Deb Erdley stories, Page 38

Saying a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices is stifling healthcare research and development, first-term Congressman John Joyce, R-Altoona, on Monday said he will cosponsor legislation to repeal the tax before it is reinstated for the 2020 calendar year. The tax was first implemented in 2013 as an effort to...

Tiffany Nix, superintendent of Leechburg Area schools, watched in frustration for years as hundreds of thousands of dollars went out the doors of her small, cash-strapped district with families who enrolled their children in cyber charter schools. “We were paying $13,000 to $24,000 a year for each of them. It...

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) board Thursday re-elected two long-serving members to lead the multi-billion dollar agency’s oversight panel as it navigates the evolving world of student debt. State Rep. Mike Peifer, R-Pike County, a CPA and member of the board since 2010, was re-elected chairman, while state...

Two is company, but it takes three to make a trend. Earlier this week the Trib reported that Clarion University decided to open a pet-friendly dorm this fall. Now Edinboro, another of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities is following suit. Can the other 12 universities be far behind? “Dogs, cats and...

Clergy sexual abuse survivors were left waiting for answers Wednesday as an international mix of Catholic Church leaders gathered in Rome to address the child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked parishes around the world — including Western Pennsylvania. Calls for an apology to survivors, an acknowledgement of their pain,...

Seton Hill University officials have appointed Kathleen Harris, an association professor of early childhood education, Dean of the School of Education and Applied Sciences. Harris joined the faculty at Seton Hill University in 2010 as an assistant professor of education. She received her undergraduate degree in early childhood education and...

If anyone had any doubts about the speed of the revolving door in Washington, D.C., rest assured it still is spinning. Politics PA reports that Bill Shuster, the former Republican congressman from Bedford County who opted not to seek re-election last year, has a new gig in the nation’s capital...

Stephanie A. Wilsey, a professor of psychology at Carlow University, has been named dean of its College of Leadership and Social Change, effective July 1, school officials announced Monday. Wilsey joined Carlow as a full-time faculty member in 2007. She has been interim dean of the college since August. Wilsey...

Animal lovers at Clarion University should be forgiven if they’re celebrating today. The state-owned university announced it will open a pet-friendly dorm for upperclassmen this fall. The aptly named Brooke Trout Hall will become a respite for pet lovers under the new policy. Pet lovers who are accepted at Brooke...

Fallout from last summer’s Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse is settling 4,500 miles away. When Catholic leaders gather in Rome this week for an international summit on sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the church, there will be a distinctive Pennsylvania presence — both among the assembled...

A new audit by the U.S. Department of Education’s in-house watchdog blasts the agency for failing to ensure oustside contractors entrusted with overseeing the payment of more than $1 trillion in student debt are serving millions of Americans struggling to pay their federal student loans. NPR reported that an audit...

Thousands of Pennsylvanians have filed online comments in response to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s call for feedback on the pros and cons of legalizing recreational marijuana. Officials said Fetterman, who recently launched a 67-county statewide listening tour to gauge public sentiment on the issue, drew a crowd of more than...

Hempfield native Robert F. Bozzuto III is in line to become President Trump’s assistant secretary of labor. The White House on Wednesday said Bozzuto, a University of Pittsburgh graduate, is among a group of individuals Trump intends to nominate to fill vacancies in the administration. Bozzuto, 38, is White House...

The Harrisburg Catholic Diocese’s Survivor Compensation Fund began taking applications Tuesday for compensation from victims of clergy sexual abuse. Harrisburg is the fifth of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses to launch a compensation fund for abuse survivors in the wake of the August 2018 grand jury report that detailed allegations...

Seton Hill University is celebrating its good fortune on surpassing a $10 million centennial fundraising goal for scholarships at the Catholic university. The Greensburg-based school that celebrated its 100th anniversary last year announced Monday it has beat its goal, raising slightly more than $10 million from alumni and other backers...

The cafeteria at Mt. Pleasant Area High School buzzed as 300 teenagers laughed and traded gossip while wolfing down pizza, tacos and the occasional apple. The scene Friday afternoon was far removed from the angst that gripped students across the country in the aftermath of the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting...

Pass the celery sticks, please. Our friends at West Virginia University are tackling wellness issues that cross state lines into Western Pennsylvania, specifically type 2 diabetes. Researchers at WVU have looked at the relationship between vegetarian diets and diabetes outcomes. And, surprise, they found that a diet based on whole...

Greensburg Central Catholic alum Timothy Dugan of McMurray and former teacher, coach and principal James Farrell will be honored at the school’s annual auction, “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” at 6 p.m. Friday at Stratigos Banquet Centre, North Huntingdon. Dugan, a 1979 GCC graduate, will receive the Distinguished Centurion Award...

When the tax man comes, the scam man isn’t far behind. Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Sec. Dan Hassell warned taxpayers Wednesday that phishing schemes con artists use to steal money and personal information to file bogus tax returns are common every year at tax time. “Criminals use high-pressure tactics and...

Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. senator, went on the offensive Wednesday against the Trump administration’s trade policies, promoting a bipartisan bill to strip the president of the authority to impose tariffs based on national security. Speaking at a Washington, D.C., news conference focusing on the impact of steel and aluminum...

OK, the official remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King was Jan. 21, but the impact of King’s teaching will continue to unfold in Westmoreland County this weekend. About 200 students, faculty and staff from Seton Hill University will mark King’s legacy Saturday when they spread out across 20 different nonprofit...

The Pittsburgh Film Office has a proposition for aspiring college filmmakers: Pitch-Burgh. The film office will host Pitch-Burgh from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, at Point Park University’s George Rowland White Theatre in the University Center, Downtown. Those planning to attend must register online by Wednesday. The event is a...