Pennsylvania category, Page 106
Penn State announces in-person spring semester classes despite omicron
Despite covid-19 surging throughout the country, and with health experts warning of challenging weeks ahead, Penn State announced Thursday night that it will start the spring semester in person, as planned, because it feels it can do so “safely but carefully.” Still, according to the university, conditions around University Park...
Coroner finds 3 siblings at Johnstown home died of covid
JOHNSTOWN — A Pennsylvania coroner said Wednesday that three siblings found dead at a home near Johnstown two months ago all died from covid-19. Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said he drew that conclusion after autopsies, toxicology tests and microbiology examinations. “They were positive for covid-19, the lungs were heavy...
Children coming from border get attention in Pennsylvania governor’s race
HARRISBURG — Lou Barletta, an illegal-immigration hawk and former congressman running for governor, said Wednesday he would take a harder line against the federal government’s yearslong practice of bringing unaccompanied minors found by the Border Patrol to various facilities in Pennsylvania and other states. Some Republican governors have protested the...
Lebanon County Commissioner William Ames dies at 81 of covid-19 complications
Lebanon County Commissioner William Ames, described by friends and colleagues as a good solid citizen and strong advocate for the county, died on Tuesday morning at Good Samaritan Hospital. Ames, 81, was in his third four-year term as a county commissioner, serving alongside fellow Republican Robert Phillips and Democrat Jo...
Oprah comments on Dr. Oz running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, but doesn’t endorse him
Oprah Winfrey issued a short, noncommittal statement about Dr. Mehmet Oz running for a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat as a Republican. “One of the great things about our democracy is that every citizen can decide to run for public office. Mehmet Oz has made that decision,” Oprah told New York...
15 Pa. laws from 2021 that could affect your life
In Pennsylvania, laws to expand the pool of eligible substitute teachers, make it a crime to steal from the elderly, and improve transparency in government agencies were among those that took effect in 2021. In all, the 100 laws enacted were a mere fraction of the more than 3,000 bills...
Federal strike teams bound for Pa. to help hospitals stressed by covid-19
Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary said Tuesday the state will receive federal strike teams to “relieve hospital capacity strain in areas hit hardest by the latest covid-19 surge.” Gov. Tom Wolf requested the help about two weeks ago. It wasn’t immediately known when the strike teams will arrive and which hospitals...
Racial reckoning turns focus to Pa. roadside historical markers
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania had been installing historical markers for more than a century when the racist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 brought a fresh round of questions from the public about just whose stories were being told on the state’s roadsides — and the language used to tell...
‘Go in peace’: Pennsylvania church founded in 1800 holds last service
BELLEFONTE — A Pennsylvania church with a 221-year history held its final service and is scheduled to close at the end of the year because of declining membership and attendance. The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte, which is nearly as old as the borough itself, held the final scheduled service...
Pennsylvania, Allegheny County report record covid cases
Allegheny County and Pennsylvania as a whole reported record-breaking covid-19 case counts on Friday, posting numbers above even the height of the late 2020 surge, data shows. The state Department of Health reported 13,286 new covid cases, topping the previous record of 12,884 set in December 2020 before vaccines were...
Judge: Penn State can buy frat house where student fatally hurt
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State can buy a former fraternity house where a student was fatally injured during a night of drinking and hazing, a judge has ruled. Centre County Judge Brian Marshall gave the university and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s national chapter six months to negotiate a deal,...
Low pay is causing a staffing crisis for disability care in Pa.
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. Before the pandemic, Lisa Stagon and her son Chris had their care routine figured out. Chris, who is 26 and has...
Lack of emergency order or regulation doomed Pennsylvania mask mandate
HARRISBURG — The state Supreme Court on Thursday released its rationale for why it ruled that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration had no legal authority to require masks in Pennsylvania’s schools and child care centers, even amid a pandemic and surging cases of covid-19. The Democratic-majority court ruled 6-0 on Dec....
Hedge fund CEO David McCormick draws high-level support in GOP Senate race
HARRISBURG — David McCormick, CEO of one of the world’s largest hedge funds and a former senior official in President George W. Bush’s administration, is accumulating support from longtime party fundraisers and officials in Pennsylvania even before he has formally announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Christine Toretti, Pennsylvania’s longtime...
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked in Philadelphia park, uninjured
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked in a south Philadelphia park, according to her office, which says she was uninjured. Communications Director Lauren Cox said Scanlon had attended a meeting in FDR Park and was carjacked at gunpoint in the park at about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. Cox...
Gov. Wolf vetoes GOP bill to post school course materials online
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have required school districts to post information about textbooks, course material and state academic standards online. The Democratic governor said the legislation “politicizes what is being taught in our schools” and that state regulations already require public...
Holiday travel on Pennsylvania Turnpike expected to jump by 40% over last year
Officials predict more than 5.4 million motorists will take to the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the 2021 Christmas and 2022 New Year’s Day holidays, approaching pre-pandemic travel figures. “Our holiday traffic projections are coming close to matching those of 2019 with an increase of 40% over last year,” PA Turnpike CEO...
Yuengling accuses Bud Light of trampling on trademark
A trademark tiff between America’s oldest beer maker and America’s best-selling beer brand appears to be over before it really began. Last week, D.G. Yuengling & Son, the nearly 200-year-old Pennsylvania-based brewer, demanded that its much larger rival, Anheuser-Busch, stop using a tagline for its forthcoming Bud Light Next zero-carb...
Pennsylvania elections chief warns lawmakers about deadlines
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top statewide elections official warned legislative leaders that delays in drawing new General Assembly district lines may require them to push back next year’s spring primary election. Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid told the floor leaders Tuesday for both parties in the two chambers on the...
Philadelphia police officer, resident shot, 2 others hurt in crash
PHILADELPHIA — A police officer was in stable condition Wednesday and two other officers were hurt in a crash after a shooting that left a resident injured and the suspect with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. The officer had responded to a report of an armed robbery on Tuesday...
Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry denies Jan. 6 panel’s request for interview
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania on Tuesday rebuffed a request for him to sit down for an interview and turn over documents to the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, joining other allies of former President Donald Trump in trying to stonewall the committee....
Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules against victims’ rights measure voters supported
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Tuesday hammered a final nail into the coffin of a proposed victims’ rights constitutional amendment that has never gone into effect, even though state voters supported it by a large margin in a referendum more than two years ago. The justices ruled 6-1 that...
Pennsylvania casinos continue to shatter records, generate $432 million in revenues in November
Pennsylvania casinos again shattered monthly records, generating more than $432.5 million in November, state regulators said. That was nearly $6.5 million more than October, which set a revenue record at nearly $426 million, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. In addition, revenues last month were up 52%, or $148...
Police: Dad charged after 4-year-old shoots twin brother in Harrisburg home
A 4-year-old child shot his 4-year-old twin Sunday, prompting charges against the kids’ father after police said he left two guns unsecured inside their Harrisburg home. The wounded boy required life-saving surgery after being shot in the left arm and chest, according to court records. His condition is life-threatening. Police...
Payrolls grow, but Pennsylvania’s labor force shrinks again
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell for the ninth straight month and payrolls grew again in November, according to new state figures, but the labor force shrank, as did the workforce participation rate. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.7% from October’s rate, according to state Department of...
