Pennsylvania category, Page 58
Pennsylvania governor backs off $100M private schools program in budget stalemate
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program after it became a sticking point in a budget stalemate between Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. Shapiro’s shift in position came as state government plowed through its fifth day without full...
Explosion destroys Lancaster County road crew’s building, equipment
A Wednesday morning explosion destroyed a Lancaster County government building, spewed black smoke and sent earthquake-like shakes through homes miles away. The explosion stemming from a propane leak also led emergency responders to evacuate six homes on the 900 block of North Colebrook Road in Rapho Township, where the explosion...
Philadelphia suspect left a will and was acting agitated days before shootings, prosecutors sayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The man accused in the fatal shooting spree in Philadelphia that left five people dead and four others wounded Monday night left a will at his house, and according to a roommate had acted agitated and wore a tactical vest around his house in the days before the...
Poll: Taxes, cost of living driving away young residents from Pennsylvania
A new survey suggests the price residents pay to live in Pennsylvania tempts younger generations to move. Results from the Commonwealth Foundation poll conducted last month show more than half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 have considered moving to another state – or know someone who...
5 dead in Philadelphia-area shooting spree that’s nation’s worst violence yet around July 4Video
PHILADELPHIA — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, a bulletproof vest, extra magazines and a police scanner fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the...
Any progress made toward settling Pa.’s state budget dispute? It’s hard to tell
Pennsylvania enters the Fourth of July holiday with a budget agreement still a work in progress — if there is even any progress. The state Capitol was a near-ghost town on Monday, the third day of the new fiscal year. Neither spokeswomen for the Democratic-controlled House nor Republican-controlled Senate offered...
Penn State, Pitt, others get hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds, but tracking it is a challenge
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 regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — Each year, Pennsylvania’s legislature sends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to...
Changing their tune? Pennsylvania lawmakers consider replacing the state’s official song
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania may soon be changing its tune. A proposal to establish a new state song got a positive vote Thursday in the House of Representatives, although there was some discord. The resolution to establish an independent commission to review the history, solicit suggestions from the public and make...
Western Pa. campuses say diversity will remain priority following high court ruling
Just as they had before Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions, campuses across Western Pennsylvania made one thing clear within hours after the historic ruling. They said they will find ways to keep their classes diverse, even without direct use of race. What that...
Pennsylvania budget agreement is elusive as fiscal-year deadline nears
HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature appeared on track Thursday to start the state’s fiscal year without a spending plan in place, with closed-door talks yielding optimism from Republicans, but discontent from Democrats. For Shapiro, getting his first budget across the finish line is perhaps the...
Sheetz expanding into Michigan, with planned store in Detroit area
Sheetz is heading West. The Altoona-based convenience store and gas station chain is slated to open its first store in Michigan — Romulus to be exact — in late 2024. “While it is too early in the development process to provide a timeline or location for any additional stores, our...
Here’s which fireworks are legal, illegal in Pennsylvania
Nearly every U.S. state has legalized the purchase and use of fireworks, but regulations vary in strength across the country. In Pennsylvania, more advanced and explosive fireworks are illegal, but other types are widely available for purchase. Those caught violating state and local ordinances could face significant fines and even...
What to Watch: Pennsylvania budget talks near deadline, and get contentious
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is trying to wrap up his first budget by the start of the new fiscal year, as he works to balance Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature in perhaps the biggest test yet of his political skills under the Capitol dome. The last few days have...
Pa. man convicted of driving into fundraiser crowd, then killing mother gets 2 life terms
BLOOMSBURG — A man convicted of driving into a fundraiser crowd in Pennsylvania last summer, killing one and injuring 19 others, then going home and bludgeoning his mother to death has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. President Judge Gary Norton told Adrian Oswaldo Sura...
Ex-Philadelphia police officer is charged with dozens more sex crimes in 19 new cases
PHILADELPHIA — A retired Philadelphia police officer already in custody on child sex assault charges is now charged with dozens more sex crimes that stem from his time on duty. Former patrol officer Patrick Heron was previously charged with posing as an officer after he retired in 2019 to lure...
Pennsylvania Senate advances bill to overhaul probation system
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that is designed to reduce the number of people on probation and in jail, by limiting the length of probation and preventing people from being sent back to jail for minor violations. The bill passed on a 45-4 vote and now...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will no longer speak at Moms for Liberty summit in Philly
PHILADELPHIA — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Democratic presidential candidate known for promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, will no longer speak at the Moms for Liberty summit this week in Philadelphia. The campaign for Kennedy, who had been announced as a speaker a week earlier, “told us his schedule changed and...
Pennsylvania state trooper killed in ambush lauded as a hero during funeral service
ERIE — A Pennsylvania state trooper who was shot and killed earlier this month when he went to work on his day off after learning his barracks had been attacked by an armed man was laid to rest Tuesday during a funeral where the state’s governor and his colleagues lauded...
Trump target Al Schmidt gets crucial approval as he moves closer to becoming Pa.’s top election official
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Al Schmidt, the former Philadelphia city commissioner who made national headlines in 2020 for rebuking then-President Donald Trump’s election fraud claims, is one step closer to officially becoming Pennsylvania’s...
Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law is upheld again, as court rules against Republican challenge
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state court on Tuesday rejected the latest Republican effort to throw out the presidential battleground state’s broad mail-in voting law that has become a GOP target following former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about election fraud. It is the latest of several refusals by a state...
Pennsylvania House votes to extend I-95 disaster proclamation until next June
A resolution that would extend to next June Gov. Josh Shapiro’s emergency disaster declaration issued in the response to the collapse of a bridge on I-95 in Philadelphia passed the state House of Representatives. The proposed extension, approved by a bipartisan 165-38 vote, would allow PennDOT to continue to be...
Pa. hunters experience long lines virtually, in person on 1st day of Game Commission license sales
Dorothy Mutter, a cashier at Hepler’s Hardware in Youngwood, was met with a line of hunters waiting for the shop to open when she came to work Monday morning. It was the opening day of hunting license and doe tag sales, and hunters across Pennsylvania eagerly waited, either in line...
Fourth defendant sentenced to prison in 2020 drug-related slaying of classmate
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The last of several teenagers charged in the shooting death of a classmate in a drug-related robbery more than three years ago in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to prison following a plea deal. Damien Green, now 19, was sentenced Friday to 15 to 30 years after pleading guilty...
Safety, oversight concerns raised as Pa. lawmakers pursue billions for hydrogen hubs
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate is weighing a measure that would give state regulators, rather than federal ones, the power to...
Walk or run, this busy spot on Pitt campus has a new name
So, will it be Gallagher Walk or Gallagher Run? University of Pittsburgh trustees Friday renamed a spot in the heart of campus for departing Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, saying it reflected a transformational project during his nine-year tenure, and something else about him. The plaza and walkway that were chosen wrap...
