Pennsylvania category, Page 103
Pennsylvania high court to decide congressional district map
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Democratic-majority Supreme Court wrested control Wednesday of choosing new district lines for the state’s shrinking congressional delegation, a process that deadlocked the governor and Legislature. The five Democratic justices issued an order directing a lower judge to give them a report by Monday that recommends a new...
Gov. Tom Wolf’s final budget address will seek to cement his legacy
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 — This month, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf will deliver his eighth and final budget address to a joint session of...
Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow: 6 more weeks of winter
Looks like it will be six more weeks of winter, as Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Wednesday morning. Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog made his appearance at sunrise to throngs of fans gathered at Gobbler’s Knob — the largest ever, according to the Inner Circle of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Legend has...
Report flags consultant error in Pennsylvania pension data
HARRISBURG — A report commissioned by the board of Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system shows a consultant took responsibility for an errant calculation about the fund’s investment performance. The discovery of the mistaken calculation forced the $72 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System to take a second vote last year...
Airline says it will stop monkey shipments after Pennsylvania crash
The airline that carried monkeys part of the way to a U.S. research laboratory before they were involved in a highway crash in Pennsylvania says it will stop the shipments. Kenya Airways will not renew its contract with the shipper when it expires this month, airline CEO Allan Kilavuka said...
Pennsylvania judge says she’ll soon rule on congressional districts map
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania judge who recently conducted a hearing on more than a dozen competing proposals for a redrawn map of the state’s congressional districts told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday her decision will be ready in a few days — if they do not yank the case...
Bensalem police investigating fight involving 40 people at Golden Corral caught on videoVideo
Police are actively investigating a brawl at a popular Bensalem buffet restaurant last week after the fight was captured on video that has since gone viral on social media. Bensalem Director of Public Safety William McVey confirmed the department is actively investigating what happened Friday around 4:30 p.m. at the...
Pa. hunters turn in 5th-largest bear harvest, including 722-pounder in central Pa.
Hunters killed 3,659 Pennsylvania black bears in 2021, the fifth-best bear harvest ever and the second largest since 2011. That total included a 722-pound male, taken with a shotgun Dec. 4 during the extended season for bear, in Letterkenny Township, Franklin County, by Wade Glessner of Shippensburg. That was the...
Millions follow rich candidates in Pennsylvania Senate race
HARRISBURG — Cash is pouring in to Pennsylvania’s hotly contested race for U.S. Senate, as wealthy and well-connected candidates moved in from out of state, followed by millions of dollars going into TV ads and super PACs. Filings posted online by the Federal Election Commission before Monday night’s deadline showed...
Former state Rep. Jeff Coleman running for lieutenant governor
Former state Rep. Jeff Coleman is running for lieutenant governor, campaigning on promises of bipartisanship and civility at a time when politics are harshly divided. The Republican formerly lived in Apollo and represented Western Pennsylvania in the state House for two terms. He now lives in Lemoyne, a Harrisburg suburb....
Report: Pennsylvania is the nation’s ‘cyber charter capital,’ with funding and oversight consequences
PHILADELPHIA — Enrollment in cyber charter schools grew faster in Pennsylvania last year than in any other state — and how they’re funded results in big costs for local school districts, according to a new report. Pennsylvania is the “cyber charter capital of the nation,” the report released last week...
Homeowners get their turn at covid relief funds
Last year, state officials were able to channel federal covid-19 relief funding to Pennsylvania renters in need of financial assistance. Starting Tuesday, they will look to provide similar relief for homeowners. “As Pennsylvania continues to manage out of the covid-19 pandemic, we continue to make key investments in areas where...
Pennsylvania high court may step in to House districts case
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court signaled Monday that it may get involved in the process of redrawing Pennsylvania’s congressional districts boundaries, as the state runs up against the primary schedule to adjust the boundaries to account for a decade of demographic shifts. The state Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision,...
Pa. hospitals wrestle with nursing shortages as pandemic drags on
The stress of a two-year pandemic combined with an aging workforce and shortage of teachers has led to a critical staffing shortage among nurses. Joy Peters, chief nursing officer for Allegheny Health Network’s Jefferson Hospital, said staffing levels in almost every department at Jefferson are down 30% to 40% from...
Pennsylvania Democrats deadlock on endorsing in Senate race
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party committee members deadlocked Saturday in suburban Harrisburg on a vote to endorse in the party’s hotly contested primary race for U.S. Senate, giving Conor Lamb by far the most votes, but not enough for the party’s backing. Winning an endorsement was a high hurdle to...
Pa. Commonwealth Court strikes down mail-in voting; State AG’s office already filed notice of appeal
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Friday ruled that the state’s system of mail-in voting, passed in 2019, is unconstitutional and the only way to implement it is by constitutional amendment. The court’s opinion said the decision “explains how a system of no-excuse mail-in voting may be constitutionally implemented in the commonwealth...
Penn State neared pandemic record with 631 covid cases last week
Penn State neared a pandemic record last week with 631 covid cases, University Park’s highest number of campus infections since the 2020 fall semester — but, with cases declining statewide, the hope is that Penn State’s cases will soon follow suit. Based on data from Jan. 17-23 on the university’s...
Police: Bedford County man taking target practice shoots child in head with pellet gun
A man taking target practice with a pellet gun at a home shot a child in the head, instead, saying the child ran into his line of fire. Now, as WJAC-TV in Johnstown reports, the shooter, identified as Leo Ramsey, 36, of Saxton Borough, Bedford County, is facing charges of...
Pa. to spend $225M to retain, recruit hospital nurses, provide loan debt relief
Local hospital and nursing school officials hope $225 million in federal money being allocated to retain and recruit nursing staff in Pennsylvania, as well as provide debt relief to nursing students, is a step toward reducing a critical shortage in the profession. “Over the past year, we have been providing...
Gov. Wolf vetoes Pa. congressional map sent to him by Republicans
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed a congressional map sent to...
Dr. Mehmet Oz stumps in Westmoreland County in quest for U.S. SenateVideo
Dr. Mehmet Oz enthralled a room full of potential Westmoreland County voters Wednesday as he works to make his mark in a crowded field of candidates vying to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. The meet-and-greet event, held in a small room at Giannilli’s II in Unity where few attendees...
Pennsylvania fast-tracks $225M in pandemic aid to hospitals
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday fast-tracked legislation to spend $225 million to help hospitals struggling to keep staff on board as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has packed hospitals with unvaccinated patients. The bill has backing from Gov. Tom Wolf and House leaders, and was expected to...
Pennsylvania monkey truck crash spawns conspiracy theories after woman at scene falls illVideo
A Pennsylvania woman first on the scene of last week’s lab monkey truck crash near Danville is now the center of online conspiracy theories after falling ill. The Daily Mail reports the woman, Michele Fallon who lives near Danville, Montour County, is now suffering symptoms after one of the cynomolgus...
Trio of lawmakers calls for anti-discrimination statute after Chambersburg revokes LGBTG+ ordinanceVideo
The heads of Pennsylvania’s legislative LGBTQ+ Caucuses are calling on the General Assembly to enact a non-discriminatory statute one day after a borough became the first in the commonwealth to revoke such a measure at the local level. State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, Brian Sims, D-Phila., and Sen. Katie Muth,...
GOP-led Chambersburg becomes 1st Pa. town to revoke LGBTQ inclusive law
Chambersburg on Monday became the first municipal authority in the commonwealth to repeal protections for residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity. By a 7-3 Republican majority vote, the Chambersburg Borough Council made good on its pledge, repealing the ordinance citing a host of reasons,...
