Pennsylvania category, Page 92
2 arrested, facing murder charges in Philadelphia shooting
PHILADELPHIA — Two men are facing murder charges and have been arrested in Virginia in the death of two bystanders in last weekend’s shooting in a busy entertainment district in Philadelphia, officials said Thursday. The men will be extradited to face charges in Philadelphia and will not be given bail...
Bill that would ask Pa. voters whether to privatize liquor system advances in House
Giving voters the power to decide whether to get the state out of the liquor business in Pennsylvania advanced on Wednesday to the full state House of Representatives for consideration. The House Liquor Control Committee voted 14-10 along party lines to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to privatize the liquor...
Mehmet Oz wins Pa. Senate primary ahead of showdown with Fetterman
HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Senate primary on Wednesday, narrowly defeating former hedge fund CEO David McCormick after a dayslong recount. Oz will face Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in November in a race that could...
Pa. House votes to erase ‘homosexuality’ from state crimes code
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House voted unanimously on Wednesday to erase the word “homosexuality” from the definition of prohibited sexual acts in the state Crimes Code. The 198-0 vote was on a bill to clean up language that supporters said does not belong there because homosexuality is not a crime....
Tens of millions of Pennsylvania school dollars ‘unauditable’
Recent state audits have called attention to some Pennsylvania school districts’ lackadaisical controls that have made auditing how tens of millions of dollars were spent impossible. The audits do not suggest any illegal activity, but poor compliance measures can hide how taxpayer dollars are being wasted or improperly spent. A...
Coalition urges Pa. lawmakers to adopt a state earned income tax credit to help working poor
A diverse coalition of advocacy groups has come together to promote an anti-poverty initiative that has the potential to benefit as many as 874,000 low- to moderate-income Pennsylvania households. The groups are pushing for Pennsylvania to become the 31st state to enact a refundable state earned income tax credit, which...
Public water utilities say Senate bill will force up rates
HARRISBURG — Legislation criticized by opponents as a vehicle for-profit water companies to take over municipal water authorities in Pennsylvania by imposing expensive regulations on them passed the Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday. Opponents also warned that the bill will precipitate ratepayer increases when water authorities must meet the new...
Pennsylvania senate passes bill against trans girls playing girls’ sports
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate passed Republican-sponsored legislation Tuesday to prohibit transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The proposal, which passed 30-20, now heads to the House, where an identical bill previously was approved. One Democrat, Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County, crossed party lines to vote in favor...
2nd person in custody in deadly weekend Philadelphia gunfireVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A second person is in custody in connection with the gunfire that killed three people and wounded 11 in a Philadelphia entertainment district over the weekend, authorities said, but no charges have yet been filed in any of the deaths that stemmed from it. Rashaan Vereen, 34, was...
Pennsylvania pushes free needles to drug users to prevent disease, nudge recovery
As a teenage heroin user in Philadelphia, Kate Favata learned of a place that gave clean needles and syringes to people who inject drugs. Getting what she needed to use drugs was the only appeal. Now in recovery from drug addiction, she believes it saved her life. “Nobody said to...
Gov. Wolf tests positive for coronavirus — for 2nd time
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf tweeted that he tested positive for covid-19 on Monday. The 73-year-old governor said in the tweet he has mild symptoms. He said he tested positive in the evening. “I’m grateful that I recently got my second vaccine booster,” Wolf said in his tweet. This...
Senate Republicans revive election bill over 2020 complaints
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill Monday that orders a number of changes to state laws over partisan election observers in polling places and election offices, a throwback to complaints in 2020 by former President Donald Trump that the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia needed to be watched closely...
Ex-congressman ‘Ozzie’ Myers pleads guilty in ballot stuffing case
PHILADELPHIA — A former congressman from Philadelphia pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to fraudulently stuffing ballot boxes for Democratic candidates between 2014 and 2018. Federal prosecutors said former Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers pleaded guilty to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction. Messages seeking comment...
Pennsylvania Turnpike adds new payment network for drivers to pay cash
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has added a new payment option for customers who want to use cash to pay Toll By Plate invoices or add money to their E-ZPass accounts. The Turnpike Commission said it has partnered with Kubra Cash Payment Network, which will allow drivers to pay their invoices at...
PLCB offers whiskey connoisseurs 2nd chance at Van Winkle releases
If you missed out on the opportunity to purchase bottles of rare Van Winkle whiskeys earlier this year, you have another chance. This week, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is awarding lottery registrants the opportunity to purchase 183 bottles of rare whiskeys, including the coveted 2021 Van Winkle releases, through...
Penn State adjusts covid-19 masking policy at University Park, New Kensington, 4 other campuses
Penn State is no longer requiring indoor masking on the University Park campus. The change, which was announced Friday, comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved Centre County to the medium covid-19 community level. The county had been at the high level the previous week. The mask...
Police: Amber Alert caused by woman who stole car with toddler inside
A 27-year-old woman stole a car in a York County convenience store parking lot Sunday that had a 2-year-old girl inside, prompting an Amber Alert until the girl was found safe hours later in Philadelphia, according to court records released Monday. Tiffany Campbell left her 2-year-old daughter Mya Campbell in...
What we know and don’t know about the Philly mass shooting
PHILADELPHIA — Gunfire erupted in the area of Second and South Streets late Saturday night, leaving three people dead and at least 11 injured along one of Philadelphia’s most popular dining, shopping and entertainment corridors. The shooting occurred on a weather-perfect weekend evening that had drawn hundreds to the area,...
‘We came so close’: McCormick concedes GOP race for U.S. Senate; Oz to face Fetterman
Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick on Friday dropped out of the close Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate against celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz. The concession means Oz will face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, in the fall. “We came so close,” McCormick, 56, said at the...
John Fetterman reveals undisclosed heart condition that led to stroke
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee John Fetterman revealed Friday in a campaign statement that he was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2017 and didn’t follow up with a physician for years until he suffered a stroke in May. Fetterman said the condition led to his stroke. His campaign also released...
Working through covid-19 pandemic pays off for Pa. government workers with bonuses
Most state employees who worked through the covid-19 pandemic will reap their reward this month. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is offering covid-19 retention bonuses to about 45,000 union-represented employees under his jurisdiction who remained on the job and got paid from May 1, 2020, through June 3. The bonus payments...
Pa. court orders contested ballots counted in Senate primary
HARRISBURG — A state court agreed Thursday night in a ballot-counting lawsuit with the campaign of David McCormick, who is in a neck-and-neck Republican primary contest for the U.S. Senate against celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz. In the decision, Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer ordered counties to count...
‘Probable’ case of monkeypox in Philadelphia likely 1st in Pennsylvania
A “probable” case of monkeypox in Philadelphia is likely the first case to be reported in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health said Thursday it has “identified a Philadelphia resident who is a probable monkeypox case based on preliminary testing at the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Laboratories.”...
New York City man charged in Pittston Township shooting
State police at Wilkes-Barre have charged Christopher Nelson Carmona with attempting to kill a woman he allegedly shot twice Wednesday afternoon outside a nail salon business. Carmona, 37, of Manhattan, N.Y., was captured during a massive police manhunt when a trooper spotted him walking about one-half mile from Pittston Crossings...
Mastriano willing to talk to Jan. 6 committee, spoke to FBI
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor, Doug Mastriano, has offered to sit for an interview with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and was interviewed by FBI agents last year about it, his lawyer said Thursday. Mastriano, a state senator and retired U.S....
