Pennsylvania category, Page 133
Pa. State Police to alter fitness standards that kept out women
The Pennsylvania State Police will pay more than $2 million into a compensation fund and are changing physical fitness standards to settle a lawsuit over how the agency’s trooper-hiring practices ruled out otherwise qualified women. The U.S. Justice Department announced the proposed settlement Tuesday of litigation that was launched seven...
Officials: Pennsylvania providers pausing J&J vaccine distribution
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Tuesday announced all providers in the state would pause use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine until at least April 20, following advice from federal regulators. “While this announcement is challenging, it highlights the vaccine evaluation process,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam...
Pa. sees most covid cases since January with majority reported in eastern counties
Pennsylvania on Tuesday reached a level of reported covid cases that hasn’t been seen since January. But of these additional cases, the majority of them are coming from a specific region of the state, while Pittsburgh-area cases continue within current ranges. Cases Pennsylvania reported 6,638 additional covid-19 cases Tuesday (4,215...
150 children from Mexican border expected to be housed in Erie dorm
At least 150 refugee children detained at the U.S.-Mexico border are expected to arrive in Erie late Tuesday or early Wednesday to receive temporary shelter, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson. The unaccompanied children, who will range in age from 7-12 years old, will be...
Pennsylvania scores C- for condition of roads, bridges, infrastructure
Just how bad are Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges? According to the federal government’s Infrastructure Report Card, released Monday by the White House, each driver pays $620 a year in costs related to driving on roads in disrepair. That’s in addition to everyday costs — gasoline, routine maintenance — related to...
Voters to weigh in on Pa. government pandemic power struggle
HARRISBURG — A pandemic power struggle that has raged for a year between Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor and its Republican-led Legislature will land on voters’ laps next month in the form of two proposed constitutional amendments that could limit the length of disaster emergencies. There are four statewide ballot questions being...
Pa. House Speaker quarantining at home after being exposed to confirmed case of covid-19
Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said in a press release Monday afternoon that he is currently under quarantine at home after learning that he was exposed to someone who has a confirmed case of covid-19. “Quarantine, social distancing, mask-wearing and the vaccine are all important to reducing...
Mobile covid vaccination clinic headed to minority communities in Pennsylvania
A former mobile covid-19 testing clinic that made stops all over Pennsylvania last year will begin its next tour targeting underserved communities, this time as a vaccine and education clinic. State health officials and community leaders announced the department’s partnership with advocacy group Latino Connection and Highmark Blue Shield on...
New covid cases still high in Pennsylvania, but data show signs of surge easing
While Pennsylvania continues to see new covid cases at higher numbers than last month, there are signs that the surge is easing a bit. In the state Department of Health’s latest two-day report of new cases released Monday, the state added 6,450 new cases — 3% fewer new cases than...
All adults in Pa. will be eligible for covid vaccine Tuesday, 1 week early
Covid-19 vaccine appointments will be available to all Pennsylvanians beginning Tuesday, nearly a week ahead of schedule, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. “We need to maintain acceleration of the vaccine rollout, especially as case counts and hospitalization rates have increased,” Wolf said in a statement. “Therefore, just as President Biden...
Pa. Game Commission approves 2-week deer season, bans rifles from turkey hunts
HARRIBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission has approved concurrent hunting for antlered and antlerless deer through the duration of the 2021-22 firearms deer season. LNP newspaper reports that commission members acknowledged at their spring meeting Saturday that much of the feedback received since the two-week deer season was proposed in...
Pennsylvania’s covid hospitalizations continue upward trend
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 4,882 additional cases of covid-19. That makes for a seven day average of 4,318. The state’s seven-day case average has now been above 4,000 for 12 consecutive days. Prior to that, the average remained below 4,000 since Feb. 4, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department...
Pa. lawmaker wants to compel Wolf administration to release details of wasted covid vaccine doses
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 state lawmaker wants to compel the Wolf administration to make public details on wasted covid-19 vaccine doses, information...
As Pa. covid cases rise, hospitalizations drop for 1st time in nearly 3 weeks
With the latest numbers released Friday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, coronavirus cases are continuing to increase across the state. However, state hospitalizations for covid declined for the first time in nearly three weeks. That, combined with the fact that more than 20% of the state population has been...
Pennsylvania promises quicker, easier jobless claims system
HARRISBURG — After a year of frustration over long waits for checks, jammed phone lines and confusing online filing procedures, Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry is promising a much quicker and easier unemployment compensation claims filing system in two months. The new system, scheduled to launch on June 8,...
State College construction firm accused of stealing $20 million from workers
HARRISBURG — A major Pennsylvania construction contractor was charged Thursday with stealing tens of millions of dollars from its own workers by systematically violating state and federal prevailing wage laws on taxpayer-funded public infrastructure projects. Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. of State College, a 70-year-old company that booked $1.7 billion in...
Pennsylvania pension system officials disclose federal probe
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system disclosed Tuesday that it is dealing with a federal investigation, although officials atop the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System have yet to publicly disclose the nature or scope of the inquiry. In addition, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is on the...
Trump favorite Sean Parnell is ‘99% sure’ he’s running for U.S. Senate
PHILADELPHIA — Sean Parnell, a decorated combat veteran and favorite of former President Donald Trump, is all but certain to run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to a Republican official who spoke with Parnell this week. “He said he was 99% sure this is what he was going to...
State House advances 2-year child sex abuse lawsuit window
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House approved a bill Wednesday to establish a two-year window for civil claims over childhood sexual abuse, part of a belt-and-suspenders approach that also includes a potential constitutional amendment. The proposal was sent to the state Senate by a vote of 149 to 52, two weeks...
Westmoreland County surpasses 30,000 covid cases
Westmoreland County became the 12th county in Pennsylvania to pass 30,000 coronavirus cases. The 119 additional cases — 37 confirmed and 82 probable — reported Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health put Westmoreland County’s total at 30,005. Westmoreland reached 20,000 cases on Jan. 4; 10,000 cases on Dec. 3;...
Vote signals support for child sex abuse window in bill form
HARRISBURG — The state House of Representatives showed solid support Tuesday for enacting a two-year lawsuit window for child victims of sexual abuse as a regular bill, two weeks after the Legislature gave its first round of approval to a similar constitutional amendment. The 148 to 53 vote set the...
Pennsylvania’s push for vaccine equity has been a challenge
Getting shots into the arms of the state’s most vulnerable elderly and minority residents remains a challenge, even as vaccine begins a steady flow into Pennsylvania, state officials said Tuesday. It took the combined efforts of three managed care giants tasked with reaching out to the marginalized and those most...
‘Pennsylvanians owe a debt of gratitude’: Wolf salutes grocery employees as pandemic heroes
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday recognized grocery store employees, hundreds of thousands of whom found themselves thrust to the front lines of the covid-19 pandemic, going to work in order to supply what the rest of the state needed to stay home. Such employees have had access to covid-19 vaccine...
Pa. officials encourage more covid testing as cases rise
As covid cases and hospitalizations rise in Pennsylvania, the Department of Health on Tuesday described a renewed push for expanding testing. Despite the increase in infections, officials said the demand for testing has decreased. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said continued testing is imperative as the virus continues to spread....
Pa., Allegheny County covid hospitalizations up more than 20% week to week
Recent covid hospitalizations continue to be a story in the commonwealth. Pennsylvania and Allegheny County hospitalization levels have consistently gone up since late March, and hospitalization totals now rival counts seen in February. Hospitalizations For the 17th consecutive day, the number of people hospitalized for covid-19 in Pennsylvania has increased,...
