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Pennsylvania category, Page 18

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
New PennWest president reveals ‘secret sauce’ of W.Pa.’s second largest public university
Pennsylvania Western University’s new president had this to say Monday about the struggles preceding him to merge three century-and-a-half-old institutions with proud histories into one: “Integration is really tough,” Jon Anderson said. But the 50-year-old educator from Utah, who became PennWest’s chief executive on July 1, nonetheless is bullish on...
Father, 2 of his children killed in Pennsylvania Turnpike crash
A father and his two children died in a fatal crash after they were struck by a tractor-trailer on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office. Donnell Hickson, 43, and an 11-year-old girl, both of Baldwin, New York, and Decir Hickson, 18, of Pittsburgh, died at the...
Ex-Philadelphia police officer sentenced to at least 8 years in shooting death of 12-year-old boy
PHILADELPHIA — A fired Philadelphia police officer who pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy was sentenced Monday to at least eight years in prison. Edsaul Mendoza, a five-year veteran of the force who was fired a week after the shooting in 2022, pleaded guilty...
A Harris-Shapiro ticket? Pa. governor plays it close to the vest during Neville Island stop 
A day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro deflected questions about whether he would want to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate were she to become the Democrats’ presidential nominee. In an appearance Monday on Neville Island, Shapiro wouldn’t say whether he is...
Pa. Democratic delegates vote to support Kamala Harris as nominee
Pennsylvania’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention voted unanimously Monday to support Vice President Kamala Harris as their party’s presidential nominee. The state’s 159 delegates were committed to President Biden. They voted at a virtual meeting Monday afternoon to redirect their votes to Harris. Allegheny County Democratic Committee Vice Chair...
Pa. politicians, party leaders react to Biden dropping out; Shapiro endorses Harris
News of President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection spread swiftly Sunday among Pennsylvania politicians and party leaders, drawing praise and adulation from Democrats and partisan attacks from Republicans. Biden announced that he is dropping out of the race against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, but will...
Penn State main campus students face tuition hike; price at branch campuses still frozen
Pennsylvanians attending Penn State University’s main campus a year from now will pay 2% more in undergraduate tuition, while in-state branch campus undergraduates will see no increase for a third straight year. The university’s Board of Trustees Friday approved those and other rates in adopting a $9.9 billion budget for...
Electric vehicle owners will have to pay $200 in annual taxes starting in 2025
Twenty years ago, John Belak was watching David Letterman, listening to Tom Hanks gush about his electric-powered vehicle. “He was telling him about how he got an electric car, and he was going to save the world,” the Murrysville man said. At the time, Belak was paying about $40 a...
State System of Higher Education freezes tuition for 6th straight year
Tuition across Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities will not increase this fall as the State System of Higher Education on Wednesday approved a sixth consecutive tuition freeze, this one for 2024-25. During a special meeting, held virtually, the State System’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to keep full-time undergraduate tuition for...
Thousands of Philadelphia city workers are back in the office full time after judge rejects lawsuit
Thousands of Philadelphia city employees are back in their offices full time after a judge rejected a union’s request to block Mayor Cherelle Parker’s requirement that they return. District Council 47 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had sued the city, claiming the mandate violates its...
Pennsylvania Turnpike warns of ‘smishing scam’ back on the rise
WILKES-BARRE — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is advising that a “smishing scam” is again being sent to random individuals, aiming to deceive them to share their personal financial information to settle outstanding toll amounts. The texts purport to be from “Pennsylvania Turnpike Toll Services” and center around urgent requests with...
Sen. Bob Casey walks fine line amid Biden turmoil
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey has a fine line to walk. He and other Democrats fighting to hang on to hotly contested Senate seats have seemed jittery about the turmoil surrounding President Joe Biden after his disastrous debate performance. In many cases, they’re trying to minimize any damage to...
Budget sends $500M more to Pa.’s poorest schools, falling short of what some say is needed
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 — After weeks of tense, secretive negotiations on Pennsylvania’s budget, the legislature has approved a $47.6 billion spending deal that falls short of the...
Traveler caught with over $36K in undeclared cash at Philadelphia airport
It wasn’t a loaded gun going through an airport checkpoint this time, but loaded luggage, according to Customs and Border Patrol. Officials reported seizing $36,834 from a Columbus, Ohio, man at Philadelphia International Airport recently after the man claimed to have $15,000. The man, a U.S. citizen, flew back into...
Pennsylvania lawmakers approve sale of canned alcoholic drinks in grocery stores and more retailers
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvanians will be able to buy canned alcoholic drinks, called ready-to-drink cocktails, from a wider variety of retailers under legislation approved Thursday. The state Senate approved the bill, 32-17, and sent it to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. Under the bill, the approximately 12,000 restaurants, bars, beer distributors, grocery...
Pharmacy benefit manager bill headed to Pa. governor’s desk
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers is headed to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The bill, which began in the state House, passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. Those revisions were approved 172-30 in the House on Thursday. The bill sets restrictions on...
Pennsylvania lawmakers pass nearly $48B budget almost 2 weeks late
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers ground through a flurry of votes Thursday to approve a budget deal, nearly two weeks into the new fiscal year after being slowed by disagreements during closed-door negotiations over Democrats’ push for more public schools aid. The $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started...
Pennsylvania’s electric vehicle owners soon will have to pay fees of $200+ per year
A bill that would establish a new annual fee for owners of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to offset the loss of gas tax revenue on those vehicles is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. The new fee, which Shapiro is expected to enact, is seen as a way to...
Bull on the loose wanders around York County before being captured
An escaped Texas Longhorn has been making the rounds in York County near Fishing Creek. A press officer with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation confirmed that the bull had been sighted on the department’s video cameras near exit 36 of I-83. Video of the animal was captured and posted to...
Restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers pass in Pa. Senate with some changes
A bill placing regulations on pharmacy benefit managers — third-­party intermediaries who work with drug manufacturers, pharmacies and insurance providers — passed overwhelmingly in the Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday with some revisions. The new version of the bill now returns to the House to approve the revisions before heading to...
After killing of trans teen, Pennsylvania House LGBTQ Caucus urges hate crime bill passage
In the wake of the killing of a 14-year-old transgender girl in Western Pennsylvania, some state House lawmakers are urging the Senate to pass an anti-hate crimes bill that would expand protections to gender and sexual-orientation classes. “We mourn the death of Pauly Likens and refuse to stand idly by...
Presidential battle could play role in control of Pennsylvania capitol, other swing states
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two swing districts in a swing county may very well decide which party controls the House in the swing state of Pennsylvania, one of several where pivotal legislative battles are playing out in the shadow of the presidential campaign. Democrat Brian Munroe and Republican Joe Hogan were...
Blamed for Chesapeake Bay pollution, Pennsylvania took steps to clean up. Here’s how it’s going
Pennsylvania has drawn ire from environmental groups, lobbyists and even a lawsuit from Maryland because of its slow pace to reduce pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. In a state where many residents are not connected to the bay and unaware of the upstream impact on the nation’s largest estuary,...
Is there too much Philly in Pennsylvania’s new license plate?
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled new Pennsylvania license plate and state welcome sign designs — ahead of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. One could argue the new license plates have a Philadelphia flavor. The off-white plates contain an image of the Liberty Bell, and the phrase “Let Freedom Ring”...
Pa. great-grandmother who just finished radiation treatments for breast cancer wins $5M lottery prize
A great-grandmother from Pennsylvania who recently completed radiation treatments for breast cancer won $5 million on a scratch-off state lottery ticket that she only bought because a scheduled family trip didn’t go as planned. Donna Osborne, 75, scored the big prize last month when she bought a $50 “Monopoly Own...


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