Pennsylvania category, Page 72
Can council presidents make a motion? State boroughs association says yes
Delmont Council President Andy Shissler had to restrain himself from using his newfound power at the borough’s Dec. 13 meeting. Or perhaps he just didn’t want his first presidential motion to be payment of an annual service fee. “I’d rather not make my first motion paying Westmoreland Transit,” Shissler joked....
Man pleads to charge in Pennsylvania coffee shop fire amid protests
ERIE — A man accused of setting fire to a northwestern Pennsylvania coffee shop during 2020 demonstrations following the death of George Floyd has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of malicious destruction of property by fire. Melquan Barnett, 30, entered the plea Wednesday as part of a deal with...
New year brings new faces and new politics to Western Pa.
After a midterm election with several surprising results, Southwestern Pennsylvania is poised to see a new class of politicians and a different political makeup beginning this year. Some well-known incumbents and familiar names are out, and some political upstarts are in, including progressives who are left of the region’s prior...
Pa. state system schools look to outfit police with body cameras
Slippery Rock University is seeking grants to begin outfitting its 11 police officers and five patrol cars with body and vehicle cameras that can record interactions with students, employees and the general public. The school with 8,200 students isn’t the only state-owned university poised to take that step. Campuses across...
Majority of 16k canceled Pa. mail-in ballots were from Democrats
HARRISBURG — New data from Pennsylvania’s elections agency shows an early November state court decision that barred mail-in ballots without accurate handwritten dates on their exterior envelopes resulted in otherwise valid votes being thrown out. The Department of State said this week more than 16,000 mail-in ballots were disqualified by...
Gov. Wolf launches college scholarship program for Pa. state workers, dependents
Gov. Tom Wolf has been a strong advocate for funding for Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities and as his administration winds to a close on Jan. 17, he had one more parting gift for them and certain state government employees. He announced on Thursday the launch of a new $5 million short-lived...
Will a surprise speaker pick make the Pennsylvania House less partisan?
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 surprising pick for speaker of the Pennsylvania House has some lawmakers and good-government groups hopeful the chamber might...
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey to undergo prostate cancer surgery
HARRISBURG — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said Thursday that he will undergo surgery for prostate cancer but is expected to make a full recovery. Casey, 62, said in a statement that he was diagnosed last month. “While this news came as a shock, I can report that I...
PennDOT employee accused of helping immigrants on driver’s license tests
HARRISBURG — A former Pennsylvania Department of Transportation employee accused by authorities of charging immigrants up to $350 to help pass the knowledge test and ultimately obtain driver’s licenses said Wednesday he was seeking to help them. Angelo Carrion, 66, charged immigrants to furnish them with correct answers to get...
Biggest boost in a decade brings maximum Pell Grant award to nearly $7,400 for college students
Millions of college students who receive the federal need-based Pell Grant will see the yearly maximum award increase by $500 to $7,395 this fall, the largest boost in a decade and the second increase in two years. The boost is tucked into the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill to operate...
Here’s what you need to know about new Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi
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 Pennsylvania House picked state Rep. Mark Rozzi to be the chamber’s new speaker Tuesday in a surprise vote....
Pa. native Molly Broad, UNC’s first female system president, dies at 81
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Molly Corbett Broad, the first female president of the University of North Carolina system and who later became a top advocate for U.S. higher education, has died at age 81. Broad died early Monday, according to a statement from her family. The statement was provided to...
Divided Pennsylvania House elects Democrat Mark Rozzi as speaker
HARRISBURG — A Democrat who promised to govern as an independent was elected speaker of the narrowly divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a surprising move Tuesday on the strength of every Democrat and more than a dozen GOP votes. Rep. Mark Rozzi was elected speaker by a vote of...
Idaho slayings suspect waives right to fight extraditionVideo
A criminology graduate student accused of the November slayings of four University of Idaho students agreed Tuesday to be extradited from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week, to face charges in Idaho. Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student at Washington State University — a short drive from the scene...
Idaho slayings suspect’s family voices sympathy for victims
STROUDSBURG — Relatives of a man arrested in Pennsylvania in the slayings of four University of Idaho students expressed sympathy for the victims’ families but also vowed to support him and promote “his presumption of innocence.” Bryan Kohberger, 28, is eager to be exonerated and plans to tell a judge...
Rose Bowl watch parties connect Penn State fans across country
Val Evans ordered a blue and white flag with the words “We are Penn State” so the 1975 graduate could proudly hang it at her house in time for Monday’s Rose Bowl. Only trouble is, there aren’t many like-minded fans in her locale. She lives in Salt Lake City, home...
Pennsylvanians choose their most popular New Year’s resolution
Some Pennsylvanians appear to be looking for ways to work on their inner self in 2023. Pennsylvania, along with 11 other states, listed therapy as the top New Year’s resolution, in a recent study conducted by Zippia, a job search website. Nationally, going to therapy was named the most popular...
Multiple homes in Philadelphia collapse in series of gas explosions early New Year’s Day
PHILADELPHIA — Multiple gas leaks in Port Richmond resulted in an explosion early New Year’s Day that led to the collapse of two homes and multiple people being taken to hospitals, according to city fire officials. None of the injuries appeared to be fatal, but two people were rescued from...
Deer hunters back bill changing opening day of deer season
A coalition of hunters and businesses across the state, including many in Chester County, are supporting legislation aimed at changing the opening day of deer season back to Monday. Pennsylvania has opened its rifle deer season on the Monday after Thanksgiving for over 60 years, that is until 2019. The...
Suspect in deaths of Idaho students arrested in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in their beds more than a month ago, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Friday. The killings initially mystified law enforcement and shook the small town...
Philadelphia’s gun violence remained at record levels for 3rd straight year
PHILADELPHIA — When Taneesha Brodie’s eldest son turned 8, she moved her family out of North Philadelphia to Upper Darby, seeking a safer community away from the city’s gun violence. She was proud of the people her children became, especially her eldest, Quenzell Bradley-Brown. A married father of four, the...
Pa. state system universities try to rein in student costs to reverse enrollment losses
The promise of a new $90 million science hall, suite-style dorms and a scenic oak grove aren’t bad selling points for a public university. But these days, Indiana University of Pennsylvania can trumpet something else that might have seemed unlikely not long ago: It’s noticeably less expensive. The typical total...
Proposed sale of Camp Tuckahoe could help local Boy Scout council
A proposal to sell off buffer acres around Camp Tuckahoe on South Mountain could help replenish the financial reserves of the Boy Scouts of America New Birth of Freedom Council, scout executive and chief executive officer Ronald Gardner Jr. said Tuesday. Council executive board members have yet to finalize the...
Honeybees are at risk, along with the crops they pollinate
PHILADELPHIA — The honeybees looked perfectly healthy, buzzing about their boxy wooden hive on a warm autumn day in central Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Capaldi suspected otherwise. Clad in a protective white suit and hat, the biologist reached out with a gloved hand to capture one of the insects in a small...
Gov. Wolf ends term with strong ratings after tumultuous times
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will wrap up eight years in office next month, having steered Pennsylvania through unpredictable times when the Democrat made life-and-death decisions in the ravaging covid-19 pandemic and managed the battleground state’s presidential election amid unprecedented Republican efforts to overturn it. Wolf, 74, leaves office with...
