Pennsylvania category, Page 207
Pennsylvania’s sexual abuse laws leave survivors conflicted
HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania overhauled its child sexual abuse laws this week after a years-long battle, absent from the bill-signing ceremony were some of the people who had worked hardest for the changes. Some sexual-abuse survivors and victim advocates felt conflicted by the compromise package: Missing was a cornerstone of...
‘Strangest thing’: Police say man tried to rob West Manchester bank, then did this …
YORK, Pa. — A man attempted to rob a Wells Fargo bank branch in West Manchester Wednesday morning, then waited for authorities to arrive, West Manchester Township Police said. About 11:30 a.m. Nov. 27, the suspect allegedly jumped over the counter and grabbed money out of the register before throwing...
Pennsylvania creates criminal offense of sexual extortion
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is creating the criminal offense of sexual extortion to help combat what authorities say is a growing crime targeting children, enabled by the internet. The legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Tom Wolf takes effect in two months and had the backing of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape...
Westmoreland chamber President Chad Amond joins transportation commission
Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chad Amond has a new role to fill, as a member of the Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission. The state Senate recently appointed Amond to a six-year term on the 15-member panel, which serves as the board of directors for PennDOT and oversees...
With Wolf’s signature, Sunday hunting coming to Pa. in 2020
Pennsylvania hunters who clamored for a Saturday start to firearms deer season now have another reason to celebrate — Sunday hunting in 2020. Gov. Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 147, lifting the ban on Sunday hunting, on Wednesday. The law allows hunting on three Sundays: one during rifle deer season,...
Warm the holidays with boilo, a favorite of coal miners in eastern Pennsylvania
Earlier this month, HangoverCure.org surveyed 1,000 drinkers and came up with a list of iconic state drinks. The answer in Pennsylvania turned out to be a bit of a mystery, at least on the western side of the state: boilo. So what is it? “Here in the anthracite region, boilo...
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...
