Pennsylvania category, Page 115
Lou Barletta signs anti-tax pledge in GOP campaign for governor
HARRISBURG — Lou Barletta, the former congressman seeking the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania, has signed a pledge from a conservative anti-tax Washington-based group that commits him to oppose tax increases. The pledge, sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform, commits the signer to the state’s taxpayers to “oppose and...
Church bus crash in central Pa. sends 30 to hospitals, some critically hurt
DONALDSON, Pa. — A bus carrying high school students and leaders returning from a church retreat crashed Sunday in Pennsylvania, injuring more than two dozen people, at least three critically, authorities said. State police in Schuylkill County said the bus was heading south on Interstate 81 in Frailey Township shortly...
Pennsylvania’s looming dementia care crisis, by the numbers
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. Pennsylvania is headed for a profound eldercare crisis, experts warn, as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia rates continue to climb, the state’s...
Pennsylvania Democrats sue over GOP election ‘investigation’
HARRISBURG — Democrats in Pennsylvania’s state Senate sued Friday evening in a state court to block a Republican-approved subpoena seeking voter information and to put a stop to what Republicans call a “forensic investigation” of last year’s presidential election. Democrats had said they would sue within days after the Republican-controlled...
Pa. liquor stores to ration some products because of supply issues
If you had your heart set on serving exclusively Dom Perignon at your champagne party this weekend, you might want to consider mixing in some other brands. As of Friday, Pennsylvania’s state-run liquor stores are starting to ration sales of some products. It’s a response to what is being described...
Digital hunting licenses become reality for Pennsylvania hunters
Digital hunting licenses now are available to Pennsylvania hunters, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The commission authorized hunters and trappers to carry digital licenses and permits, and the change to a new online license-issuing system, HuntFishPA, has brought the capability for digital licenses with it. But paper harvest tags...
Police: Man killed in brawl outside Philly cheesesteak spot
PHILADELPHIA — A New York man was killed Thursday after he was beaten with a trash can lid and pummeled during a brawl outside a famous Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant, police said. The violence at Pat’s King of Steaks may involve spectators who earlier attended a soccer game, police said. The...
Nursing home industry leaders clash with advocates for workers, patient care
Nursing home leaders and advocates for patients and care workers clashed Wednesday, with one side asking state officials to put the brakes on plans to increase staffing levels at Pennsylvania’s 700 skilled care nursing homes and the other saying reforms can’t come soon enough. Industry representatives told lawmakers at a...
Pa. Senate GOP moves to collect private voter information in controversial review of 2020 election
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 state Senate committee undertaking a controversial review of last year’s presidential election results on Wednesday authorized subpoenas for...
TikTok challenge has students destroying Pa. school bathrooms
Because of a TikTok challenge, school bathrooms are being destroyed at an alarming rate nationwide, and Pennsylvania has not been spared. Boyertown Area School District Superintendent Marybeth Torchia told her school board in Berks County on Monday that is exactly what is happening there — vandalism is on the rise...
Gov. Wolf’s coronavirus business waiver program was flawed, secretive, Pa. auditor says
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’s controversial waiver program allowing businesses to remain open during the early months of the pandemic was...
Pa. officials: 94% of covid cases were in unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people
The “vast majority” of covid-19 related cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Pennsylvania since January have been among unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated individuals, according to Department of Health data released Tuesday So-called “breakthrough” covid-19 infections — those that occur 14 days after an individual has received either two doses of...
Free rides take $104M toll on Pennsylvania Turnpike finances
CARLISLE — More than $104 million in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls went uncollected last year as the agency fully converted to all-electronic tolling, with the millions of motorists who don’t use E-ZPass having a nearly 1 in 2 chance of riding without paying under the “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system. An...
Exelon: Contract worker killed in accident at Three Mile Island
MIDDLETOWN — A worker at the deactivated Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania died in an accident at the plant last week, officials said. The contract worker was fatally injured at about 11 a.m. Friday “while unloading equipment from a truck at Three Mile Island,” an Exelon Generation representative...
Gov. Wolf pulls election nominee, slams Senate GOP over handling
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday withdrew his nominee to be Pennsylvania’s top elections official, accusing state Senate Republicans of turning the confirmation process into a partisan charade. Wolf said Republican leaders were seeking a “record number” of hearings to confirm his acting secretary of state, Veronica Degraffenreid,...
Wolf administration ordered to reveal details of cannabis use as drug addiction treatment
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 public could soon know for the first time how many patients use medical marijuana to treat opioid use...
Expiring covid-19 waivers could make Pa. health-care staffing shortages worse
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 — Regulatory waivers established last year to help hospitals and health-care workers fight covid-19 will expire this month, and those...
Pa. corrections secretary is leaving, Gov. Wolf names replacement
Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, who has overseen the state’s prison system for a decade, is leaving the post for the private sector, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Monday. Wolf said he has tapped George Little to serve as acting corrections secretary. Little has served as executive deputy secretary of...
Forecast: Pennsylvania’s fall foliage expected to bring vibrant colors in 2021
Vibrant fall foliage — even overachieving colors — can be expected this year in Pennsylvania, although the peak of the leaf-peeping season could be a week later than normal, according to the annual fall forecast from Accuweather. In Pennsylvania, the northern mid-Atlantic, southern New England and the Ohio Valley, “rainfall...
Ex-federal prosecutor under Trump joins GOP Pa. governor primary
HARRISBURG — Bill McSwain, top federal prosecutor in Philadelphia under former President Donald Trump, will run for governor, he announced Monday, joining a crowded Republican field that may still yet get bigger. McSwain’s announcement was not a surprise. He had written to Trump in July, seeking the former president’s endorsement...
Pa. school mask lawsuit backed by group that challenged 2020 election results
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 — Just before the start of the holiday weekend, the top Republican in the state Senate sued Democratic Gov. Tom...
Senators call for transparency in nursing home staff vaccination reports
A pair of U.S. senators say the Biden administration must do more to provide families with easily accessible information on covid-19 vaccination rates among nursing home staff and residents. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Finance chair, and Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey, D-Scranton, who chairs the Senate Committee on Aging, want the...
Pennsylvania targeting doctors over blanket mask exemptions
Some Pennsylvania physicians are offering stock doctor’s notes for use by parents wishing to have their children exempted from wearing masks in school, according to state health officials who say they have referred the matter for possible disciplinary action. A statewide, universal mask mandate for Pennsylvania schools went into effect...
Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge makes 1st appearance since stroke, reflects on 9/11 attacks
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge made his first public appearance since he suffered a stroke earlier this year, speaking about the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. On Thursday morning, Ridge released a statement and a short video filmed in Erie, his hometown. Ridge, 76, suffered a stroke...
Penn State professor facing charges for allegedly assaulting counter protester
A Penn State professor is facing misdemeanor charges — and has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation — after allegedly assaulting a counter-protesting student during an Aug. 27 pro-vaccine rally. According to the criminal complaint, W. Oliver Baker — a 36-year-old assistant professor of English and African American...
