Pennsylvania category, Page 42
Criminal background checks waived for some student employees at Pa. state universities
Some student employees who work jobs at the 10 state universities would be exempted from the Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s criminal background check policy. The system’s governing board on Thursday approved the policy change that carves out student employees who have no direct contact and/or routine contact with...
6 members of Philadelphia area family feared dead in house fire and shooting, prosecutor says
EAST LANSDOWNE — Six members of a family — including three children — are feared dead, an official said Thursday, from a fire at a house in suburban Philadelphia that went up in flames as two police officers who responded to the scene were shot and injured. Delaware County District...
Shapiro’s college plan could be ‘transformational,’ Pa. higher education board chair says
Minutes into Thursday’s State System of Higher Education board meeting, chair Cynthia Shapira summed up in her own view the enormous stakes for public higher education in Pennsylvania: “If we do this right, the new system represents an opportunity to be transformational.” She was referring to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal...
Legalizing marijuana could generate $255M in revenue for Pa., Gov. Shapiro says
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is hoping to capitalize on what he predicts would generate more than a quarter-billion dollars in revenue if the state legalizes adult-use marijuana. During his budget address Tuesday, he pointed to neighboring states Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland that have legalized recreational use...
2 officers wounded by gunfire at a suburban Philadelphia home that is then gutted by fire
EAST LANSDOWNE — Two police officers were wounded Wednesday by gunfire at a suburban Philadelphia home that was later set on fire and consumed by the blaze, possibly with multiple people inside, authorities said. Officers from East Lansdowne, Lansdowne and Upper Darby responded to the house in East Lansdowne in...
Pa. woman says voices told her to kill 5-year-old son, police say
A Cambria County woman is in prison after police say she killed her 5-year-old son. Cambria County coroner Jeff Lees ruled that the death of Samson Bowser was a homicide and caused by asphyxia due to “compression of the chest and obstruction of the airway,” WJAC reported. Police and EMS...
Gov. Shapiro seeks billions for Pa. schools, development in budget that envisions legal marijuanaVideo
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget proposes significant increases to education and economic development and would regulate adult use marijuana, while leaning heavily on Pennsylvania’s flush reserves to underwrite his vision. On Tuesday, the Democrat unveiled his budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which begins on July 1,...
Shapiro’s budget proposal seeks funding increase to merge state-owned universities and community collegesVideo
A unified system of 10 Pennsylvania state-owned universities and 15 community colleges would see a near-historic, 15% increase in state funding under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed 2024-25 state budget, which was unveiled Tuesday. The increase would support his plan, announced last month, to overhaul the state’s higher education system and...
Project Veritas admits there was no evidence of election fraud at Pennsylvania post office in 2020
ERIE — The conservative group Project Veritas and its former leader are taking the unusual step of publicly acknowledging that claims of ballot mishandling at a Pennsylvania post office in 2020 were untrue. The statements from Project Veritas and founder James O’Keefe came as a lawsuit filed against them by...
Opioid settlement money is supposed to expand syringe services; Pa. nonprofit lost $150K because of them
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. BOLIVAR — Kim Botteicher decided to speak out about her work offering syringe services in Westmoreland County, hoping to prompt change that she believes would...
Cyberattack on Pennsylvania courts didn’t appear to compromise data, officials say
HARRISBURG — A cyberattack this weekend on the website of Pennsylvania’s state courts agency disabled some online systems but did not appear to compromise any data and didn’t stop the courts from opening Monday, officials said. Various county court clerks said their offices were operating smoothly, despite the disruptions to...
Pennsylvania Capitol protest against state investing in Israel bonds ends with scores of arrestsVideo
HARRISBURG — Police took more than 100 people protesting the Pennsylvania state government’s investments in Israel into custody Monday, shutting down a demonstration on the steps of the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg. A spokesperson for the Department of General Services, which includes the Pennsylvania Capitol Police, said 126 people were...
Raising taxes on the table as Pa. weighs how to pay for education court ruling
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 likely needs billions of dollars to shore up its public schools following a landmark court ruling, but lawmakers are entering a new...
Dartmouth reinstates SAT test requirement. Will Pa. colleges follow?
The pandemic that drove students from campuses in March 2020 also accelerated a decadeslong shift away from using the SAT/ACT in college admission. By last spring, more than 8 in 10 colleges nationally and in Pennsylvania no longer required standardized tests. That trend could be reversing itself — at least...
Cyberattack takes down some online services for Pennsylvania Court
Portions of the Pennsylvania Courts’ website that had been down since Sunday as a result of a cyberattack appeared to be back in operation Monday afternoon. A statement released by Chief Justice Debra Todd on Sunday said the attack affected online services such as filing systems, docket sheets, electronic payment...
Penn Museum buries the bones of 19 Black Philadelphians, causing dispute with community members
For decades, the University of Pennsylvania has held hundreds of skulls that once were used to promote white supremacy through racist scientific research. As part of a growing effort among museums to reevaluate the curation of human remains, the Ivy League school laid some of the remains to rest last...
Eastern Pa. school board president killed in small plane crash
The president of a Pennsylvania school board was killed in a small plane crash Thursday afternoon, the school district said in a release. Sam Ganow, who was president of the Octorara Area School District School Board, was the only person aboard the plane when it took off from the Chester...
Judge rules escape charge against convicted murderer Cavalcante can proceed to trial
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — A district judge said Friday that Pennsylvania prosecutors have sufficient grounds to continue to press escape and other charges against a convicted murderer captured last year after two weeks on the run. The judge found there is enough evidence to forward to county court for trial...
2 Democrats raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in bids to unseat Scott Perry, far outpacing rivals
Two candidates for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District jumped out to a big early lead in the so-called money primary, according to a round of campaign finance reports filed this week. Retired U.S. Marines Corp aviator Mike O’Brien and former WGAL news anchor Janelle Stelson both crashed...
6-month-old left alone inside closed Pa. daycare, police say
A baby girl was left alone in a Philadelphia daycare facility after it had closed. Police said they responded to a call at around 5:30 after the parents of the child arrived at New Arisens Day Care and saw the building was closed and locked. “I was hoping that someone...
Pennsylvania House GOP leader asks attorney general to probe missing data
A top House Republican wants the Pennsylvania attorney general to investigate the massive data loss affecting the state police and state employees’ pension system. State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, said he asked State Attorney General Michelle Henry to review the recent IT failure that led to the loss early last...
Gisele Fetterman returns to social media, explains break in online post
Taking a social media break might be more challenging than staying on. Just ask Gisele Fetterman. The wife of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, responded to online speculation after she abruptly deleted her accounts on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, this week. After deactivating her X account, Fetterman...
Man accused of beheading his father in suburban Philadelphia home, posting gruesome video onlineVideo
LEVITTOWN — A man accused of beheading his father in suburban Philadelphia and posting a gruesome video on social media that shows him holding up the severed head has been charged with first-degree murder and abusing a corpse, authorities said Wednesday. Justin Mohn was armed and had jumped a fence...
Philadelphia police release video in corner store shooting that killed suspect, wounded officerVideo
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two Philadelphia police officers had their weapons holstered before a scuffle with a man inside a corner deli when one of the officers was shot by a suspect who was then fatally shot by the wounded officer’s partner, the city’s police commissioner said Tuesday. The department promised...
Report highlights ongoing racism at 10 Pa. State System universities
More than one Black university student recalled being compared to an animal. Another found a Confederate flag on his dormitory door. Others spoke of white peers saying, “I hate Black people.” And there was this anecdote which, like the others, was shared with a Pennsylvania senator traveling the State System...
