Pennsylvania category, Page 118
Supreme Court’s decision on Texas abortion ban raises stakes for Pa. governor’s race
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 — Pennsylvania abortion-rights advocates and their opponents agreed Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to let a Texas law...
Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers go to court to challenge mail-in voting law
HARRISBURG — Fourteen Republican lawmakers have filed a new lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law, calling it unconstitutional and asking for it to be thrown out. The legal challenge was filed just before midnight Tuesday in the state Commonwealth Court. It is the latest attempt by Republicans to invalidate the...
Ida’s remnants blanket Pennsylvania, New Jersey in rain, stir tornadoesVideo
HARRISBURG — Soaking rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ida prompted the evacuations of thousands of people Wednesday after water reached dangerous levels at a dam near Johnstown, a Pennsylvania town nicknamed Flood City. The storm moved east in the evening, with the National Weather Service confirming at least one...
USA Today names Hotel Bethlehem best historic hotel in the country
Hotel Bethlehem has been named the best historic hotel in the country by USA Today as part of its 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The historic hotel — which is nearing its 100th anniversary — was the only hotel in Pennsylvania to be nominated as part of the awards. In 2019,...
Pennsylvania’s carbon-pricing plan at last regulatory hurdle
The centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change was confronting its last regulatory hurdle Wednesday, in a bid to make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy. The plan to impose a price on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired power...
First hunting seasons of 2021-22 open in Pa. on Wednesday
While hunting is open nearly year-round for a few species like groundhogs and coyotes, for most Pennsylvania hunters the first seasons of the July 1-June 30 hunting license year open on Sept. 1. Two common and abundant species — Canada geese and mourning doves — become legal game on Wednesday....
Pennsylvania mandates masks in K-12 schools, day cares
In a move that undoubtedly pleased some parents and infuriated others, the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Tuesday laid out an order mandating masks for students, teachers and staff in K-12 schools that will take effect next week. “I preferred for local school boards to make this decision,” Gov. Tom...
USDA to conduct hemp acreage and production survey
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is conducting its first hemp acreage and production survey. The survey, sent to those identified as hemp producers, will collect information on the total planted and harvested area, yield, production and value of hemp in the United States. Survey data will...
Ex-lawmaker Rick Saccone to run for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — A former state lawmaker and two-time congressional candidate from the Pittsburgh area who appeared to support efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory said Monday that he will run for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor next year. Rick Saccone, 63, will make a formal announcement on Sept....
Could saving Pa.’s state tree help fix trout fishing troubles?
Pennsylvania fishermen like Russ Collins are worried about trees. He lives in Palmyra, Lebanon County, and is the vice president of Trout Unlimited’s southcentral region. He wonders whether a struggling tree species could ultimately endanger one of the top fishing grounds in the country, if not the world. He sees,...
Pa.’s legislative leaders wield extraordinary power, and the election audit fight proves it
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 — It’s a throwback to the hardball politics of the Capitol’s past: a powerful legislative leader stripping one of his...
Pennsylvania men had 1.4 pounds of cocaine, nearly 2 pounds of pot in SUV, police say
Two Lebanon County men were had 1.4 pounds of suspected cocaine and nearly 2 pounds of suspected marijuana in an Acura MDX that was pulled over for speeding just before 11 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 78 West in Lower Saucon Township, court papers say. A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was...
GOP legislative leaders reject Gov. Tom Wolf’s urgent call to consider mask mandate
Republican legislative leaders are standing firm in their position that when it comes to mask mandates in K-12 classrooms and child-care centers, local officials are better positioned to make those calls. In a hand-delivered letter to Gov. Tom Wolf, Republican leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly on Thursday turned down...
Covid cases, hospitalizations continue to rise in Allegheny, Westmoreland
The latest reports of coronavirus cases show new cases are being found at increasingly higher numbers. Hospitalizations are also rising, although not as rapidly. Over the past week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported 24,875 new covid cases. Of that number, 21% (5,227) are old test results dating back...
Wolf asks Republican leaders to return to Harrisburg and pass school mask mandate
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 is calling on the Republican-led legislature to return to the Capitol immediately to pass legislation mandating...
Pa. opioid disaster declaration is coming to an end
Pennsylvania’s opioid disaster declaration, which was first put in place more than three years ago, is now coming to an end. Gov. Tom Wolf issued the disaster declaration for the opioid crisis in January 2018 and renewed it 15 times. The Democratic governor sought to renew it again this month....
In major shift, Pa. panel votes to count incarcerated people in home districts, not state prisons
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — Thousands of people incarcerated in state prisons will be counted...
Pennsylvania settles lawsuit against IBM over jobless claims
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Tuesday that it settled a lawsuit against IBM after suing the company four years ago and accusing it of failing to deliver on a contract for an updated system of processing unemployment compensation claims. In a brief statement, the Department of Labor and...
Pennsylvania deer hunters face expanded chronic wasting disease regulations this year
Regulations prohibiting the movement of high-risk body parts from deer, elk and related species have been expanded for the 2021-22 hunting seasons to combat the spread of chronic wasting disease, an always fatal neurological disease in those species. As the disease continues to spread in the state, and beyond, the...
Hearings in Pennsylvania election ‘investigation’ to begin, senator says
HARRISBURG — The top Republican in Pennsylvania’s Senate said Monday that hearings will begin this week as he committed to carrying out a “full forensic investigation” of the state’s 2020 presidential election. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, said he has communicated with former President Donald Trump, whose baseless...
Missing 2-year-old girl’s body recovered in Allegheny River in Warren County
WARREN — Pennsylvania State Police troopers are continuing their investigation into the death of a 2-year-old girl whose body was recovered from the Allegheny River on Sunday after she had wandered away from her Warren County home on Saturday morning. The child, whose name was not released, was reported missing...
Pa. to hire 100 covid contact tracers to replace 1,000 — experts say it’s not enough
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. The Wolf administration will hire at least 100 contact tracers as it rebuilds its depleted team, a dramatic workforce reduction compared...
4 takeaways from new Pa. census data and what it means for redistricting
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania became less white and more concentrated in and near...
How to get involved in Pa.’s pivotal redistricting process
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. It’s an event that comes just once every ten years. No, not...
Gov. Tom Wolf reinstates mask mandate for Pa. state employees
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is reinstating a mask mandate for all state employees and contracted staff working under his jurisdiction regardless of their vaccination status, starting on Monday. State employees were notified on Friday about this change in policy that comes as cases of covid-19 infections are on the rise....
