Pennsylvania category, Page 20
Lawsuit claims Pa. jail retaliated against inmates by confiscating toilet paper and soap, cutting power and heat
A Pennsylvania jail retaliated against inmates suspected of smoking synthetic marijuana by punishing entire cell blocks — confiscating legal paperwork, withholding necessities like toilet paper, soap and warm clothing, and cutting power and heat, inmates allege in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Top jail officials waged an escalating, monthlong campaign...
Security guard shoots armed man at Harrisburg courthouse
A man was shot Monday morning after he attacked security guards with a knife at the federal courthouse in Harrisburg, authorities told PennLIve. District Attorney Fran Chardo said a guard shot the man between 8:45 and 9 a.m. at the Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse on the 1500 block of...
Persistent problems with a Pa. grant for beer promotion led to headaches, layoffs for awardees
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — At first, things were going smoothly. Filmmaker Nate Kresge said he was receiving grants through a little-known state program to promote Pennsylvania’s beer...
Legalized recreational marijuana is on Pennsylvania’s doorstep
Recreational marijuana remains illegal in Pennsylvania. But lawmakers, advocates and even opponents who have spent countless hours debating the topic in Harrisburg say that likely will change soon. Money, specifically the promise of jobs and new tax revenue, has come to dominate the conversation in the General Assembly. Like the...
Under Shapiro, half of clemency recommendations remain unsigned
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — In his first two years as governor, Josh Shapiro has signed about 50 percent of the clemency applications recommended to him by the...
Feds propose protection for giant salamanders devastated by Hurricane Helene
You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill. He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first eastern hellbender. The salamander stretched 2 feet long and...
Biden commutes sentence of controversial Pa. judge in Kids for Cash scandal
President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of a former judge in Northeast Pennsylvania who gained notoriety for a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks. That commutation was part of a larger move from Biden, who commuted sentences for about 1,500 people who were released...
McDonald’s employee who called 911 in CEO’s shooting eligible for a reward, but it will take time
PHILADELPHIA — More than 400 tips were called into the New York Police Department’s Crime Stoppers tip line during the five-day search for a masked gunman who ambushed and fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week. NYPD officials said about 30 of those tips were useful as information about...
Legislation aims to address post-traumatic stress among first responders
In February 2023, Sardis Volunteer Fire Company Chief Joe Paiano Jr. entered a burning house in Salem Township to rescue an 11-year-old boy. The boy was among three people pulled from the fire, but he died of his injuries a few days later. The incident affected Paiano in a way...
Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing could return to New York on a governor’s warrant
PHILADELPHIA — The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back with what’s called a governor’s warrant. The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy...
Deadly chocolate factory blast caused by faulty gas fitting, safety board finds
Cascading failures involving a corroded steam pipe and a defective natural gas fitting caused a powerful explosion in 2023 at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory, killing seven workers when the company failed to evacuate, a federal safety board said Tuesday. About 70 production workers and 35 office staff at R.M. Palmer...
Coal, once king in Pennsylvania, leaves behind abandoned mines that pose concerns
Coal mining’s roots in the Pittsburgh area run deeper than the foundations of American democracy. Since the mid-1700s, years before the Declaration of Independence, Pennsylvanians have mined 250,000 acres of land for coal, pulling more than 15 billion tons of the fossil fuel from the earth, according to the state...
Penn State trustees pass almost 85% of measures without a single dissenting vote
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. When...
Is it legal to pass a working snow plow in Pennsylvania? Here’s what state guidelines say
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spends roughly $171 million preparing major roads for winter weather each season, and plows play a large role in keeping the commonwealth’s bridges and highways clear of snow and ice. According to agency estimates, PennDOT used 2,238 plow trucks, 396 rental trucks and 235 anti-icing...
Fetterman says Trump deserves pardon since Hunter Biden got one
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Thursday while appearing on TV talk show “The View” that recent criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump and Hunter Biden were politically motivated, and that since Biden received a pardon from his father, President Joe Biden, then Trump also deserves one. Fetterman, a Democrat from...
No, Amish voters in Pennsylvania did not carry the election for Donald Trump
Despite widespread claims on social media from conservative activists, Amish voters cannot be credited with winning Pennsylvania for President-elect Donald Trump, according to vote returns. While there looks to be marginal increase in the number of Amish people who voted this year, experts said they do not expect major shifts...
A court loss isn’t the end of the fight for stricter gun laws in Pa., advocates say
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has dealt a blow to Philadelphia and other municipalities’ efforts to pass stricter gun laws, but advocates say their...
As hunt begins, drought may be a factor in size of harvested deer, quality of antlers, meat
Despite being hunted each fall, deer find ways to survive. The months of dry weather likely will not affect hunting, according to state game officials. But processor Melinda Weimer has noticed a difference in the size and quality of antlers and the amount of quality meat Weimer Meats in Loyalhanna...
On the range with Pennsylvania’s professional farm sitters
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Linda Then and her wife Sandy have a lot of mouths to feed. There’s the Jersey steer, the burly Clydesdale, the...
Saturday’s deer season opener still draws fire from traditionalists
There are few items on the Pennsylvania hunting calendar that draw more anticipation than the opening day of firearms deer season. There also are few events that have generated as much heated debate in recent years, particularly since the Pennsylvania Game Commission made the decision in 2019 to shift opening...
Botched FAFSA rollout, state upgrades mean college students are still waiting for critical grant money
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The money for the fall semester normally arrives in September. By the last week of November, with the end of the semester in...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro secures $153 million for SEPTA, averting fare hike planned for 2025
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in a moment suggestive of last year’s fast rebuild of a collapsed I-95 bridge, swooped into Philadelphia Friday to announce he was redirecting $153 million in federal highway funds to SEPTA, averting a significant fare increase planned for Jan. 1. The cash amounts to a fiscal...
Penn State trustees rarely discuss key issues in public before voting
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. When...
Pa. halts statewide vote recount after Casey concedes Pa.’s U.S. Senate race
Pennsylvania’s automatic recount has ceased. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Friday morning that a legally mandated recount in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race has been stopped after Democratic incumbent Bob Casey conceded the race Thursday evening. “Following Sen. Casey’s concession announcement yesterday afternoon, his campaign submitted a request to...
Remains found in Pennsylvania in 1973 are identified as a missing 14-year-old
LEBANON — A girl’s remains found under brush and a plastic tarp in the Pennsylvania woods 51 years ago were identified by state police Thursday as 14-year-old Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, who was last seen leaving for school in fall 1973. State police said genetic genealogy helped determine the identity of...
