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Live Coverage: George Floyd protests across Pennsylvania
The staff of the Capital-Star will be keeping on top of George Floyd protests across Pennsylvania this Sunday. Check back for constant updates.
Pennsylvania Primary 2020: Your guide to the June 2 presidential and statewide elections
From the White House to the state House, here's your essential guide to voting in a primary election that's going to be like none we've ever seen.
COVID-19 outbreak in Pa.: What’s open and what’s closed
This story will be updated with the latest COVID-related re-openings. Last update: Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Update: Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf issued a three-week restrictions, prohibiting indoor dining at bars and restaurants, closing gyms and entertainment venues, and limiting retail shopping to 50 percent capacity as the state’s healthcare system struggles to keep up the […]
As work for welfare battle continues, Wolf admin will put a new spin on old jobs programs
State lawmakers also want stricter work requirements for food stamps.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro: Pennsylvania needs universal background checks for guns
Mandating background checks for all gun sales would be "a huge step forward" for the commonwealth, he said, and would "help us in law enforcement keep people safe."
Republican lawmaker to auditor general: Row offices shouldn’t be ‘press conference tools’
During a budget hearing Wednesday afternoon, Pennsylvania’s auditor general was asked about state pensions, untested rape kits, and an audit of river basin commissions. But something beyond the commonwealth’s finances was on the mind of one House Appropriations Committee member. Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford, told Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat, that he appreciated many of the […]
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman offers ‘safe space’ for opinions on legalizing marijuana
It was the opening night of a listening tour that will take Gov. Tom Wolf's No. 2 all over Pennsylvania.
Could this be the year Pennsylvania lawmakers ban LGBTQ discrimination?
The legislation, nicknamed the Fairness Act, has never been brought up for a vote. This year could be different.
Report: 37,000+ cancer diagnoses made because of Pa.’s Medicaid expansion
It’s been four years since Gov. Tom Wolf expanded Medicaid access to low-income adults. Since then, 1.4 million people have been covered, and Pennsylvania’s uninsured rate has fallen to 5.5 percent. That’s the lowest in the commonwealth’s history, state Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said Friday. During a Capitol news conference, the agency […]
Higher teacher salaries sound appealing, but can districts afford them long term?
Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal contains a provision that’s hard to argue with, at least on the surface: higher salaries for teachers. In his 2019-20 budget, Wolf provides nearly $14 million to bump up salaries in districts where teachers make less than $45,000 per year to start. According to state Department of Education records, 178 […]
The controversial fee on Pennsylvania State Police coverage, explained
Like diamonds and a mother's love, some things are timeless — including the perennial fight over a proposed fee on Pennsylvania municipalities that rely solely on State Police.
This Pa. university helps single moms and their kids get out of poverty. The Wolf administration wants to copy that success
In his Tuesday budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf focused on ways to get Pennsylvanians into good-paying jobs, from more investment in early education to revamped workforce programs. He also highlighted the work of Misericordia, a 2,879-student liberal arts university in Northeastern Pa. The school “is home to one of only eight programs in the country that […]