Pennsylvania category, Page 180
New program for young Pennsylvania farmers aims to pump new blood into aging agriculture industry
Adam Mason and his wife, Katie, are in the process of buying a 106-acre farm in Allegheny Township, where they hope to raise chickens, turkeys, pigs and cattle. “It’s a dream come true,” Mason, a 35-year-old California native, said of his plans to own a farm. Mason, who is raising...
Wolf grants 3rd extension for license to carry firearms permits
Gov. Tom Wolf has granted a third extension for licenses to carry firearms, state police announced Wednesday. Permits expiring on March 19 or later are now valid through Sept. 30. The previous extension was set to expire on July 31. The extensions were needed because some county courthouses and sheriff’s...
Trump administration rescinds rule that could have deported thousands of international students
Lawyers for the Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a new rule that would have forced international college students to leave the U.S., transfer to another college or face deportation if their schools held classes entirely online because of the covid-19 pandemic. In the week since it was issued, the rule...
Republicans mount new challenge to Gov. Wolf’s pandemic power
HARRISBURG — The Republican-controlled Legislature on Tuesday mounted another effort to strip some emergency disaster powers from Gov. Tom Wolf, as well as future governors, in the latest partisan fight over how the Democrat has handled the coronavirus pandemic in Pennsylvania. The House of Representatives passed two bills, largely along...
Philadelphia cancels large events through February; Eagles’ games to have no fans
Large-scale events won’t be happening for the rest of the year in Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. On Tuesday, officials announced that big public events would not be permitted through February. Philadelphia health commissioner Thomas Farley said the decision and time frame came because a coronavirus vaccine would not...
Philadelphia protesters sue city over tear gas, ‘extraordinary abuses of police power’
PHILADELPHIA — Citing “extraordinary abuses of police power,” more than 140 Philadelphia protesters and residents sued the city Tuesday over the department’s response to the unrest that has gripped the region in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. In three separate federal lawsuits filed Tuesday, 146 plaintiffs...
929 new coronavirus cases, 20 new deaths reported in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania saw a significant increase in new covid-19 cases Tuesday, with the Department of Health logging 929 new cases. Health officials reported 20 more people have now died from the disease in Pennsylvania, bringing the total to 6,931. Of today’s new case count, the state reported 216 were a result...
Gov. Wolf signs bills for use-of-force registry, stronger background checks for cops in Pa.
After an East Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed Antwon Rose II two years ago, critics of the officer wondered how he had been hired so easily after facing previous misconduct complaints. Rose would have celebrated his 20th birthday Sunday The officer, Michael Rosfeld, had a checkered past, Pennsylvania Attorney...
Petrochemical tax break bill speeds through Senate
HARRISBURG — New legislation to extend millions of dollars in tax breaks to turn natural gas into fertilizer and other chemicals won approval in Pennsylvania’s Senate on Monday, barely hours after the measure emerged from closed-door negotiations between Gov. Tom Wolf and top Republican lawmakers. The tax credit legislation had...
Protest in Allentown after officer uses knee to restrain manVideo
ALLENTOWN — Activists against police brutality expressed outrage and pressed their demand for accountability Monday after video emerged over the weekend of an officer placing his knee on a man’s head and neck area outside a Pennsylvania hospital. Allentown police violated their own policy against neck restraints when an officer...
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, students join effort to overturn ICE rule to deport international students
The battle to overturn a new federal rule to deport international college students forced to take all classes online grew Monday as 18 state attorneys general, including the one in Pennsylvania, 26 cities, including Pittsburgh, and a coalition of student government groups from 18 universities filed legal briefs in federal...
Police: Central Pa. man shot, killed as law enforcement served warrant
FORKSVILLE — Authorities say a central Pennsylvania man who reportedly feared going to prison due to the coronavirus was shot and killed as law enforcement personnel were trying to serve a bench warrant last week. State police in Sullivan County said 60-year-old Kevin Michael Norton was shot at about 10:30...
Pennsylvania reports 7 new coronavirus deaths, 328 new cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday reported 328 new coronavirus cases and seven new deaths. That brings the state’s total case count to 95,742, with 6,911 deaths. The state considers 635 patients as probable cases, but they are not confirmed. Monday’s state report doesn’t include new numbers for the...
Video shows Allentown police officer kneeling on man’s neck during arrestVideo
ALLENTOWN — The woman who shot a video outside Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown that shows a police officer putting his knee on a man’s head and neck during an arrest said the man was screaming “Mira, mira!” — Spanish for ‘Look, look!’” “That means he knew what was going...
2 dead, 2 critical after group fixing flat tire struck in Berks County
READING — Authorities say a car belonging to two men helping a couple fix a flat tire on an eastern Pennsylvania road was struck by another vehicle, killing two men and critically injuring two other people. Police in Ontelaunee Township Police said a man and woman heading south on Route...
4 more states added to Pennsylvania travel quarantine list
HARRISBURG, Pa. — State health officials in Pennsylvania have added four states — including neighboring Delaware — to the travel quarantine recommendation aimed at stemming the spread of covid-19 in the commonwealth. Officials said people who have traveled to Delaware, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma are being asked to self-quarantine for...
Toomey: Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence a ‘mistake’
Sen. Pat Toomey calls President Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence a “mistake.” In a statement released Saturday, Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, said while Trump had the “legal and constitutional authority” to take the action, it should be used “judiciously and very rarely by any president.” “While I understand the frustration...
Buses pose particular challenge for Pa. schools’ pandemic plans
HARRISBURG — A proposal to construct plastic barriers around school bus drivers as a covid-19 mitigation tactic was shot down by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, a sign of one particular challenge — among many — schools face as they plan for a fall reopening. The state Education Department told...
813 new covid-19 cases reported in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 813 additional positive cases of covid-19, bringing the statewide total to 94,689. There were 17 new deaths reported bringing the total number of covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania to 6,897. All 67 counties in the state have cases of covid-19. “As the entire...
West Chester becomes 1st Pennsylvania public university to announce online only classes this fall
West Chester University of Pennsylvania became the first public university in the state to announce it will open the fall semester almost entirely online. Located just outside of Philadelphia, West Chester posted an enrollment of 17,700 last fall and is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher...
Pa. reports more than 1,000 new covid-19 cases for 1st time since May 10
For the first time since May 10, the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday reported more than 1,000 new cases of covid-19. There were 1,009 new cases and 32 new deaths from covid-19 reported Friday, bringing the totals to 93,876 cases and 6,880 deaths statewide. On May 10, there were...
Pennsylvania to date distributes nearly $25B in unemployment claims
Pennsylvania has distributed nearly $25 billion in unemployment compensation as of this week, state officials said Thursday. However, the week ending July 25, however, will mark the final claim week for additional $600 payments through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. “Unless further action comes from Congress and the federal...
Ban on evictions, foreclosures in Pa. extended until Aug. 31
Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday extended a moratorium on evictions amid the covid-19 pandemic until Aug. 31, protecting renters and homeowners who are unable to pay their rent or mortgage from losing their homes. Wolf originally signed an executive order pausing evictions earlier this year as millions of Pennsylvanians lost...
Pennsylvania fast food fans are still loving McDonald’s
McDonald’s fans are lovin’ it … at least in Pennsylvania. A Top Data analysis determined that McDonald’s was the top fast food destination in the state. (It make sense, as the Big Mac was first introduced in 1967 by Jim Delligatti, who owned a franchise in Uniontown.) In Pennsylvania, McDonald’s...
Pennsylvania offers $10M in grant funding for food retailers affected by pandemic
Pennsylvania businesses working to maintain access to fresh, healthy food during the covid-19 pandemic are eligible for grants from $10 million in CARES Act funding, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday. The Fresh Food Financing Initiative Covid-19 Relief Fund is available to food-centered organizations and businesses impacted by the pandemic, including...
