Pennsylvania category, Page 210
AP: Age-bias claims cost Pennsylvania $225K
HARRISBURG — Eighteen agents who investigate violent gun crimes for the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office each cashed $12,500 taxpayer-funded checks last year to settle claims they had been subject to harassment because of their age, The Associated Press has learned. The agency this week disclosed the payments to the current...
Study: Pa. college grads have 2nd-highest average student debt load in nation
College graduates in Pennsylvania shouldered the second-highest average student debt load in the nation in 2018, a new survey found. According to the Institute for College Access and Success survey of 2018 college graduates, only Connecticut graduates, who shouldered an average debt of $38,669, fared worse than their Pennsylvania counterparts,...
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant’s shutdown is imminent
HARRISBURG — The final shutdown of Three Mile Island, where 1979’s terrifying partial meltdown became a landmark event in the life cycle of nuclear power in the United States, is imminent. Exelon Corp. officials said the plant will stop producing electricity around noon Friday, following through on a decision the...
Murrysville officials working to develop ordinance for 5G antennas
If 5G antennas are going to begin sprouting in Murrysville, local officials want to ensure they’re not unsightly. “They’re not just a pole out of the ground with an antenna,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison told council at its Wednesday meeting. “They’re permitted up to 28 cubic feet of cabinet...
Passenger ejected from $284,000 sports car in Pa. crash
A man driving a $284,000 sports car rear-ended a box truck on Route 22 early Thursday morning, injuring a passenger who was thrown from the car, state police said. Route 22 westbound has been closed at Airport Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, since the 3:30 a.m. accident, with traffic...
Pa. woman drives SUV onto sidewalk, hits man after argument
BETHLEHEM — Authorities say an argument between a man and a woman ended when she drove an SUV onto the sidewalk and hit him, then made a U-turn and tried to run him over again. Bethlehem police say 34-year-old city resident Crystal Legrand faces several counts, including aggravated assault and...
Study: Affordable Care Act dropped uninsured rates in Pa. to 6.5%
A new report shows the number of uninsured people in Pennsylvania declined by more than 5 percentage points under the health care reform of the Affordable Care Act. Conducted by the Urban Institute, the research examined national uninsured rates from 2013 through 2017, using U.S. Census Bureau data. Among the...
Victim advocate seeks statute of limitation input from abuse survivors
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro ignited a firestorm last year when he released his grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse and now lawmakers are learning just how hard it is to clear the smoke with regard to survivors. Pennsylvania Victim Advocate Jennifer Storm announced Wednesday she is seeking testimony...
Pennsylvania lawmaker in child porn possession case resigns
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state lawmaker who is facing child pornography possession charges resigned Wednesday, just hours after his arrest spurred condemnation and calls for him to step down. Sen. Mike Folmer was charged late Tuesday by the state attorney general’s office after agents confronted him, saying they acted on...
Philadelphia resident may have Pa.’s first 2019 human case of West Nile Virus
The first case of West Nile Virus infection in a person this year has been detected in a Philadelphia resident, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday. Samples were being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, the department said. State residents are being urged...
Perdue recalls frozen chicken tenders over undeclared wheat allergen
Perdue Foods is recalling about 495 pounds of a frozen, ready-to-eat chicken product because of misbranding and undeclared allergens that were shipped to stores in five states including Pennsylvania, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced. According to the recall notice, the product contains wheat, a...
Hospital admissions for opioid overdoses decline in Pennsylvania
A significant decrease in hospital admissions for opioid overdoses across Pennsylvania may have more to do with evolving treatment and the widespread availability of a lifesaving antidote than any major drop in drug abuse, experts said following the release of a report on overdose hospitalizations. Researchers at the Pennsylvania Health...
Pennsylvania lawmaker Michael Folmer facing child porn possession charges
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state lawmaker is facing child pornography possession charges after authorities say a social media website told them the user had uploaded an image using its service. Sen. Michael Folmer, R-Lebanon, was charged after an investigation prompted by Tumblr, an electronic service provider, reported one of its...
Pennsylvania lawmaker Mike Folmer arrested on child porn charges
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state lawmaker is facing child pornography possession charges after authorities say a social media website told them the user had uploaded an image using their service. The state attorney general’s office said Sen. Mike Folmer was arrested and charged Tuesday night. Investigators allegedly found images of...
Pa. wants deer hunters to help control chronic wasting disease
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to more actively involve deer hunters in the fight against chronic wasting disease, or CWD. The commission released a draft report and is accepting comments through Feb. 29, 2020 — in time for implementation in the 2020-21 hunting seasons....
Policy change limits crowd sizes in Pa. Capitol Rotunda rallies
The Wolf administration is moving to limit the number of people at rallies in the Capitol Rotunda and reserving room for others to walk through when it’s crowded. Pennlive.com reported Monday the General Services Department is capping at 450 the number of people on the floor, balconies and marble stairs....
Eastern Pa. city joins Pittsburgh, Sharpsburg in banning wild-animal acts
Following in the footsteps of two Allegheny County communities, Whitemarsh Township officials in eastern Pennsylvania voted to ban wild and exotic animal circus acts last week. The move comes after similar bans enacted in both Pittsburgh and Sharpsburg, and will affect the town of Plymouth Meeting in Whitemarsh, where the...
With Penn State student debt highest in Big Ten, what is the university doing to help?
Student debt is a $1.5 trillion issue in the United States, and Penn State students bear the highest debt load in the Big Ten. In a presentation Friday to the Penn State Board of Trustees, President Eric Barron talked about who is most affected by debt at Penn State, and...
Pennsylvania wine, liquor sales continue to set new records
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is toasting a new retail sales record. The agency that operates more than 600 state stores statewide, and licenses more than 20,000 beverage alcohol producers and retailers, posted $2.67 billion in retail sales for wine and spirits in the fiscal year ending June 30 ....
Penn State board approves pay hike for university president
The president of Penn State is getting a 2.5% salary increase and trustees are making it retroactive to the beginning of July. The Board of Trustees on Friday voted unanimously to boost Eric Barron’s base pay to $855,000 a year. He’s been Penn State’s top administrator since 2014. The Centre...
2 men facing charges for murder, leaving body at museum
HARRISBURG — An 18-year-old Pennsylvania man accused of kidnapping another 18-year-old whose body was found outside a Civil War museum has been charged with murder. Pennlive.com reports Tyrese Andre Randolph is facing murder, kidnapping and robbery charges in the death of 18-year-old Torin Dworchak. Both are from Harrisburg. Dworchak’s body...
Pennsylvania Attorney General sues billionaire Sackler family, owners of Oxycontin maker
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is suing the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxycontin — a powerful prescription opioid pain medication that proved to be a multi-billion cash cow. Details of the lawsuit are sealed, but it alleges members of the Sackler family are “personally liable” for...
Woman sitting on front steps killed by stray bullet in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — Authorities say a woman shot and killed while she sat on the front steps of her Philadelphia home apparently was an innocent bystander struck by a stray bullet. The shooting occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities say 23-year-old Crystal Roman-Benitez struck in the head. She was taken to...
State board pardons former McKeesport councilman-elect stymied by 25-year-old drug convictions
A state board that reviews criminal cases agreed Wednesday to pardon Corry Sanders, the former McKeesport councilman-elect whose 26-year-old drug convictions blocked him from serving in office despite winning the 2016 municipal election. In a 5-0 vote, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons recommended clemency for Sanders, 49, during a public...
Pennsylvania DEP to Sunoco: Your pipelines are showing
The state Department of Environmental Protection is ordering Sunoco Pipeline LP to cover up portions of its pipeline network that have become exposed over time. The order follows the discovery of an exposed pipeline in June by the state Public Utility Commission, which then requested that Sunoco report any additional...
