Pennsylvania category, Page 228
Eastern hellbender voted Pennsylvania’s official amphibian
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is getting an official amphibian, a nocturnal salamander that can grow to be more than two feet long. The House voted 191-6 on Tuesday to grant the honor to the Eastern hellbender, and Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said he plans to sign it. The path to legislative...
USDA revamps website to help farmers manage loans, hire workersVideo
Farmers looking for help with their loans or with hiring foreign workers need look no further than the newly-revamped website Farmers.gov. The website, launched in 2018 by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, recently added features to help farmers manage their farm loans and navigate the application process for H-2A...
Pa. closing scenic but dangerous Glen Onoko Falls hiking trail
One of the most popular trails in Pennsylvania has become too dangerous to hike. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is closing the main Glen Onoko Falls trail in Jim Thorpe starting May 1, reports the Associated Press. View this post on Instagram #glenonokofalls #dangerzone #hiking A post shared by William Canning...
Rivers Casino’s $12M leads sharp uptick in Pa. sports betting in March
HARRISBURG — Sports betting leaped by almost one-third in Pennsylvania’s fourth full month, as more venues opened amid March Madness. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Tuesday that gamblers bet a record $44.5 million in March at six casinos and two off-track betting parlors where sports betting is approved. That...
Petrarca bill would enhance caseworkers’ access to information in child abuse cases
More than a year and a half after a state audit found child welfare workers were underpaid and ill-equipped to deal with an increasing tide of abuse complaints, a Westmoreland County lawmaker has sponsored a bill to give caseworkers access to more information about at-risk children. The bill sponsored by...
Pennsylvania primary voter registration deadline looms
Now that Tax Day has arrived, state officials are alerting Pennsylvania residents that the deadline for registering to vote in this year’s municipal primary is April 22. Acting Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said the state’s Online Voter Registration (OVR) is the quickest and easiest way to register to vote...
Most-Googled ‘is it safe’ queries vary wildly by state
Ever wonder what “Enquiring minds want to know?” ASecureLife.com, a company that reviews home security systems, stun guns and tasers, among other services, said it set researchers loose to find out the answer to the age-old question the National Enquirer once used to promote tales of alien invasions and political...
Opening day change is official for Pennsylvania deer hunters
The change — and it’s a big one — is official. Opening day of Pennsylvania’s statewide firearms deer season is moving. It has been the Monday after Thanksgiving each year since 1963. This year it will be the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Pennsylvania Game Commissioners on Tuesday — by a 5-3...
Pennsylvania fares better than 42 other states in physician-patient ratio
Pennsylvania might not be in such bad shape after all when it comes to the looming physician shortage. Experts have long predicted the U.S. is on the verge of a physician shortage, predicted to worsen as the baby boom generation ages and the demand for care increases. A recent estimate...
Pennsylvania National Guard family college benefit touted
Pennsylvania’s Adjutant General on Friday urged state lawmakers to endorse a family education benefit for members of the state’s National Guard touted as the first of its kind n the nation. Gov. Tom Wolf endorsed the concept of the Military Family Education Program or PA GI Bill, which has snared...
DEP to sample 300 public water supplies for man-made contaminants
The state Department of Environmental Protection has announced plans to sample 300 public water sources statewide for contaminants. The program will specifically look for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in areas known to harbor such contaminants, including military bases, fire training sites, landfills and manufacturing facilities, DEP said. Perfluoroalkyl...
Ex-Penn State worker gets up to 23 months in jail for bathroom recordings
A former Penn State employee charged with recording more than 20 people in a Bryce Jordan Center bathroom has received his jail sentence. On Thursday, Centre County Judge Brian Marshall sentenced Charles Chamberlin Jr., 55, to six to 23.5 months in the county jail, along with three years of probation....
3 fallen Marines with ties to Pa. honored with flags flown at half-staff
Flags at the state Capitol and public buildings across Pennsylvania began flying at half-staff Thursday to honor three Marines killed in the line of duty. Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all U.S. and state flags to remain lowered through sunset Sunday and invited others to participate. Local emergency services officials and public...
Central Pa. leaders, residents speak out about Pittsburgh gun ban
LEWISBURG — The gun control legislation passed by Pittsburgh’s City Council and signed by Mayor Bill Peduto on Tuesday spurred Susquehanna Valley leaders and a hunter to speak out in favor of — and against — the law, which prohibits the use of military assault-type weapons. Lewisburg Mayor Judy Wagner,...
Auditor General: Number of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania decreased by nearly 90%
The number of untested rape kits in Pennsylvania has dropped dramatically, from more than 3,200to 339 in the last three years, according to state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. Across the state, sexual assault evidence kits have been a focus recently of forensic scientists who examine them for details police can...
Ex-students file lawsuit alleging abuse at Pa.reform school
PHILADELPHIA — Four former students at the nation’s oldest reform school have filed a class-action lawsuit against the suburban Philadelphia facility, alleging they were abused and denied an education. The Juvenile Law Center says the suit against Glen Mills Schools was filed in federal court on Wednesday. An investigation by...
Former Penn State Pres Graham Spanier ordered to prison – finally – in Sandusky scandal
The long-running criminal court drama over the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal moved to a conclusion Wednesday when a judge ordered Penn State’s former president to finally report to prison in three weeks. Graham Spanier, 70, has been free on bond pending appeals since his 2017 jury conviction for...
Fight over sexual abuse victims’ lawsuits returns to Pa. Senate
HARRISBURG — Democratic lawmakers are attempting anew to give now-adult victims of child sexual abuse a reprieve from time limits in Pennsylvania law that prohibit them from suing perpetrators and institutions that may have covered it up. Senate Democrats said Wednesday they’re introducing legislation that’s been propelled by child sexual...
Pa. lawmakers to honor victims of Tree of Life synagogue massacre
HARRISBURG — Victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack that killed 11 people last year will be remembered during a memorial service in the Pennsylvania Capitol. The unusual joint session Wednesday will bring together the House and the Senate for prayers and speeches about the Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree...
Daub named director of Federation of Sportsmen and Conservationists
Harold Daub is the new executive director for the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen and Conservationists. According to the PFSC board, he took over duties including government affairs on Monday in Harrisburg. The board said Daub is widely known among sportsmen and most recently led Hunters United for Sunday Hunting. That...
New gun law takes effect as more change debated
Pennsylvania’s first new gun law in 14 years takes effect Wednesday, even as lawmakers debate other proposed changes that could affect gun owners. In the future, the new Act 79 gives gun owners who are subject to a final protection from abuse order or a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence...
Police follow gun background checks in Pennsylvania
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, says the rest of the nation needs the kind of oversight on failed background checks on gun buyers Pennsylvania has had for more than two decades. Toomey is co-sponsoring a bill that would require the FBI to notify state and local police across the...
Pa. lawmakers try to stop plan to switch paratransit funding from counties to private brokers
State lawmakers Tuesday moved to delay — and eventually kill, they hope — a planned funding change that could severely reduce subsidized rides to doctors offices and other medical appointments for the poor and elderly in Pennsylvania. Two pending bills, one each in the Senate and House, would postpone a...
Sen. Pat Toomey wants local cops informed of failed firearms background checks
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, is taking another run at the nation’s gun laws. This time, he has put his name on a bill that would attempt to close what he sees as a loophole that allows thousands of people who attempt to buy a gun illegally to walk...
Penn State professor to make appearance on ‘Jeopardy!’
Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.) (TNS) When Ariana Mikulski was growing up in Lansing, Mich., she remembers watching Alex Trebek get his start as a host on the quiz-style game show “Jeopardy!” Watching regularly with her family, Mikulski developed a passion for trivia and quizzes that grew into her...
