Pennsylvania category, Page 120
Transportation panel to issue plan on Pa. gas tax elimination
HARRISBURG — A transportation funding commission set up by Gov. Tom Wolf to find ways to end Pennsylvania’s reliance on its gas tax will issue a $15.6 billion package of recommendations, which lean heavily on shifting to a vehicle-miles-traveled fee that numerous states are exploring. The Transportation Revenue Options Commission...
Pa. fish commission considers statewide opening day for trout
The head of the region’s Trout Unlimited chapter supports having a single opening day for trout season in the state — the first Saturday in April — as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is considering. “I would support an earlier opening day because of the impact of climate change...
Rep. Conor Lamb preparing to launch Senate run in August
WASHINGTON — Rep. Conor Lamb is expected to launch a Senate campaign in August, according to three sources familiar with the Pennsylvania Democrat’s decision. Two sources said Lamb is planning a campaign event Aug. 6 at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall in Pittsburgh, with one source noting...
Pa. Turnpike Commission makes last $450M payment to PennDOT
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission on Wednesday made its last $450 million payment to PennDOT for transit systems around the state, bringing the total amount paid out over the past 15 years to $7.9 billion, the commission announced. However, that doesn’t mean there will be a drop in tolls or an...
Bucks County police corporal arrested on attempted child luring charge
A Central Bucks Regional Police corporal was arrested during the weekend in Atlantic City on an attempted child luring charge, according to authorities. Atlantic City police said Clifford Horn, 54, of Chalfont, was one of four people arrested between Thursday and Sunday for attempting to lure children after a group...
Capitol riot arrest of restaurant owner rattles McKean County hometown
KANE — A crank caller ordered an “insurrection pizza” from Pauline Bauer’s restaurant. A profane piece of hate mail addressed her as a domestic terrorist. She even became a punchline for Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show on CBS. A swift backlash greeted Capitol riot suspects like Bauer when they returned...
1 found dead after Blair County house explosion that injured 5 others
TYRONE — One person was found dead after a house explosion in central Pennsylvania that reportedly injured five other people, authorities said. Emergency dispatchers in Blair County said the blast in Tyrone was reported shortly after 1 p.m. Monday and flames spread to two other houses. Deputy coroner Samantha Kimberling...
Another Pennsylvania man charged in Jan. 6 Capitol breach
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania man who boasted of macing police at the breach of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection is facing federal charges. Agents detained Samuel Lazar, 37, Monday in Ephrata, on charges of assaulting police and obstruction of law enforcement, according to court filings unsealed Tuesday....
Pennsylvania transportation funding report could propel years of debate
HARRISBURG — A transportation funding commission is preparing to recommend how to raise billions more dollars in Pennsylvania for a 21st-century highway system, a report that will land at a politically touchy time and is expected to kick off a debate that could last years. The report, expected this week...
Pennsylvania officials warn of uptick in hard-to-spot ticks as summer wears on
The state Department of Environmental Protection has collected twice as many small, immature ticks in Pennsylvania this year compared to last year, prompting warnings for residents to check themselves thoroughly after outdoor activities. Blacklegged tick nymphs, or ticks that are not fully grown, pose an even greater risk when it...
A police killing in Philadelphia could change Pa. use-of-force cases forever
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 — Philadelphia’s district attorney is challenging Pennsylvania’s use-of-force law ahead of a former police officer’s landmark murder trial, and the...
Injuries reported after house explosion in Blair County
TYRONE — Injuries have been reported following a house explosion in central Pennsylvania, authorities said. Emergency dispatchers in Blair County said the blast in Tyrone was reported shortly after 1 p.m. Monday and flames spread to two other houses. Officials said burn patients were transported to Altoona Hospital and to...
New trial ordered for York County man accused of murder, faked ATV crash
YORK — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man accused of killing his wife and then faking an all-terrain vehicle accident to cover up the slaying almost a decade ago. The state’s highest court ruled 5-2 Friday that 48-year-old Joseph Fitzpatrick III might not have...
Service slated for New Jersey man killed outside Philadelphia cheesesteak shopVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A funeral service is scheduled Thursday for a New Jersey man shot outside a well-known Philadelphia cheesesteak shop last week over what witnesses said was a dispute over a parking space. David Padro, 23, of Camden, N.J., was shot shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday after an argument broke...
Pa. GOP strategist running for governor being investigated for fatal crash on Turnpike
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 — Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Gerow was involved in a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Chester County this week...
Pa. health officials request $124 million in pandemic-related emergency contracts as GOP calls for oversight
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. Wolf administration officials doubled down this week on pursuing more than $100 million in new pandemic-related emergency contracts as they faced...
Killer says he regrets kidnapping Amish teen, fails to offer motive: ‘I knew better than this’
Justo Smoker said he drank two bottles of liquor the day before he snatched Linda Stoltzfoos in broad daylight off a road not far from her Lancaster County home. Just before the abduction, he had bought beer from Sheetz, his attorney said, who described his client as an alcoholic when...
Pa. Republicans criticize decision to decertify voting machines
HARRISBURG — Republican state lawmakers are criticizing the decision by Pennsylvania’s top election official to decertify the voting machines a sparsely populated county used in the 2020 presidential election. Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid decertified the machines after Fulton County disclosed it had agreed to requests by local Republican...
Pa. Supreme Court: Money from state-forest drilling cannot prop up state budget
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that state officials cannot transfer money from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Oil and Gas Fund — derived from natural gas drilling on state forest land — to the state’s general fund to help balance the annual budget. The PA Environmental Defense Foundation...
DOJ won’t investigate how Pennsylvania handled nursing homes
HARRISBURG — The Justice Department told Gov. Tom Wolf’s office on Thursday that it has decided not to open an investigation into whether Pennsylvania violated federal law by ordering nursing homes to accept residents who had been treated for covid-19 in a hospital. The letter comes 11 months after the...
Gov. Tom Wolf says his position on voter ID has not changed
LOGANVILLE — With talks on wider election-related legislation at a standstill, Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday that his position on expanding Pennsylvania’s voter identification requirements has not changed, and that he is against anything that would “suppress the vote.” An expansion of Pennsylvania’s voter ID requirements became one of the...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court says leaving scene of triple fatal is 1 charge, not 3
HARRISBURG — A truck driver who killed three people on an interstate outside Harrisburg can’t be sentenced to three consecutive prison terms for leaving the scene of the crash he caused while driving drunk, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The high court unanimously overturned a county judge’s decision to...
Pennsylvania House Democrat Rep. Margo Davidson charged with theft, is resigning seat
HARRISBURG — A Democratic state representative from just outside Philadelphia issued a statement saying she’s resigning after being charged Thursday with theft and other offenses over her expense reimbursements. Delaware County state Rep. Margo Davidson, 58, was released on her own recognizance after appearing in a Harrisburg district court courtroom....
Nursing homes would provide more direct care to residents under proposed Pa. rule
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 on Wednesday released a long-awaited update to Pennsylvania’s decades-old nursing home regulations, acknowledging it must raise...
Opioid settlement could funnel $1 billion to Pennsylvania drug prevention, treatment
Pennsylvania could be in line to collect up to $1 billion in two massive multi-state lawsuit settlements with four companies that distributed and/or manufactured prescription opioids. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, one of the lead negotiators in the case, said the settlements call for three of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical...
