Pennsylvania category, Page 33
Are Penn State cuts a preview of higher education divide?
The gap between Penn State University’s sprawling main campus and its 20 branches can be measured these days in ways more personal and profound than highway miles. Stung by double-digit enrollment losses, the branch campuses and their students are about to lose 10% of their faculty and staff to buyouts...
Unruly customer breaks bartender’s jaw at central Pa. restaurant
A man broke the jaw of a bartender at a popular Lebanon County restaurant and assaulted two other female employees after they asked him to leave earlier this week, the owner told CBS 21. The owner of Downtown Lounge on the 700 block of Cumberland Street said two men came...
Jay-Z enters one of Pa.’s messiest political fights
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A series of events intended to get Philadelphians to support using taxpayer money to fund private school vouchers is bankrolled by an unexpected...
Sen. John Fetterman got 2 speeding tickets before Sunday’s crash, Pa. records show
Sen. John Fetterman’s car crash Sunday, in which he was speeding and found “at fault,” was not the first time the senator has been involved in risky driving behaviors, Pennsylvania state records show. Fetterman, D-Pa., has received two speeding tickets in his home state — the more recent one of...
Report says unsecured tanker hatch spilled out gas in crash that destroyed I-95 bridge in Philly
HARRISBURG — Gasoline spilled out from an unsecured hatch on the top of the gasoline delivery tanker that overturned and ignited beneath an Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia a year ago, according to new details from federal investigators. Video evidence obtained by investigators shows the cover to the 16-inch “manhole”...
Pennsylvania’s failure to fund indigent defense violates the Constitution, lawsuit says
The examples in the lawsuit are many. One man held in jail for three months on $100 bail for a minor trespassing and marijuana possession charge. Another man incarcerated for 10 weeks for charges he drove an unregistered car without proof of insurance. One man who sat in jail for...
Biden to nominate Philly federal prosecutor for U.S. District Court judge
President Joe Biden has chosen a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia who is a Temple University alum and U.S. Air Force veteran to be a nominee for judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mary Kay Costello, 56 and a Bucks County native, has served as...
Pa. Turnpike to remove all toll booths, overhead gantries planned
The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s toll booths are soon to be a thing of the past. The Turnpike Commission last week approved $50 million in contracts to construct a portion of the overhead gantries needed to complete a transition to open-road tolling. Allison Park Contractors has been tasked with installing structures to...
Dirt bike riders fire at least 41 shots at man on Pa. sidewalk, killing him
Police are looking for a group of men on dirt bikes who shot and killed a man in Philadelphia on Monday. The incident happened at about 8 p.m. at the corner of Potter and Huntingdon streets in the city’s Kensington neighborhood, according to 6ABC and NBC10. Six people could be...
Details of proposed Pa. higher education board tucked into legislation
A new state Board of Higher Education as proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro would consist of 15 voting members, one from each sector of postsecondary education, plus government, business, labor and student representatives. Details are contained in twin pieces of legislation introduced Monday by Sen. Jay Costa Jr. , D-Forest...
Pennsylvania schools would get billions more under Democratic plan passed by the state House
HARRISBURG — A Democratic-sponsored proposal to boost public school funding by billions in the coming years and impose stricter rules on cyber-charter schools passed the Pennsylvania House on Monday in a test of political will as lawmakers haggle over the state budget. The bill responds to a report issued in...
Cyber charter changes that could save public schools $530M may be in this year’s budget
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s public school districts could save roughly $530 million annually if the legislature makes long-sought changes to how cyber charters are funded. Democratic...
Pennsylvania Senate passes bill to outlaw the distribution of deepfake material
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Monday approved legislation that would outlaw the distribution of salacious or pornographic deepfakes, with sponsors saying it will eliminate a loophole in the law that had frustrated prosecutors. The bill was approved unanimously and was sent to the House. It comes as states are...
Chaos, confusion have followed Philly encampment clearing, residents and businesses say
When chef Dionicio Jiménez opens the doors of Cantina La Martina on Philadelphia’s Kensington Avenue, his day begins by cleaning up trash and human feces from the sidewalk or disposing of the occasional mattress where people have been sleeping around his restaurant. He and his wife, co-owner Mariangeli Alicea Saez,...
Nurse practitioners say they’d ease rural health care shortage with more authority; doctors say it won’t work
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Joyce Knestrick can independently give physical exams, diagnose health conditions, prescribe select medications, and make referrals as a nurse practitioner at a clinic...
Secret opioid cash meetings criticized by Pa. lawmaker after Spotlight PA and WESA reporting
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A member of the board overseeing Pennsylvania’s opioid settlement money said he’s concerned the group’s actions don’t comply with the state’s Sunshine Act, echoing transparency...
Pa. lawmakers introduce bills to advance Shapiro’s higher education overhaul
Two Democratic lawmakers, one in the House and one in the Senate, are introducing legislation to advance Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposals to reimagine Pennsylvania’s higher education system. The system has long been criticized as underfunded by the state and too expensive for students. The governor on Friday announced the introduction...
Some Republicans booed, walked out as Pa. House recognized Jan. 6 Capitol police officers
HARRISBURG — A visit to the Pennsylvania House floor by two former police officers who helped protect the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot of 2021 drew boos and walkouts by some Republican legislators this week. Witnesses said the appearance Wednesday by former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn...
Ex-NASCAR driver Tighe Scott and 3 other Pennsylvania men face charges stemming from Capitol riot
Retired NASCAR driver Tighe Scott, his adult son and two other Pennsylvania men are facing felony charges stemming from confrontations with police during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol. Scott, 75, of Pen Argyl, and three Saylorsburg residents — Jarret Scott, 48; Scott Slater Sr., 56, and...
Paid family leave draws bipartisan support as good for the economy, but some oppose cost, lost control
This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Alana Griffin was employed and on maternity leave when she and her infant son moved into a Tampa, Florida,...
Point Park University extends offer to students as Philadelphia college closes
The urgent calls and emails to Point Park University started within hours of the abrupt announcement that a venerable arts campus in Philadelphia would close within a week, leaving hundreds of students suddenly without fall college plans. University of the Arts, dating to the 1870s, had become the latest small...
Gov. Shapiro signs law prohibiting use of handheld devices while driving
Using cellphones and other handheld devices while driving will no longer be allowed on Pennsylvania roads. On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Paul Miller’s Law, which prohibits the use of handheld devices while driving. The law passed in May with bipartisan support and it makes Pennsylvania the 29th state in...
Gov. Shapiro, Pitt chancellor give vastly different takes on pro-Palestinian encampment than protest’s leaders
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office late Wednesday called it “unfortunate” that a 30-hour pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pittsburgh “devolved into documented violence, vandalism, and antisemitic rhetoric.” The statement from Shapiro press secretary Manuel Bonder came hours after Pitt Divest from Apartheid, the group that organized the encampment, offered a...
Proposed scholarships would make going to college cheaper in Pa., but there’s a catch
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers are entering into budget season with the joint goal of making it more affordable to attend college in the commonwealth. As...
Budget season arrives in Pennsylvania Capitol as lawmakers prepare for debate over massive surplus
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers return to session Monday to begin a four-week countdown to the start of the state’s next fiscal year, with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican lawmakers offering competing visions for how to use a massive surplus. Shapiro has floated an admittedly “ambitious” $48.3 billion budget plan...
