Pennsylvania category, Page 75
The teams helping Josh Shapiro prepare to become Pa.’s next governor include wealthy donors, Republicans
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.-elect Josh Shapiro is preparing for his inauguration and making key decisions about his administration surrounded by some of...
DEP launches $12.7 million initiative to electrify truck fleets for cleaner airVideo
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched “Electrifying Truck Fleets for Cleaner Air in Our Communities,” a $12.7 million Driving PA Forward initiative to improve air quality by supporting local freight truck electrification. Projects serving environmental justice areas, high traffic density areas, and Act 47 financially distressed municipalities are...
Kunselman to run for open seat on Pennsylvania high court
HARRISBURG — A second Pennsylvania appellate court judge, Deborah Kunselman, said Thursday she will run for an open seat on the state Supreme Court in next November’s election. Kunselman, a Democrat, serves on the state Superior Court. Kunselman, 55, was endorsed in the primary by the Democratic Party when she...
Montgomery County president judge launches bid for Pa. Supreme Court
NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County President Judge Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio, the first woman in county history to lead the county bench, has announced her candidacy for Pennsylvania Supreme Court in next year’s elections. “Pennsylvanians want their judges to read and apply the law,” Carluccio said in a press release announcing her...
Pa. school test scores still trail pre-pandemic levels
Pennsylvania public school students have made little progress in making up for the learning losses suffered during the covid-19 pandemic. The latest Pennsylvania System of School Assessment results released Monday show just over half of test-takers in grades three through eight statewide scored proficient or advanced, which is regarded as...
Pa. lawyer pleads guilty to stealing $1 million from his clients
A formerly prominent Chester County attorney has plead guilty to stealing over $1 million from clients, according to a story from The Daily Local News. Thomas Evan Schindler, 62, of Newlin Township admitted in court that he had taken money from clients that he was not entitled to, and had...
Philadelphia woman found decapitated inside home, man charged: reports
Philadelphia police are investigating after a woman was found decapitated inside a home in the city’s Lawndale neighborhood, according to reports from the Philadelphia Inquirer and WPVI. Police said they responded around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a stabbing at a house on the 300 block of Magee...
Pa. Senate sets rules for Philly DA Larry Krasner’s impeachment trial
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday approved two procedural measures needed to stage an impeachment trial for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, the latest step in an unprecedented effort to remove the city’s prosecutor from office. The resolutions set the rules of the trial, which is expected to begin...
Gas driller pleads no contest to polluting Pennsylvania town’s water
MONTROSE — Pennsylvania’s most active gas driller pleaded no contest Tuesday to criminal charges, capping a landmark environmental case against a company prosecutors say polluted a rural community’s drinking water 14 years ago and then tried to evade responsibility. Residents of the tiny crossroads of Dimock in northeastern Pennsylvania said...
Penn State wants its 2 law schools ‘back together.’ Now it has to decide what that means
Penn State believes it has two good law schools. It would like to have one excellent one. With that vision in mind, President Neeli Bendapudi on Tuesday announced her intention to unify the two existing fully accredited Penn State law schools into one entity, and the creation of a task...
Gov. Wolf highlights $2.5 million capital investment for LGBT centerVideo
Governor Tom Wolf joined state and local leaders to highlight a $2.5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant awarded to the William Way LGBT Community Center for phase two of its major renovation project. The funds, awarded last fall, will be used for upgrades and renovations to the rear...
Rejecting undated mail ballots disproportionately impacts communities of color in Pa., data shows
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. Pennsylvania’s policy of rejecting undated and incorrectly dated absentee and mail ballots is more likely to...
Thanksgiving crashes down from 2021
Pennsylvania State Police investigated 970 vehicle crashes resulting in two fatalities and 196 injuries during the Thanksgiving travel period stretching from Wednesday to Sunday, according to a press release. Alcohol was a factor in 48 of the crashes, about 5 percent of the total. Troopers arrested 539 people for driving...
Nonpartisan journalism is vital to the future of Pa. Here’s how you can keep it going.
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. Huge stories will shape Pennsylvania’s future next year. With a new administration in the governor’s office and a shift in power...
Freedom Caucus brings its national brand of conservatism to the Pennsylvania state House
The new Pennsylvania branch of the House Freedom Caucus is open and ready for business. The original Freedom Caucus, for the uninitiated, launched within the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, as a wing within the House’s Republican conference for conservative members who resolved not to compromise on conservative principles...
State lawmaker resigns to take new role in Pennsylvania Senate
A state legislator who represented parts of northcentral Pennsylvania for the past three decades is resigning his Senate seat to take on a new role in that legislative chamber. Sen. John Gordner, a Republican, announced on Monday that he will vacate his 27th state senatorial district seat on Wednesday to...
Pa. Republicans look inward after voters quashed the expected red wave
Votes were barely counted in the Nov. 8 election before the “autopsy” stories started rolling in on the Pennsylvania Republican Party. After Democrats took back the state House after 12 years and won contested congressional races, the governor’s race, and U.S. Senate seat in an expected “red wave” year for...
Pennsylvania campaign wild card Fetterman turns to governing
HARRISBURG — When John Fetterman goes to Washington in January as one of the Senate’s new members, he’ll bring along an irreverent style from Pennsylvania that extends from his own personal dress code — super casual — to hanging marijuana flags outside his current office in the state Capitol. Pennsylvania’s...
Here’s why Pa. House Democrats will lose their majority for at least a few weeks
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 — Democrats won control of the Pennsylvania state House on Nov. 8, but their majority is going to disappear for...
Impeachment process of Philly DA Krasner to continue next week
Following a 107-85 vote in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania state House, the impeachment process of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will move forward next week with a tentative trial date set for January. Krasner, a Democrat who has pushed for criminal justice reform policies and harsher punishment for police misconduct, has...
Deer hunting in Pennsylvania starts this weekend
The biggest day on the Pennsylvania hunting calendar — opening day of the firearms season on deer — begins at a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday. More than 850,000 people have purchased some form of general hunting license, from resident adult to mentored youth, this year. For families, hunting clubs...
Mastriano supporters are flooding Pa. courts with baseless recount petitions in governor’s race
PHILADELPHIA — Doug Mastriano lost by a lot. But some of his supporters wrongly believe the results are inaccurate, and they think they’ve found a way to do something about it. So now election denial groups are flooding Pennsylvania courts with petitions seeking to force hand recounts under a little-known...
Officials say 4 Philly high school students shot near school
PHILADELPHIA — Four students were injured in an apparent drive-by shooting shortly after their Philadelphia high school let out early for the day late Wednesday morning, a city schools spokesperson said. City police said a 15-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder and thigh, a 15-year-old girl was shot in...
Protected bike lane bill named for Pittsburgher vetoed over late GOP amendments
Pittsburgh officials have tried for years to make streets safer for cyclists by installing bike lanes protected by parked cars. Those efforts recently hit a snag after Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a road safety bill because of an amendment added to it. After cyclist and University of Pittsburgh staffer Susan...
Inflation gives pay raise gift to top Pennsylvania officials
HARRISBURG — Inflation is gift-wrapping another big salary increase for hundreds of Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2023, including boosting rank-and-file lawmakers and district judges into six-figure territory. For many of these positions, it’s the biggest increase since the 1990s, when lawmakers passed legislation to...
