Pennsylvania category, Page 4
U.S. warns it could force some Pennsylvania rail cars out of service
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy late Thursday warned that the department could soon force a Pennsylvania transit agency to stop using a fleet of railcars due to fire risks as he raised broad safety and financial concerns. The Federal Railroad Administration on October 1 issued an emergency order requiring...
Harrisburg mayor fined by Ethics Commission for using city dumpster for personal trash
The state Ethics Commission ordered Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams to pay a $912.70 fine for instructing city employees to deliver a city-owned dumpster to her home in 2022 for her personal use. Williams agreed to pay the fine instead of going through a hearing, which the commission said would have...
Cause of death released for Kada Scott, who was reported missing in Philadelphia
A Philadelphia woman last seen nearly three weeks ago was shot to death, health officials have confirmed. Kada Scott, 23, died of a gunshot wound to the head, and her death has been declared a homicide, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health told USA Today on Thursday. Human remains, later...
As vaccine policies shift under Trump admin, Pa. pediatricians focus on keeping patients informed
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. As federal vaccine policies and messaging shift under the Trump administration, pediatricians across Pennsylvania are working to maintain proven...
Heating bill help delayed for low-income Pennsylvanians amid federal shutdown
A program that helps low-income Pennsylvania residents pay heating bills will be delayed because of the federal government shutdown. The commonwealth’s Department of Human Services on Wednesday announced the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will begin Dec. 3, a month later than usual. The start date was pushed back...
Fetterman, McCormick back Senate-rejected plan to pay some federal workers during shutdown
Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators — Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat John Fetterman — voted Thursday to pay some federal workers during the government shutdown, but the GOP measure failed to get enough support in the Senate. Democrats tried to push through a measure of their own that would have paid...
Pa. Senate passes bill to allow Pennsylvania lottery winners to remain anonymous
The state Senate passed a bill on Monday that would allow Pennsylvania lottery winners to remain anonymous when collecting a prize of $100,000 or more. The bill, introduced by Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, cleared the state Senate unanimously shortly after its unopposed approval by...
Pa.’s new Democratic chairman focused on pivotal upcoming races, growing the party
Pennsylvania’s new Democratic chairman is pulling a page from Ronald Reagan’s playbook in an effort to unify and grow his party. “We’ve got to get back to politics being a game of addition, trying to add to our coalitions and becoming a bigger tent,” Pennsylvania Democratic Chairman Eugene DePasquale said...
Pa. Sen. Dave McCormick joins fellow Senate Republicans urging RFK Jr. to rescind approval for an abortion pill
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, has joined fellow Senate Republicans in signing on to a letter urging top health officials in the Trump administration to rescind approval for a drug used in one of the most common methods of abortion. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert...
Trump’s $100K visa fee could worsen doctor shortages in rural Pa.
Rural Pennsylvania could face new challenges in filling critical healthcare staffing as a result of a new $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, a program that allows educated foreign workers to fill labor shortages in the United States. President Donald Trump announced the proposal in a recent proclamation, part of...
Eos Energy announces $350M expansion including Pittsburgh HQ for zinc battery operation
Economic development officials have pledged $24 million in public money toward a major expansion of zinc battery company Eos Energy, which plans to add hundreds of jobs and relocate its headquarters to Pittsburgh. The investment from Pennsylvania and Allegheny County is on top of a $400 million federal loan made...
Man who sent ‘So I raped you’ message sentenced to 2 to 4 years for 2013 campus assault
GETTYSBURG — A man who sent a Facebook message that said, “So I raped you,” to a woman he later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting on a Pennsylvania college campus was sentenced to two to four years in prison on Monday. The judge took into account Ian Cleary’s guilty plea,...
Authorities say remains found in Philadelphia are of missing woman Kada Scott
Remains found buried in a wooded area behind an abandoned school are those of Kada Scott, a 23-year-old woman who had been missing for about two weeks, prosecutors in Philadelphia said Monday. Authorities said an anonymous tip led police back to the area they previously searched and they found the...
Pennsylvanians losing SNAP benefits amid federal shutdown
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are on hold for Pennsylvanians because of the federal government shutdown. A message posted to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services webpage announced that SNAP benefits were halted Oct. 16 and will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds...
Pa. bill would require high schools to stock naloxone
A bill introduced last week in the Pennsylvania Senate would require all high schools in the state to have opioid reversal drugs on hand. Under the measure, school personnel would volunteer to complete training on the use of naloxone, which goes by brand names including Narcan, and to store it...
Glamping coming to some Pennsylvania state parks next year
Those looking to enjoy Pennsylvania’s state parks will no longer have to choose between comfort and roughing it. The commonwealth next year will offer glamping — glamorous camping — at eight state parks. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will offer “glampsites” at Poe Valley, Hills Creek, Laurel Hill,...
Search for Kada Scott leads investigators to shallow grave in Philadelphia
Police in Philadelphia discovered human remains in their search for Kada Scott, a missing woman who was last seen leaving the nursing home where she worked about two weeks ago. John Stanford, deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, said at a news conference that investigators discovered human remains in...
Financial pain for many Pa. service providers will continue after budget impasse ends
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Schools and nonprofits that provide critical services to Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable have not received billions in payments...
Sticker shock: Pennie expects Obamacare premiums to soar even more than first feared
The end of enhanced Obamacare subsidies could be even more costly than initially feared for Pennsylvanians who use the health insurance program. Pennie, the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, now estimates the average enrollee will see premiums climb 102% if Congress lets the subsidies expire at the end...
Sen. McCormick voices support for tax credit program that would further school choice movement
Supporters of a new federal program that would grant tax credits to donors funding private school scholarships say it would expand Pennsylvania’s school choice options and give parents greater control over their children’s education. Detractors say it would favor high-income families, lacks oversight and could hurt people who live in...
Pennsylvania man pleads guilty in arson attack at governor’s mansion while Shapiro’s family slept
HARRISBURG — A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor’s mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder and other charges. Cody Balmer, 38, also entered pleas to terrorism, 22...
Scientists to explore bottom of Lake Erie off eastern Erie County
Do treasure chests full of gold and jewels rest beneath the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie off eastern Erie County? Probably not. But scientists, who are using an uncrewed surface vehicle to explore and map nearly 100 square miles of lakebed along the Pennsylvania, New York and Canadian borders, are...
Truck driver killed, traffic diverted after crash on Pennsylvania Turnpike
A 47-year-old man died early Tuesday after his truck struck a concrete barrier and bridge pier, then burst into flames on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, shutting down the highway for hours between Bedford County and New Stanton, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The man, who authorities have not named, was driving...
Thousands of Pa. college students wait for key financial aid due to state budget impasse
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Financial aid for thousands of Pennsylvania college students is on hold as a result of the state...
Pennsylvania State Police trooper shot in Franklin County out of hospital
The second Pennsylvania State Police trooper shot last week in Franklin County was released from WellSpan York Hospital on Monday. Lucas Amarose, 31, is one of two troopers injured in the incident that began with the pursuit of retail theft suspects near Chambersburg and ended with a shootout at Exit...
