Pennsylvania category, Page 127
After transition, Pa.’s unemployment system will be faster, easier to use, state officials say
Pennsylvania’s 40-year-old unemployment filing system will go offline next week and a new system that officials say will be faster and easier to use will take its place. The transition means the state will not take new applications for unemployment benefits from Monday to June 7, and people already receiving...
Pennsylvania using insecticide on invasive spotted lanternflies
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania has started spraying insecticide on spotted lanternflies, a new strategy that state officials are using in an attempt to slow the spread of the invasive pest. Crews using backpack sprayers and truck-mounted spray equipment are spraying the bugs along railways, interstates and other transportation rights-of-way, the state...
Bill Cosby refuses sex offender program, so parole is denied
PHILADELPHIA — Actor Bill Cosby won’t be paroled this year after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania. The 83-year-old Cosby has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving...
Pennsylvania’s flu season among mildest ever
Pennsylvania had one of its mildest flu seasons on record, with high flu vaccine rates and mitigation measures aimed to slow the spread of covid-19 keeping influenza cases low, officials said Friday. This year’s flu season, which officially ended May 22, saw 3,664 lab-confirmed cases statewide, according to Deputy Secretary...
As vaccinations inch upward, Pennsylvania’s covid cases continue lower
Pennsylvania continues to see a steady drop in cases of covid-19, with resulting deaths and hospitalizations following that downward trend. As vaccinations continue, the coronavirus appears to be spreading at a slower rate even as more people gather in public without protective masks or social distancing. The state on Friday...
Bill Cosby denied parole after failing to participate in ‘sex offender’ therapy program
Bill Cosby was denied parole in his sex assault case this month in part because of his failure to complete a prison program for sex offenders, the Pennsylvania Parole Board said. The comedian isn’t eligible for release until Sept. 25 at the earliest, but the board starts interviewing candidates three...
Firetruck crashes into Philly building, leaving 5 injuredVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Four firefighters and one civilian were injured Thursday when a Philadelphia Fire Department firetruck crashed into a building after a collision with another vehicle. The firetruck had left a nearby fire station and had its lights and siren on as firefighters headed to a report of a house...
Turnpike officials expect Memorial Day traffic to nearly double from last year
What a difference a year makes. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission project traffic on the toll highway over the Memorial Day holiday will almost double to 2.1 million motorists compared to 2020, when travelling options were severely impacted by shutdowns and safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agency anticipates...
As covid vaccinations continue, Pennsylvania and Allegheny, Westmoreland counties see fewer cases
After Pennsylvania passed a mark Wednesday with more than 70% of adults having at least one dose of a covid vaccine, Alison Beam, Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Secretary, announced Thursday morning that the state’s mask order will be lifted by June 28. Officials, who had said that the state’s...
Pennsylvania will lift mask mandate by June 28 at latest
Pennsylvania’s mask mandate will be lifted no later than June 28, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said Thursday. Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this month set a benchmark for the state: 70% of adults fully vaccinated. Beam said if the state reaches that threshold before June 28, the mask mandate...
Warren County hunting preserve quarantined after CWD found; new management area coming
A Northwestern Pennsylvania hunting preserve is being quarantined for five years after a white-tailed deer there was found to have chronic wasting disease, according to state officials. Officials said Wednesday they plan to create a new chronic wasting disease management area there. The boundaries of the area will be announced...
Murrysville family’s story highlights importance of public adoptionsVideo
Theresa Gutierrez has a lot of love to give. After losing her husband nearly a decade ago, Gutierrez raised her eldest daughter, now in her mid-20s, and her son Brandon, who is now 16. Just about a year ago, Theresa and Brandon welcomed 10-year-old Phillip into their home, and as...
Child sex abuse survivors, supporters pressure Pa. Senate leader Kim Ward to bring bill to vote
Survivors of clergy child sexual abuse turned up the heat this week on state Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, depositing a pouch of silver coins on the Hempfield Republican’s desk and labeling her a “Judas.” Ward’s failure to schedule a Senate vote on a bill that would provide a day...
‘Internal systemic failures’ led to Wolf administration blunder that derailed child sex abuse amendment
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — “Internal systemic failures” were behind the Wolf administration’s bungling of a statewide referendum that would provide legal recourse to...
Pennsylvania drops legal action against restaurants over pandemic
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Health has dropped its legal action against more than 40 restaurants that were accused of defying state orders to close indoor dining and maintain social-distancing protocols. The Health Department had filed two separate complaints alleging that restaurants were violating pandemic restrictions that Gov. Tom...
Officials: 70% of Pa. adults have received at least 1 dose of covid vaccine
The next phase of the pandemic — one with no restrictions save for masks — could be the last phase if people continue to get vaccinated throughout the summer, officials said Wednesday. “Now with the impending lifting of mitigation orders — except the masking order — we are entering a...
Investigation finds no intentional act to derail Pa. sex-abuse vote
HARRISBURG — An internal investigation into an apparent bureaucratic blunder by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration that scuttled a statewide voter referendum sought by victims of childhood sexual abuse found no evidence of a deliberate attempt to derail it. The Office of Inspector General’s report, released Wednesday, said agents interviewed 22...
Judge upholds jail sentence for Penn State ex-president Graham Spanier
HARRISBURG — The former Penn State president who was forced out as the school’s top administrator when Jerry Sandusky was arrested a decade ago will soon have to report to jail after a judge on Wednesday upheld a sentence issued four years ago. The judge ordered Graham Spanier to begin...
Allegheny County reports 5th straight day of covid cases under 100
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported its fifth straight day of double-digit covid cases — a streak the county hasn’t seen since October. According to the Allegheny County Health Department, there were 72 additional cases reported to raise the county’s total to 101,056. Totals for the previous four days were 62,...
Bills to restrict abortion, expand gun rights start in Pennsylvania House
HARRISBURG — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Legislature began Tuesday to advance hot-button bills to restrict abortion rights and expand gun rights, although the bills faced opposition by Democratic lawmakers and certain veto by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. Since he took office in 2015, Wolf has battled the Legislature’s Republican majorities...
How to fish for free – no license required – in Pennsylvania this weekend
Sunday, May 30, is the first of 2 Fish-for-Free Days in Pennsylvania this year. The second will be Sunday, July 4. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission annually designates a couple days during holiday weekends when anyone may legally fish in Pennsylvania without buying a fishing license or trout/salmon permit....
After citing privacy law, Pa. backtracks and discloses wasted vaccine details
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — After refusing to release details about wasted coronavirus vaccine, citing a decades-old disease prevention law, the Wolf administration has...
Pa. has 3rd day with new covid cases under 1,000, figures not seen since September
Pennsylvania had another record day in terms of covid cases Tuesday. With the amount of new cases reported this week, the state amassed a three-day case total not seen since late September. Cases The state saw its third consecutive day of less than 1,000 new covid cases, according to state...
Vaccine passport bill takes 1st step in Pennsylvania
Republicans in Pennsylvania’s state Senate began advancing legislation Monday to prohibit governments and school districts from requiring a covid-19 vaccination for any sort of access. The Republican-penned bill passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee along party lines, 6-4, with Democrats opposing it. The prohibition on so-called vaccine passports...
Pa. to resume job search requirement for unemployment benefits
Beginning July 18, Pennsylvania’s unemployed workers again will have to prove they applied for two jobs per week to continue to receive jobless benefits, a state labor official said Monday. Unemployed workers also must register for job search services with the PA CareerLink offices. The requirements were suspended last year...
