Pennsylvania category, Page 60
Train safety bill inspired by East Palestine derailment faces tough odds in Pa. legislature
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 — In the wake of a hazardous train derailment less than a mile from the Ohio border, Pennsylvania lawmakers are...
Officials say driver lost control of gas-filled tanker before fire collapsed main East Coast highwayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline lost control on an off-ramp and flipped the tanker truck on its side in a wreck that set it afire and destroyed a section of the East Coast’s main north-south highway, Pennsylvania’s top transportation official said Monday. In the first official...
Pa. House advances bill establishing state earned income tax credit to aid working poor
Working Pennsylvanians may be able to get a state earned-income tax credit under a bill that passed the state House of Representatives on Monday. “For every dollar spent on the state earned income tax credit by the commonwealth, we will receive $4 back on economic growth and save $3 in...
Gun owners defend their rights at Pa. Capitol rally; ‘guns are not inherently violent’
Gun owners from across Pennsylvania gathered Monday on the Capitol steps for the annual Right to Keep and Bear Arms Rally, with the theme “United We Stand.” “Without the Second Amendment nothing else would matter. That Second Amendment protects everything else,” said Jerel Crewe, founder of the organization That Gun...
Long commutes start after part of I-95 collapses in Philadelphia following tanker truck fire
PHILADELPHIA — Drivers began longer commutes Monday after an elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia a day earlier following damage caused by a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo catching fire. Sunday’s fire closed a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely. Newscasts warned of...
Section of I-95 collapses in Philadelphia after tanker truck catches fireVideo
PHILADELPHIA — An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said. Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to...
Pa. Senate sends bill to House seeking DEP name change
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate voted along party lines to approve a bill proposing that a state agency drop “protection” from its moniker to become the Department of Environmental Services. For the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) name change to become official, Senate Bill 691 would need approval of both...
Former Penn State student sentenced to prison for strangling a woman in residence hall
A former Penn State undergraduate who assaulted a fellow student was sentenced Friday to a minimum of five years in state prison on a charge of felony strangulation. Preston J. Brindle, 19, of Chester County also received a consecutive five years for a first degree misdemeanor for unlawful restraint and...
Pa. Turnpike to gradually eliminate paper towels at all 17 of its service plazas
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has a plan to become America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040. “Protecting the environment through sustainability has been a guiding principle,” Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said in a news release in April. As part of that plan, the turnpike plans to convert...
Beware of fake rental listing scams, Pa. Attorney General says
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office is warning of a growing number of scams in which fraudsters alter rental property listings to get personal information and money from their victims. In a warning issued this week, PA Attorney General Michelle Henry said that scammers are taking legitimate real estate listings but...
Colleges and universities moving away from standardized tests in admissions decisions
More than eight out of every 10 colleges and universities that award bachelor’s degrees no longer require or do not consider standardized tests in admissions decisions, according to a national survey released Wednesday. The latest tally from FairTest, an Arlington, Mass., group that has long been critical of the SAT...
Pennsylvania looking to charge electric vehicle owners a $290 annual fee
Pennsylvanians who own electric vehicles may soon be required to pay an annual fee to help pay for road and bridge improvements. The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved a bipartisan-backed bill by a 13-1 vote that would charge owners of non-commercial passenger electric vehicles a $290 fee annually —...
Pennsylvania House OKs $100 million for adult mental health services
HARRISBURG — A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to pay for adult mental health programs easily passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday, a plan built on the recommendations of a state commission charged with issuing suggestions for coordinated care. The bill passed 173-30 and was...
Pa. House OKs bill to expand property tax, rent subsidy for seniors, disabled
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to increase the state’s property tax and rent subsidy for seniors and people with disabilities, plus raise the income eligibility cap to expand the program. The bill passed 194-9 and goes on to the state Senate. This...
USW petitions state labor board to unionize Pitt staffers
Monday’s petition by the United Steelworkers for a state-supervised election to unionize thousands of University of Pittsburgh staff is rooted in years of preparation, said Jesse Dubin, a program evaluator in Pitt’s school of pharmacy. Though the path to a vote could be complex and prolonged staff will benefit from...
Partisan stalemate keeps child sexual assault lawsuit window from advancing in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Child sexual abuse survivors pressed Pennsylvania lawmakers Monday to move ahead with opening a two-year window for them to file otherwise outdated lawsuits over their claims, but a partisan fight in the Legislature kept the proposal bottled up with no resolution in sight. Amid the stalemate, survivors renewed...
67-year-old killed, toddler injured in Washington County crash
A 67-year-old man was killed and a 1-year-old child was hospitalized Sunday night as a result of a crash on Interstate 70 in Washington County. The Pennsylvania State Police reported the incident happened around 10:50 p.m. along the eastbound lanes of I-70 in Washington. According to a state police report,...
Pa. budget 2023: Your guide to what’s on the table, what comes next and how to follow along
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 — June is budget negotiation month in Pennsylvania, when state lawmakers decide how to direct billions of tax dollars and...
State police: Trooper shot, killed driver during illegal I-95 street racing gathering
PHILADELPHIA — A state trooper shot and killed a man whose vehicle struck two troopers as law enforcement tried to get control of an illegal early morning street racing gathering on a Philadelphia interstate, state police said Sunday. State police say troopers were called to I-95 in the Penn’s Landing...
Western Pa.’s Fetterman, Lee explain votes against debt ceiling bill
Western Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee were among lawmakers in Washington to vote against the debt ceiling and budget cuts package after weeks of tense negotiations. The compromise package negotiated between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy restricts spending for the next two years,...
Pa.’s Democratic U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, Bob Casey split votes over debt ceiling bill
Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. senators split their votes on the debt ceiling bill Thursday night, with Sen. Bob Casey voting for it and Sen. John Fetterman opposing it. “Last night, I voted for legislation to prevent the nation from defaulting on its debt and to stop extreme MAGA Republicans from gutting...
Family mourns 2 young boys killed by gunfire as they played in Pennsylvania yard
LEBANON — Relatives of two young boys killed by gunfire as they played with kittens in the backyard of their Pennsylvania home were mourning them Thursday as authorities announced two men were charged with their slayings. Brothers Jesus and Sebastian Perez-Salome, ages 8 and 9, and a third victim were...
Eugene DePasquale to run for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2024
HARRISBURG — Eugene DePasquale, Pennsylvania’s former two-term auditor general, said Thursday that he will run for state attorney general in the 2024 election. DePasquale is the first candidate to announce for the state’s top law enforcement office and he is unlikely to be the only Democrat to seek the party’s...
Shooting in Lebanon kills 3, including 2 children, wounds 4th person
LEBANON — A shooting outside an eastern Pennsylvania home killed three people, two of them children aged 8 and 9, and wounded another person, authorities said. Chief Bret Fisher of the Lebanon police department said officers responded to a city residence shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday after a report of...
2 hurt when small plane crashes into truck on turnpike ramp near Capital City Airport
Two people were hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after a small plane crashed into a utility truck on a Pennsylvania Turnpike exit ramp in Fairview Township. The single-engine aircraft hit the truck around 2:35 p.m., according to Ted Czech with York County’s emergency management office. The truck is believed to have been...
