Author Archive: Staff, Spotlight PA
Financially Distressed Pa. Towns Faring Better Than Expected, While Others in Pain
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A significant number of Pennsylvania municipalities are considering applying for a state program for the severely financially distressed, while those already in the program appear to be weathering the coronavirus pandemic better than expected.
Pa. Budget Doesn’t Raise Taxes or Bail Out Industries Hit by the Coronavirus
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania legislature has passed a spending plan that avoids tax increases and major cuts, and relies on about $1.3 billion in coronavirus relief aid to balance the books.
Remaining $1.3 Billion in Coronavirus Cash to Prop Up Pa. State Budget Rather Than Help Ailing Industries
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Against the pleas of restaurant owners, service providers, and other industries, Republican leaders in the legislature are moving forward with a plan to use all $1.3 billion in remaining coronavirus relief aid to pay for the state budget.
Spanish Speakers in Pa. Faced Confused Poll Workers, Lack of Interpreters on Election Day
HARRISBURG, Pa. — When David Galarza showed up at Christ Lutheran Church in the majority-Hispanic city of Reading on Election Day, the lines were long and moving slow, even though it was the middle of the day, when fewer people are typically voting.
Feds Reject Pa.’s Plan to Spend Up to $300M in Stimulus Money for School Property Tax Relief
HARRISBURG, Pa. — For more than a decade, state lawmakers have sent yearly payments to Pennsylvania’s school districts so they can lower residents’ property tax bills.
Lockdowns Aren’t the Answer to Pa.’s Surging Coronavirus Cases, Health Officials and Experts Say
HARRISBURG, Pa. — State and local health officials in Pennsylvania are holding off on implementing new lockdown or business shutdowns, even as daily reported coronavirus cases break records set during the most harrowing days of the spring surge.
Meet Pennsylvania’s Electoral College Voters: Everything They Can — and Can’t — Do
HARRISBURG, Pa. — With President Donald Trump and other Republicans attempting to sow doubt in Pennsylvania’s election integrity — despite the fact that in down-ballot races, GOP candidates largely won — presidential electors are likely to get more attention this year.
Top Pa. Senator’s Campaign Revives Lawsuit Against Journalists Over Public Records Fees
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The campaign of Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati renewed its lawsuit against a Spotlight PA journalist and others Thursday, asking the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas to overturn a lower court’s dismissal of the case.
Tens of Thousands of Provisional Ballots in Pa. Still Need to be Processed
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians are still waiting to see if their vote will be counted as officials continue the tedious process of verifying what is likely to be a record-breaking number of provisional ballots.
Serious COVID-19 Outbreak Threatens Hundreds at Pa. Prison for Medically Vulnerable
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A serious coronavirus outbreak is unfolding inside the Pennsylvania prison facility for medically vulnerable inmates diagnosed with cancer or other health problems, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urgently pushing for a release plan.
