Pennsylvania category, Page 41
Student loan forgiveness plan in Pennsylvania wipes out $45.1M in debt for 5,600 borrowers
The Biden administration this week canceled $1.2 billion in student debt nationwide. In Pennsylvania, that means 5,600 borrowers with a total of $45.1 million in debt have had their loans wiped clean, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The agency on Friday released a state-by-state breakdown of where the...
A deficit of experienced voting officials could mean trouble for Pa.’s 2024 election
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. As the presidential election approaches, Pennsylvania is facing a deficit of experienced election directors, increasing the risk of errors that could cause difficulties for voters, disenfranchise their votes, and...
State System of Higher Education chancellor faces tough questioning over more than next school year’s budget
Were this any other year, the leader of Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities simply might have needed to defend next year’s appropriation request and explain how it would enable a sixth consecutive tuition freeze. Instead, State System of Higher Education Chancellor Daniel Greenstein faced sharp questioning from state senators Wednesday about...
Pennsylvania’s high court throws out GOP lawmakers’ subpoena in 2020 presidential election case
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled Wednesday that Republican state lawmakers can no longer try to enforce a subpoena for a wide range of election records they issued in 2021 in a quest inspired by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The court,...
Pennsylvania’s high court sides with township over its ban of a backyard gun range
HARRISBURG — A township ordinance that limits firing guns to indoor and outdoor shooting ranges and zoning that significantly restricts where the ranges can be located do not violate the Second Amendment, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The man who challenged Stroud Township’s gun laws, Jonathan Barris, began to draw...
Pa. Senate taking comments on 10-year plan to help state’s seniors
Members of the Pennsylvania Senate are seeking public comments following the publication of “Aging Our Way, PA: A Plan for Lifelong Independence,” a 10-year plan to support the state’s older residents. “Every Pennsylvanian deserves to live and age with dignity,” Sen. Maria Collett, D-12, said. “This comprehensive and innovative plan...
A bill to legalize syringe services in Pa. just passed a historic hurdle, but GOP opposition remains
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 — In what advocates are calling a historic move, a bill that would legalize syringe services throughout Pennsylvania is making progress in the legislature....
GOP Senate contenders aren’t shy about wanting Trump’s approval. But in Pennsylvania, it’s awkward
HARRISBURG — Since he became the single biggest force in Republican politics nearly a decade ago, Donald Trump has figured prominently in U.S. Senate races, using his massive public platform and loyal base of support to shape which GOP incumbents run for reelection and which contenders get nominated. This year,...
Defense: Suspended judge didn’t shoot estranged boyfriend, is innocent of attempted murder, assault
HARRISBURG — The attorney representing a suspended magistrate judge in Pennsylvania says his client is not guilty of allegations that she shot her estranged boyfriend in the head as he slept earlier this month. Magisterial District Judge Sonya McKnight, 57, was charged last week in Dauphin County with attempted murder...
What Shapiro’s budget pitch could do for Pa.’s rural communities
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. BELLEFONTE — As the populations of Pennsylvania’s rural counties shrink, officials hope future state spending can help slow projected losses by making investments that attract...
FAFSA delays prompt Pa. state-owned universities to extend enrollment deadlines
Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities are extending the deadline for thousands of prospective new students to review financial aid offers and decide whether to enroll for fall. The move is intended to mitigate delays being experienced nationwide with the U.S. Department of Education’s revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known...
Penn State dance marathon raises $17 million, beats record by $2 million
Their voices are likely shot, their ankles probably sore and they definitely could use some sleep. But the 700-plus dancers — and thousands more who participated in this year’s Penn State University IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon — know they made history, raising almost $17 million in the fight against childhood cancer,...
Student-run dance marathon raises $16.9 million in pediatric cancer funds
STATE COLLEGE — Hundreds of Penn State students have raised more than $16.9 million for pediatric cancer patients in the annual 46-hour dance marathon known as Thon. The $16,955,683.63 total was announced Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, billed as the world’s largest...
Penn State president could get $1.5 million bonus if she stays through June 2032
Penn State University trustees on Friday showed they want to retain President Neeli Bendapudi long term by approving incentives including a $1.5 million bonus if she stays in office through June 30, 2032. The vote to amend her compensation package came as the state’s flagship public university confronts what some...
Pa. high court to weigh if life without parole for felony murder is constitutional
The state Supreme Court on Friday said it will take up a Pittsburgh case challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for second-degree, or felony, murder. It is the first time Pennsylvania’s highest court will consider the issue — looking at it through the...
Pennsylvania high court takes up challenge to the state’s life-without-parole sentences
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s high court will consider if some automatic life sentences for those convicted of murder violate constitutional protections for defendants, the justices said Friday. The appeal being pursued by Derek Lee, convicted of a 2014 killing, argues the state’s life-without-parole law violates prohibitions in the Pennsylvania and U.S....
Pennsylvania courts say no ransom was paid in cyberattack, and attackers never sent a demand
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state courts agency said Thursday that it never received a ransom demand as part of a cyberattack that briefly shut down some of its online services earlier this month and prompted a federal investigation. The attack, called a “denial of services” attack, on the website of the...
Pennsylvania man charged with beheading father carried photos of federal buildings, bomb plans, DA says
The suburban Philadelphia man charged with decapitating his father and posting a video online in which he held up the severed head had a device with photos of federal buildings and apparent instructions for making explosives when he was arrested, authorities said Thursday. Justin Mohn, 32, faces a dozen new...
Ready to dance without pause for 46 hours? Here’s your guide to Penn State’s Thon 2024
Perhaps the biggest event of Penn State’s spring semester is just around the corner, but it’s not too late to learn how to follow along, get involved or lend a hand. Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, better known simply as “Thon,” will get underway at 6 p.m. Friday before concluding...
Group of Penn State trustees pushes to name football field after Joe Paterno in private meetings
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 — Penn State trustees and high-ranking university representatives met privately twice in January to discuss whether to name the football field at Beaver...
Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania appears to have a chance
Sunday hunting could finally happen in Pennsylvania — more than just three days a year. Members of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, an association of the state’s farmers and powerful state lobbying group that has opposed Sunday hunting for years, said they would step aside as long as several key pieces...
Democrats retain majority in Pa. House with a 102-100 partisan divide
HARRISBURG — Democrats retained their slim majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday after voters elected a former school board member to represent them in a Philadelphia suburb that has been trending more to the left. Jim Prokopiak’s election to the Bucks County seat will give Democrats a...
Police: Penn State professor on video partially nude crawling around park, masturbating
A longtime and award-winning Penn State professor was charged Monday after dozens of videos showed him performing sexual acts in Rothrock State Forest, the same place he was caught on camera last year enticing a dog to lick his anus. Themis Matsoukas, 64, of Patton Township, was accused of recording...
PLCB opens lotteries to purchase nearly 1,900 bottles of rare whiskeys
Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board, through its limited-release lottery, is awarding those who register the opportunity to buy 1,896 bottles of rare whiskeys. The LCB on Monday announced that state residents and licensees have until 5 p.m. Friday to opt in to the lotteries or drawings for whiskeys from the Pappy...
FAFSA angst sweeps across Western Pa. for prospective college students
Many prospective college students and their parents are feeling angst over delays associated with the federal financial aid application, known as FAFSA, that millions rely on. An update to the application system last year has resulted in delays this year. As a result, it could be mid-March before colleges receive...
