Pennsylvania category, Page 155
Pa. officials say winter storm won’t hinder vaccine distribution
Severe winter weather Wednesday won’t delay covid-19 vaccine shipments in Pennsylvania, state officials said, as more shipments of the vaccine arrived at hospitals across the commonwealth. “We’re not making changes (to distribution) according to the forecast, but we will make changes if the weather turns out to force us to...
Pa. passes 500,000 covid cases
Pennsylvania reported 9,556 new covid cases and 270 new deaths Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. Total cases and total deaths in the state are now 509,320 and 12,890, respectively. There have been 147,856 covid-19 cases and 2,507 deaths reported in December. With the state passing 500,00 covid-19...
Lawsuits contend Gov. Wolf has no authority to issue new restrictions
A Butler County attorney who previously won a federal lawsuit against the Wolf administration over the spring covid-19 shutdown orders filed two new suits over the governor’s most recent orders. The lawsuits — one filed by the Butler Area School District and the other by two indoor water parks —...
Who is next in line to get the covid vaccine?
Some health care workers at UPMC received Pittsburgh’s first doses of the newly approved covid-19 vaccine, but widespread availability is still months off. State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday the state will receive 97,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, and the allocations to hospitals and...
Pa. corrections department tells officer with covid symptoms to return to work early
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 state Department of Corrections defied federal guidelines and a doctor’s order last week, demanding that an officer who...
Dr. Rachel Levine: ‘Today is a great day,’ but vaccine’s arrival doesn’t end pandemic
As Pennsylvania officials on Monday celebrated the first vaccinations of health care workers against covid-19 , Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine reiterated warnings this is the first step in a long road to the end of the pandemic. “Today is just a great day, when we start immunizing people,”...
With over 18,000 new covid cases, Pennsylvania nears 500K mark
Health officials reported Monday there were 18,646 new cases of covid-19 in Pennsylvania over the past two days. The Department of Health reported 10,684 of those cases Sunday and 7,962 on Monday. The new cases bring the state’s seven-day average of daily cases to 10,474, while its seven-day case total...
Pennsylvania electors cast their votes for BidenVideo
In a ceremony often considered as little more than a formality, Pennsylvania’s College of Electors on Monday certified their 20 votes for president-elect Joe Biden. The event mirrored similar ceremonies in states across the nation, as state electors cast ballots in a constitutionally mandated event to formalize Biden’s 306-232 Electoral...
Wolf: Federal covid relief package needed ‘right now’
As coronavirus relief negotiations languish in Congress, Gov. Tom Wolf and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday there is a dire need to pass a package sooner rather than later to ensure an economic recovery from the pandemic. “It’s disgraceful, disgraceful that right now in the midst of the...
Philadelphia Flower Show to move outdoors for 1st timeVideo
For the first time in its history, the renowned Philadelphia Flower Show will be an outdoor event in 2021. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society said the long-running exhibition is being re-imagined to provide a new, safe experience for visitors. “We are thrilled to be able to celebrate the outdoors and offer...
Watch live as Pa. electors formally choose Biden as presidentVideo
WASHINGTON — Presidential electors are meeting across the United States on Monday to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Monday is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to...
Officials: Pittston detention facility at center of scandal is closed
WILKES-BARRE — State and county officials have confirmed the voluntary closure of a for-profit juvenile detention center in northeastern Pennsylvania to which prosecutors said juvenile offenders were improperly sent in a kickback scheme that led to the imprisonment of two judges. The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens’ Voice reports that the 60-bed PA...
Thousands of Pa. families face potential eviction come the new year
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. Hundreds of thousands of families across Pennsylvania could lose their homes in January, after emergency unemployment benefits and federal eviction protections...
DOJ probe of Pa. Catholic church abuse goes quiet 2 years later
PHILADELPHIA — Two years ago, the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia joined the long line of ambitious prosecutors investigating the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of priest-abuse complaints. The Justice Department had never brought a conspiracy case against the church, despite exhaustive reports that showed its long history of burying abuse complaints...
Electoral College vote a big step to move past election
HARRISBURG, Pa. — When the 20 Pennsylvania loyalists selected by President-elect Joe Biden gather to cast their electoral vote ballots on Monday, it will be a big step toward leaving behind the chaos of the election and its aftermath. The ceremony at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg will be unusual...
Pennsylvania posts 11,000 new coronavirus cases; 201 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 11,084 new coronavirus cases, as the Keystone State gets closer to accumulating 500,000 cases. The new data bring the total cases to 481,118; a nearly 70,000-case jump from this time last week (411,484). Officials said 40,580 of total cases are considered probable. Health officials define a...
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...
