Pennsylvania category, Page 36
Higher internet costs could be on the way for low-income Pa. residents as federal subsidies run out
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — Thousands of Pennsylvanians could soon be hit with higher internet bills when a federal program that gives a discount to low-income households starts...
Gay actor’s speech back on at Pennsylvania school after cancellation over his ‘lifestyle’
A gay actor’s speech that was canceled over his “lifestyle” is back on at a Pennsylvania school after residents spoke out. The Cumberland Valley School District’s board voted 5-4 Wednesday night to allow children’s book author Maulik Pancholy, who is gay, to speak against bullying during an assembly on May...
Access to mental health care may get boost from change in counselor licensing requirements
Dozens more professional counselors could be approved for associate licenses soon under a new state law meant to expand mental health care in Pennsylvania. For college students set to graduate this spring and move on to their clinical experience requirements, getting started in the field could be a quick turnaround...
Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
HARRISBURG — A form Pennsylvania voters must complete on the outside of mail-in ballot return envelopes has been redesigned, but that did not prevent some voters from failing to complete it accurately for this week’s primary, and some votes will not count as a result, election officials said. The primary...
Some Nikki Haley voters are hanging on to her candidacy and, like her, refuse to endorse Trump
HARRISBURG — When Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign, she refused to endorse Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination — and apparently so did some of her supporters in Pennsylvania. Haley won almost 17% of Pennsylvania’s primary vote Tuesday, or 1 in 6...
Pa. auditor general’s race to pit a state rep against incumbent
A Philadelphia Democratic state lawmaker got past his primary challenger on Tuesday, positioning him to take on incumbent GOP state Auditor General Timothy DeFoor in the Nov. 5 election. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who also won a primary contest for re-election to his House seat, bested Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley,....
Casey, McCormick to face each other as nominees in Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick will face each other in Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest this fall, as Tuesday’s primary election put the men on track for a race that is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and help decide control of...
Philly DA withdraws arrest warrant for Democratic lawmaker Kevin Boyle
Philadelphia Democratic state Rep. Kevin Boyle is no longer facing imminent arrest by Philadelphia Police Department after new information has come forward to indicate the protection from abuse order that was the basis of an arrest warrant was no longer in effect. At a late Monday afternoon news conference, Philadelphia...
Kenneth Mash re-elected leader of Pa. state university union
Kenneth Mash has been re-elected president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, the 5,000-plus member union for professors and coaches across the State System of Higher Education. The union on Monday announced result of voting by delegates across the state. Mash, a political science professor at...
Republicans’ defense of the ‘Biden 16’ House districts starts with Pennsylvania’s primary election
NEW HOPE — Mark Houck makes a potent appeal to conservative Republicans in this corner of eastern Pennsylvania when he describes his arrest and subsequent acquittal on federal charges that he pushed a Planned Parenthood volunteer outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic. The account has become a staple of Houck’s first-time...
FAFSA mess leads to deadline extension for students to apply for state grants
Students hoping for a Pennsylvania state grant to help pay for college have an extra month — until June 1 — to submit the federal form that is needed to be considered for financial aid. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) on Thursday announced that it has pushed back...
York police officer raped baby during bathtime, court documents revealVideo
A York police officer raped a 13-month-old girl while he was bathing her over the weekend in a Dauphin County home, police wrote in court documents. The baby’s Halifax daycare center called Pennsylvania State Police on Monday requesting a welfare check after the girl was dropped off with “severe bruising”...
Shapiro says Pennsylvania will move all school standardized testing online in 2026
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday that his administration will move all standardized school assessment tests online in an effort to save more classroom time for instruction, create a user-friendly exam for students and relieve a burden from teachers and administrators. Shapiro, in a news conference at Northgate Middle School...
Pennsylvania House Democrats take step toward expelling state Rep. Kevin Boyle
HARRISBURG — A top House Democratic leader took a first step toward expelling State Rep. Kevin Boyle from the state House, as the lawmaker faces criminal charges and his family says he’s experiencing a serious mental health condition. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, in response to Boyle’s situation, on...
Sheetz hit with discrimination lawsuit
The Sheetz convenience store chain has been hit with a lawsuit by federal officials who allege the company discriminated against minority job applicants. Sheetz Inc., which operates more than 700 stores in six states, discriminated against Black, Native American and multiracial job seekers by automatically weeding out applicants whom the...
Cumberland Valley parents try to salvage appearance by ‘30 Rock’ actor that school board canceled
Some Cumberland Valley School District residents are launching an all-out effort to salvage a school assembly in May that the school board canceled Monday night out of stated concerns over injecting “political activism” into the schools. The board, on an 8-0 vote, voted to cancel the scheduled appearance by Maulik...
Judges orders Pennsylvania agency to produce inspection records related to chocolate plant blast
Pennsylvania utility regulators must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the federal agency’s probe into a fatal explosion at a chocolate factory last year, a federal judge ruled this week. U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner sided this week with the federal safety...
FAFSA delays slow college choices and could foreshadow bigger problems
If this were a normal year, millions of prospective college students would have reviewed competing financial aid offers weeks ago and settled on their campus choice for the fall. For them and their families, that decision represents peace of mind that their future path is clear. For campuses, it means...
In politically riven Pennsylvania, primary voters’ picks could impact policy paralysis in Harrisburg
HARRISBURG — The two parties in Pennsylvania’s state House and its congressional delegation are nearly evenly divided, and that won’t change once results are in from next week’s primary election. But come November, the candidates the parties will select April 23 for hundreds of legislative seats could alter what has...
Penn State proposes housing project near Lasch Football Building. Will all students benefit?
Penn State is looking into the construction of a 1,500-bed student housing project that would be located a short walk from the Lasch Football Building, raising the question of whether the proposed project would primarily cater to football players and other student-athletes. According to a source with knowledge of the...
Pharmacists open up to state Senate committee about financial struggles at hearing
As an owner of four pharmacies and president of the Pennsylvania Pharmacist’s Association, Chris Antypas says he’s fed up. “Think of the most stress you’ve ever experienced, multiply that by 1,000, and that may give you some insight into what it’s like to work in a community pharmacy as a...
Philly DA announces unit targeting repeat gun possession offenders
PHILADELPHIA — Days after a shooting at an Eid al-fitr celebration near the Philadelphia Masjid, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced a new prosecution unit targeting people who repeatedly break gun possession laws in the city. The Prolific Gun Offenders unit, Krasner said at a news conference on Monday morning,...
Sen. Bob Casey has big cash advantage over Dave McCormick, latest campaign finance filings show
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has nearly double the available cash of Republican challenger Dave McCormick, who has put nearly $2 million of his own money into this year’s campaign. Federal campaign finance reports for the first quarter of the year show that Casey raised $5.67 million, including $4.35 million...
Despite support, state game commission puts hold on marten reintroduction plan
A plan to reintroduce a native species of weasel into the Pennsylvania wild is on hold indefinitely as the majority of the state Game Commission’s board of commissioners again asked for more time. Commissioner Dennis Fredericks said he was satisfied with the American marten reintroduction plan but sought the postponement...
Expiring tax refunds worth $43.4M could belong to Pa. taxpayers — see if you’re eligible
More than $1 billion in unclaimed tax refunds is set to expire in a few weeks, and a good chunk is up for grabs for Pennsylvanians. Roughly 940,000 people across the U.S. are eligible for unclaimed refunds for the 2020 tax year with a median return of $932, the Internal...
