Spotlight PA category, Page 4
Affordability remains top issue for Pa.’s state-related universities during budget process
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities are asking the legislature for a long-awaited budget increase,...
Erie’s view of the 2024 solar eclipse will be exceptional. It’s also going to cost you.
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. Next year, an army of people will descend on Erie to don mail-ordered glasses and watch...
Pa. primary election 2023: Everything you need to know about requesting, filling out, and returning your mail ballot
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 — Voters in Pennsylvania’s May 16 primary election will choose their parties’ statewide candidates for the Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme...
Supporters hope Pa.’s new legislature will embrace open primaries, but at least one big hurdle remains
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 — Lawmakers and advocates who support opening Pennsylvania’s primary elections to over a million independent voters hope the legislature will...
Pa. faces staffing shortage as health coverage for thousands on the line
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 offices in Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services that help people keep their Medicaid benefits are facing staffing challenges...
Penn State president says cuts will be deeper than anticipated as leaders finalize layoff plans
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — A Penn State administrator directed university leaders representing nearly all departments to...
Pa. hospital’s revoked property tax exemption is ‘warning shot’ to other nonprofits, expert says
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 — A Commonwealth Court judge recently revoked a Southeastern Pennsylvania hospital’s property tax exemption and denied appeals regarding three others, decisions...
Determining if someone is mentally fit for trial in Pa. often traps them in the place making them worse — jail
This story is a collaboration between Spotlight PA and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, published as part of a Pittsburgh Media Partnership project. Sign up for Spotlight PA’s free newsletters here. Rachel Bridgeman thought she could hear God. Locked in the Allegheny County Jail, she slid from reality. The...
What to expect from Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first budget proposal
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 — As Gov. Josh Shapiro prepares to pitch his first state budget, he’s doling out a few hints about what...
Pa. lawmaker accused of sexual harassment says he won’t resign, will seek treatment for ‘illness’
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 Pennsylvania lawmaker accused of sexual harassment says he won’t resign from office but will seek treatment for an...
New Pa. House rules expand who can file a sexual harassment complaint against lawmakers
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 months into an impasse-riddled session, the members of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives have passed the rules that will...
Joanna McClinton elected first female speaker of the Pa. House as Mark Rozzi steps down
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 — Democrat Joanna McClinton was elected the first female speaker of the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday after Mark Rozzi stepped...
Pa. House preparing to consider critical chamber rules
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 — Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks County, says he will introduce chamber rules this week that would give Republicans...
Pa. Department of Health sues to keep medical marijuana program data secret
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 Department of Health is again suing Spotlight PA in an attempt to keep information about how patients...
What the public can and can’t know about Four Diamonds, beneficiary of Penn State THON’s fundraising
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — For years, thousands of Penn State students have participated in a grueling...
Tracking Josh Shapiro’s biggest campaign promises
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 — Gov. Josh Shapiro made a lot of promises on the campaign trail. Now, he faces the new challenge of...
How anxiety came to dominate the big business of medical marijuana cards in Pa.
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. When Lehigh Valley doctor Charles Harris started approving patients for medical marijuana a few years ago, most of them were dealing...
Why a Pa. school district decided to arm its officers with semiautomatic rifles
This story first appeared in Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA’s State College regional bureau featuring the most important news and happenings in north-central Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. ALTOONA — At least two school districts in Pennsylvania now allow their police officers to store...
Pa. takes over troubled mortgage relief program from contractor after complaints, backlogs
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 an abrupt change, Pennsylvania’s struggling mortgage relief program will no longer work with the private company originally hired...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro loosens his predecessor’s notoriously strict gift ban for top officials
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 — Top officials for Pennsylvania’s governor are now allowed to accept an occasional free lunch while on duty. In one...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro fills executive staff with loyal allies, political veterans
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 — Newly minted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is stocking his executive staff of advisers, mediators, and policy experts with political...
Secrecy has dominated Shapiro’s transition to Pa. governor and may be a sign of what’s to come
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 — For nearly two months, a team of advisers has been working to ensure Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro has a...
Special elections to fill Pa. House seats vacated by Democrats should be held Feb. 7, court rules
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 — Special elections to fill Pennsylvania House seats vacated by Democrats should be held on Feb. 7, Commonwealth Court has...
Here’s what outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf will be remembered for
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 — Gov. Tom Wolf began and ended his eight years in the state’s top job with the same mantra: He...
Pa. House at a standstill as deadline nears to get relief for child sex abuse survivors on May ballot
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 — Pennsylvania’s closely divided state House has recessed indefinitely, throwing the chamber’s agenda, including a number of far-reaching constitutional amendments,...
