Pennsylvania category, Page 65
Campaign finance, lobbying reform still receiving little attention in Pa. legislature
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. HARRISBURG — As lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg this week for another round of budget hearings, both legislative chambers got the chance to...
Pa. factory explosion survivor, on fire, fell into chocolate vat
A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says flames had engulfed the building, and her arm, when the floor gave way beneath her. That might have been the end, if she hadn’t fallen into a vat of liquid...
Man charged in 20-plus calls of false threats in U.S., Canada and even Pennsylvania
SEATTLE — U.S. authorities on Thursday said they arrested a Washington state man who made more than 20 “swatting” calls around the country and in Canada, prompting real emergency responses to his fake reports of bombs, shootings or other threats. Ashton Connor Garcia, 20, of Bremerton, used voice-over-internet technology to...
Connellsville native among 7 victims in massive chocolate factory explosion in Pa.
PHILADELPHIA — The Berks County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday released the names of the remaining victims of the explosion at the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading that killed seven people. The remaining five were identified as: Susan H. Halvonik, 63, a Connellsville native who lived in Upper Providence...
Making education in Pa. ‘look different’ focus of Senate budget hearing
With a nearly 800-page Commonwealth Court ruling that declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional hanging over the General Assembly’s heads, Pennsylvania’s Acting Education Secretary Khalid Mumin said he sees that as an opportunity to do right by students. “It’s impressed upon us that we do — and I believe we...
Fetterman expected back to Senate in April
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman will return to the Senate in April, two months after the freshman Democrat sought inpatient treatment for clinical depression, a person close to Fetterman said Wednesday. The person, who was not authorized to discuss Fetterman’s plans and spoke on condition of anonymity, said...
Probe of Pa. chocolate factory blast focuses on gas pipeline
Federal safety officials are investigating the role of a natural gas pipeline in a fatal blast at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday. Friday’s powerful explosion at R.M. Palmer Co. killed seven people, sent 10 to the hospital and damaged several other buildings in West...
Election Day ballot problems in Pennsylvania county examined
Election Day shortages of the paper needed to run voting machinery caused significant problems in a northeastern Pennsylvania county in November, but the extent of the problem or what caused it are still unclear, witnesses told a congressional committee Tuesday. The three-hour hearing of the U.S. House Administration Committee into...
Mayor: Philadelphia water will not be tainted by spillVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia officials say the city’s water system will not be affected by a chemical spill into the Delaware River upstream last week. “We can all confidentially say the threat has passed — I repeat: All the city’s drinking water is safe to drink and will not be impacted...
Chemical spill into river leads to problems for Philadelphia’s drinking water
The city of Philadelphia sent its 1.5 million residents into a mad dash for bottled water after issuing — and retracting — a tap water advisory on Sunday afternoon. The cause: a chemical spill from a Bucks County latex finishing plant into a Delaware River tributary that feeds into a...
Philadelphia residents warned about chemical spill in river
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia residents are being told that they may want to drink only bottled water following a chemical spill into the Delaware River in neighboring Bucks County. Bucks County health officials said Sunday that a leak late Friday evening at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township spilled...
Death toll rises to 7 in Pa. chocolate factory explosionVideo
WEST READING — Almost 48 hours after an explosion at the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory in Berks County, all Frankie Gonzalez and his family could do on Sunday was pray. Pray that his sister Diana Cedeno, one of the people still missing Sunday morning, was found in the wreckage. Pray...
Pennsylvania chocolate plant blast kills 3, leaves 5 missing
WEST READING, Pa. — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed three people and left five people missing, authorities said. One person was pulled alive from the rubble overnight. Rescue crews using dogs and imaging equipment continued to search through the rubble Saturday — hours after...
Women have more power than ever in Pennsylvania’s legislature, but lawmakers say big hurdles remain
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 — When Emily Kinkead asked Lisa Bennington for advice on running for elected office, the former Pennsylvania state lawmaker gave...
Democrats, marchers press gun violence debate at Pa. Capitol
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Anti-gun violence advocates rallied Thursday and packed into a friendly legislative hearing in Pennsylvania, where a politically divided government has fought firearms policy to a virtual standstill for decades, and rising gun violence has gripped the state’s largest city. The March For Our Lives at the state...
Pa. woman gets 3 years in prison for entering Nancy Pelosi’s office during Jan. 6 Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania woman linked to a far-right extremist movement was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol, where she invaded then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office with other rioters. Riley June Williams, 23, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was charged but not convicted of helping...
Costa legislation could keep some homeowners in growing areas from being taxed out of homes
State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa has introduced legislation that he said would protect longtime homeowners from being taxed out of their homes. Costa, D-Forest Hills, said the Longtime Owner-Occupant Tax Exemption Program, or LOOP, would allow first- and second-class cities and counties — including Pittsburgh and Allegheny County —...
Sen. Fetterman expected back ‘soon,’ no certain timeline yet
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s office said Thursday that he is expected to return soon to the chamber, although Democratic leaders are giving no timeline five weeks after he sought inpatient treatment for clinical depression. Fetterman, 53, was weeks into his service in Washington and still recovering from the...
Thousands of homeowners still at risk as Pa. alleges improper denials, delays in mortgage relief
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 —The state agency overseeing Pennsylvania’s troubled mortgage relief program has leveled a slew of new accusations against the private contractor...
What you need to know as Pa.’s trout season opener approaches
It may take place on April Fool’s Day this year, but it’s certainly no joke. Each year, thousands upon thousands of anglers across Pennsylvania eagerly look forward to the opening day of trout season. It’s a cherished time of the year when people get together with family and friends to...
‘Jeopardy’ contestants make quick work of ‘Made in Pa.’ category
Some famous Pennsylvania-made products were featured last night, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, on the long-running game show “Jeopardy!” The three contestants even included a Pennsylvania woman - the returning champ Melissa Klapper of Merion Station in Montgomery County. Klapper won again last night and has a two-day total of $42,200....
Ex-officer sentenced in abuse of teenagers in Bucks County drug program
DOYLESTOWN — A former suburban Philadelphia police officer has been sentenced to decades in prison on convictions of sexual abuse of several teenage boys while he was working with a youth drug prevention program decades ago. Bucks County Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. on Tuesday sentenced 54-year-old James Carey to 24...
Shapiro says tax credits for new teachers needed to address shortage in Pa. schools
Pennsylvania certified more than 20,000 teachers every year a decade ago, but those numbers have dropped dramatically, Gov. Josh Shapiro said during a Tuesday visit to Pittsburgh’s Colfax K-8 school. Shapiro said the state certified only 6,100 teachers last year. At the news conference in Squirrel Hill, Shapiro said he...
Suspended Somerset County DA being held in Cambria Prison until sentencing
EBENSBURG — Suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas will await sentencing under “protective custody” inside Cambria County Prison for his assault conviction, the prison’s warden said. In doing so, he’ll spend the next two months in a private cell. However, the fact he’ll be segregated from the rest of...
Pa. legislators frustrated with Norfolk Southern CEO’s appearance before Senate committee
Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw’s appearance before a state Senate committee on Monday focused heavily on the decision to purposely burn the leaking chemicals, which sent a plume of ash and smoke into Pennsylvania. Shaw’s repeated insistence that a “unified command” group of government and agency officials, led...
