Pennsylvania category, Page 224
On-duty state trooper dies on turnpike in Bucks County
A 58-year-old Pennsylvania state trooper died while on duty Saturday morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Trooper Donald C. Brackett was found unresponsive next to his patrol vehicle from an apparent medical episode, Acting Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Lt. Col. Robert Evanchick announced Saturday night. The Bensalem resident was a nearly...
Defunct Bethlehem Steel’s 21-story headquarters implodedVideo
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Sixteen thousand tons of Bethlehem Steel collapsed in a matter of seconds Sunday as a demolition crew imploded Martin Tower, the defunct steelmaker’s former world headquarters. Crowds gathered to watch the demolition of the area’s tallest building, a 21-story monolith that opened at the height of Bethlehem...
Coal still fuels economic fire in Pennsylvania, industry study reports
Don’t rule the coal industry out as an economic force in Pennsylvania just yet. A new study — conducted by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and commissioned by the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance — found that coal mining accounts for nearly $7 billion in economic activity in the state, including...
Penn State fencing assistant fired over groping allegation
STATE COLLEGE — A woman says she told Penn State University’s head fencing coach that one of his assistants had groped her on a plane, but the coach failed to report her accusation to the school as required. Jennifer Oldham, a North Carolina fencing coach, tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that...
Pennsylvania Waste Industries offering cash for cleanup
Cleaning up your community could prove to be lucrative. In conjunction with the Great American Cleanup of PA initiative, Pennsylvania Waste Industries is offering cash prizes. The group is holding a video contest for those registered. The video must creatively document their cleanup efforts. Cash prizes are $200 for the...
1 dead, 1 missing, 1 hurt after explosion levels Eastern Pa. home
MOUNTAIN TOP — Authorities say one person has been killed and another is missing after an explosion destroyed a home in northeastern Pennsylvania. Officials say emergency responders found 20-year-old Nathan Hedgepeth injured but alive just before 2 a.m. Friday on the lawn outside the home in Dorrance, about 115 miles...
Gov. Tom Wolf on anti-abortion bills: ‘I would veto it’
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday he will never allow an anti-abortion bill to make it into law while he’s governor. Wolf, in a video statement posted on social media, referenced other states that have recently passed antiabortion bills including Alabama and Georgia, where they have already been signed into law....
Pa. Catholic Conference to abuse survivor: ‘Why do you have to troll here?’
HARRISBURG — The lobbying arm of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania on Wednesday accused a clergy sex abuse survivor of trolling it on social media — then apologized as a result of a swift backlash. The unusual exchange, since deleted, unfolded on the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference’s Facebook page. It began...
Facial recognition software under fire; PennDOT’s been using it for years
You may not know whether you have a double in Pennsylvania. But if you’re applying for a driver’s license or a state photo identification, PennDOT will let you know. The agency uses facial recognition software, as do dozens of other agencies across the nation. Images of each of the 10.1...
Officials approve phased retirement for state university professors
State officials and faculty members at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities have approved a voluntary phased-retirement program. The agreement, ratified by the oversight board of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, comes as the faculty union and the State System gear up for contract talks and state officials continue work...
State offers student loan repayment for opioid treatment specialists
Healthcare practitioners who treat opioid addiction in 30 highly affected Western Pennsylvania counties — including Allegheny and Westmoreland — may be eligible for student loan aid under a new $5 million program designed to boost treatment options in the region. Those eligible to participate in the new program through the...
Judge rejects Bill Cosby’s arguments for appeal
A Pennsylvania judge systematically snubbed all of Bill Cosby’s arguments for appeal in a lengthy new opinion that the comedian and his wife blasted as racist Wednesday. Judge Steven O’Neill, who presided over the sex assault trial that led to Cosby’s conviction last year, said in his 143-page response that...
Pennsylvania boosts student-loan aid to bolster opioid fight
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is devoting $5 million in federal grants to a student-loan repayment program in high opioid-use areas where there’s a shortage of substance-abuse treatment professionals. The application period opened May 1 and runs through June 3. An administration spokesman says the new program is fairly...
Lawsuit: Johnstown practice, hospital covered for pedophile pediatrician
EBENSBURG — A civil suit says a Pennsylvania pediatric practice knew that one of its physicians was a threat to molest young patients but covered it up. The suit says Laurel Pediatric Associates in Johnstown knew at least two decades ago that Dr. Johnnie Barto’s patients were in “serious danger,”...
Police: 5-year-old brings crack cocaine to Philadelphia preschool
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police are investigating after a 5-year-old boy brought about two dozen vials of crack cocaine into a preschool at a Roman Catholic church. Police say the boy told a teacher’s aide at St. Cyprian Children’s Center that the person who handed him the bag told him to...
Pennsylvania House tries anew to ban Down syndrome abortions
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is launching another effort to outlaw abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, passing legislation Tuesday that faces a veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, if it even reaches his desk. The vote comes amid a wave of abortion restrictions advancing...
PA accuses OxyContin creator Purdue Pharma of ‘fueling’ opioid epidemic
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday that his office has filed a civil lawsuit against drug giant Purdue Pharma claiming the company fueled the state’s opioid epidemic through its sales of the painkiller OxyContin. “Simply stated, Purdue took advantage of addiction to make money,” the lawsuit contends. The civil...
Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro sues OxyContin maker over opioids
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has filed a lawsuit accusing the company that makes OxyContin of fueling the opioid epidemic. Shapiro announced the lawsuit Tuesday against Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma. Pennsylvania is one of the states hardest hit by opioid addiction. It is at least the 39th state to...
Gag order in Penn State hazing case applies to Piazza family, judge rules
The Piazza family’s nationwide anti-hazing tour may continue, but it might feature a slightly different script after a Centre County judge ruled Tuesday that a 2018 gag order applies to them. Defense attorneys Frank Fina and Steve Trialonas — who represent former Beta Theta Pi fraternity members Brendan Young and...
State, American flags ordered at half-staff Wednesday for national police memorial
American and Pennsylvania flags at state facilities will fly at half-staff Wednesday in honor of National Peace Officers Memorial Day, according to Gov. Tom Wolf. The day is meant to honor law enforcement members who died in the line of duty. A memorial service will be held in Washington, D.C....
Philly soda tax study sees sales dip, health impact unclear
A new study bolsters evidence that soda taxes can reduce sales, but whether they influence health remains unclear. The research found that Philadelphia’s 2017 tax led to a 38% decline in sugary soda and diet drink sales that year, even when taking into account an increase in sales in neighboring...
Sorry, Sheetz: Wawa has best bathrooms in Pennsylvania
Apparently, it’s better in Ohio and West Virginia — or, at least, Sheetz bathrooms are. Sheetz tops the list for the cleanest bathrooms in those neighboring states, according to gas price tracker GasBuddy. But Wawa takes the top spot in Pennsylvania. But Wawa and Sheetz apparently pale in comparison to...
$6,000 reward offered in commuter train conductor shooting
PHILADELPHIA — The transit agency serving the Philadelphia area and a citizens’ crime commission have announced a $6,000 reward for information in the shooting of a conductor on a commuter train platform last week. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority says a train was stopped Friday afternoon at a station in...
Swarthmore College to no longer allow frats, sororities
SWARTHMORE — Fraternities and sororities will no longer be allowed at Swarthmore College following outrage over years-old documents allegedly written by one fraternity there that contains derogatory comments about women and the LGBTQ community and jokes about sexual assault. School President Valerie Smith made the announcement Friday in a letter...
Senate GOP leader wants to unload lieutenant governor’s residence
HARRISBURG — A senior Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate said Thursday the state should sell the lieutenant governor’s residence at Fort Indiantown Gap, saying it would save money and the proceeds could help fund housing for military veterans. President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati asked for co-sponsors for legislation he is...
