Pennsylvania category, Page 71
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro loosens his predecessor’s notoriously strict gift ban for top officials
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 — Top officials for Pennsylvania’s governor are now allowed to accept an occasional free lunch while on duty. In one...
State trooper charged with oppression after gun-involved road rage incident
A State Police trooper has been suspended without pay and charged with official oppression after an off-duty road rage incident, according to news sources across the state. David Levy, 36, was charged after an incident on Dec. 28 that resulted in him firing a gun and pulling over a family,...
Unemployment rate in Pennsylvania hits record low of 3.9%, but Duquesne prof says that comes with a caveat
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell to a record low in December, dropping below 4% for the first time since record-keeping began, according to figures released Friday. Payrolls and the workforce grew but remain below pre-pandemic record levels. The rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9% from November’s rate, the state...
Settlement sets up education fund in Pa. school abuse case
PHILADELPHIA — A $3 million settlement will establish a fund for former students as part of a lawsuit alleging abuse and deprivation of education at a now-shuttered Pennsylvania juvenile justice facility. Former Glen Mills Schools students could receive both cash payments for those who experienced or witnessed abuse and funds...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro fills executive staff with loyal allies, political veterans
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 — Newly minted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is stocking his executive staff of advisers, mediators, and policy experts with political...
Body of missing Limerick woman discovered in Royersford, Montco DA saysVideo
NORRISTOWN — The body of Jennifer Brown, a 43-year-old Limerick Township woman who had been missing since Jan. 3, was found partially buried late Wednesday afternoon at a location in Royersford, according to authorities. “Unfortunately, I have to announce that we have found Jennifer Brown who we have been looking...
Pa. woman accused of killing parents, living with their dismembered bodies
A Montgomery County woman found at home with her parents’ dismembered bodies was charged Wednesday with killing them, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office. Police found the bodies of a 73-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman in a home in the 1100 block of Beverly Road with their...
Gov. Shapiro signs order moving state’s hiring emphasis from degrees to experience, skills
Trying to deliver on a 2022 campaign promise, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order Wednesday designed to encourage more people without college degrees to seek out employment opportunities within state government. The order flatly declares that 92% of all executive branch jobs don’t require four-year degrees, though in reality,...
‘The real McCoy’: Greensburg native appointed acting Pa. attorney general
More than three decades ago, Michelle Henry was walking the halls of Greensburg Salem High School with her classmates. This week, the 53-year-old Greensburg native was named acting Pennsylvania attorney general. After graduating from high school and Allegheny College, Henry headed east to attend the Widener University School of Law,...
Pa. Senate advances bill to drop school religious garb ban
HARRISBURG — Two decades after a teacher’s aide was suspended for wearing a cross necklace at school, Pennsylvania lawmakers are looking to remove a provision in state law that bars educators from wearing religious garb while in the classroom. The Senate approved the legislation by a 49-0 vote on Wednesday....
Austin Davis inaugurated as Pa.’s first Black lieutenant governorVideo
Former state Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor Tuesday, becoming the state’s first Black person to hold that position. Davis was inaugurated alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, in Harrisburg. Davis is succeeding John Fetterman, who was recently sworn in as Pennsylvania’s newest U.S. Senator. “Today...
Pa. Resource Council asks amateur photographers to turn their ‘Lens On Litter’
Pennsylvania was home to a half-billion pieces of litter in 2020, and that was just along the roads, according to a survey commissioned by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and PennDOT. That’s disheartening news to Pennsylvania Resource Council Executive Director Darren Spielman, especially since the council’s annual Gene Capaldi...
Shapiro takes oath of office to become 48th Pa. governor
HARRISBURG — Democrat Josh Shapiro took the oath of office Tuesday to become the 48th governor of Pennsylvania, placing his hand on a stack of three Jewish Bibles at Tuesday’s inaugural ceremony outside the state Capitol to cap his blowout win in November’s election. Shapiro, 49, takes over in the...
Pa. lawmakers once again propose moving up presidential primary
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania is a hugely important political battleground, but it hasn’t traditionally mattered much in presidential primaries. That’s because the state votes so late. It holds its presidential primary on the fourth Tuesday in April, long after many states have voted. Despite being one of the biggest swing states...
Man, 19, shot in Luzerne County movie theater dies; suspect sought
HAZLETON — Authorities say a man shot in a movie theater in eastern Pennsylvania over the weekend has died of his injuries and a suspect is being sought. State police in Luzerne County said the victim was struck by gunfire in the arcade/lobby of the Regal Cinema next to the...
Secrecy has dominated Shapiro’s transition to Pa. governor and may be a sign of what’s to come
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 — For nearly two months, a team of advisers has been working to ensure Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro has a...
Special elections to fill Pa. House seats vacated by Democrats should be held Feb. 7, court rules
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 — Special elections to fill Pennsylvania House seats vacated by Democrats should be held on Feb. 7, Commonwealth Court has...
Court greenlights holding Pa. House special elections Feb. 7
A Pennsylvania court ruled Friday that special elections to fill three vacancies in Democratic-leaning state House districts will be held together next month, with partisan control of the chamber at stake. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel sided with the House’s Democratic floor leader, Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, who had...
State employees’ off for Shapiro inauguration
Some 1,200 state government employees who report to the Capitol Complex to work have an extra long weekend ahead of them. Not only do they have Martin Luther King Day off on Monday, these non-essential employees have Tuesday off to reduce traffic and free up parking for Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro...
Pa. Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro talks about his, and his family’s, next chapter
The Josh Shapiro Era is upon us and in a lot of very visceral ways it figures to be a lot different from the Tom Wolf Age. First is generational change, and all that entails. Wolf, who became governor at age 66, saw his first run for political office as...
Pa. Commonwealth Court releases opinion calling impeachment articles against DA Larry Krasner legally insufficient
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court said Thursday that the state House’s decision to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner appeared largely based on disagreements about how he was running his office and said that was “not enough to create a constitutionally sound basis for impeaching and removing” the city’s top prosecutor. In...
Here’s what outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf will be remembered for
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 — Gov. Tom Wolf began and ended his eight years in the state’s top job with the same mantra: He...
Carnegie Mellon administrator Rick Siger nominated by Gov.-elect Shapiro for cabinet post
A Carnegie Mellon University administrator and former Obama administration official is Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro’s pick to serve as secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Rick Siger, chief of staff and senior adviser to the president at Carnegie Mellon, will begin the job next Tuesday after Shapiro...
Pa. state police seized $65 million worth of illegal drugs last year
Pennsylvania State Police troopers got more than $65 million worth of illegal drugs off streets across the commonwealth in 2022, according to a report released Wednesday. That includes 547 pounds of cocaine and 348 pounds of fentanyl, with a combined street value of $20.9 million. State troopers in Westmoreland County...
Judges weigh GOP bid to delay 2 Pa. House special elections
HARRISBURG — Preparations are far along for two Pittsburgh-area special elections that the Republican leader of the Pennsylvania House has filed a lawsuit to delay past their scheduled date in early February. With Democrats and Republicans nearly even in the state House, the two special elections could determine partisan control...
