Pennsylvania category, Page 112
One year after the police killing of Walter Wallace, Philadelphia agrees to give Tasers to every officerVideo
The city of Philadelphia agreed Tuesday to equip all of its police officers with Tasers, a step announced on the one-year anniversary of the killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a mentally distressed Black man shot and killed by officers outside his West Philadelphia home. Wallace’s death occurred months after the...
Former South Hills woman accused of dismembering husband’s body, collecting benefits
LAS VEGAS — A 69-year-old Las Vegas woman is accused of defrauding Social Security for years after she allegedly dismembered her dead husband’s body and threw his remains in the trash, according to a federal criminal complaint. Nancy Shedleski deposited $121,000 of her husband’s retirement benefits after his 2015 death,...
Where have all the students gone?: Western Pa. colleges struggle with declining enrollment
Colleges across the region, ranging from the University of Pittsburgh to local community colleges, are mirroring troubling national trends in enrollment. In a development experts say could lead to gaps in the workforce and affect the nation’s economic health for years to come, college enrollment is down overall for the...
Prosecutor drops felony charge against central Pa. man for 43-cent ‘theft’
The Perry County district attorney’s office dismissed a felony charge that Pennsylvania State Police had filed against a homeless man after he paid $2 for Mt. Dew drink that cost $2.29. Joseph Sobolewski maintained all along that his arrest for retail theft after visiting the Exxon at 3298 Susquehanna Trail...
State police report seizing large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl during 3rd quarter
State police continue to seize large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl in 2021. Statistics provided by the agency show that troopers have confiscated 852 pounds of cocaine through Sept. 30, including 314 pounds of the drug valued at $6.9 million in the last three months. State police seized 175 pounds...
Pennsylvania lawmakers get started on bills aimed at lobbyist influence
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state House of Representatives on Monday began advancing a package of bills aimed at lobbyist influence, including limiting gifts from lobbyists and prohibiting lobbyists from trying to influence an elected official for whom they also worked as a campaign strategist. The bills won passage in the House...
Panel OKs data for redrawing Pa. Assembly, Congress district maps
HARRISBURG — The five-person commission redrawing Pennsylvania General Assembly district lines gave its approval on Monday to adjusted and validated census-based data they will use to craft preliminary maps over the coming months. “Even though we have 90 days to develop a preliminary plan under the provisions of the state...
Pa. is on the brink of regulating recovery homes for the first time
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 Wolf administration has cleared one of the final hurdles to enact oversight of Pennsylvania’s drug and alcohol recovery...
Spending in Pennsylvania’s high court race blows past $5M
HARRISBURG — Spending in the race for an open seat on Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court has blown past $5 million, according to new campaign finance reports, with less than two weeks left until Election Day. Reports filed with the state Friday show that most of it, or roughly $3 million,...
Here’s how Pa.’s school pension fund keeps its communications secret from the public
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 — In December 2020, Pennsylvania’s largest pension fund adopted a figure for investment profits that its executives said was rock...
It is ‘simply not true’ that witnesses took cellphone videos of train rape instead of calling police, district attorney says
PHILADELPHIA — The Delaware County district attorney on Thursday said it was “simply not true” that SEPTA passengers last week took cellphone videos of a man raping a woman on the train instead of deciding to intervene or call police. Jack Stollsteimer, the county’s top prosecutor, said that although one...
Gov. Wolf calls for improved worker wages, sick leave, safety during Pittsburgh visit
Touting an economy “on the comeback,” Gov. Tom Wolf during a Thursday stop in Pittsburgh announced an executive order and his support for a slew of bills aimed at improving the wages, benefits and safety of workers statewide. “It’s a misconception that stiffing your workers is the way to high...
John Fetterman has raised $9.3M this year in Senate bid, dwarfing Democratic and GOP rivals
John Fetterman’s campaign war chest is dwarfing the coffers of his opponents early in the race for U.S. Senate. Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s Democratic lieutenant governor and former Braddock mayor, has outraised and outspent every other candidate in the crowded field vying to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, records show. From...
Charges unlikely for riders who saw Philadelphia train rape
PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors pursuing the case against a man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train last week don’t anticipate charging fellow passengers for not intervening, a spokesperson for the suburban Philadelphia district attorney said. “It’s still an open investigation, but there is no expectation at this time...
Pa. Commonwealth Court panel hears argument on masking in schools
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court heard more than 90 minutes of argument Wednesday on whether the state’s acting secretary of health had the authority in August to issue an order mandating the wearing of masks in all schools to prevent the spread of covid-19. The panel of five judges were considering...
Penn State expands employee vaccine mandate to 6 branch campuses
Penn State is extending a covid-19 vaccination mandate to all faculty and staff at University Park to six of its regional campuses. The mandate is an effort to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring federal contractors to vaccinate employees. Penn State has a number of contracts and research...
Report: Pennsylvania casino revenues top $415M in September
Pennsylvania casinos generated more than $415.6 million in September, a 46% increase compared to revenues generated during the same period last year, state regulators said. In all, casinos saw $130 million more in revenues last month than in September 2020, when they generated $285.5 million, according to a report from...
Rachel Levine becomes 1st openly transgender official to be named 4-star admiral
Dr. Rachel Levine is making more history. Levine, the former Pennsylvania health secretary, was ceremonially sworn in Tuesday as a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps. Levine becomes the nation’s first openly transgender four-star officer across any of the uniformed services of the United States....
4 shot, 2 others injured during Lancaster mall shootingVideo
Six people were injured during the shooting and immediate aftermath at a Lancaster mall on Sunday afternoon, according to police. Lancaster city officers are still investigating the shooting that occurred at Park City Center mall around 2:30 p.m. According to an update on Sunday evening, the shooting stemmed from a...
Nursing homes fall short of vaccine mandates for staff
Nursing homes are struggling to meet vaccination mandates for workers despite the likelihood of federal sanctions. In Pennsylvania, about 28% of the state’s 688 skilled care nursing facilities had met an 80% threshold for staff vaccination rates as of Oct. 3, according to the state Department of Health. Even fewer...
Woman raped on train as bystanders did nothing, police say
UPPER DARBY — A woman was raped by a stranger on a commuter train in suburban Philadelphia in the presence of other riders who a police official said “should have done something.” Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt of the Upper Darby Police Department said officers were called to the 69th Street terminal...
Pa. lawmakers hand out millions in public contracts to law firms that fill their campaign coffers
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 — A host of politically connected law firms are pouring millions of dollars into the campaigns of Pennsylvania legislators, who...
Former director of child welfare agency pleads guilty in backlog case
HARRISBURG — The former head of a county welfare agency in northeastern Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Thursday to endangering children by concealing abuse allegations to clear a backlog of cases. Joanne Van Saun, who resigned as Luzerne County’s director of the Department of Children and Youth Services in Luzerne County after...
Pennsylvania Western University name adopted for merged state campuses
The great wait is over for stakeholders at California, Clarion and Edinboro universities. Officials with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education made it official Thursday: the merged university that will include the three campuses will be known as Pennsylvania Western University, or PennWest for short, beginning July 2022. As...
Penn State will now mandate covid-19 vaccine for University Park employees
All of Penn State’s faculty and staff at University Park are now required to be fully vaccinated for covid-19 by Dec. 8, in order to be compliant with an executive order issued last month, the university announced late Tuesday. Although President Joe Biden’s order requiring vaccination for all federal employees...
