Author Archive: Staff, Spotlight PA

A Pa. Town Seeks to Pause Consolidation With Its Scandal Ridden Neighbor City
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — In an unusual legal filing, Sandy Township seeks to pause its voter-approved consolidation with the City of DuBois as a result of corruption allegations against the city’s suspended manager and alarming financial oversight issues.

Pa. Officials Spent $12.6M on Private Lawyers to Fight Challenge to State’s Education Funding
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania court earlier this year found the state’s system for funding its public schools is inequitable and disproportionately harms poorer districts.

Pa. Budget 2023: Your Guide to What’s on the Table, What Comes Next, and How to Follow Along
HARRISBURG, Pa. — June is budget negotiation month in Pennsylvania, when state lawmakers decide how to direct billions of tax dollars and make big policy choices on everything from energy to education to health care.

Great PA News Quiz: Debt Ceiling Dealbreaker, Shapiro’s Secret Schedule, and Fire in the Sky
Test your knowledge of the week in news by hitting the button below.

Secret Meetings by Board Overseeing Pa.’s $1 Billion in Opioid Settlements Draw Criticism
Tom VanKirk leads a board with power over a vast amount of money.

Shapiro Won’t Share Daily Calendar, a Departure From Previous Pa. Governor’s Transparency
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is declining to make public his daily calendar, a policy that obscures many of the details about who he meets with and what they discuss.

Great Pa News Quiz: Unclaimed Billions, Gun Laws, Official Tweets, and the Unofficial Start of Summer
The state House’s first serious debate over firearms in years, a court ruling on public access to officials’ social media posts, and a claim to the oldest Memorial Day Parade in the nation.

How Harrisburg Works: New Caucuses, Special Election Season, and the Death of a Bill
HARRISBURG, Pa. — As Pennsylvania approaches the June 30 budget deadline, top lawmakers are busy negotiating and Capitol lips are tightly sealed about what is being discussed.

Pa. Is Sitting on Billions in Unclaimed Property. This Bill Would Get Some of It Back to Its Owners.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s treasurer wants the state to start sending unclaimed money directly to the people it belongs to, a proactive system that a dozen other states have adopted.

How Local Government Works: Are Government Officials’ Personal Social Media Posts Public Records?
A recent court decision raised the bar for when a government official’s personal social media posts are public records, and will likely make it more burdensome and costly for Pennsylvanians to get their hands on this information.