Pennsylvania category, Page 39
Pennsylvania lawmakers push to find out causes of death for older adults in abuse or neglect cases
HARRISBURG — Republican state lawmakers are pushing Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration to do more to investigate the deaths of older adults who are the subject of an abuse or neglect complaint after Pennsylvania recorded a steep increase in such deaths starting in 2019. Shapiro’s Department of Aging has balked at...
Pennsylvania Game Commission managing reintroduced bobwhite quail population
In the five years that Alex Busato has been keeping his eyes peeled for local birds, he’s seen perhaps two bobwhite quails. State game commission officials are hoping to change that. Once found in all 67 of Pennsylvania’s counties in the mid-1800s, the little 10-inch-tall bird has been pushed out...
‘What are we waiting for?’ Fontana backs regular statewide property reassessments
Pennsylvania is the only state that doesn’t regularly reassess its properties for tax purposes. A Pittsburgh state legislator wants to change that. Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, told TribLive that he is drafting legislation that would call for regular reassessments statewide. “It is absolutely time to talk about this,” Fontana said...
Coaches across Pa. state universities reach tentative labor pact with State System
Union and management negotiators have a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract covering athletics coaches across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities, officials said Thursday. If ratified by the parties, the pact between the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Facilities and State System of Higher Education would run through...
Biden cancels $5.8B more in student debt for firefighters, nurses, public service workers
The Biden administration on Thursday announced $5.8 billion in additional student loan relief for those working as firefighters, nurses and various other public service jobs in Pennsylvania and across the nation. The latest batch of canceled debt applies to 77,700 borrowers. It stems from fixes made by the administration to...
What a proposed performance-based funding model could mean for Pitt, Penn State, other state-related universities
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. STATE COLLEGE — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed creating a predictable funding formula and boosting state support by 5% for the state-related universities —...
PennWest University seeks new president to reverse enrollment plunge, serve needs of different student populations
There aren’t many universities in their infancy that also are comprised of institutions dating to the Civil War era. In its presidential search, Pennsylvania Western University has walked that fine line between future and past. Now, the university with merged campuses in California, Clarion and Edinboro has posted to its...
Faculty set to vote on contract with State System of Higher Education
Five thousand state university faculty will vote next month on a tentative four-year labor pact between the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties and the State System of Higher Education. The statewide balloting dates announced Tuesday come three months after union and management announced an agreement in principle...
Prosecutors drop case against C.J. Rice, subject of Jake Tapper cover story in The AtlanticVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors will not seek a new trial against C.J. Rice, a South Philadelphia man convicted of four counts of attempted murder in 2013, they told a judge during a minutes-long hearing Monday. There was no contention between the District Attorney’s Office and Rice’s defense team when prosecutors said...
Pennsylvania House speaker pushes for same-day registration and widely available early voting
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House speaker said Monday that qualified residents should be able to register to vote at polling places on the day of elections, and that early voting centers should be open for two weeks beforehand. Speaker Joanna McClinton had proposed these measures as part of a wider...
Man accused of killing family members in Pennsylvania facing charges in 2 states
LEVITTOWN — A man faces murder charges in Pennsylvania and carjacking and weapons charges in New Jersey after allegedly killing three family members, carjacking vehicles in both states and evading law enforcement for hours as police mobilized in two states, authorities said Sunday. Andre Gordon Jr., 26, is charged in...
Pennsylvania is flush with surplus cash, but it still faces a looming budget problem
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 — Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to spend $3.5 billion of Pennsylvania’s surplus to stabilize transit systems, fund a court-mandated K-12 education overhaul, and expand...
Man faces charges in two states after alleged killings of family members in Pennsylvania
LEVITTOWN, Pa. — A man faces murder charges in Pennsylvania and carjacking and weapons charges in New Jersey after allegedly killing three family members, carjacking vehicles in both states and evading law enforcement for hours as police mobilized in two states, authorities said Sunday. Andre Gordon Jr., 26, is charged...
Pa. local governments want long-term state money for cybersecurity as federal grant fills the gap
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our north-central Pa. newsletter, Talk of the Town, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. STATE COLLEGE — Local governments in Pennsylvania could soon have access to...
Police: Suspect is barricaded in New Jersey home after killing 3 people in Philadelphia suburb
LEVITTOWN, Pa. — A suspect has barricaded himself in a home in New Jersey after allegedly killing three people in a shooting in suburban Philadelphia on Saturday, authorities said. The morning shooting in Falls Township in eastern Pennsylvania forced the cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade and shut down...
Husband of slain pregnant Amish woman: Young children told him of killing
MEADVILLE — The husband of a pregnant Amish woman killed inside her rural Pennsylvania home late last month testified Friday that his two young children told him about the crime when he got back from looking at potential roofing jobs. “I didn’t really believe it,” Andy Byler said at a...
Penn State targets under-enrolled programs, duplication as it eyes cuts at branch campuses
Efforts in the coming months to pare spending on Penn State University branch campuses will include reviewing duplicative or underenrolled academic programs and potentially sharing administrative services between campuses. The university has offered an update on a closely watched process to cut $54 million, or 14.1%, from commonwealth campus operations...
Philadelphia’s population declined for 3rd straight year, census data shows
PHILADELPHIA — Federal estimates released Thursday showed that more than 16,000 residents left Philadelphia last year, marking the third straight year the city’s population has declined. The U.S. Census Bureau data indicates Philadelphia’s population now stands at about 1.6 million residents, meaning a 1% drop occurred between July 2022 and...
Last suspect sought in deadly bus shooting in Philadelphia, police say
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a 17-year-old youth who they say is the last of four suspects sought in the shooting that wounded eight Philadelphia high school students at a bus stop last week. The U.S. Marshals Service, while offering details Tuesday night on the arrest...
Shapiro unveils plan to cut greenhouse gases, boost renewables in big energy producer
SCRANTON — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan Wednesday to fight climate change, saying he will back legislation to make power plant owners in the nation’s third-biggest energy-producing state pay for their greenhouse gas emissions and require utilities to buy more electricity from renewable sources. Such legislation would make...
Rep. Frankel seeks details about imminent closure of UPMC Montefiore dental center
A UPMC decision to close its Montefiore dental center has state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, worried about how many patients will be displaced and the potential impact on their care. Frankel sought an explanation for the closure in a letter sent Friday to UPMC, a copy of which was...
Two 18-year-olds are being held on $2M bail in Philadelphia bus stop shooting that injured 8 teens
PHILADELPHIA — Two 18-year-olds were arrested in the shooting of eight Philadelphia high school students at a bus stop last week, and authorities recovered a fully loaded, fully automatic weapon that matches evidence found at the scene, they announced Monday. Two more suspects were still being sought, authorities said. The...
Erie prepares for crush of solar eclipse enthusiasts
On Monday, April 8, Erie residents will discover the impact just a few minutes of darkness can have. Depending on how many people travel to Erie for the upcoming total solar eclipse — local tourism officials are estimating anywhere between 50,000 and 200,000 — the city of just over 94,000...
States have hodgepodge of cumbersome rules for enforcing sunshine laws
PHOENIX — A nationwide review of procedures by The Associated Press and CNHI News revealed a patchwork of complicated systems for resolving open government disputes that often put the burden of enforcing transparency laws on private citizens. The review, timed to Sunshine Week, found that fewer than a third of...
Handling mental illness is complicated at all levels of criminal justice system
As Terrance Kurhansky’s case made its way through Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system, it became clear to his attorney and the presiding judge that their options were limited, and none of them was ideal. Kurhansky, 83, was charged in 2019 with attempting to murder his neighbor. Police said he used a...
