Pennsylvania category, Page 26
AI may breathe new life into Three Mile Island to supply power to Microsoft’s data centers
HARRISBURG — The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy. The announcement by Constellation Energy comes...
Penn State removes student newspapers, sparking free speech debate
Penn State University removed dozens of newsstands from campus buildings that contained its student newspaper because nine of them displayed political ads above the newspaper rack itself: three for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and six promoting voter registration. Penn State administrators say the posters violated rules about advertising and...
Pennsylvania state senator sues critics of his book about WWI hero Sgt. York
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state senator and former GOP gubernatorial candidate whose support for Donald Trump drew him to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has sued a Canadian university and nearly two dozen academics over criticism of him and his research into World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York....
Bowhunting season begins Saturday for all of Allegheny County, small slices of western Westmoreland, opens Oct. 5 statewide
Justin Relihan has been bowhunting since he was 16 years old. The Butler resident began hunting at age 12 with a rifle, but quickly found he had more of a passion for using a compound bow. “I like the quietness of bowhunting,” said Relihan, 48. “There’s a lot less people....
GOP asks Pa. Supreme Court to bar counties from letting voters fix mail-in ballot errors
The Republican Party is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to find it illegal for county boards of elections to alert voters to defective mail-in ballots and give them the chance to correct errors. Voters’ rights groups called the petition filed Wednesday by the Republican National Committee and state Republican Party...
Flurry of polls shows Harris with slight lead over Trump in tight race in Pa.
With less than seven weeks to go before Election Day, a majority of polls released this week show Vice President Kamala Harris has eked out a slight lead in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, gained some favor among Pennsylvanians over the last couple...
Penn State to pay $700K in gender discrimination case
Penn State University will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest to settle a U.S. Department of Labor case alleging gender pay discrimination against female staff and faculty, the parties announced. The amount will be shared among the women impacted. Penn State said the inequities found by the department were...
Trump to rally at IUP venue with separate rules from campus political event ban
Former President Donald Trump is planning a campaign rally at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a state-owned campus that expressly prohibits “activities for the purpose of advancing a single political candidate or party” in any university-controlled facility. That prohibition, though, apparently does not apply to the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex,...
Philadelphia mayor strikes deal with the 76ers to build a new arena downtown
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have a new teammate in their bid to build a new $1.3 billion arena downtown. Mayor Cherelle Parker announced Wednesday that she has forged a deal with team owners to keep the NBA franchise in town and will send it to city council. The decision...
Penn State taps consultant to assess academic programs
Penn State University has hired a consultant to help determine “if it is teaching the right courses in the right places,” given shifting enrollments and employer demand. Hanover Research, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is expected to begin work in early October on the university’s Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR)...
Democrats run unopposed to fill 2 state House vacancies in Philadelphia
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia voters on Tuesday will fill two vacant state House seats in special elections, and in both cases a Democratic candidate is the only person on the ballot. Keith Harris is seeking to replace Rep. Donna Bullock, while Andre Carroll is in line to succeed Rep. Stephen Kinsey....
Pennsylvania court rejects Cornel West’s bid to get on ballot and clears way for mail voting
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court ruling that rejected a bid to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the ballot for the November election in the battleground state. The courts sided with the secretary of state’s office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in rejecting...
Activists gain meeting with Kim Ward’s office over bill to ban foreign campaign money
Activists demanding campaign finance and lobbying reforms staked out the office of Pennsylvania’s state Senate leader on Monday — and got a commitment to meet with top legislative staff on a bill they hope will clear the chamber soon. Members of March on Harrisburg and other affiliated groups rallied at...
Statewide search for historic buildings finds thousands after a decades-long drought
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. An army of contractors has spent the past several years quietly fanning out across Pennsylvania to find the history state records...
Gannon University looks to merge with Ohio college
Gannon University in Erie and Ursuline College near Cleveland intend to merge, creating what leaders say would be the largest Catholic university system in the Lake Erie region. Presidents of both institutions outlined the move to their campuses Monday. The plan is subject to review by both institutions. If approved,...
Canned cocktail sales expand among Pennsylvania retailers following liquor code reform
As of Monday, Pennsylvanians finally have what Gov. Josh Shapiro has called “real freedom” — the freedom to buy canned cocktails from a wider variety of retailers. Under bipartisan legislation (Senate Bill 688) signed by the governor in July, about 12,000 restaurants, bars, beer distributors, grocery stores and gas stations...
A cost-saving Pa. dental policy did the opposite, lawmakers, health advocates say
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. BELLEFONTE — To save money, in 2011 the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services curtailed most dental services for adults covered by Medicaid. Now, lawmakers and advocates are...
Pa. Supreme Court rules on mail-in ballot date errors, but it’s likely not the final word
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dealt a blow Friday — at least temporarily — to Democrats and voting-rights groups on the critical issue of how to handle date errors on mail-in ballots. But the decision, which threw out a lower court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to discard ballots with date...
Shapiro names members of State Board of Higher Education
Gov. Josh Shapiro named Friday the inaugural members of a new State Board of Higher Education, a key part of his college reforms intended to curb price hikes through better planning and avoiding unnecessary competition. The body includes members from each sector of postsecondary education, plus government, business, labor and...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro will headline a reproductive rights rally for Kamala Harris campaign in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will kick off Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign’s “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour at 11 a.m. Sunday morning in Philadelphia. The popular Democratic governor will headline the Old City event alongside Hadley Duvall, a Kentucky reproductive rights advocate whose stepfather sexually abused and impregnated her...
Debate was an ‘eye opener’ in suburban Philadelphia and Harris got a closer look
BRISTOL, Pa. — The presidential debate this week was the final affront to Rosie Torres’ lifelong Republicanism. She said her allegiance to Donald Trump, already strained by his stand on abortion, snapped in the former president’s “eye opener” encounter with Kamala Harris. It’s time to put “country before party,” Torres,...
WCCC, Penn State expand transfer options for students
Westmoreland County Community College students pursuing two-year degrees in 11 high-demand fields could have an easier path to a bachelor’s degree under an agreement inked with Penn State University. Specifically, the pact outlined this week by Penn State and WCCC covers 14 of the university’s 19 Commonwealth campuses statewide, a...
A Philadelphia officer has died of his injuries from a June shooting
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia police officer has died of his wounds, nearly three months after being shot in the neck after stopping a vehicle while on duty, city officials said. Officer Jaime Roman, 31, who spent 80 days in intensive care without regaining consciousness, died Tuesday night. Roman leaves behind...
Outgoing State System chancellor tapped by firm for national role
State System of Higher Education Chancellor Daniel Greenstein will join the consulting firm Baker Tilly and its higher education advisory practice. Greenstein, 64, will lead initiatives that deal with fast-evolving needs of higher education institutions, “prioritizing improved student outcomes and long-term institutional sustainability by optimizing operations, aligning academic portfolios with...
Penn State alumni-elected trustee could be removed after committee reviews ‘conduct violation’
The Penn State board of trustees is set to vote on removing an outspoken alumni-elected trustee after a committee reviewed a potential code of conduct violation. During a special meeting of the Governance Committee Monday morning, members discussed a potential code of conduct violation by Trustee Barry Fenchak in an...
