Pennsylvania category, Page 153
Covid cases continue to ravage Pennsylvania jails, prisons
Jails and prisons across Pennsylvania are being overwhelmed by the spread of covid-19, and advocates for the incarcerated population fear it will get worse before it gets better. As the numbers skyrocketed this week, the state Department of Corrections reported that a 77-year-old inmate with pre-existing conditions died on Thursday...
Gov. Wolf twice tests negative for covid
Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday he tested negative for covid-19 for the second time since he received his diagnosis on Wednesday. Wolf said he’s tested for the virus each Tuesday, and he tested positive during the routine test this week. Subsequent tests on Wednesday and Thursday evenings came back negative,...
Pa. officials still leave covid restrictions up to school districts
A day after Gov. Tom Wolf announced a suspension of all school sports and extracurricular activities, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega and Deputy Secretary Matt Stem doubled down on the state’s approach of leaving the ultimate reopening decisions up to individual school districts. “We recognize there is no...
Pennsylvania reports 12,745 new covid cases; 23% of total cases have come in December
Pennsylvania reported 12,745 new covid-19 cases Friday, according to the state Department of Health. The new cases mark the sixth time that new reported cases have been over 10,000, all of these instances coming in December. Total cases in the state are now 470,034 and will likely hit 500,000 by...
Pennsylvania blasts Texas’ bid in Supreme Court to overturn Biden’s election
HARRISBURG — Lawyers for Pennsylvania responded in the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to Texas’ effort to overturn the election result in four states for President-elect Joe Biden, calling it a “seditious abuse” of the courts that rests on conspiracy theories and falsehoods. Texas lacks standing to bring the challenge,...
Gov. Tom Wolf halts indoor dining, suspends school sports as part of new restrictionsVideo
After weeks spent imploring Pennsylvanians to stay home as much as possible, limit their in-person interactions and wear a mask, Gov. Tom Wolf and the state secretary of Health issued new orders shutting down indoor dining, gyms, school sports and more as cases and deaths across the commonwealth continue to...
Watch: Wolf, Levine outline new coronavirus mitigation steps in Pa.
Gov. Tom Wolf and state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine are addressing the current status of the covid-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania during a 4 p.m. news conference. Watch the livestream of the news conference here. On Wednesday, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he expected new covid-related restrictions from the...
Some local Pa. judges enjoy light workloads as taxpayers pay millions for salaries, benefits
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. Greg Johnson has a pretty good job — and even better benefits. The Dauphin County magisterial district judge and his colleagues...
Pa. First Lady Frances Wolf negative for covid after Gov. Wolf tests positive
Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf has tested negative for covid-19 a day after her husband, Gov. Tom Wolf, announced he had contracted the virus. Per guidance from state and federal health agencies, she will continue to quarantine at home. She said in a statement that she and the governor are...
Pennsylvania reports 2nd-highest daily covid case count
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported 11,972 additional cases of coronavirus, the second-highest single-day increase. The previous record was 12,884 cases reported on Dec. 5. The state’s seven-day new case average hit its highest level at 10,065, joined by the seven-day total of 70,452 new cases. Of Thursday’s additional cases, 11,066 are...
Pennsylvania among the booziest states during holidays, surveys sayVideo
Pennsylvanians and booze at the holidays go together like Santa Claus and his red suit, according to a couple of recent surveys. The Keystone State is one of the drunkest places in the U.S. during the holiday season, with the average Pennsylvanian quaffing four alcoholic beverages a day, according to...
Some Pa. Dems want maskless House GOP lawmakers sworn in last
HARRISBURG — A group of Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives wants their adamantly maskless Republican colleagues to be sworn in next month after everyone else, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a safety measure, the 203 state representatives will take the oath of office on Jan....
Pa. appellate court delivers another loss to Trump’s GOP allies seeking to void state’s election results
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania appellate court on Wednesday denied the latest in a string of legal challenges seeking to roll back certification of the election results, ending the last active court battle in the state over the outcome of the race. In a four-page opinion, Commonwealth Court President Judge Mary...
Gov. Tom Wolf tests positive for covid
Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday his covid-19 diagnosis is a reminder that no one is immune from the virus that has infected more than 445,000 people in Pennsylvania. Wolf, 72, said he tested positive for the virus during a routine test and he has no symptoms. His wife, Frances, is...
Pennsylvania reports 220 new coronavirus deaths, 8,703 new cases
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Wednesday reported 220 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus, its highest increase since May. The death toll for the state stands at 11,762. There have been 1,199 deaths reported this month. The state also reported 8,703 new coronavirus cases, a slight decline from Tuesday’s report....
Gov. Wolf recognizes state monitoring of shale gas drilling impact
When covid-19 safety precautions postponed the annual after-winter return of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources staff to keep tabs on the impacts of shale gas drilling, they knew they had a lot of ground to make up. But since then, the DCNR has managed to get back to...
Contact tracing and case investigations in Pa. remain a struggle in fight against covid
Even as covid-19 cases skyrocket across Pennsylvania and case investigators prioritize who they will call, state officials on Tuesday urged everyone to please answer the phone and cooperate when investigators and contact tracers reach out to them. “In order to effectively contact trace, we need Pennsylvanians to participate in case...
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey calls Trump’s campaign to overturn Pennsylvania election ‘completely unacceptable’
PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Pat Toomey said Tuesday that it’s “completely unacceptable” for President Donald Trump to pressure state lawmakers to overturn Pennsylvania’s election result, a rare rebuke from a Republican elected official as Trump continues his effort to subvert the will of the voters. “It’s completely unacceptable and it’s not...
‘We cannot turn our back on it’: Opioid crisis rages alongside covid pandemic in Pa.
Amid a global pandemic killing thousands across the state, country and world, health officials in Pennsylvania warned that the opioid epidemic continues to leave thousands dead in its wake as well. “We know that with the holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and various others approaching, it can be a difficult...
Trump campaign loses another round in Pennsylvania’s courts
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s campaign has lost another round in a flurry of Republican lawsuits over Pennsylvania’s election, with the state Supreme Court refusing Tuesday to hear its appeal over fewer than 2,000 ballots in a suburban Philadelphia county. The court, which has a 5-2 Democratic majority, denied the...
Nursing home industry: Pennsylvania illegally withheld funds
The nursing home industry has filed suit against Pennsylvania, claiming the state illegally withheld more than $150 million that was intended to help long-term care facilities shoulder the financial burden of the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit, filed in state court and announced Tuesday, contended the Department of Human Services is...
Pennsylvania reports 10,170 new covid cases, 169 new deaths
Pennsylvania reported 10,170 new covid cases and 169 new deaths Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. Total cases and total deaths in the state now stand at 436,614 and 11,542, respectively. Thus far in December, the state has reported 75,150 covid cases and 1,159 deaths. The seven-day average...
Former AHL assistant accuses Penguins of whistleblower violations after sexual assault allegations
Former Penguins minor league assistant coach Jarrod Skalde has accused the Pittsburgh Penguins of violating whistleblower laws after he reported a superior for sexually assaulting his wife, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton. The lawsuit alleges Clark Donatelli, former head coach of the Penguins’ American...
Trump campaign appeals another ballot case in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s campaign continues to press lawsuits over Pennsylvania’s election, appealing another case it lost to the state Supreme Court, this time over fewer than 2,000 ballots in a suburban Philadelphia county. The appeal, filed Friday, is one of at least four pending cases in which Trump...
No new covid restrictions for Pa., but possibility looms
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday issued his most dire warning yet as covid-19 mitigation efforts fail to stem the rising tide of cases, and he hinted that more drastic, targeted measures could be on the horizon if the situation remains grim. He pointed to the warning he and Secretary of...
