Pennsylvania category, Page 205
Pa. lawmakers push to ban hand-held cellphone use while driving
A bill to ban certain uses of cellphones by Pennsylvania drivers has advanced in Harrisburg, and its sponsor believes motorists’ confusion about laws when they cross state borders — something they will be doing frequently of over Thanksgiving — is an argument for approval. State Rep. Rosemary Brown, a Monroe...
‘Tis the season: Pa. alcohol sales spike as holidays approach
It’s the holiday season, and everyone is getting into the spirit — or at the very least, into the spirits store. November and December are far and away the busiest times of the year at Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores. The top single sales day in each of...
Philadelphia’s voting machines challenged in federal court
HARRISBURG — A federal court is being asked to force Pennsylvania to rescind its certification of a voting machine newly purchased by Philadelphia and at least two other counties in the state ahead of 2020’s presidential election. Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and several supporters filed court papers...
Pennsylvania ends time limits for future child sexual abuse charges
READING — Pennsylvania overhauled its child sexual abuse laws Tuesday, more than a year after a grand jury report showed the cover-up of hundreds of cases of abuse in most of Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses over the last seven decades. The central bill signed by Gov. Tom Wolf gives future...
Pa. school district can keep ‘Redskins’ name, but logos might go
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania school district can continue to call its sports teams “Redskins,” but it must educate students about Native Americans to prevent stereotypes. The state Human Relations Commission on Monday issued its decision in a long-running dispute with the Neshaminy School District. The panel also said the district...
Police: Man kills Berks County couple with hammer, lights self on fire
DOUGLASSVILLE — Authorities say an eastern Pennsylvania couple were beaten to death with a hammer by a third person who then died after setting himself on fire in the garage. State police in Berks County say DNA tests are being done to identify the third person, who died of smoke...
Pa., all 67 counties declared ‘storm ready’ by National Weather Service
Pennsylvania is the latest state to receive StormReady status from the National Weather Service. All 67 counties in the state have been designated StormReady, making Pennsylvania one of only six states to receive the title. The others are Rhode Island, Delaware, South Carolina, Hawaii and Florida. StormReady means each county...
Pennsylvania lawmakers, judges getting raises in 2020
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials will collect another annual salary increase in 2020, with the governor’s salary passing $200,000 and rank-and-file lawmakers’ base salaries passing $90,000. The salary increases come as lawmakers consider increasing Pennsylvania’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009 and...
Coroner’s office releases autopsy results for Erie teen who died suddenly in State College
An Erie teenager’s death that prompted Penn State to temporarily suspend a fraternity was ruled accidental Friday by the Centre County coroner’s office. John “Jack” Schoenig, 17, died of chemical asphyxia due to nitrous oxide, Deputy Coroner Debra Smeal announced. Schoenig was pronounced dead Oct. 19 at 522 W. College...
Pennsylvania bear harvest nears 3,000 for 2019 after firearms opener
Hunters killed 986 black bears on Saturday, the first day of the 4-day firearms hunting season for bear across Pennsylvania. Hunters killed 1,241 bears on the first day of last year’s firearms season, which eventually contributed to a total bear harvest for 2018 of 3,153 bears, which was the 11th...
3 found dead after garage fire; Berks County home called ‘crime scene’
DOUGLASSVILLE — State police are investigating after they found three people dead as a result of a garage fire at an eastern Pennsylvania home. Police in Berks County say the bodies were found when crews were dispatched to the Union Township address shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Trooper David C....
Task force recommends eliminating state grand jury reports
Pennsylvania should consider abolishing the kind of grand jury report that detailed extensive allegations of child sexual abuse among Catholic clergy, a task force of lawyers, judges and legal scholars said. In the report released last week, the result of a two-year review of the state grand jury system also...
Thanksgiving Pennsylvania Turnpike travel to be busiest of the year
If you’re traveling by car during Thanksgiving week, expect to see the heaviest traffic of the year on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission estimates 3.6 million cars and trucks will be driven on the turnpike during the six-day period, beginning Tuesday and ending Dec. 1. The most heavily...
Jerry Sandusky resentenced to 30 to 60 years, same as before
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was resentenced Friday to 30 to 60 years in prison, the same penalty as before, for sexually abusing children. Sandusky, 75, was sentenced by Judge Maureen Skerda at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte. He wore a yellow jumpsuit and entered court...
Jerry Sandusky expected in court for new sentencing in abuse case
BELLEFONTE — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is expected in a Pennsylvania courtroom to be resentenced after an appeals court said mandatory minimum sentences had been improperly applied against him. The 75-year-old Sandusky will be resentenced Friday by Judge Maureen Skerda at the county courthouse in Bellefonte....
Pennsylvania moves to raise cigarettes, e-cigs, other tobacco products to age to 21
The General Assembly Thursday put Pennsylvania on a track to become the 19th state in America to raise the minimum age for purchase of tobacco products to age 21, effective next July 1. The bill passed both the House, 135-49, and Senate, 44-5, and now heads to Gov. Tom Wolf’s...
Pennsylvanians to get more time on sex abuse charges, suits
HARRISBURG — The state where a grand jury’s groundbreaking report set off a new wave of reckoning over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church passed legislation Thursday giving victims more time to sue and police more time to file charges. The Pennsylvania House sent the statute-of-limitations bill to Democratic...
Pennsylvania lawmakers near finish on church scandal bills
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Legislature moved closer Wednesday night to settling a yearslong battle over lifting criminal and civil statutes for child sexual abuse crimes in a debate growing out of Roman Catholic Church scandals. The Republican-controlled state Senate voted to dramatically expand statutes of limitation in sexual abuse cases where...
Senate sends fight over Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to House
HARRISBURG — Legislation to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009 passed the state Senate on Wednesday against a deadline to stall Gov. Tom Wolf’s move to substantially expand overtime pay eligibility. The Republican-controlled Senate approved the bill, 42-7, to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage in four steps...
Court ponders discipline against Penn State case prosecutor Frank Fina
HARRISBURG — A lawyer for the agency that investigates misconduct by Pennsylvania lawyers says a yearlong law license suspension is justified against one of the primary prosecutors in Jerry Sandusky’s 2012 child molestation trial. Amelia Kittredge with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel argued Wednesday in favor of the punishment against...
Good Samaritan killed, 2 others injured at crash scene
LYNN, Pa. — Pennsylvania state police say a good Samaritan who stopped to help people involved in a traffic accident was killed and two others were hurt when they were struck by a passing vehicle. The crash on Route 309 in Lynn was reported around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. A car...
Penn State ranks close to worst in affordability for low-income students
Penn State ranks close to worst in affordability for low-income students among top public universities, according to a new report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Flagship universities like Penn State’s University Park campus are known around the country for having large research budgets and many resources for both...
Arrest made in shooting death of Pa. man found dead in trunk
CHAMBERSBURG — Authorities have made an arrest in the shooting death of a man whose body was found in the trunk of his car. Justin Hockenberry will face counts of criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and drug possession. It’s not known if he’s retained an attorney....
Recalled Breakstone’s cottage cheese may contain plastic, metal pieces
Kraft Heinz Foods has recalled 9,500 cases of its Breakstone’s cottage cheese because the product might contain pieces of red plastic and metal. The company said it issued the voluntary recall after a consumer reported finding a piece of red plastic in a container of the cottage cheese. According to...
Pennsylvania lawmaker John Yudichak switches from Democrat to independent
HARRISBURG — A moderate Democrat in Pennsylvania’s state Senate from an area that shifted decisively to support Donald Trump in 2016’s presidential election is switching his registration to become an independent and said Tuesday that he will caucus with the Republican majority. In a news conference in his Capitol office,...
