Pennsylvania category, Page 103
Report: Pennsylvania is the nation’s ‘cyber charter capital,’ with funding and oversight consequences
PHILADELPHIA — Enrollment in cyber charter schools grew faster in Pennsylvania last year than in any other state — and how they’re funded results in big costs for local school districts, according to a new report. Pennsylvania is the “cyber charter capital of the nation,” the report released last week...
Homeowners get their turn at covid relief funds
Last year, state officials were able to channel federal covid-19 relief funding to Pennsylvania renters in need of financial assistance. Starting Tuesday, they will look to provide similar relief for homeowners. “As Pennsylvania continues to manage out of the covid-19 pandemic, we continue to make key investments in areas where...
Pennsylvania high court may step in to House districts case
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s highest court signaled Monday that it may get involved in the process of redrawing Pennsylvania’s congressional districts boundaries, as the state runs up against the primary schedule to adjust the boundaries to account for a decade of demographic shifts. The state Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision,...
Pa. hospitals wrestle with nursing shortages as pandemic drags on
The stress of a two-year pandemic combined with an aging workforce and shortage of teachers has led to a critical staffing shortage among nurses. Joy Peters, chief nursing officer for Allegheny Health Network’s Jefferson Hospital, said staffing levels in almost every department at Jefferson are down 30% to 40% from...
Pennsylvania Democrats deadlock on endorsing in Senate race
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party committee members deadlocked Saturday in suburban Harrisburg on a vote to endorse in the party’s hotly contested primary race for U.S. Senate, giving Conor Lamb by far the most votes, but not enough for the party’s backing. Winning an endorsement was a high hurdle to...
Pa. Commonwealth Court strikes down mail-in voting; State AG’s office already filed notice of appeal
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Friday ruled that the state’s system of mail-in voting, passed in 2019, is unconstitutional and the only way to implement it is by constitutional amendment. The court’s opinion said the decision “explains how a system of no-excuse mail-in voting may be constitutionally implemented in the commonwealth...
Penn State neared pandemic record with 631 covid cases last week
Penn State neared a pandemic record last week with 631 covid cases, University Park’s highest number of campus infections since the 2020 fall semester — but, with cases declining statewide, the hope is that Penn State’s cases will soon follow suit. Based on data from Jan. 17-23 on the university’s...
Police: Bedford County man taking target practice shoots child in head with pellet gun
A man taking target practice with a pellet gun at a home shot a child in the head, instead, saying the child ran into his line of fire. Now, as WJAC-TV in Johnstown reports, the shooter, identified as Leo Ramsey, 36, of Saxton Borough, Bedford County, is facing charges of...
Pa. to spend $225M to retain, recruit hospital nurses, provide loan debt relief
Local hospital and nursing school officials hope $225 million in federal money being allocated to retain and recruit nursing staff in Pennsylvania, as well as provide debt relief to nursing students, is a step toward reducing a critical shortage in the profession. “Over the past year, we have been providing...
Gov. Wolf vetoes Pa. congressional map sent to him by Republicans
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 — Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed a congressional map sent to...
Dr. Mehmet Oz stumps in Westmoreland County in quest for U.S. SenateVideo
Dr. Mehmet Oz enthralled a room full of potential Westmoreland County voters Wednesday as he works to make his mark in a crowded field of candidates vying to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. The meet-and-greet event, held in a small room at Giannilli’s II in Unity where few attendees...
Pennsylvania fast-tracks $225M in pandemic aid to hospitals
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday fast-tracked legislation to spend $225 million to help hospitals struggling to keep staff on board as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has packed hospitals with unvaccinated patients. The bill has backing from Gov. Tom Wolf and House leaders, and was expected to...
Pennsylvania monkey truck crash spawns conspiracy theories after woman at scene falls illVideo
A Pennsylvania woman first on the scene of last week’s lab monkey truck crash near Danville is now the center of online conspiracy theories after falling ill. The Daily Mail reports the woman, Michele Fallon who lives near Danville, Montour County, is now suffering symptoms after one of the cynomolgus...
Trio of lawmakers calls for anti-discrimination statute after Chambersburg revokes LGBTG+ ordinanceVideo
The heads of Pennsylvania’s legislative LGBTQ+ Caucuses are calling on the General Assembly to enact a non-discriminatory statute one day after a borough became the first in the commonwealth to revoke such a measure at the local level. State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, Brian Sims, D-Phila., and Sen. Katie Muth,...
GOP-led Chambersburg becomes 1st Pa. town to revoke LGBTQ inclusive law
Chambersburg on Monday became the first municipal authority in the commonwealth to repeal protections for residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity. By a 7-3 Republican majority vote, the Chambersburg Borough Council made good on its pledge, repealing the ordinance citing a host of reasons,...
Pennsylvania rolls out ‘strike team’ to ease hospital crunch
SELLERSVILLE — Pennsylvania has deployed its first pandemic “strike team” of out-of-state health care workers to a suburban Philadelphia hospital under severe strain from covid-19, the state’s top health official announced Monday. The team, which includes nurses and respiratory therapists, started Saturday night at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville. Workers...
What delayed redistricting maps could mean for May primary in Pa.
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 — The lawmakers in charge of drawing Pennsylvania’s new political maps...
Pa. state prison visits suspended amid covid-19 surge, staffing shortages
Citing the impact of the latest covid-19 surge on staffing, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will suspend in-person visits at all state prisons beginning Thursday through Feb. 28. “Staffing levels have been significantly impacted throughout the winter months by the same uptick in covid-19 cases that our communities are experiencing,”...
Central Pa. borough poised to become 1st to repeal LGBTQ protections
A central Pennsylvania borough is poised to become the first municipality to repeal anti-discrimination safeguards that protect residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity. The plan by Chambersburg Borough Council to vote Monday to rescind the anti-discrimination ordinance comes only four months after the borough...
All 100 lab monkeys accounted for after several escape crash
DANVILLE — The last of the escaped monkeys from the crash of a truck towing a trailer load of 100 of the animals was accounted for by late Saturday, a day after the pickup collided with a dump truck on a Pennsylvania highway, authorities said. Several monkeys had escaped following...
Sheetz now offers an unlimited ‘fryz’ subscription service
If you want it, you can most likely subscribe to it these days. This definitely rings true for movies, TV, music, groceries, food, and wine deliveries. Now Sheetz has thrown its hat in the subscription service ring, and fries are the focus. Sheetz now offers a subscription service for fries...
Wolf joins Pittsburgh leaders to tout Pennsylvania’s fiscal improvementsVideo
Gov. Tom Wolf joined Pittsburgh leaders Thursday at an event to promote fiscal improvements the state has seen during his tenure. Wolf joined Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald at the Energy Innovation Center in the Hill District — a site that Fitzgerald hailed as a...
Former Pa. House Speaker Mike Turzai declares he is not running for governor
For weeks, there was talk that former Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai was toying with the idea of jumping into the crowded field of Republicans competing to be the party’s gubernatorial nominee. This week, he declared he is not a candidate. In a statement, Turzai said, “While I did not...
Budd Dwyer’s suicide at press conference still shocks after 35 years
An unhinged politician. A room full of reporters and photographers. And a .357 magnum tucked in a manila envelope. These three volatile elements combusted on Jan. 22, 1987, into one of the most enduring and shocking episodes in Pennsylvania history. It began as a press conference in which everyone expected...
State Rep. Eric Nelson wants ‘natural immunity’ exemption for employer vaccine mandates
A Hempfield Republican is seeking support for a state bill that would exempt people who have been infected with covid-19 from employer mandates requiring covid vaccines and booster shots. State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, said he intends to introduce a bill in February that would allow workers with natural immunity...
