Pennsylvania category, Page 110
Recount triggered for open Commonwealth Court seat, with Democrat Lori Dumas leading
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 — A close race for one of two open seats on a key Pennsylvania appellate court has triggered an automatic...
Pennsylvania to begin counting covid reinfections
Thousands of new covid-19 cases could appear in the state Department of Health’s Monday report as Pennsylvania begins counting reinfections, officials said. For the past 19 months, state health officials have counted only one case per infected person, even if that individual contracted the virus again at some later time....
‘They’re priceless’: Pa. Treasury program reunites unclaimed military medals with veterans, families
More than 500 military medals and memorabilia items — from Legion of Merits to Bronze Stars — sit unclaimed inside the country’s largest working vault in Harrisburg. It is Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s mission to return those decorations to their rightful owners. “As a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army...
Former Philadelphia priest pleads guilty to lying to investigators
PHILADELPHIA — A defrocked priest pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of making false statements to FBI agents investigating clergy abuse. Former Philadelphia priest Robert Brennan, 83, changed his plea to guilty Wednesday in federal court, according to court documents. The charges stem from a federal investigation undertaken after Pennsylvania...
TV’s Dr. Oz considers jumping into Pennsylvania’s crowded U.S. Senate race: reports
Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and TV personality who became famous 20 years ago after being deemed “America’s doctor” by Oprah Winfrey, is looking into joining Pennsylvania politics, according to reports. People magazine quotes a spokesperson from ” The Dr. Oz Show ” (which focuses on health and wellness) as...
A massive probe of Pa.’s largest pension fund is nearly done, but taxpayers may never know the results
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 — After months of work, prolonged silence from pension fund management, and more than $175,000 in legal bills, a law...
Pennsylvania court throws out state’s school mask mandate
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court ruled Wednesday that the state’s acting health secretary did not have authority to issue a mandatory school mask mandate at the beginning of this academic year. In a 31-page opinion, the court found that because there was no emergency declaration in place governing covid-19 in Pennsylvania at...
GOP state Sen. Jake Corman to run for governor
HARRISBURG — Jake Corman, the ranking Republican in Pennsylvania’s state Senate, will run for governor in next year’s election, a political adviser said Wednesday, entering a huge and wide-open GOP field of candidates that is unlike anything party officials have seen in at least decades. For weeks, Corman has been...
Pennsylvania Senate backs bill to allow guns to be carried without permit
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday approved two veto-bound firearms bills, including one to allow people to carry a loaded gun openly or concealed, without a permit, and another to punish municipalities that impose firearms ordinances that are stricter than state law. Despite a certain veto from Gov. Tom...
Top Pa. House Republican wants to greatly expand lawmakers’ power over governor, executive branch
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 — The top Republican in the state House wants to give the legislature the ability to block regulations or administrative...
Pennsylvania’s home care program has big problems, advocates say
Advocates for people with disabilities gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest what they say is the eroding quality of home care services under Pennsylvania’s new managed care system, problems being accelerated by the pandemic. Part of the problem, they say, is the increased difficulty in getting direct...
Easton Area school bus goes into creek; driver, 8 kids sent to hospitals
An eastern Pennsylvania school bus went off the road and ended up with its nose in a creek, sending the driver and eight students to hospitals, but no serious injuries were reported, authorities said. Easton Area School District officials said about 30 middle school students were on the bus when...
Democrat appears poised to snare state Commonwealth Court seat as tight race flips
Pennsylvania Democrats appear poised to pick up a seat on the state’s Commonwealth Court. As provisional and mail-in ballots were tallied late last week, preliminary returns showed Democrat Lori Dumas, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge, slightly ahead of Drew Crompton, a Republican judge who was running for a full...
Officials: Gov. Wolf to let Pa. schools set mask rules in January
Pennsylvania school districts will be allowed to modify or end the mask mandate for K-12 students in January, Gov. Tom Wolf was set to announce Monday, according to two education officials who were briefed on the plan. The Democratic governor plans to turn over decisions about masking to local school...
Red wave in Western Pennsylvania ring counties leaves Allegheny a blue island
A red wave that has been building in Southwestern Pennsylvania for a decade broke loose, washing over the region with a vengeance Tuesday, leaving only Allegheny County reliably blue when the votes were counted. In statewide judicial races that topped the ballot, Republican candidates who carried the day outpolled Democrats...
Gov. Wolf describes having wife drop off ballot as honest mistake
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said his mail-in ballot was dropped off by his wife before Tuesday’s election despite a state law requirement that voters deliver them in person. Wolf’s spokeswoman Beth Rementer called it an honest mistake. “I did vote, actually I voted by mail,” Wolf said Tuesday...
Wreckage of missing plane found; pilot remains missing
ORLEANS, Mass. — State police divers have found the wreckage of the small plane that went down in the ocean off the coast of Cod Cod last weekend, but the pilot remains missing. The plane was found Thursday about 3.5 miles east of Orleans in 70 to 80 feet of...
Lady Luck smiles on Westmoreland, Allegheny lottery players through scratch-off winningsVideo
The wallets of hundreds of Allegheny and Westmoreland county residents got a little thicker last month after a slew of players won thousands of dollars through scratch-off lottery tickets. In Westmoreland, one person won a $500,000 top prize, with two others winning $250,000, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery. Two people...
10 years later, Sandusky scandal at Penn State has opened the door to others coming to light, experts say
Few saw it coming. Even fewer had any idea that a Nov. 5, 2011, grand jury report that unmasked retired Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky as a serial pedophile would trigger a tidal wave worldwide. “When the scandal at Penn State broke, it was as though it radically changed...
Self-defense or murder? Pennsylvania woman charged in fatal stabbing headed to trial
BELLEFONTE — Centre County prosecutors have enough evidence to go to trial against a woman accused of killing a man inside her Penns Valley home, a county district judge ruled this week. Brittany Guisewhite, 28, saw felony charges of third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault move forward after a...
Pa. lawmaker pushing to eliminate Native American mascots, images for sports teams
A Pennsylvania lawmaker is introducing legislation that would ban schools from using Native American mascots. Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Philadelphia, said more than 60 schools and sports teams in Pennsylvania still use or refer to indigenous culture in their mascots and logos. “For far too long, Indigenous peoples have faced discrimination,...
Philadelphia bans traffic stops for minor infractions
PHILADELPHIA — The mayor ordered police Wednesday to stop pulling over drivers for low-level offenses that critics say lead to disproportionate stops of minority drivers, making Philadelphia the largest city government in the U.S. to ban what are sometimes called pretextual stops. The executive order from Mayor Jim Kenney puts...
Republican Kevin Brobson wins seat on Pennsylvania Supreme Court as GOP appears poised to sweep appellate races
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 — Republican Kevin Brobson edged out Democrat Maria McLaughlin to win a spot on Pennsylvania’s highest court, ending a contentious...
Defense begins in trial of Philadelphia official, union boss
PHILADELPHIA — Prosecutors put on sufficient trial evidence over four weeks to send corruption charges against a powerful Philadelphia labor leader and city council member to a jury, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. The judge rejected a defense request to dismiss the case against union boss Johnny “Doc” Dougherty and...
Judge: DA can’t drop charge in handcuffed prisoner shooting
YORK — A Pennsylvania judge once again denied a county prosecutor’s request to drop a misdemeanor charge against a former police officer who shot a man in handcuffs outside a bank 2 1/2 years ago. York County President Judge Maria Musti Cook issued the ruling Monday in the case of...
