanna County strip club the trooper co-owns. Robert Covington Jr., 48, who has served with the state police for 13 years, surrendered at the...
Covid hospitalizations in Pennsylvania drop again
For the second day in a row, hospitalizations in Pennsylvania dropped by more than 100 patients. According to the state covid-19 dashboard, the number of residents hospitalized for the virus is 2,687, down 102 from Wednesday, which was down 101 from Tuesday. Hospitalizations in the state have been on a...
Pa. Attorney General Shapiro files memorandum in Trump impeachment
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro does not have a role in the ongoing impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, but he wanted to ensure U.S. senators sitting as jurors understand Pennsylvania’s role in the Nov. 3 election. Shapiro, a Democrat, who repeatedly defended the state’s election as free and...
