Pennsylvania category, Page 59
Pennsylvania House passes tax credit for new police officers, teachers and nurses
HARRISBURG — A proposed tax credit to recruit new teachers, nurses and police officers passed through the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with bipartisan support on Tuesday, but leaders of the Republican-controlled Senate have suggested it lacks support in the caucus. The bill passed 137-66, with every Democrat and about one-third...
Probe blames Pennsylvania county’s November ballot paper shortage on inexperience, poor training
HARRISBURG — A prosecutor’s review of voting problems in a Pennsylvania swing county where ballot paper ran out last year found no evidence of criminal activity or purposeful efforts to prevent voting, according to a new report that blamed inexperienced supervisors. Luzerne District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce’s 24-page review said only...
I-95 will open this weekend in Philadelphia, Shapiro says
About two weeks after a section of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia, the heavily trafficked freeway should reopen to traffic. Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference Tuesday that three lanes in each direction will reopen this weekend, about a week ahead of the originally projected timeline, and well...
2 killed in Cambria County plane crash
Two people were killed when a small plane crashed Sunday in Cambria County, about 150 miles northwest of Harrisburg. The twin-engine Piper A-30 went down in a wooded area near the Ebensburg Airport shortly before 4 p.m. The unidentified victims were pronounced dead at the scene, according to local news...
Pa. lawmakers ask for investigations after gaming regulators met privately with casino lobbyists
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 — Two Pennsylvania lawmakers have requested investigations into the state Gaming Control Board following a Spotlight PA story that detailed...
Pete Buttigieg vows to reopen Philadelphia I-95 bridge ‘within weeks’
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reiterated the government’s determination to respond quickly to revive the collapsed Interstate 95 bridge in Philadelphia, saying it was expected to reopen “within weeks.” “Within weeks they are going to be able to get that done with novel approaches to filling that back in,” Buttigieg said...
1 trooper killed, 1 critically wounded in central Pennsylvania
MIFFLINTOWN — State police in Pennsylvania have identified the trooper killed and another trooper critically wounded in separate encounters Saturday with a gunman who attacked a state police barracks and was later shot and killed himself after a manhunt and a fierce gunbattle. Trooper Jacques Rougeau Jr., 29, was killed...
State trooper, suspect killed in Juniata County shootout; 1 other trooper badly injured
Two people were killed, including a Pennsylvania State Police trooper and a suspect from an earlier shooting, during a gun battle in Walker Township, Juniata County shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. A second trooper was also shot in the earlier, but related incident in Mifflintown. He was being treated...
How a landmark school funding lawsuit is shaping Pa. budget negotiations
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 court decision requiring Pennsylvania lawmakers to make the funding system for public schools more equitable is front and...
Collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia to reopen within 2 weeks, governor says
PHILADELPHIA — The collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia will reopen within two weeks, Pennsylvania’s governor said Saturday, after joining President Joe Biden on a helicopter tour over the critical stretch of highway closed to East Coast traffic since last weekend. “We are getting it done here in Philly,”...
Man accused of sexual acts with dog in state park was Penn State professor
A State College man charged with indecent acts involving his dog in a state park was a professor at Penn State University, according to news sources. Themis Matsoukas, 64, faces charges of open lewdness, indecent exposure, sexual intercourse with an animal and animal cruelty after law enforcement officials said he...
Harvard Medical School morgue manager, 4 others indicted in theft, sale of human remains
SCRANTON — A manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife and three other people have been indicted in connection with the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced Wednesday. Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, N.H., stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated...
Pennsylvania using tons of recycled glass nuggets to rebuild collapsed Interstate 95Video
Pennsylvania will truck in 2,000 tons of lightweight glass nuggets to help quickly rebuild a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and crews will work 24 hours a day until they can reopen the critical commercial artery, officials said Wednesday. Instead of rebuilding the overpass right away, crews will...
Federal officials warn I-95 collapse could affect shipping across East Coast as local businesses feel the squeeze
PHILADELPHIA — The collapse of a portion of I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia following a massive blaze caused by an overturned tanker truck could cause supply chain headaches across the East Coast, state and federal officials warned Tuesday. Following a tour of the site, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said...
Train safety bill inspired by East Palestine derailment faces tough odds in Pa. legislature
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 — In the wake of a hazardous train derailment less than a mile from the Ohio border, Pennsylvania lawmakers are...
Officials say driver lost control of gas-filled tanker before fire collapsed main East Coast highwayVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline lost control on an off-ramp and flipped the tanker truck on its side in a wreck that set it afire and destroyed a section of the East Coast’s main north-south highway, Pennsylvania’s top transportation official said Monday. In the first official...
Pa. House advances bill establishing state earned income tax credit to aid working poor
Working Pennsylvanians may be able to get a state earned-income tax credit under a bill that passed the state House of Representatives on Monday. “For every dollar spent on the state earned income tax credit by the commonwealth, we will receive $4 back on economic growth and save $3 in...
Gun owners defend their rights at Pa. Capitol rally; ‘guns are not inherently violent’
Gun owners from across Pennsylvania gathered Monday on the Capitol steps for the annual Right to Keep and Bear Arms Rally, with the theme “United We Stand.” “Without the Second Amendment nothing else would matter. That Second Amendment protects everything else,” said Jerel Crewe, founder of the organization That Gun...
Long commutes start after part of I-95 collapses in Philadelphia following tanker truck fire
PHILADELPHIA — Drivers began longer commutes Monday after an elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia a day earlier following damage caused by a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo catching fire. Sunday’s fire closed a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely. Newscasts warned of...
Section of I-95 collapses in Philadelphia after tanker truck catches fireVideo
PHILADELPHIA — An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said. Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to...
Pa. Senate sends bill to House seeking DEP name change
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate voted along party lines to approve a bill proposing that a state agency drop “protection” from its moniker to become the Department of Environmental Services. For the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) name change to become official, Senate Bill 691 would need approval of both...
Former Penn State student sentenced to prison for strangling a woman in residence hall
A former Penn State undergraduate who assaulted a fellow student was sentenced Friday to a minimum of five years in state prison on a charge of felony strangulation. Preston J. Brindle, 19, of Chester County also received a consecutive five years for a first degree misdemeanor for unlawful restraint and...
Pa. Turnpike to gradually eliminate paper towels at all 17 of its service plazas
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has a plan to become America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040. “Protecting the environment through sustainability has been a guiding principle,” Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said in a news release in April. As part of that plan, the turnpike plans to convert...
Beware of fake rental listing scams, Pa. Attorney General says
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office is warning of a growing number of scams in which fraudsters alter rental property listings to get personal information and money from their victims. In a warning issued this week, PA Attorney General Michelle Henry said that scammers are taking legitimate real estate listings but...
Colleges and universities moving away from standardized tests in admissions decisions
More than eight out of every 10 colleges and universities that award bachelor’s degrees no longer require or do not consider standardized tests in admissions decisions, according to a national survey released Wednesday. The latest tally from FairTest, an Arlington, Mass., group that has long been critical of the SAT...
