Pennsylvania category, Page 114
At last minute, Pa. lawmakers vote to extend dozens of covid-19 waivers
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 legislature unanimously voted Wednesday to extend dozens of regulatory waivers put into place last year to help...
State continues exploring public-private partnership for $2 billion major-bridges projectVideo
After utilizing a public-private partnership to replace more than 550 smaller, aging bridges across Pennsylvania, PennDOT officials have their eyes on a bigger prize. Nine prizes, to be specific, in the form of nine large bridges spread across the state in need of replacement and under consideration for the first...
Lawmakers keep covid-19 regulatory waivers for 6 more months
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature voted Wednesday to again extend hundreds of regulatory waivers that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration had approved under its pandemic-related disaster emergency authority. The House and Senate voted unanimously to add another six months to a prior extension they granted, as the delta variant of the...
New records reveal the cost of Pa.’s failure to clarify rules around addiction treatment and marijuana
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 failure by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to clarify federal rules around addiction treatment funding and medical marijuana caused...
Pennsylvania woman who said she wanted to shoot Pelosi ‘in the friggin’ brain’ pleads guilty to Capitol riot charges
PHILADELPHIA — A Bucks County gym owner who recorded herself during the storming of the Capitol saying she was looking for Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to shoot her in the friggin’ brain” pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor Tuesday, making her the latest Pennsylvanian to admit her role in the Jan....
Mask opt-out bill for students clears Pennsylvania Senate committee
A bill that would allow parents in Pennsylvania to exempt their children from wearing a mask at school cleared a state Senate committee on Tuesday as Republican lawmakers started making good on their pledge to counter the governor’s statewide mask mandate. The legislation would hand the ultimate decision on masking...
Bill would give parents front-row seat to what students are being taught in Pa. schools
Parents of public school students would be able to access the contents of a school curriculum, textbook titles and lesson plans with a few clicks on a computer keyboard under legislation that is advancing in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin County, would...
Powerball jackpot climbs to $570 million, which would be 8th largest ever
No one won Monday night’s Powerball drawing, with the jackpot growing to what would be the eighth largest ever for the lottery game. The jackpot climbed from $545 million to $570 million — with a cash payout of $410.1 million — for the next drawing on Wednesday night. Monday’s numbers...
Pennsylvania Republicans aim to make big election changes in constitution
HARRISBURG — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania on Monday unveiled sweeping changes to the conduct of elections through a proposed constitutional amendment, the latest turn in a partisan power struggle over elections in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that last year’s presidential contest was rigged against him....
To avoid Wolf’s veto, Pa. GOP proposes giving voters final say on stricter ID rules, other election changes
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 — Republicans in the state House are advancing a proposal that would give Pennsylvania voters the opportunity to significantly change...
Measure on masking in youth sports clears Pa. House committee
HARRISBURG — Legislation that cleared a House committee on Monday would give Pennsylvania school districts the authority to decide whether student athletes must wear masks while playing. The Republican-controlled House State Government Committee approved the measure 15-10 along party lines. It would give “exclusive authority” to schools, recreational clubs, community...
Pa. redistricting panel rolls back new policy to count incarcerated people in home districts, not state prisons
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 — Thousands of people will be excluded from a new redistricting...
Pa. lawmakers know a dementia care crisis is coming. Will they agree on a response?
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 — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf this week said he supports large investments to address a growing dementia care crisis in...
Why Pa. Turnpike tolls soared — and will continue rising for next 30 years
Surrounded by bushels of fresh local peaches, Lori Hanscom spent an afternoon greeting truckers, commuters and vacationers from behind her fruit stand at the New Stanton rest stop along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Her day was filled with friendly chatter about the weather, traffic and which fruits were in season. One...
Police: Angry man shoots his own car after crashing it in central Pa.
A 19-year-old upset about crashing his car proceeded to shoot and jump all over it, police in Lancaster County said. Melvin F. Glick, of Akron Borough, fired five bullets at his Chevy sedan Sept. 17 after crashing into a utility pole and careening into a field, according to West Earl...
4 accused of plotting Pa. school attack on Columbine anniversary
DUNMORE — Four teenagers have been charged with a plot to attack a Pennsylvania high school in 2024, on the 25th anniversary of the massacre at Colorado’s Columbine High School, authorities said. A 15-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy are charged as adults and two other teenagers face juvenile charges in...
Unemployment refunds going out to those Pa. overcharged 5 years after issue discovered
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 — Five years after discovering it had overcharged thousands of Pennsylvanians millions of dollars in interest, the state Department of...
Hempfield senator set to speak at Pennsylvania March for Life
State Sen. Kim Ward, a Hempfield Republican, is set to speak during the 2021 Pennsylvania March for Life Monday in Harrisburg. The event will be the state’s first official March for Life during which participants plan to rally at the state Capitol building to bring attention to protections for unborn...
Pennsylvania Democrats ramp up effort to derail GOP election subpoenas
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Thursday stepped into the legal fray over the a Republican-controlled Senate committee’s attempt to subpoena voter and personal data for nearly 9 million Pennsylvanians. Republicans say they need the data so they can hire a yet to be named private company to conduct what...
Pennsylvania school district that shunned mask mandate reverses decision
TAMAQUA — A Pennsylvania school district that openly flouted a statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools has reversed course and said it will require universal masking for students and others inside school buildings. The Tamaqua Area School Board in Schuylkill County voted 6-3 on Tuesday night to comply with the...
Pennsylvania high court OKs ‘comfort dogs’ for witnesses
Canines in the courtroom? The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says yes — under certain conditions. A trial witness may be accompanied by a “comfort dog” if the animal will help yield reliable, complete and truthful testimony, the justices ruled Wednesday in a precedent-setting opinion that established a “balancing test” for Pennsylvania...
Pandemic caused a drinking boom in Pa. as liquor control board reports record sales, profits
Pennsylvanians bought more wine and liquor during the pandemic than ever before, according to financial numbers released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Sales for the fiscal year ending June 30 totaled $2.9 billion, including sales taxes. It was $349.4 million — 13.7% — higher than the 2019-20 fiscal...
More than 100 Penn State students suspended for bucking vaccine-or-test requirement
More than 100 Penn State University students are on interim suspension for failing to comply with the university’s covid-19 testing requirement, according to a release from the school. As of Tuesday, according to the release, 117 students at Penn State’s University Park campus have been placed on interim suspension after...
Pa. health leaders ready covid boosters for 65 and older population
Pennsylvania health officials on Tuesday pledged that covid-19 vaccine providers would be ready when federal guidance on potential booster shots comes down, something that is expected to come Thursday. An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration last week issued a narrow recommendation in terms of which Americans should...
Perry County man charged with felony, jailed on $50k cash bond for 43-cent ‘theft’
Joseph Sobolewski stopped at a convenience store in Perry County last month where he saw a sign for 20-ounce Mountain Dew bottles: 2 for $3. He grabbed a bottle, slapped $2 on the counter and walked out. What he didn’t know was a single bottle was $2.29, not $1.50. So...
