Pennsylvania category, Page 231
Democrats claim wins in Pennsylvania House special elections
HARRISBURG — Democrats are claiming victory in special elections to fill two vacant Pennsylvania state House seats. Movita Johnson-Harrell claimed victory Tuesday night in the election to a west Philadelphia seat, while Bridget Malloy Kosierowski claimed victory in a Scranton-area district. Both seats were occupied most recently by Democrats: Lackawanna...
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful removes 7.2 million pounds of trash
Talk about taking out the trash. The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful program resulted in 7.2 million pounds of trash being disposed of in 2018, thanks to the work of nearly 130,000 volunteers, according to a spokeswoman for the organization. In addition, 2.3 million pounds of electronics waste and over 43,000 tires...
Texas report: Pennsylvania 2nd only to us in natural gas production
Texas may be the biggest natural gas producer in the country, but Pennsylvania isn’t far behind — and it’s gaining. A Texas oil and gas trade association acknowledged as much in its recently-released 2019 State of Energy Report. The report by the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, or...
Traces of weed killer in products like Roundup found in popular beers, wineVideo
The weed-killing chemical found in products such as Bayer AG’s Roundup has been cropping up in some of Americans most popular foods. Now that glass of vino or brew also may be tainted, according to a new report by U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Some wines or beers likely contain...
Bones were found in the fireplace. Rare coins may have been the motive for murder, police say.
It was reportedly not a happy home. The couple lived on a tree-shaded street in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County. The house overlooked a creek that corkscrewed all the way to the Susquehanna River and Harrisburg about 10 miles away to the east. Inside, the relationship between Rabihan and Hap...
Fast food chains agree to end ‘no poach’ agreements
In what’s being declared a win for workers, four national fast food chains agreed Tuesday to stop using “no-poach” agreements. “No poach” agreements are clauses, often contained in fast-food franchise agreements, that prevent fast food workers from switching between employers of the same franchise in order to obtain a better...
Pennsylvania opens investigation into gas liquids pipeline
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s attorney general said Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation into construction on a 350-mile natural gas liquids pipeline project across southern Pennsylvania that has been blamed for polluting waterways in dozens of places and causing sinkholes near homes. Attorney General Josh Shapiro took the investigation...
Pennsylvania offers grants for fighting wildfires
As the spring wildfire season ramps up, volunteer fire departments in small or rural communities can look to the state for grants to help offset the high cost of fighting wildfires. State officials said fire departments in rural areas or communities with fewer than 10,000 residents can qualify for up...
State lawmakers weigh ranking university performance
Pennsylvania’s public universities would have to compete for state subsidies should a proposal circulating in the state Senate gain traction. PennLIVE reported that state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh County, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and state Rep. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster Coounty, chairman of the House Education Committee, are working...
PennDOT grades itself in performance report
PennDOT released its first performance report on efforts to address funding, mobility and safety on the state’s roadways, giving itself marks ranging from marginal to getting better in more than two dozen categories. “This report is a true reflection of the department’s focus on safety,” PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards...
Casey, Toomey launch federal judicial candidate search
With three pending nominees to vacancies in Western Pennsylvania’s federal court, U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, and Bob Casey, D-Scranton, on Monday began soliciting applications from those interested in filling additional federal judicial vacancies in the district. The announcement came a week after President Trump nominated Robert Colville and...
State prisons will allow arts and crafts when children visit parents
Pennsylvania’s state prisons will allow incarcerated parents and their children to do arts and crafts in visiting rooms to make children more comfortable with the experience, Department of Corrections officials said Monday. Coloring books, markers, paper and other craft supplies will be available during visiting hours, all of which will...
Dallastown toddler nearly died, OD’ed on father’s fentanyl, police say
A Dallastown man whose toddler nearly died of a fentanyl overdose more than two years ago is now locked up, accused of child endangerment for allegedly leaving the deadly opioid within reach of his two young children. The concentration of fentanyl in the 14-month-old girl’s system was higher than a...
Pa. man admits to fatally shooting roommate over discarded Chick-fil-A bag
PHILADELPHIA — A Bucks County man told police he was so upset that his roommate left an empty Chick-fil-A bag in their apartment late Saturday, he initiated a violent argument that turned fatal. Gregory Hylton, 40, has been charged with criminal homicide and possession of an instrument of a crime,...
Pa. proposal aims to ease government efforts to reclaim records
State and local government records that have been stolen or have otherwise ended up in private hands without authorization would be much easier to reclaim under legislation that could pass the Pennsylvania House in the coming days. A bill scheduled for a vote this week would give the Pennsylvania Historical...
Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to end seasonal time change
Pennsylvanians, like most Americans, will set their clocks ahead one hour by 2 a.m. Sunday, as the nation switches to daylight saving time. If House member Russ Diamond, a Lebanon County Republican, has his way, it will be the last time Keystone State residents “spring forward.” He intends to sponsor...
Women hold nearly a third of Pennsylvania’s judicial seats
The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts marked International Women’s Day Friday with a bow to the women of the Pennsylvania courts. Almost 90 years after the first female judge was sworn in Pennsylvania, women now comprise fully 30 percent of the state’s judiciary. They account for one in three...
Friday’s $2.4 million Cash 5 jackpot is largest in game’s history
Friday’s Cash 5 jackpot of $2.4 million is the largest top prize offered in the game’s nearly 27 year history. “It’s very exciting that the Cash 5 jackpot has set a new all-time record,” Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said in a statement. Cash 5 is the Pennsylvania Lottery’s...
Attorney General warns of twist to social security number phone scam
Scammers pretending to be with government agencies are calling people and telling them that their Social Security number has been compromised or suspended, and threatening to arrest them if they don’t make an immediate payment, Attorney General Josh Shapiro warned. The scam differs from traditional Social Security scams, where scammers...
Bloodied man walks into Pennsylvania hospital, says he killed boyfriend
MANHEIM — Authorities say a man covered in blood walked into a Pennsylvania hospital and told staffers there he had just fatally stabbed his boyfriend. Manheim Township police say 30-year-old Matthew Van Zandt is charged with homicide in the death of 31-year-old Ian Shannon, whose body was found Wednesday in...
Pa. Lottery machines spent most of the day down due to outage
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lottery officials say many machines around Pennsylvania had been offline for most of the day due to a service outage. Department of Revenue spokesman Jeffrey Johnson said the outage Friday was due to connectivity issues with Verizon’s cellular service at some terminals throughout the state. It only...
Gov. Wolf orders review of Glen Mills over abuse allegations
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered a review of complaints against the oldest reform school in the country as a result of a newspaper investigation detailed decades of alleged abuse and cover-ups at the campus. Lawmakers and children’s advocates on Wednesday called for the state to launch an...
Grants up to $20,000 available for programs that discourage unsafe drinking
There isn’t much time left to apply for grants of up to $20,000 to discourage and reduce underage and dangerous drinking. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Thursday sent out a reminder that applications for the grants are due by noon March 15. The PLCB awarded about $1 million in...
Flat Medicaid rates concern Pennsylvania nursing homes
A group that represents about 500 nursing home operators across Pennsylvania expressed concerns about Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget for next fiscal year, saying flat funding threatens the state’s rapidly aging population. The Medicaid reimbursement rate for Pennsylvania nursing home residents has increased less than $9 a day since July...
Philadelphia transit police strike over working conditions
PHILADELPHIA — Police officers for the Philadelphia region’s main transit system went on strike Wednesday, citing poor working conditions for the 178 officers that patrol stations. Members of the Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109 walked off the job for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority when they said a...
