Pennsylvania category, Page 36
Pa. Senate Republicans pass bill allowing certain energy projects to bypass administration
The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would overhaul elements of the commonwealth’s energy development system — a move hailed by the Republican majority as a way to attract more investment but decried by Democrats as an attempt to skirt environmental regulations. The bill, which passed on a...
Democrats advance election bill in Pennsylvania long sought by counties to process ballots faster
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill long sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state and to avoid a repeat of 2020’s drawn-out vote count. The bill comes barely six months before Pennsylvania could...
Top Pa. Game Commission official resigns amid questions over side business
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has a new executive director this week after the agency’s former head resigned abruptly on Monday after issues were raised by commissioner members and lawmakers about his business dealings with employees. Bryan Burhans, who served as its executive director since 2017, was replaced by deputy executive...
Pennsylvania moves to join states that punish stalkers who use Bluetooth tracking devices
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania took a step Tuesday toward becoming the latest state to punish someone for using a Bluetooth-connected device to track someone without their permission. The state House of Representatives voted 199-1 to approve legislation that would make using a tracking device to secretly track another person part of...
Pa. priest accused of stealing $40K for Candy Crush, other phone games
Police have accused a Catholic priest in Montgomery County of stealing over $40,000 from a Chester County parish in order to fund his addiction to cell phone games. The Rev. Lawrence Kozak, 51, of Pottstown, has been charged with theft and related crimes, according to reports from 6ABC and the...
Pa. bill to ban live pigeon shoots advances for first time in a decade
A bill to end the practice of captive pigeon shoots — cruel contests that involve the slaughter of hundreds of birds at close range — cleared the state House Judiciary Committee on Monday. Bill sponsor Rep. Perry Warren, D-Bucks County, called the legislation “progress” in addressing an issue that has...
Boy, 16, who died as a result of racial incident phoned his dad as he ran from classmates
By all accounts, Orville Johnson was building a better life for his son in America. The family hailed from Jamaica, arriving here about two years ago. Johnson built up his HVAC business. And he specifically chose the Central Dauphin School District for 16-year-old Justin because it was ‘the best,” a...
Thousands of employees at federal contractors do not have whistleblower protections despite 2013 law
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. As she read the memo explaining why she was being fired, Kierra Varcos felt her cheeks burn and blood pound in her ears. She had...
Casey, McCormick agree to 3 debates across Pa. in U.S. Senate race
With the primary election just barely in the rearview mirror, the candidates for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate wasted no time in thinking ahead to November. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced Thursday he wants to participate in three debates this fall. Casey, of Scranton, proposed holding debates in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,...
With Democrat Janelle Stelson’s win, analyst dials back chances for GOP to hold Rep. Perry’s seat
On the heels of Janelle Stelson’s win on Tuesday as the Democratic challenger to GOP U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a well-known political forecaster has slightly downgraded Perry’s chances of victory in November. Kyle Kondik with University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball said this week he was...
Higher internet costs could be on the way for low-income Pa. residents as federal subsidies run out
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 — Thousands of Pennsylvanians could soon be hit with higher internet bills when a federal program that gives a discount to low-income households starts...
Gay actor’s speech back on at Pennsylvania school after cancellation over his ‘lifestyle’
A gay actor’s speech that was canceled over his “lifestyle” is back on at a Pennsylvania school after residents spoke out. The Cumberland Valley School District’s board voted 5-4 Wednesday night to allow children’s book author Maulik Pancholy, who is gay, to speak against bullying during an assembly on May...
Access to mental health care may get boost from change in counselor licensing requirements
Dozens more professional counselors could be approved for associate licenses soon under a new state law meant to expand mental health care in Pennsylvania. For college students set to graduate this spring and move on to their clinical experience requirements, getting started in the field could be a quick turnaround...
Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
HARRISBURG — A form Pennsylvania voters must complete on the outside of mail-in ballot return envelopes has been redesigned, but that did not prevent some voters from failing to complete it accurately for this week’s primary, and some votes will not count as a result, election officials said. The primary...
Some Nikki Haley voters are hanging on to her candidacy and, like her, refuse to endorse Trump
HARRISBURG — When Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign, she refused to endorse Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination — and apparently so did some of her supporters in Pennsylvania. Haley won almost 17% of Pennsylvania’s primary vote Tuesday, or 1 in 6...
Pa. auditor general’s race to pit a state rep against incumbent
A Philadelphia Democratic state lawmaker got past his primary challenger on Tuesday, positioning him to take on incumbent GOP state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor in the Nov. 5 election. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who also won a primary contest for re-election to his House seat, bested Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley,....
Casey, McCormick to face each other as nominees in Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick will face each other in Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest this fall, as Tuesday’s primary election put the men on track for a race that is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and help decide control of...
Philly DA withdraws arrest warrant for Democratic lawmaker Kevin Boyle
Philadelphia Democratic state Rep. Kevin Boyle is no longer facing imminent arrest by Philadelphia Police Department after new information has come forward to indicate the protection from abuse order that was the basis of an arrest warrant was no longer in effect. At a late Monday afternoon news conference, Philadelphia...
Kenneth Mash re-elected leader of Pa. state university union
Kenneth Mash has been re-elected president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, the 5,000-plus member union for professors and coaches across the State System of Higher Education. The union on Monday announced result of voting by delegates across the state. Mash, a political science professor at...
Republicans’ defense of the ‘Biden 16’ House districts starts with Pennsylvania’s primary election
NEW HOPE — Mark Houck makes a potent appeal to conservative Republicans in this corner of eastern Pennsylvania when he describes his arrest and subsequent acquittal on federal charges that he pushed a Planned Parenthood volunteer outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic. The account has become a staple of Houck’s first-time...
FAFSA mess leads to deadline extension for students to apply for state grants
Students hoping for a Pennsylvania state grant to help pay for college have an extra month — until June 1 — to submit the federal form that is needed to be considered for financial aid. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) on Thursday announced that it has pushed back...
York police officer raped baby during bathtime, court documents revealVideo
A York police officer raped a 13-month-old girl while he was bathing her over the weekend in a Dauphin County home, police wrote in court documents. The baby’s Halifax daycare center called Pennsylvania State Police on Monday requesting a welfare check after the girl was dropped off with “severe bruising”...
Shapiro says Pennsylvania will move all school standardized testing online in 2026
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that his administration will move all standardized school assessment tests online in an effort to save more classroom time for instruction, create a user-friendly exam for students and relieve a burden from teachers and administrators. Shapiro, in a news conference at Northgate Middle School...
Pennsylvania House Democrats take step toward expelling state Rep. Kevin Boyle
HARRISBURG — A top House Democratic leader took a first step toward expelling State Rep. Kevin Boyle from the state House, as the lawmaker faces criminal charges and his family says he’s experiencing a serious mental health condition. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, in response to Boyle’s situation, on...
Sheetz hit with discrimination lawsuit
The Sheetz convenience store chain has been hit with a lawsuit by federal officials who allege the company discriminated against minority job applicants. Sheetz Inc., which operates more than 700 stores in six states, discriminated against Black, Native American and multiracial job seekers by automatically weeding out applicants whom the...
