Pennsylvania category, Page 223
Feds to go public with formerly secret lists of troubled nursing homes
Federal regulators said Wednesday they plan to go public with lists of troubled nursing homes in the future, days after Pennsylvania lawmakers unveiled a secret list of 400 such facilities. Kate Goodrich, the chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, said on a call...
New opioid response team aims to get OD victims in treatment
PHILADELPHIA — A new opioid response team in Philadelphia is pairing paramedics with social service case workers with the goal of getting overdose survivors into treatment, officials announced Wednesday. The new unit hit the streets in April and works with a firehouse in Kensington — an area of the city...
Pennsylvania moves to take over health insurance exchange
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is moving to take over the online health insurance exchange that’s been operated by the federal government since 2014, saying it can cut health insurance costs for the hundreds of thousands who buy the individual Affordable Care Act policies. New legislation introduced Tuesday has high-level support in...
2 Kennywood roller coasters make ‘tallest, scariest’ list
Just in time for summer, two Kennywood roller coasters — one wooden, one steel — make the Pennsylvania Tourism Office’s list of the 10 “tallest and scariest” roller coasters in Pennsylvania. Coming in at No. 3 is Phantom’s Revenge, a steel coaster that reaches speeds of 85 mph and a...
Penn State finds digital divide wider than reported for broadband internet in rural Pa.
The “digital divide” in rural parts of Pennsylvania may be growing instead of closing, according to a new study by Penn State University. The “Broadband Availability and Access in Rural Pennsylvania” study found there isn’t a single county where at least 50% of the population received broadband connectivity, defined by...
State police: Animals suffer in hot cars just like humans
State police are reminding residents as warmer weather comes on: Don’t leave your pet in the car. A little less than two years ago, Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 104, also known as the “Hot Car Bill,” which provides protection for law enforcement and emergency responders when a dog or...
School cafeteria pepper spray release sends kids to hospital
EASTON — Authorities say pepper spray released in an eastern Pennsylvania middle school cafeteria sent some children to the hospital and prompted a hazardous materials response and early dismissal. Emergency dispatchers in Northampton County responded to Easton Area Middle School after the 10:30 a.m. Monday incident. Director of emergency management...
Report: Pennsylvania natural gas production shows ‘significant’ jump
Total natural gas production in Pennsylvania grew by 14.7% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year, a report by the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office said. “Despite decelerating from the previous two quarters, production growth continued to show significant strength,” the report said. Pennsylvania remains...
Pa. minimum-wage hike may be big horse trade in Capitol
HARRISBURG — June in Harrisburg is when mayflies swarm from the Susquehanna River and the state Capitol teems with lobbyists and politicians horse-trading over the tens of billions of dollars that will keep Pennsylvania ticking for another year. This year, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage might be the biggest horse traded. Raising...
Death penalty repeal movement surfaces in Pa. Legislature
In a turnabout that few could have predicted, Pennsylvania appears poised to join at least a half-dozen other states where Republicans and Democrats together are pushing to repeal capital punishment. Four Keystone State lawmakers — three Democrats and a Republican — have launched a drive seeking support to repeal the...
Public invited to trade meds for rides at Pocono Raceway
Ever wanted to take a spin around a NASCAR track? Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro is offering you that chance. This weekend’s Pocono 400 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond is, for the second straight year, the setting for the AG’s drug take back event. Bring in outdated prescription...
Man accused of vandalizing Scranton school while naked
SCRANTON — A man accused of entering a Pennsylvania elementary school, stripping naked and spilling Murphy Oil Soap on the gym floor is in custody. Scranton police tell WNEP-TV the man is undergoing a mental health evaluation and faces charges stemming from the vandalism. His name has not been released....
Fire destroys barn at popular Amish country produce stand
STRASBURG — A barn fire in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Amish country sent up a plume of smoke visible for miles and required a hazardous materials team to respond to runoff into a stream. LNP newspaper reported the Wednesday night blaze in Strasburg occurred on the site of Pop’s Produce...
Mixed verdict reached in Penn State frat-fall death case
BELLEFONTE — The former manager of a Penn State fraternity where a pledge fell during a night of hazing and drinking and later died has been convicted of hindering apprehension but acquitted of evidence tampering and obstruction. The Centre Daily Times reported a jury deliberated about five hours before issuing...
Report shows many underage kids get alcohol from parents, friends’ parents
One in four Pennsylvania kids who drink underage get the alcohol from their parents, according to a report released Thursday by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. One in five got the alcohol from a friend’s parent, the report said. The biennial Report on Underage and High-Risk Drinking details current trends...
Pennsylvania ranked among 10 worst states for job seekers
Pittsburgh may well be among the nation’s top cities for new college grads. A study last month by personal finance tech site SmartAsset put the city among the top 10 in the nation for grads looking to market their new degrees. But another study released Thursday — by WalletHub, a...
Pennsylvania abortion law unlikely to budge
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to veto any anti-choice bill that crosses his desk as a wave of new laws limiting abortions floods the country, but his pledge is not stopping state Republicans from working to pass stricter laws. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill this month...
Finance experts call for charter school funding reforms
Echoing complaints of school superintendents across Western Pennsylvania, public school finance experts Wednesday warned that charter school costs are reaching a breaking point for many of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts. Finance experts with the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) said lawmakers must change the way charter costs are...
Pa. State Police count 9 deaths in holiday weekend crashes
The Pennsylvania State Police investigated eight fatal crashes over the holiday weekend that killed nine people. While fatalities for the 2019 Memorial Day Holiday were three times higher than the same period in 2018, the actual number of crashes state police investigated declined from 787 last year to 755 this...
Pa. man pleads guilty in blowtorch break-ins, Apple thefts at Target stores
BOSTON — A Pennsylvania man authorities say used a blowtorch to break into Target stores in multiple states and steal nearly $200,000 worth of electronics has pleaded guilty to related charges. The U.S. attorney for Massachusetts says 36-year-old Elijah Aiken pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges including transporting stolen goods across...
Teens may face charges after cake thrown at Pa. State Police cruiser near Conneaut Lake
SUMMIT TOWNSHIP — A cake in the face was no laughing matter over the weekend when the face in question was the windshield of a state police cruiser traveling near the northern tip of Conneaut Lake. No one was injured in the incident that occurred at 11:39 p.m. Saturday on...
Woman’s body found wrapped in plastic in Philadelphia trash can
PHILADELPHIA — Police say a woman’s body was found wrapped in plastic in a trash can in Philadelphia. A garbage company worker made the discovery on Leiper Street on Wednesday morning. Police say the victim is an unidentified black female. There is no word on the cause of death. No...
GOP counters Gov. Tom Wolf’s capital plan with drilling, not taxes
HARRISBURG — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Senate are preparing an alternative to Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal for a multibillion-dollar capital plan, funding it by allowing more natural gas drilling in state-owned forests rather than by taxing natural gas production. A sponsor, Sen. Pat Stefano of Fayette County, said Tuesday he...
Supreme Court declines to review Pennsylvania policy supporting transgender students
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a Pennsylvania school district’s policy letting transgender students use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities. Without comment, the court declined to review an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that upheld the...
3 people die in Pennsylvania ATV wrecks over holiday weekend
ALLENTOWN — Three people died in accidents involving all-terrain vehicles over the Memorial Day weekend in Pennsylvania. A 45-year-old North Wales man died early Monday when his ATV overturned on a road in Foster Township, Luzerne County. On Sunday, a 54-year-old man and a 52-year-old man died in Triumph Township,...
