Pennsylvania category, Page 46
Pennsylvania Turnpike preps for 5.2M holiday drivers, up from 2022
Regional highway travel during the extended holiday week is expected to see an uptick of about 2% compared to the same time the previous year, while air travel should see a slightly higher gain. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is preparing for the increase in holiday travel on the state toll...
Does Colorado ruling open door for more states to bar Trump from ballots?
Experts in constitutional law believe the Colorado Supreme Court decision barring former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot in the 2024 election likely will result in similar challenges in state and federal courts across the country. “It is the quintessential example of how state courts are becoming our new...
Motorists to save as Pa.’s gas tax to drop more than 5% in 2024
Motorists will begin to see a little relief at the gas pump, starting on Jan. 1. Pennsylvania’s gas tax rate is going down from this year’s 61.1 cents per gallon to 57.6 cents a gallon, according to the state Department of Revenue. Diesel tax rates too are dropping next year...
Man accused in assaults on trail now charged in 2003 rape, murder of Philadelphia medical student
PHILADELPHA — A man accused of slashing people with a large knife while riding a bicycle on a trail in Philadelphia in recent weeks has been formally charged in the cold-case rape and slaying of a medical student that occurred among a series of high-profile sexual assaults in a large...
News helicopter crashes in N.J. forest, killing pilot and photographer
PHILADELPHIA — A news helicopter has crashed in a forest in New Jersey, killing the pilot and photographer on board, the television station said. “A pilot and a photographer from our news team were in the helicopter when it went down while returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore”...
Former Pennsylvania death row inmate freed after prosecutors drop charges before start of retrial
YORK, Pa. — A man formerly on death row has been released from prison following dismissal of murder charges in a double slaying a quarter-century ago that he blamed on his brother, who died in prison while appealing his own death sentence in the case. Noel Montalvo, who turned 59...
Central Pa. man dies after vehicle submerged during flooding
Authorities say a 73-year-old Lancaster County man died Monday morning after his car was submerged in water in the aftermath of heavy rainfall over the weekend. Allen “Ray” Nolt, of Clay Township, died at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital after his vehicle encountered high water on Cabin Drive in West Earl...
Gov. Shapiro’s job approval rating slips but remains strong as 1st year comes to a close
Gov. Josh Shapiro continues to enjoy the support of a majority of Pennsylvania voters as he nears the end of his first year in office but his approval rating is beginning to show signs of weakening, according to a statewide poll released on Tuesday. The poll released by the Commonwealth...
Census: Where are people moving to Pennsylvania from the most?
More people moved to Pennsylvania in 2022 than the year prior, and many came from neighboring states, according to new geographic mobility estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The federal agency estimates nearly 263,000 people residing in Pennsylvania in 2022 lived in a different state one year ago. Many came...
Medical forum cites holes in child abuse prevention programs
A sweeping slate of child protective services laws adopted 10 years ago in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal stretched the state’s safety net, creating areas for vulnerable children to fall through, a report released Monday concluded. The report, from the Keystone State Child Abuse Medical Forum,...
Shapiro administration cancels $10.7M contract for Pa. voter roll system upgrade
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. HARRISBURG — The state has canceled a planned upgrade to Pennsylvania’s system for managing voter rolls, leaving officials stuck for the foreseeable future with a process and technology they...
Philly City Council bars hospitals from carrying out ‘medical deportations’ of undocumented immigrants
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia City Council enacted what immigration advocates say is a landmark law to stop so-called medical deportations, in which hospitals spirit seriously ill, undocumented patients out of the country to deeply uncertain futures. Critics call it international patient dumping, an attempt by health systems to avoid the cost...
Ohio man indicted on sex-trafficking charges involving Monroeville hotel
An Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges that he transported a minor to a Monroeville hotel to engage in “commercial” sex acts, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in a news release. Donte Lashawn Cole, 39, of Euclid, an Ohio suburb of Cleveland, allegedly used...
Weighing in on social, political issues has become a minefield for college presidents
University presidents increasingly opine on the thorniest social and political issues even if they unfold beyond their campuses — from immigration policy to gender identity to war. On one level, their diverse campuses seem to demand it. A message carefully crafted with help from campus speechwriters and delivered online can...
New Pennsylvania law targets ‘porch pirates’ with tougher penalties for package heists
December is high season for so-called “porch pirates” stealing people’s Christmas gifts before they make it under the tree. But a bill that Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Thursday creates a new criminal offense specifically targeted at home delivery package thieves. What it does: Creates a “theft by mail” crime that...
Carnegie Mellon graduate alleges ‘cruel campaign of antisemitic abuse’
A Jewish woman and graduate of Carnegie Mellon University is suing the school in federal court, alleging she faced “a cruel campaign of antisemitic abuse” by campus faculty and administration. Yael Canaan, 23, a New Jersey resident of Israeli ancestry, filed her complaint in U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania...
Pennsylvania passes laws to overhaul probation system, allow courts to seal more criminal records
HARRISBURG — More criminal records in Pennsylvania can be sealed from public view and fewer people might be kept on probation or in county jails, under legislation signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday. Both bills passed the House and Senate with large majorities Wednesday amid a flurry of end-of-year...
For the first time, Pa. will provide counties with funding to help indigent defendants
For the first time in Pennsylvania’s history, the state next year will provide funding to counties for indigent legal defense. While the proposed $7.5 million in funding passed earlier this year with the budget, it wasn’t until Wednesday night that the funding mechanism to allow the money to be allocated...
Pennsylvania House back to a 101-101 partisan divide with the resignation of a Democratic lawmaker
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is back to a 101-101 partisan split with the resignation of a Democratic lawmaker Thursday, teeing up another special election to determine the chamber’s majority early next year. The resignation of Rep. John Galloway, of Bucks County, had been expected for months after...
Pa. lawmakers free up funding for community colleges, public libraries
Lawmakers in Harrisburg agreed Wednesday night to release almost $262 million for the state’s 15 community colleges that had been held up for almost six months, plus $70 million for public libraries. The breakthrough on the last scheduled day for legislators to meet this calendar year also means K-12 school...
Pennsylvania is in its Taylor Swift era, her home state decides
HARRISBURG — She’s Time magazine’s person of the year. She’s the most-played artist globally on Spotify. She’s helmed the first tour to gross more than $1 billion and then the highest-grossing concert film of all time. And now Taylor Swift can add one more accolade: A state House of Representatives...
Pennsylvania lawmakers defeat funding for Penn amid criticism over school’s stance on antisemitism
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday night defeated legislation to send more than $33 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school after the university’s president resigned amid criticism that the school has tolerated antisemitism. The legislation won a majority in two different votes, but it failed to...
Private schools, child care legislation pass in Pennsylvania as lawmakers move past budget feud
HARRISBURG — Lawmakers moved past a monthslong budget feud Wednesday in Pennsylvania’s Capitol, with the House and Senate advancing legislation to tie up loose ends and send millions more to subsidize private school tuition and child care tax credits for parents. After days of negotiations that typically play out before...
Shorter weeks, longer days? Pennsylvania poised to give schools flexibility on minimum requirements
HARRISBURG — A bill that would give Pennsylvania school districts greater flexibility to have shorter school weeks or longer days, as long as students meet an annual minimum of instructional time, is headed to the governor’s desk for his approval. The legislation passed both chambers unanimously. It changes Pennsylvania law...
Expansion of Pennsylvania permits to grow, sell medical marijuana headed to governor’s desk
A bill that will allow more of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana growers and processors to also act as retailers — and vice-versa — fully cleared the legislature on Tuesday and will head to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. Despite some legislators’ predictions earlier this year that the bill could — or should...
