Pennsylvania category, Page 5
Beaver County’s Shell plastics plant falling short on promises, report says
A new report found Shell’s petrochemical complex in western Pennsylvania has fallen far short of expectations. The Beaver County plant was once projected to bring in $1.5 billion a year, but its cost has exceeded more than double its original $6 billion estimate. Todd Leahy, North America regional director for...
Pa. election 2025: How to serve as a poll worker on Nov. 4
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania holds its 2025 municipal election on Nov. 4, thousands of poll workers will ensure that...
Pennsylvania apple growers more concerned with weather than tariffs
Thousands of people are descending on the Delmont area this weekend for the annual Apple ’n Arts Festival, drinking cider, eating apple pie or just enjoying the crispy crunch of a fresh apple in autumn. And while there is no shortage of apples to go around, the larger industry has...
Pittsburgh native Larry Hailsham Jr. named executive director of Pa. Democratic Party
Pittsburgh native Larry Hailsham Jr., a top aide to Gov. Josh Shapiro, has been named executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. State Democrats also announced this week that Shapiro donated $250,000 to the party as it gears up for pivotal elections in November and next year. Hailsham was appointed...
Jerry Sandusky claims prosecutors gained financially from his sex abuse case
In a new appeal, convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky alleges the lead prosecutors in his case gained financially from a post-conviction relationship with one of the eight victims who testified at trial. The once-lionized Penn State football coach also presents a sworn statement from a second victim who, according to...
Pa. House gun bill vote debate leads to expletive-fueled shouting match among lawmakers in Capitol
HARRISBURG — A fiery state House debate on a gun bill turned into a ugly shouting match on the floor Wednesday, that included expletives and a comment taken as a threatening racial epithet, according to lawmakers who witnessed the events. The fight over gun legislation was the most raucous in...
NTSB calls for urgent action to address Pennsylvania railcar fire risks
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday urged the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to immediately move to eliminate fire risks in its fleet of Silverliner IV railcars. The safety board said the outdated design of the railcars and the agency’s maintenance and operating practices represent “an immediate and...
Not quite Jurassic Park: Gettysburg vandal tries, and fails, to nab dinosaur track fossil
An attempted theft of a Jurassic dinosaur fossil from a battlefield may sound like the plot of a Nicolas Cage movie, but one such incident has led park officials in Gettysburg to ask for the public’s help in solving the crime. In the second act of vandalism in two weeks...
Pa. Senate Republicans look to forgive interest on state loans to help counties, Head Starts
Republican leaders in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to introduce legislation to forgive the interest payments on Treasury loans designed to help county governments and Head Start providers weather Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. “They should not be penalized because of what is happening here in Harrisburg,” state Senate President...
As Pa. budget impasse drags on, proposals aim to prevent future ones
The failure of Pennsylvania lawmakers to pass a budget for the fiscal year that began nearly three months ago is inspiring several pieces of legislation aimed at preventing such impasses in the future. In the House, a bill from state Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, would suspend paychecks for the governor,...
4 dead — 2 young children, a teen and an adult — after Lebanon duplex fire
Lebanon city officials report four victims, two of whom were children and one a teen, were found dead Sunday after crews battled a duplex fire that affected another six residents. At 8:43 a.m., Lebanon City fire crews were dispatched to 815 Church St. for a multiple dwelling fire with entrapment....
Pa. Supreme Court: Washington County elections board violated voters’ rights with policy change
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday said that the Washington County Board of Elections must notify voters when their mail-in ballots have errors on them — and give them a chance to vote provisionally. The 67-page decision, which affirms another issued in September 2024 by the state Commonwealth Court, found...
Feds sue Pa. over failure to release voter information
The Department of Justice on Thursday sued Pennsylvania and five other states accusing them of failing to turn over voter information. The complaint, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, alleges Attorney General Pam Bondi has requested voter information unsuccessfully from Pennsylvania three times since June. “Clean voter rolls are the...
Pennsylvania’s autistic lawmakers condemn Trump-Kennedy approach to the disorder
On Monday, President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference claiming a link between Tylenol consumption during pregnancy and autism. It was the latest development in an effort promised in the early days of the Trump administration – to find a...
They were the best of us, says chief at memorial service for 3 fallen York County officersVideo
RED LION — The service began shortly after noon Thursday when Pastor Aaron Anderson took the pulpit at Living Word Community Church, trying to find the right words to say in the moment. They came hard. Anderson, the church’s lead pastor, was officiating the funeral for three police officers –...
Pa. budget impasse nears 3 months as schools, counties and others feel the pain
Pennsylvania is one of just three states that has yet to adopt a complete budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to an analysis by the National Association of School Budget Officers. In North Carolina, lawmakers passed a stopgap “mini budget” over the summer to keep the government running while...
Pa., wary of federal guidance, turns to medical groups for vaccine advice
Pennsylvanians should get vaccine advice from professional medical associations, not Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services, state officials said Monday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health is telling patients and doctors to consult three organizations for guidance on shots: the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy...
Pennsylvania’s state budget is nearly 3 months late. Leaders still can’t agree on the basics
HARRISBURG — Despite the contentious issue of mass transit funding being off the table, top Pennsylvania legislative leaders are still unable to agree on the most basic question when it comes to state budget negotiations: how much money they should spend. The state’s cooling financial outlook — plus federal uncertainty...
1000s of mail ballots have been rejected over Pa.’s dating rule. Will courts finally settle issue?
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Sign up for Votebeat’s free newsletters here. When Pennsylvania’s highest court gathered in Philadelphia on Sept. 10 to hear arguments on whether voters must write the date on their...
White House says it blocked U.S. Steel’s decision to stop processing steel at Illinois plant
HARRISBURG — The White House said Monday that it intervened under the terms of a 3-month-old national security agreement with Japan-based Nippon Steel to block a decision to stop processing raw steel at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works plant in Illinois. In a statement, the White House said Commerce Secretary...
‘Condemn political violence, no matter where it is,’ says Gov. Shapiro on ‘Meet the Press’
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday, Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the nation “to universally condemn political violence, no matter where it is, whether it’s against Charlie Kirk or someone else. ” NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Shapiro to speak on the arson attempt at the Pennsylvania...
Pennsylvania detectives killed in an ambush are remembered for saving lives and helping others
HARRISBURG — The three detectives killed this week in one of Pennsylvania’s deadliest days for police this century are men who will be missed for their humility, hard work and willingness to help others, say those who knew them. The detectives — Mark Baker, Cody Becker and Isaiah Emenheiser —...
Kamala Harris had ‘nagging concern’ about Josh Shapiro as possible VP, memoir details
Excerpts from Kamala Harris’ book “107 Days” have gotten pushback from other prominent Democrats, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was once in consideration to be her running mate during her presidential campaign. In the memoir, Harris inferred Shapiro seemed overly confident. She portrayed Shapiro as too eager for the...
Pa. joins northeast state health coalition as CDC shakeups concern experts
Pennsylvania has joined a coalition of northeastern states in an effort to develop public health and immunization guidelines amid concerns about the direction of federal health agencies. The group will meet regularly to coordinate on public health efforts such as emergency preparedness and the creation of immunization guidelines. “Pennsylvania is...
Prosecutor says stalking suspect ambushed Pennsylvania police officers, killing 3
NORTH CODORUS — A suspected stalker armed with a rifle hid inside his ex-girlfriend’s home in the rolling farmland of southern Pennsylvania and ambushed police officers who came to arrest him, killing three of them in a shootout, a prosecutor said Thursday. Two other officers were seriously wounded before police...
