Pennsylvania category, Page 221
Pa. woman wins cemetery property rights Supreme Court case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is siding with a Pennsylvania woman in a case that gives citizens another way to pursue claims when they believe states and local governments have harmed their property rights. The high court ruled Friday in the case of Rose Mary Knick. She tried to bring...
Pa. couple convicted in beating death of 4-year-old who spilled his cereal
WILLOW GROVE — A suburban Philadelphia couple has been convicted of murder in the death of a 4-year-old who was beaten for spilling his breakfast cereal. A jury returned the verdict Thursday night against the boy’s mother, Lisa Smith, and her boyfriend, Keiff King. The Abington couple also was convicted...
No injuries in explosions, fire at Philadelphia oil refinery
PHILADELPHIA — A fire at a 150-year-old refinery complex in Philadelphia turned the early morning sky a bright orange and yellow and awakened startled residents with explosions that shook homes Friday. The fire broke out at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex around 4 a.m., spokeswoman Cherice Corley said. “Refinery...
Disagreements remain as Pennsylvania’s budget deadline nears
HARRISBURG — Top Pennsylvania lawmakers are assembling a budget package that’s due ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year, but behind-the-scenes disagreements remain and rank-and-file lawmakers are awaiting details. The first votes on budget legislation are expected Monday. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and leaders of the Republican-controlled...
Divided Pa. House votes to end $54M cash welfare program
HARRISBURG — Republicans in the state House voted Wednesday to end a Pennsylvania cash welfare program, a year after it was revived following a court decision. The Republican-majority House voted 106-95 to eliminate the $54 million in payments, bundled in the bill with a subsidy for Philadelphia hospitals. The cash...
10 wounded in shooting outside Deja Vu nightclub in Allentown
ALLENTOWN — Authorities say a street shooting in eastern Pennsylvania has left 10 people wounded. The shooting outside the Deja Vu nightclub in Allentown occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday. Authorities say most of the victims had just left the nightclub or were standing on the sidewalk outside when the...
Pennsylvania bald eaglet knocked out of nest days before first flightVideo
A bald eagle parent knocked one of its two eaglets from its nest near Codorus State Park in Hanover when bringing in a fish to feed to its excited offspring Tuesday. The maturing young birds are within just days of taking flight. A live webcam operated by HDOnTap caught all...
Property tax/rent rebate for seniors application deadline extended
Low-income seniors looking for a state rebate on property taxes or rent have a little more time to apply. The deadline has been extended to Dec. 31, state Rep. Joseph Petrarca, D-Westmoreland, said Wednesday. Previously, applicants had until the end of the June to apply. Those eligible for a rebate...
Pennsylvania enshrines recognition of Juneteenth into law
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is permanently recognizing Juneteenth, the cultural holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved black people in the United States. Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed legislation designating June 19 as Juneteenth National Freedom Day. Most states recognize it, and Pennsylvania lawmakers typically recognize the day by passing non-binding...
Pennsylvania moves to expand limits on opioid prescriptions
Legislation to further clamp down on powerful painkiller prescriptions in Pennsylvania has the state Senate’s approval, although Democrats tried unsuccessfully to put limits on an exception for major surgery. The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday, nearly three years after lawmakers passed a package of legislation to limit opioid prescriptions to fight...
Pa. Senate vote puts victims’ rights amendment before voters
Pennsylvania voters will decide whether to enumerate victims’ rights in the state constitution, a proposal likely to appear on the November ballot. The state Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to give its final approval, putting the state’s version of Marsy’s Law on the ballot as a constitutional amendment referendum. The proposed...
Wireless carriers’ 5G legislation stalls in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Wireless carriers including Verizon and AT&T are struggling to get a vote on legislation to make it easier and cheaper for them to attach small-cell antennas to utility poles to carry 4G and next-generation 5G services across Pennsylvania. A House Consumer Affairs Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday was...
Urn with Pa. man’s ashes stolen after funeral
YORK — Family members say someone stole an urn with a man’s ashes after his funeral in Pennsylvania. A service for 42-year-old Sam Abreght was held over the weekend at the Salvation Army in York. His cremains were divided into three urns, one of which was to go to his...
Parole, probation violations crowd Pennsylvania, U.S. prisons, report says
About half of those committed to a Pennsylvania state prison in 2017 were jailed because of a probation or parole violation, according to figures released Tuesday. Around 7,400 people are in state prisons on any given day for a supervision violation, amounting to an annual cost of $334 million for...
Gov. Tom Wolf vetoes $100M private schools bill in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf is vetoing budget-season legislation to substantially ramp up taxpayer support for private and religious schools in Pennsylvania. In Wolf’s veto message Tuesday, he questioned why Pennsylvania should expand a tax credit that subsidizes private institutions while the state’s public school system remains underfunded. The Democratic...
Pennsylvania woman bitten by venomous snake while doing laundry at home
MOUNT PENN — Officials say a Pennsylvania woman was bitten on the arm by a venomous snake when she went to her basement to do laundry. The Reading Eagle reports that the Mount Penn woman called 911 Tuesday morning to report that she’d been bitten by a rattlesnake. Authorities say...
Dairy farmers rally in support of returning whole milk to schools
Pennsylvania dairy farmers and their supporters rallied in Harrisburg on Tuesday in support of restoring whole milk as an option for school lunches. The protesters were scheduled to gather in the rotunda of the State Capitol at 11 a.m. Tuesday for the “Dairy Day for PA Healthy Kids” rally, following...
Coroner: Shooter in triple murder-suicide was fired from job
WYALUSING — A man who killed his mother, stepfather and another man before taking his own life in northern Pennsylvania had recently been fired from his job and stopped taking medications, a coroner said. Authorities in Bradford County have said Jesse Lee Northrup, 31, shot Edwin Bidlack, 54, who installed...
Lawmakers raise alarm after wave of Philly shootings
PHILADELPHIA — Lawmakers from Philadelphia called for increased action from state and city officials Monday to stem a rising tide of gun violence that included a fatal shooting when someone sprayed gunfire into a high school graduation party at a public park. The bloody weekend comes as Philadelphia’s homicide count...
Police: Deaths of 4 believed homicide-suicide in Bradford County
WYALUSING — Four people were found dead in a northern Pennsylvania home in what is believed to have been a murder-suicide, state police said. Police in Bradford County said the bodies were found Friday in a home in Wyalusing. Jesse Lee Northrup is believed to have shot and killed Edwin...
Article examines chronic wasting disease in Pa. deer, whether it could spread to humans
With Western Pennsylvania as its backdrop, the Washington Post recently examined chronic wasting disease in deer and the possibility that it could spread to humans. The article, published Friday, visits Allegheny and Westmoreland counties while chronicling the steps Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife biologists are taking to track the the fatal...
Pennsylvania hunting licenses go on sale starting Monday
Pennsylvania hunting licenses for the 2019-20 season go on sale starting Monday, according to the state game commission. Beginning June 17, hunters can buy most licenses online, which will take up to 10 business days to arrive by mail. Licenses also can be purchased in person. Here is a link...
Payments to clergy sexual abuse survivors in Philadelphia, Scranton top $20 million
The meter is ticking as administrators for compensation funds in Catholic dioceses across the state process payments to survivors who experienced child sexual abuse at the hands of trusted priests. Church officials have released interim statements showing the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Scranton have paid nearly $21.8...
Earthquake reported in central Pa. Wednesday
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake hit central Pennsylvania Wednesday, but what residents felt probably seemed more like a truck passing by, officials from the U.S. Geological Survey said. The earthquake, which rattled parts of Mifflintown in Juniata County around 8:30 p.m., was reportedly felt by residents across the state and into...
Lawsuit: Pa. man had heart attack on Carnival ship, wasn’t allowed off, then died
The family of Jeffrey Eisenman, a 65-year-old passenger on the Carnival Sunshine, alleges in a lawsuit that the world’s largest cruise company wouldn’t let him off of the ship after suffering a heart attack last December. Eisenman died on the way to another port. A representative for Carnival said the...
