Pennsylvania category, Page 79

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 — Over the past few years, megadonors and special interest groups have flooded Pennsylvania campaigns with millions of dollars in...

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 — Neither Omy Maldonado nor Yamelisa Taveras had run for office before May of this year. Maldonado is a U.S....

An elementary school with gender-neutral bathrooms labelled as “they/them.” School volunteers being permitted to talk to elementary students about LGBTQ issues without parental knowledge. A school district telling elementary school teachers to withhold information from parents about children questioning their gender. Two state lawmakers say they have been bombarded with...

It didn’t take long for a Pennsylvania politician to get outed in the opening public hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Less than 30 minutes in, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, stated that midstate Congressman Scott Perry,...

HARRISBURG — A roadside historical marker installed less than a year ago to honor a gay rights pioneer has been removed after a state senator raised concerns with Pennsylvania’s state history agency about the man’s 30-year-old memories of an early sexual encounter with another boy. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum...

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 — As the June 30 deadline for the Pennsylvania Legislature to pass a new budget approaches, support for spending some...

A central Pennsylvania company and its Dutch brand of potato bread has rolled into a national controversy over its political ties. Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe in Franklin County supplies its pillowy bread products to restaurants across the country, including Shake Shack, the international burger chain. Now customers and celebrity chefs...

Pennsylvania Republicans rallied on Wednesday to oppose a plan that would add tolls at nine interstate bridges to replace shrinking revenue from gas taxes. The PennDOT proposal has been controversial and is currently on hold thanks to a preliminary injunction issued in May. Legislators argued the tolling plan was unfair...

Fishing license and boat fee increases are up for consideration by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in a special meeting Friday. The resident fishing license fee — the basic fee paid by most anglers — will climb from $21 per year to $23.50 if commissioners approve the new fees...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state lawmakers are advancing proposed new limits on fireworks in response to growing complaints after a 5-year-old state law greatly liberalized their sales and use. The House of Representatives voted 160-38 on Wednesday for legislation that would restrict their use to 10 a.m.-10 p.m. except during July...

PHILADELPHIA — Two men are facing murder charges and have been arrested in Virginia in the death of two bystanders in last weekend’s shooting in a busy entertainment district in Philadelphia, officials said Thursday. The men will be extradited to face charges in Philadelphia and will not be given bail...

Giving voters the power to decide whether to get the state out of the liquor business in Pennsylvania advanced on Wednesday to the full state House of Representatives for consideration. The House Liquor Control Committee voted 14-10 along party lines to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to privatize the liquor...

HARRISBURG — Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Senate primary on Wednesday, narrowly defeating former hedge fund CEO David McCormick after a dayslong recount. Oz will face Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in November in a race that could...

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House voted unanimously on Wednesday to erase the word “homosexuality” from the definition of prohibited sexual acts in the state Crimes Code. The 198-0 vote was on a bill to clean up language that supporters said does not belong there because homosexuality is not a crime....

Recent state audits have called attention to some Pennsylvania school districts’ lackadaisical controls that have made auditing how tens of millions of dollars were spent impossible. The audits do not suggest any illegal activity, but poor compliance measures can hide how taxpayer dollars are being wasted or improperly spent. A...

A diverse coalition of advocacy groups has come together to promote an anti-poverty initiative that has the potential to benefit as many as 874,000 low- to moderate-income Pennsylvania households. The groups are pushing for Pennsylvania to become the 31st state to enact a refundable state earned income tax credit, which...

HARRISBURG — Legislation criticized by opponents as a vehicle for-profit water companies to take over municipal water authorities in Pennsylvania by imposing expensive regulations on them passed the Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday. Opponents also warned that the bill will precipitate ratepayer increases when water authorities must meet the new...

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate passed Republican-sponsored legislation Tuesday to prohibit transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The proposal, which passed 30-20, now heads to the House, where an identical bill previously was approved. One Democrat, Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County, crossed party lines to vote in favor...

As a teenage heroin user in Philadelphia, Kate Favata learned of a place that gave clean needles and syringes to people who inject drugs. Getting what she needed to use drugs was the only appeal. Now in recovery from drug addiction, she believes it saved her life. “Nobody said to...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf tweeted that he tested positive for covid-19 on Monday. The 73-year-old governor said in the tweet he has mild symptoms. He said he tested positive in the evening. “I’m grateful that I recently got my second vaccine booster,” Wolf said in his tweet. This...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill Monday that orders a number of changes to state laws over partisan election observers in polling places and election offices, a throwback to complaints in 2020 by former President Donald Trump that the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia needed to be watched closely...

PHILADELPHIA — A former congressman from Philadelphia pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to fraudulently stuffing ballot boxes for Democratic candidates between 2014 and 2018. Federal prosecutors said former Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers pleaded guilty to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction. Messages seeking comment...

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has added a new payment option for customers who want to use cash to pay Toll By Plate invoices or add money to their E-ZPass accounts. The Turnpike Commission said it has partnered with Kubra Cash Payment Network, which will allow drivers to pay their invoices at...