Pennsylvania category, Page 125
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia move ahead with plastic bag bans as Pa.’s preemption nears its end
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 — Cities and townships hoping to ban plastic bags within their borders may finally have the legal authority to do...
Wolf signs $40M budget package, celebrates public school funding
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed a roughly $40 billion budget package that passed last week, as he touted the importance of new funding for public schools. The hundreds of pages of budget legislation emerged publicly from closed-door negotiations on Friday and won approval within hours in the...
Pennsylvania bill to legalize cocktails to-go stalls, on hold for summer
Cocktails to-go will remain a no-go in Pennsylvania until at least the fall, when state lawmakers are scheduled to return from their summer break. The state Senate decided to shelve a measure regarding to-go drinks because the House removed a provision championed by state Sen. Mike Regan, R-York County, that...
Google launches new ‘Find Food Support’ interactive site
One in nine people in Pennsylvania face hunger, according to the Feeding America Network, which claims to be the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. With that in mind, Google has created a new site called “Find Food Support.” The site launched Monday. The idea behind it is to make it...
33 train cars derail in eastern Pennsylvania; no injuries, spills
GOLDSBORO — Authorities say dozens of freight train cars derailed in Pennsylvania, but no injuries or hazardous spills were reported. Chief Steve Lutz of the Newberry Township police force said 33 of the 133 cars on the eastbound Norfolk Southern train derailed and overturned shortly after 3 p.m. Monday in...
Aid for schools, overtime rule were key trade in Pennsylvania budget deal
HARRISBURG — A key trade that sealed a budget deal between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans who control the Legislature was a $100 million injection of cash into Pennsylvania’s poorest public schools in exchange for the governor backing off a regulatory expansion of eligibility for overtime pay. Wolf, a Democrat,...
Advocates for changes to reapportionment and the statute of limitations vow to fight on
State lawmakers left Harrisburg for the summer last week, but the advocates who clamored unsuccessfully for legislative changes say they aren’t giving up. Two of the most vocal groups — the organizations that promoted legislation on congressional and legislative reapportionment and those who pushed for the adoption of a window...
Former Gov. Tom Ridge discharged from hospital, begins rehab therapy
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who suffered a stroke on June 16, was discharged Sunday from a Washington, D.C., area hospital to begin rehabilitation therapy, according to a Ridge spokesman. In a statement Monday, Ridge spokesman Steve Aaron said the former governor had been “immediately transferred” to a rehabilitation facility...
Amish put faith in God’s will and herd immunity over vaccine
When health care leaders in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country began laying out a strategy to distribute covid-19 vaccines, they knew it would be a tough sell with the Amish, who tend to be wary of preventive shots and government intervention. Early on, they posted flyers at farm supply...
Police: Philadelphia officers trying to aid shooting victim fired upon
PHILADELPHIA — Police say officers trying to load the victim of a north Philadelphia shooting into a police vehicle to take him to the hospital came under fire over the weekend. Officers responded to a report of gunshots just before 11 p.m. Sunday and found a 19-year-old man with a...
Pennsylvania 4-H virtual program to teach kids to curb carbon appetite
People may not always pay attention to how their daily actions impact the environment — but a statewide virtual 4-H program will aim to teach students about how activities as simple as packing a lunch can have environmental consequences. With a program dubbed Curbing Our Carbon Appetite, students will from...
Republican lawmakers send Wolf election bill he’s vowed to veto
HARRISBURG — A bill to require voter ID and make a host of other changes to Pennsylvania election law passed the state Senate on Friday on party lines and is on its way to the Democratic governor, who plans to veto it. Senators voted on party lines, 29-21, for the...
Valedictorian’s mic cut during graduation speech while talking about being part of the LGBTQ community
PHILADELPHIA — A South Jersey valedictorian had his microphone cut out and his notes crumpled on stage by his principal during his high school graduation speech when he began to touch on his experience as a member of the LGBTQ community. Bryce Dershem, who graduated from Eastern Regional High School...
Pennsylvania mask mandate ends Monday
Pennsylvanians can go maskless starting next week unless it is required by the business or building they’re in. The state mask mandate will expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday as promised, Department of Health officials said Friday. “We are continuing to make progress toward stopping the spread of covid-19 throughout the...
Police break up exorcism at Eastern Pa. Home Depot
Police in Lackawanna County broke up an exorcism in the lumber aisle of a home-improvement store Monday. Details are scarce on just what was going on inside the Home Depot on Commerce Drive in Dickson City Monday afternoon, but police were called around 3:26 p.m. to escort several people out...
Stalemate breaks on mixed drinks to go for Pennsylvania bars, restaurants
It looks as if Pennsylvania’s bars and restaurants are inching closer to regaining the authority to sell take-out margaritas, screwdrivers, fuzzy navels or any other of a number of mixed drinks. The state House voted 170-31 on Thursday to pass a stripped-down version of a bill that dropped broader liquor...
Affidavit: FBI feared Pennsylvania would seize fabled gold
An FBI agent applied for a federal warrant in 2018 to seize a fabled cache of U.S. government gold he said was “stolen during the Civil War” and hidden in a Pennsylvania cave, saying the state might take the gold for itself if the feds asked for permission, according to...
Lawmakers OK letting Pa. students repeat year because of covid
HARRISBURG — Lawmakers made a final vote Thursday to approve a bill to let parents decide whether to have their children repeat a year of school, a measure designed to help children catch up after a year of schooling disrupted by the pandemic. The Senate voted 50-0 for the proposal,...
‘Dorm Doctors’ to provide laundry pickup and delivery to Pitt, PSU students
The prospect of being away from the watchful eyes of their parents seems exciting to college students. That is until they realize that mom and dad are no longer around to clean up after them, make meals and do their laundry. Some students will let their laundry pile up until...
Pennsylvania Senate launches voter ID constitutional amendment process
HARRISBURG — A divided Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment to require identification for voters each time they cast a ballot, starting the lengthy amendment process that usually takes years to complete. All Republicans and a single Democrat voted as the proposal passed 30-20. Constitutional amendments require passage...
Pennsylvania House votes against ‘vaccine passports,’ for limits on health secretary powers
HARRISBURG — Republicans in the Pennsylvania House on Wednesday voted to ban the use of so-called covid-19 “vaccine passports” by colleges, universities or governmental entities and to put new restrictions on the health secretary’s powers during a health emergency. Representatives voted 112-89, on party lines, to approve the measure that...
Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement
HARRISBURG — Local police would be able to use radar to enforce speed limits under a bill that passed the Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday. Senators voted 49-1 for the legislation that would limit revenue from speeding tickets to 10% of a municipality’s budget. Local jurisdictions would have to pass an...
Covid cases, hospitalizations drop in Pennsylvania, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties; vaccine rates inch up
Covid cases in Pennsylvania, as well as Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, have slowed to a trickle this month. June started with an average of more than 700 cases a day in the state and has fallen to averaging less than 200 a day as of Wednesday. In Allegheny County, cases...
Justices rule for cursing Pennsylvania cheerleader over Snapchat postVideo
WASHINGTON — In the case of the cursing cheerleader in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court notched a victory for the free speech rights of students Wednesday, siding with a high school student whose vulgar social media post got her kicked off the junior varsity squad. The court voted 8-1 in favor...
Panel agrees to put guardrails on how Pa. lawmakers draw congressional maps, but not their own
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 — A key state Senate committee agreed Tuesday to put guardrails...
