Pennsylvania category, Page 172
Pa. to distribute $300 weekly jobless benefit checks next week
The state said it will start next week to distribute the $300 weekly checks the Trump administration approved as the replacement for the $600-a-week benefits the jobless received before that funding expired at the end of July. The money from the federal Lost Wages Assistance program will be distributed to...
Pennsylvania adds 891 new covid cases, 10 new deaths
Pennsylvania continued to see elevated new instances of coronavirus Friday, with 891 cases added by the state’s Department of Health. In the past week, the state has posted 5,671 new cases, a 30% jump in cases from the previous week (Aug. 21-28). This week, Pennsylvania has averaged 810 new cases...
Penn State looks to fix acid mine drainage, recover rare earth metalsVideo
When it comes to a solution for the acid mine drainage that has degraded more than 5,500 miles of Pennsylvania streams, money most often is the biggest problem. “A lack of resources to address historic mining’s lasting impacts on the commonwealth’s land and water is one of the biggest challenges...
PennDOT helps Amtrak expand carry-on bike program
Pittsburghers accustomed to attaching their bikes to the front of Port Authority buses or bringing them onto the T can now take them onto more Amtrak trains. Amtrak worked with PennDOT to expand its Carry-On bike program for most Keystone service departures, beginning Sept. 15. Carry-on and walk-on bike service...
Trump fires up enthusiastic crowd at campaign stop at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe
President Trump glided into a Trump Country crowd in Westmoreland County on Thursday evening to rave reviews. The crowd of several thousand at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe erupted into screams of U-S-A!, U-S-A!, U-S-A! as Trump exited Air Force One into the twilight evening, vowing that “61 days...
Heavy rains don’t dampen enthusiasm of Trump supporters ahead of Westmoreland rallyVideo
Frequent and sometimes heavy rains Thursday could not keep supporters of Donald Trump from flooding Arnold Palmer Regional Airport hours before the president’s scheduled campaign rally. Drenched crowds stood in line at the Unity airport waiting to board buses to take them to a fenced-in holding area in front of...
Pa. opens medical marijuana testing labs – including 1 in Trafford – to hemp farmers
Pennsylvania’s hemp farmers will be able to get this year’s crop tested at six medical marijuana testing labs, including one in Trafford, the state announced Thursday. The move is a partnership between the state Department of Agriculture and Department of Health to give farmers more testing options. The law requires...
Gov. Wolf renews call for legal recreational marijuana
Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday renewed his call for legal recreational marijuana, accusing legislators of dragging their feet on the issue. “In the past year, the Legislature has failed to find time to debate, let alone pass, adult-use cannabis, even though this is an issue that affects thousands of Pennsylvanians through...
Pennsylvania’s reported covid-19 cases, positivity rate both spike
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 1,160 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the commonwealth’s total to 136,711. That’s the largest batch of cases reported in a single day since July 28. Allegheny County reported 105 of those cases, Philadelphia added 257 and York had 128 new cases. The...
2 dead, 2 wounded in Philadelphia shooting
PHILADELPHIA — Police on Thursday were seeking suspects after two teenagers were killed and two were wounded in a shooting that left the city’s police commissioner “at a loss for words.” Three gunman approached the victims and opened fire on Moore Street on Wednesday night, Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. Jaheim...
House OKs changes to mail-in voting law; Wolf threatens veto
HARRISBURG — In the shadow of an increasingly strident presidential campaign, Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives approved changes to the state’s fledgling mail-in voting law Wednesday, but in highly partisan fashion. The Republican-penned bill passed, 112-90, on a near party-line vote in the battleground state where President Trump’s campaign and the...
Pa. Liquor Control Board reports record net income despite sales decline
Despite the first annual sales decline in 26 years, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Wednesday reported record net income for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Liquor sales were hit hard particularly in the early stages of the pandemic when state wine and spirits stores were closed due...
Nursing home covid-19 case, death data still missing from Pa.’s public reports
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 — During the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, the public had no way to measure which Pennsylvania...
New casino could be built near Penn State’s flagship campus
HARRISBURG — A casino could be built near Penn State University’s flagship campus after Pennsylvania found another taker Wednesday for a mini-casino license, auctioning it for $10 million to a Philadelphia-area private equity investor. Ira Lubert, a Penn State board member and alumnus, beat one other bidder, the Pennsylvania Gaming...
Trump, Biden expected to visit Flight 93 National Memorial for 9/11 anniversary
President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden both plan to visit Shanksville to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to the White House and a Biden campaign spokesman. The president — who will be in Westmoreland County on Thursday — and first lady Melania Trump...
Pennsylvania reports 816 new coronavirus cases, 19 new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health added 816 new positive cases of covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state total to 135,611. Nineteen deaths were added, with those ranging from Aug. 13-31. There are now 7,712 deaths in the state attributed to the coronavirus. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram Allegheny County saw the...
Hemp industry struggles with federal regulations
Hemp — and the CBD products that can be made from it — may have been legalized by the 2018 federal farm bill, but members of the nascent industry say new federal rules make it almost impossible to make hemp products without breaking the law. An alphabet soup of federal...
PennDOT extending expiration dates for some products
PennDOT will extend expiration dates for certain products, the department announced . Commercial driver licenses and learner’s permits set to expire between March 16 and Sept. 30 will be extended. Additionally, expiration dates for Hazardous Materials Endorsements (HME) — for commercial license holders who held a valid HME with no...
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...
