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House committee votes to eliminate cash assistance for disabled adults, people with addiction
A state House committee voted along party lines Monday to eliminate a cash assistance program for childless adults with disabilities, domestic violence survivors, and people in treatment for addiction. General Assistance was first eliminated by the General Assembly in 2012, during the Corbett administration. That law was struck down last year by the state Supreme […]
Veterans could use military experience to get professional licenses under this Senate proposal
Citing concerns about homelessness and unemployment among veterans, a state Senate panel Monday considered a bill that would let job seekers use military experience to obtain professional licenses. During a meeting of the senate’s Veterans Affairs Committee, Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-, Washington, said that military veterans have valuable skills that aren’t always recognized in the […]
Pa. Democratic U.S. Reps. Matt Cartwright, Conor Lamb, and Susan Wild targeted in new GOP digital ad blitz: report
The spots are part of "a five-figure digital buy. They will run on Facebook in all 55 districts the NRCC is targeting this cycle," Roll Call reported.
The Mueller Report: Attorney general’s memo to Congress was a ‘book review,’ one Pa. lawmaker says, pressing for full release
U.S. Attorney General William Barr's four-page memo on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report was a book review. One Pa. lawmaker says she wants to read the whole book. And the American people should be allowed to as well.
Report: Pa. part of progressive super PAC’s $50M push to weaken Trump in the Rust Belt
President Donald Trump carried Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes in 2016 over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, breaking a three-decade-streak of Democratic presidential wins in a state rich with Electoral College votes.
Three things to know about Pa.’s latest legal cannabis proposal
Pennsylvanians over the age of 21 would be able to legally use recreational cannabis under a bill expected to be introduced soon in the Pennsylvania state Senate. But the bill has a long way to go — and a lot of Republican opposition to overcome — before it can land on Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. […]
Natural gas industry consultant to ‘debunk’ climate change consensus in House testimony
A Pittsburgh geologist who consults for the natural gas industry, published a book casting aspersions on the scientific consensus around climate change, and who serves on a board for a climate denialist think tank will speak to members of a House committee Wednesday. Environmental Resources & Energy Committee Chair Daryl Metcalfe invited Gregory Wrightstone to “present […]
Read every story and column in the Capital-Star’s ‘Brain Drain’ series
Pennsylvania is getting grayer by the day. Between 2017 and 2025, the number of working-age Pennsylvanians (those between 20 and 64) is expected to decline by 1.4 percent, according to the state Independent Fiscal Office. At the same time, the number of people 65 and older is expected to grow by a whopping 23.4 percent. […]
The Mueller Report is done: Nearly every member of Congress from Pa. believes it should be public
All 18 members of Pa's House delegation and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey are firmly in favor of releasing the report. Republican Pat Toomey had a more complicated answer.
Auditor General DePasquale warns of looming financial disaster for Pa. Turnpike
Shouldering nearly $12 billion in debt, the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s fiscal future has led to gloomy projections from the state Department of Transportation, transit advocates, and state lawmakers. On Thursday, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale — who sounded the alarm about the highway system’s coffers in an earlier audit — joined the club. “The Turnpike Commission, once […]
Should student poverty affect teacher evaluations? One senator used to say ‘no’ — but now he’s changed his mind
During a budget hearing last month, state Sen. Ryan Aument did something you don’t often see a politician do in public: He admitted that a law he wrote wasn’t working.
Rules limiting nursing workload brought back to Harrisburg
Denelle Weller is a 14-year veteran nurse. She knows all about what happens when she and her colleagues are overtired and overworked: She once had to stop a fellow nurse from administering medicine to her daughter incorrectly, which could have led to kidney damage. She directly attributes the mistake to the heavy workload. “I’ve personally […]