Pennsylvania category, Page 204
Coca-Cola truck crashes into home in Quakertown
Two families were displaced Saturday in Quakertown after a tractor trailer crashed into their home on Route 313, borough police said. The Coca-Cola truck drove into the twin home at 656 and 658 W. Broad St. just before 6:45 a.m. after missing a sharp turn on that part of the...
Soup for toddlers sold online recalled due to undeclared allergens, USDA says
A Massachusetts business is recalling about 200 pounds of lentil and beef soup for toddlers shipped to Pennsylvania and four other states and Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced. Kettle Cuisine Midco is recalling the ready-to-eat product because of misbranding and undeclared allergens, the department’s Food Safety and...
Pennsylvania requires permits for hemp growers and processors in 2020
Like hemp growers, facilities that process the crop also will have to get permits in 2020 as Pennsylvania’s emerging industry enters its second year, state officials said. The commercial cultivation of hemp, which had been banned by the federal government for 80 years, took off in Pennsylvania last year after...
2020 predicted to have a super Groundhog Day
Feb. 2 is a loaded date this year. The usual celebration of Groundhog Day has some company in 2020. The day starts with Punxsutawney Phil’s 134th prognostication set to run 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. Then, the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Washington Capitals at 12:30 p.m. on NBC. Groundhog...
Ex-teacher in Bucks County charged with taking up-skirt photos of students
OTTSVILLE — A former high school teacher has been charged with secretly taking indecent photos of three students and posting them online. Francis Reppert, 26, of Quakertown in Bucks County, outside of Philadelhia, was arraigned Thursday on charges of indecent exposure and invasion of privacy. He was released on $500,000...
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos introduces bill to shrink state legislature
After being in office for about a year, state Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, thinks there might be a few too many seats in the chamber. Gaydos, 53, of Aleppo, recently introduced legislation which would cut legislative districts in Pennsylvania from 203 to 151, a move that would require amending the...
Steelers’ mascot Steely McBeam recreated in butter at Pa. Farm ShowVideo
HARRISBURG — The butter sculpture for this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show was unveiled Thursday, featuring three of the state’s professional sports team mascots. This year’s sculpture, crafted from about 1,000 pounds of donated butter, shows Steely McBeam, Gritty and Swoop — mascots for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Flyers and...
Blackface again mars Philadelphia’s troubled New Year parade
PHILADELPHIA — The mayor of Philadelphia sharply criticized two men who wore blackface while marching in the city’s annual — and often racially troubling — New Year’s Day Mummers Parade, calling their actions “abhorrent and unacceptable.” The group the men apparently were affiliated with, the Froggy Carr Wench Brigade, was...
Pa. Farm Show opens Saturday with some new food offerings
Food is one of the biggest draws to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, and this year is no exception. The Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, famous for its milkshakes, is introducing a new sandwich — Grilled Cheese Stix. The offering features mozzarella cheese sandwiched between Martin’s potato bread, served with a side of...
Gov. Wolf outlines effort to bolster Pa. mental health services
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s governor announced a broad effort Thursday to improve mental health services and change public perceptions of mental illness. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf rolled out an initiative that includes more resources and a public outreach campaign, saying the approach was inspired by a similar strategy the state has...
Reminder: Pennsylvania’s ‘Do Not Call’ list is now permanent
Perhaps you were too busy holiday-ing to notice, but as of Dec. 3, your protection from phone spammers got a lot stronger. As of that date, Pennsylvania’s “Do Not Call” list dropped the requirement that customers re-register their number every five years. That means once you are on, you are...
Video: SUV swallowed by sinkhole in Easton streetVideo
2019 may have to go out as the year of the sinkhole — at least in Pennsylvania anyway. On Monday, surveillance from a doorbell camera showed an SUV falling into a sinkhole as it approached a stop sign in the city of Easton. Located in Northampton County, Easton is 55...
Hershey is retiring fleet of KissmobilesVideo
The Hershey Co. will soon retire its vehicles that are shaped like its Hershey’s Kisses. The Hershey Kissmobiles, which are each made up of three massive Kisses candies, have traveled across the country since 1997. The chocolate company has confirmed that the 26-foot-long vehicles won’t return in 2020. The company...
Final Pennsylvania county OKs new paper-trail voting system
A decision this week by Dauphin County to purchase new paper-trail voting systems means all 67 Pennsylvania counties have taken action under a state law that helps fund the upgrades, the Wolf administration said Tuesday. Officials called the vote a milestone toward ensuring the integrity of the state’s future elections....
Board issues letter to Lancaster County judge over his traffic stop behaviorVideo
HARRISBURG — A written reprimand from the entity that investigates claims of judicial misconduct in Pennsylvania was made public Monday, describing a county judge’s behavior, captured on video, challenging a patrolman who stopped his SUV. The Judicial Conduct Board’s ” letter of counsel ” to Lancaster County Common Pleas Judge...
New overtime rule affects 61,000 in Pennsylvania
A new year could mean additional earnings for thousands of Pennsylvanians as a new federal rule guaranteeing overtime pay goes into effect. The rule that takes effect Wednesday guarantees time-and-a-half payments to nearly all hourly employees who work more than 40 hours per week as well as most salaried workers...
Philadelphia names 1st black female police chief
Philadelphia appointed a new police chief to lead the troubled department that has been plagued by sexual harassment lawsuits and racial discrimination — issues she will be suited to tackle with “conviction,” Mayor Jim Kenney said Monday. Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney announced his choice of Portland Chief Danielle Outlaw to...
Philly refinery, a big polluter, shut down 6 months ago. So, do we have cleaner air?
PHILADELPHIA — The vast Philadelphia Energy Solutions refining complex was the single largest stationary source of air pollution in the city before it shut down after a catastrophic June 21 fire. So it would be reasonable to assume the city’s air quality has improved in the six months since the...
Giant Eagle, Dollar General scramble to alert customers under 21 they can’t buy cigarettes, chew, vapes
Western Pennsylvania shoppers soon will spot signs popping up inside Giant Eagle grocery stores and GetGo gas stations alerting everyone to a new federal rule: People under 21 are barred from buying any tobacco products or vapes with liquid nicotine. “As a responsible retailer, Giant Eagle, Inc. takes seriously its...
Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls increasing for 12th straight year
Motorists using the Pennsylvania Turnpike will pay more in tolls starting Jan. 5, marking the 12th straight year the Turnpike Commission has raised prices to help it cover state-mandated payments to PennDOT. The commission said tolls are going up 6% next year, but they’re actually increasing more because the commission...
Man in ‘I Believe’ hat swipes $250, tip jar on Christmas in Philadelphia
Police in Philadelphia are looking for a thief who sported a hat that said “I Believe” as he swiped a tip jar stuffed with $250 on Christmas Day. Yalli Avitan at first thought an employee had moved the jar to empty it during the Christmas dinner rush at her family’s...
GPS tool to help restore dwindling Pa. ruffed grouse populationVideo
As the population of the state bird collapses, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced a new GPS tool to identify prospective locations to restore numbers of ruffed grouse. Population decline has been blamed on West Nile virus killing the birds and the scarcity of young forests, according to the Game Commission....
Berks County crash kills 81-year-old man, his adult daughter
A crash on a highway in Berks County killed an 81-year-old man and his adult daughter. The crash on Route 422 in Heidelberg Township occurred around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, when a car driven by Richard Raihl was trying to turn onto Route 422 West. The vehicle and a pickup truck...
Wawa facing lawsuits over data breach at all of its storesVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The Wawa convenience store chain is facing a wave of lawsuits over a data breach that affected its 850 locations along the East Coast. Wawa Inc. discovered malware on its payment processing servers this month before stopping the breach Dec. 12, the company has said. Officials with the...
Pennsylvania dioceses offer $84M to 564 clergy abuse victims
Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in the new year as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review. Seven of the state’s eight dioceses launched victim...
