Pennsylvania category, Page 170
Gov. Wolf renews coronavirus disaster declaration in Pennsylvania
There is some good news for unemployed Pennsylvanians as well as struggling businesses in the state. Gov. Tom Wolf has signed another renewal of his 90-day disaster declaration for the covid-19 pandemic. It means waivers and extensions can continue, including waiving the one-week waiting period to receive unemployment compensation, work...
After waffling, Gov. Tom Wolf says he can’t extend Pa.’s eviction ban, looks to lawmakers
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — First, he said he couldn’t. Then, he implied he wouldn’t. Then, he suggested he might. But on Tuesday,...
Pennsylvania high court takes up another election lawsuit
Pennsylvania’s highest court will take up another election-related lawsuit, it announced Tuesday, this one filed by the state Democratic Party amid a partisan fight over fixing glitches and gray areas in the battleground state’s fledgling mail-in voting law. Briefs are due Sept. 8, the state Supreme Court said. The Democratic...
Pennsylvania’s new covid-19 cases, deaths both go up from recent figures
Pennsylvania has 770 new coronavirus cases reported Tuesday. The state Department of Health announced the new case increase, as well as 18 new covid-19 deaths in the state. New cases had decreased for two days after Saturday’s new case count of 843, before going up again Tuesday. There were only...
Pa. lawmakers ask Trump’s postmaster to return sorting machines
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and 10 of Pennsylvania’s members of Congress on Tuesday asked President Donald Trump’s postmaster general to immediately return sorting machines that were removed, while union officials say the machines’ removal has contributed to a slowdown in mail delivery. The letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was...
Philadelphia says homeless encampments must clear by Sept. 9
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia officials on Monday set a Sept. 9 deadline for people to leave a homeless encampment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and a smaller encampment outside the headquarters of the city’s housing agency. Mayor Jim Kenney said officials have negotiated with organizers and others in the encampments for...
Greensburg rally pushes extension of eviction, foreclosure ban; Wolf hints at action
About a dozen members of Voice of Westmoreland rallied Monday in front of the courthouse to lobby Westmoreland County President Judge Rita Hathaway to issue an order barring evictions and foreclosures amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “This is incredibly important so people don’t lose their homes,” said Celina Culver, organizer...
September to be designated ‘Hunger Action Month’
Activists and legislators are prepared to begin September with a campaign to bring awareness to food insecurity. State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, will introduce a resolution in the House to recognize September as “Hunger Action Month.” “The current pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity issues across our state and, according...
Highway ‘stop-and-frisk’: How Pennsylvania state troopers conduct illegal traffic searches
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 weekly newsletter. This article is a collaboration with The Appeal. Around 10 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2013, a Pennsylvania state trooper pulled...
Pennsylvania adds 521 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Pennsylvania saw more than 13% fewer cases of covid-19 in August than in July. On Monday, the state’s Department of Health announced 521 new covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania, bringing August’s total to 21,977 cases. In July, the state had 25,442 cases. The state processed fewer unique tests in August (441,348),...
Attorney general sues Philadelphia company, alleges price-gouging on hand sanitizer
More than 5,000 Pennsylvania residents had reported price hikes in essential products during the covid-19 pandemic as of early June, and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a lawsuit against a Philadelphia company accused of charging nearly $76 for a small bottle of hand sanitizer during the height of the...
Suit by protester kicked by Erie officer heading to federal court
ERIE — A lawsuit filed by a protester seen on video being kicked by a police officer during civil unrest in the northwestern Pennsylvania city of Erie is likely on its way to federal court rather than county court, attorneys said. The Erie Times-News reports that Erie attorneys said in...
Pa. implements OmniBallot tool for blind voters in November election
Blind voters in Pennsylvania will be able to use a federally approved, cloud-based electronic platform to vote remotely in the November, and subsequent, elections. The Pennsylvania Department of State will implement Democracy Live’s OmniBallot tool in response to a state court’s ruling that the previous paper ballot system used in...
Pennsylvania reports 670 new coronavirus cases, 2 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Sunday reported 670 new coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide total to 133,504 since the pandemic hit in March. This comes after there were 843 new cases posted on Saturday and 835 on Friday. The state reported that Allegheny County saw an increase of 99 cases, while Philadelphia County...
Vital rental assistance program riddled with problems as Pa. prepares to resume evictions
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — It wasn’t until the summer, after leaving his job as a drug treatment counselor, that James Pride began...
‘You’ve got to do something’: Pa. rehabs buckle, begin to close under covid-19 strain
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Faced with the financial burdens of covid-19 and a lack of state support, drug and alcohol treatment facilities...
Pennsylvania reports 843 new coronavirus cases, 16 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 843 new coronavirus cases, as the case count inches slowly upward from yesterday’s 835. The state Department of Health reported 16 new deaths attributed to coronavirus after posting 20 on Friday. Tuesday’s total of 26 was the highest total of the week. The total number of...
Pa. utility regulators leave moratorium on shutoffs in place
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state utility regulators have effectively extended a moratorium preventing utilities from terminating service to non-paying customers for three more weeks while the state fights the spread of the coronavirus. The four-member panel of two Democrats and two Republicans postponed a vote on Thursday’s agenda until Sept. 17,...
Surge in mail-in ballots could delay election results, so Wolf wants to change the rules
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday unveiled a wishlist of election reforms to address logistical concerns that some county...
Man gets 5 years in prison for lottery scam targeting elderly Pennsylvanians
The ringleader of a Jamaican lottery scheme that bilked senior citizens out of millions of dollars will spend more than five years in prison for the scam that spanned not just Pennsylvania but also reached nationwide, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Friday. Kristoff Cain, who went by Patrick Williams, pleaded...
Pennsylvania adds 835 new covid-19 cases, 20 new deaths
By adding 835 cases, Pennsylvania on Friday posted its highest new covid-19 case count in nearly two weeks. The Pa. Department of Health also announced 20 new deaths related to the coronavirus, bringing the state total to 7,655. The state said there were 156,317 individuals tested from Aug. 21-27, with...
Wolf, Republicans at odds over Pennsylvania election law
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican state lawmakers remained at odds Thursday over how to update Pennsylvania’s voting laws to handle an expected avalanche of mail-in ballots in November’s presidential election in the battleground state, even as Philadelphia moved ahead with an ambitious election plan. Wolf, a Democrat,...
Poll: Most Pennsylvania voters will cast their ballots in person in November
More Pennsylvanians will vote in person than by mail in the November election, but there are strong partisan differences when it comes to the two choices, a new poll shows. A Franklin & Marshall College poll released Thursday said 62% of voters expect to cast their ballot in person, while...
Pennsylvania cities, towns with highest rate of UFO sightings; Pittsburgh is 206th
The skies of Pennsylvania appear to be packed with unidentified flying objects, UFOs. Pennsylvanians haven’t reported sightings at anywhere near the rate of the top reporting city in the country. Residents of Gila Bend, Arizona, about 470 miles west of Roswell, New Mexico, since 1914 have reported UFOs at a...
Pennsylvania reports 620 new coronavirus cases, 11 deaths
Pennsylvania reported 620 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, as the seven-day case count dropped to 602, the lowest the average has been since July 1. The state Department of Health reported 11 new deaths, bringing the state total to 7,635. The new data brings the total cases to 131,156. Officials...
