Pennsylvania category, Page 26
Abortion a top election issue for nearly half of state voters, Spotlight PA poll shows
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 — Abortion is a top issue for nearly 50% of Pennsylvania voters when considering who to pick for president this November, a new Spotlight...
Shapiro launches Board of Higher Education to get colleges, universities to ‘row in the same direction’
Minutes into its inaugural meeting Thursday, the panel now tasked with bringing order to Pennsylvania’s loosely regulated system of colleges and universities received a pointed reminder of what’s at stake. “Our costs are going up and our enrollment is going down. We’re not graduating enough students with the credentials we...
Philadelphia’s district attorney scores legal win against GOP impeachment effort
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state lawmakers who tried to impeach Philadelphia’s elected progressive prosecutor improperly tried to stretch that process across two different legislative sessions, the state’s highest court ruled Thursday. The decision was a victory for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, following his impeachment by the Republican-controlled House...
Speaker Johnson demands Zelenskyy remove Ukraine’s ambassador to U.S. after Pennsylvania visit
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire his country’s ambassador to the U.S. as Republicans criticize the war-torn leader’s visit to a swing-state Pennsylvania site producing munitions for the Russia-Ukraine war as a political stunt. The Republican Johnson’s demand Wednesday came as...
Mail-in ballot error date case filed with state Supreme Court
Ten voter education organizations on Wednesday filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court seeking to allow mail-in ballots with errant dates on return envelopes to be counted. It is an expected move after Pennsylvania’s highest court on Sept. 13 said it would not take an appeal from a Commonwealth...
Pennsylvania bakery known for its election cookie poll is swamped with orders
HATBORO — A suburban Philadelphia bakery’s cookie “poll” that started during the 2008 presidential campaign as a joke between the owners and their customers has grown into much more. Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro is swamped with orders. People are driving from a couple hours away to buy the cookies in...
New RNC lawsuit would pause mail voting in Montgomery County, force a hand count of ballots already distributed
PHILADELPHIA — The Republican National Committee and U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick are suing to temporarily stop Montgomery County from distributing and collecting mail ballots. The suit, which was filed Friday, also demands the county to hand count all mail ballots that have already been distributed, a process that could...
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits Pennsylvania ammunition plant to thank workers and ask for more
SCRANTON — Under extraordinarily tight security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday visited a Pennsylvania ammunition factory that is producing one of the most critically needed munitions for his country’s fight to fend off Russian ground forces. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat who was among those who met with Zelenskyy...
Democrats in Pa. approach 2024 election with slimmest voter registration advantage in decades
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. HARRISBURG — Despite a bump following Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race, Democrats in Pennsylvania are entering the home stretch of the 2024 election with their weakest voter...
AI may breathe new life into Three Mile Island to supply power to Microsoft’s data centers
HARRISBURG — The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy. The announcement by Constellation Energy comes...
Penn State removes student newspapers, sparking free speech debate
Penn State University removed dozens of newsstands from campus buildings that contained its student newspaper because nine of them displayed political ads above the newspaper rack itself: three for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and six promoting voter registration. Penn State administrators say the posters violated rules about advertising and...
Pennsylvania state senator sues critics of his book about WWI hero Sgt. York
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state senator and former GOP gubernatorial candidate whose support for Donald Trump drew him to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has sued a Canadian university and nearly two dozen academics over criticism of him and his research into World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York....
Bowhunting season begins Saturday for all of Allegheny County, small slices of western Westmoreland, opens Oct. 5 statewide
Justin Relihan has been bowhunting since he was 16 years old. The Butler resident began hunting at age 12 with a rifle, but quickly found he had more of a passion for using a compound bow. “I like the quietness of bowhunting,” said Relihan, 48. “There’s a lot less people....
GOP asks Pa. Supreme Court to bar counties from letting voters fix mail-in ballot errors
The Republican Party is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to find it illegal for county boards of elections to alert voters to defective mail-in ballots and give them the chance to correct errors. Voters’ rights groups called the petition filed Wednesday by the Republican National Committee and state Republican Party...
Flurry of polls shows Harris with slight lead over Trump in tight race in Pa.
With less than seven weeks to go before Election Day, a majority of polls released this week show Vice President Kamala Harris has eked out a slight lead in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, gained some favor among Pennsylvanians over the last couple...
Penn State to pay $700K in gender discrimination case
Penn State University will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest to settle a U.S. Department of Labor case alleging gender pay discrimination against female staff and faculty, the parties announced. The amount will be shared among the women impacted. Penn State said the inequities found by the department were...
Trump to rally at IUP venue with separate rules from campus political event ban
Former President Donald Trump is planning a campaign rally at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a state-owned campus that expressly prohibits “activities for the purpose of advancing a single political candidate or party” in any university-controlled facility. That prohibition, though, apparently does not apply to the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex,...
Philadelphia mayor strikes deal with the 76ers to build a new arena downtown
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have a new teammate in their bid to build a new $1.3 billion arena downtown. Mayor Cherelle Parker announced Wednesday that she has forged a deal with team owners to keep the NBA franchise in town and will send it to city council. The decision...
Penn State taps consultant to assess academic programs
Penn State University has hired a consultant to help determine “if it is teaching the right courses in the right places,” given shifting enrollments and employer demand. Hanover Research, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is expected to begin work in early October on the university’s Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR)...
Democrats run unopposed to fill 2 state House vacancies in Philadelphia
HARRISBURG — Philadelphia voters on Tuesday will fill two vacant state House seats in special elections, and in both cases a Democratic candidate is the only person on the ballot. Keith Harris is seeking to replace Rep. Donna Bullock, while Andre Carroll is in line to succeed Rep. Stephen Kinsey....
Pennsylvania court rejects Cornel West’s bid to get on ballot and clears way for mail voting
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court ruling that rejected a bid to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the ballot for the November election in the battleground state. The courts sided with the secretary of state’s office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in rejecting...
Activists gain meeting with Kim Ward’s office over bill to ban foreign campaign money
Activists demanding campaign finance and lobbying reforms staked out the office of Pennsylvania’s state Senate leader on Monday — and got a commitment to meet with top legislative staff on a bill they hope will clear the chamber soon. Members of March on Harrisburg and other affiliated groups rallied at...
Statewide search for historic buildings finds thousands after a decades-long drought
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. An army of contractors has spent the past several years quietly fanning out across Pennsylvania to find the history state records...
Gannon University looks to merge with Ohio college
Gannon University in Erie and Ursuline College near Cleveland intend to merge, creating what leaders say would be the largest Catholic university system in the Lake Erie region. Presidents of both institutions outlined the move to their campuses Monday. The plan is subject to review by both institutions. If approved,...
Canned cocktail sales expand among Pennsylvania retailers following liquor code reform
As of Monday, Pennsylvanians finally have what Gov. Josh Shapiro has called “real freedom” — the freedom to buy canned cocktails from a wider variety of retailers. Under bipartisan legislation (Senate Bill 688) signed by the governor in July, about 12,000 restaurants, bars, beer distributors, grocery stores and gas stations...
