Pennsylvania category, Page 155
Pa. sending covid-19 alerts on cell phones
The first covid-19 alert sent via the national Wireless Emergency Alert system landed on cellphones Wednesday, interrupting a live briefing by Allegheny County officials on the local rise in covid-19 cases. “In PA, covid-19 rates are rising and hospitals could soon be at capacity,” the alert read. “Stay home if...
Commonwealth Court orders pause to further certification of Pa. election results
A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday ordered a pause to any election certification proceedings still pending in the state as part of a lawsuit brought by a number of Republican candidates and legislators, including Rep. Mike Kelly and candidate Sean Parnell. The judge’s action does not affect the outcome of the...
Pa. officials urge people with covid to cooperate with contact tracing
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in step with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will begin prioritizing covid-19 contact tracing and case investigation efforts as cases surge and fewer people cooperate with tracers and investigators. Pennsylvania’s positivity rate rose to 11% this week, with more than 34,700...
Financially distressed Pa. towns faring better than expected, while others in pain
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 significant number of Pennsylvania municipalities are considering applying for a state program for the severely financially distressed, while...
Pennsylvania adds 6,669 new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania reported 6,669 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state’s Department of Health. There were also 81 new deaths reported, all of which were from November. Tuesday’s figures bring total cases and total deaths to 321,070 and 9,951, respectively. In the state, there are 3,897 covid-19 patients hospitalized, with...
Pennsylvania certifies election; Biden wins by 80K votes
President-elect Joe Biden has been certified the winner of Pennsylvania’s Nov. 3 election. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and Gov. Tom Wolf signed and certified the election results Tuesday morning, a day after all 67 counties certified their respective results. The certification ends a three-week process and awards the state’s...
Thanksgiving could be make-or-break in U.S. virus response
In Pennsylvania, if you’re having friends over to socialize, you’re supposed to wear a mask — and so are your friends. That’s the rule, but Barb Chestnut has no intention of following it. “No one is going to tell me what I can or not do in my own home”...
Pennsylvania adds nearly 12,000 new covid cases in 2 days
Since Saturday, Pennsylvania has added 11,837 new cases of coronavirus, the state’s Department of Health said Monday. On Sunday 7,075 cases were added, while Monday saw an addition of 4,762 cases. The statewide total stands at 314,401. The seven-day average of new cases rose to a record 6,398 cases; over...
Feds charge 15 alleged Philly mobsters with racketeering, drug dealing and extortion
The Philadelphia mob has limped along on life support for the past decade, its former leaders, Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, out of the picture after high-profile federal prosecutions. But reports of La Cosa Nostra’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, according to a federal grand jury...
Pa.’s new ‘Pennie’ health exchange in jeopardy if Trump’s ACA lawsuit prevails
Pennsylvania’s new state-run health exchange is among the many pieces of the Affordable Care Act that would be in peril if the Trump administration’s attack on it prevails in the Supreme Court, consumer advocates warn. The state’s insurance enrollment system, called Pennie, debuts this season’s open enrollment period, which runs...
PennDOT seeks public-private partnership to address major bridgesVideo
Through a public-private partnership, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation replaced more than 550 small bridges across the state in just under three years. Now, PennDOT hopes to do the same to address major bridges statewide. “A lot of these bridges were designed in the ‘50s and built in the ‘60s,...
Suit challenges expansion of mail-in voting in Pennsylvania
Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is leading a suit filed Saturday in Pennsylvania challenging the use of mail-in ballots predominately cast by Democrats in lifting Joe Biden to victory in the presidential race in the state and seeking to block certification of the election results. The lawsuit was filed in...
Judge throws out bid to stop Pa. vote certification; Toomey calls on Trump to ‘accept outcome of election’
Pennsylvania officials can certify election results that currently show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes, a federal judge ruled Saturday, dealing President Donald Trump’s campaign another blow in its effort to invalidate the election. NEW: The @TeamTrump lawsuit against the PA Sec’y of State —...
Pennsylvania surpasses 300,000 coronavirus cases; reports 112 deaths
Pennsylvania on Saturday reported 6,778 new coronavirus cases, marking a grim milestone of the Keystone State surpassing 300,000 cases. The new data bring the total cases to 302,564. Officials said 20,086 of those are considered probable cases. The state also reported 112 new deaths. Of the new deaths reported Saturday,...
Fetterman’s flags fly in the face of some Pa. lawmakers
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Democrat John Fetterman, may have gotten under somebody’s skin. A provision slipped into lame-duck budget legislation Friday would ban flags not approved by lawmakers from flying at the state Capitol — such as the pro-marijuana legalization and LGBTQ- and transgender-rights flags that Fetterman hangs...
Pennsylvania nears 300K covid-19 cases, records 108 more deaths
Another 6,808 cases of covid-19 were reported in Pennsylvania on Friday, according to a report from the state’s Department of Health. It’s now likely Pennsylvania will surpass the 300,000 case mark over the weekend. The state’s total number of cases — confirmed and probable — since the pandemic began in...
Dutch Wonderland will open Holiday Lights drive-thru attraction
Dutch Wonderland may have closed their amusement park for the year, but a festive seasonal attraction is starting up in December. The park’s Holiday Lights attraction will allow guests to drive through a ⅕ mile long trail, decorated with hundreds of thousands of electric Christmas lights. The drive-thru destination will...
Pa. lawmakers to use remaining $1.3B in coronavirus aid to prop up state budget
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 — Despite the pleas of restaurant owners, service providers and other industries, Republican leaders in the House have put forth...
Toomey, Casey propose bill to increase oversight, resources at nursing homesVideo
Bucking the stereotypical lack of bipartisan cooperation in federal politics, U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey were exploring weaknesses in the country’s nursing homes long before the coronavirus pandemic, commissioning a June 2019 report examining their federal oversight. This week, they announced a bipartisan bill that aims to enhance...
Vaccine on the horizon, but immunization will take time, Pa. health secretary says
A covid-19 vaccine could be approved and available before the end of the year, but supply constrictions and phased rollouts mean immunizing the state will be a slow process stretching into next year, Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday. “A lot will depend on exactly how much vaccine we get,...
State officials highlight food assistance programs ahead of holidays
State officials on Thursday encouraged Pennsylvania residents to take advantage of food assistance programs, if needed, over the holidays. “Pennsylvania’s food assistance programs were built for times like these and no one should be too shy to take advantage of what they have to offer,” said Russell Redding, secretary of...
Pa. records highest daily increase in coronavirus cases
Pennsylvania on Thursday eclipsed more than 7,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time. The state reported a record 7,126 additional covid-19 cases and 116 new deaths. That brings the totals since the pandemic struck the state in March to 288,978 cases and 9,581 deaths. In...
State House Republicans vote for election procedures study
HARRISBURG — Republicans in the state House on Wednesday pushed forward on party lines a proposal for a review of election procedures in Pennsylvania, although its author insisted he accepts voting results and is not trying to overturn them. GOP members of the State Government Committee all voted for the...
Pennsylvania gives update on antigen tests, contact tracing efforts
Pennsylvania health officials are echoing pleas to follow covid-19 health guidelines and cooperate with contact tracing efforts as infections continue to reach new heights. At a news briefing Wednesday afternoon, Michael Huff, director of testing and contact tracing, once again asked Pennsylvanians to answer the calls of case investigators and...
Pa. high court takes up Trump challenge to 8K Philly votes
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will take up challenges to more than 8,000 ballots in Philadelphia filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign, among the lawsuits launched by the Republican and his allies amid President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the battleground state. The high court’s five-member...
