Spotlight PA

House judiciary panel won’t include farmworker visa changes in immigration package

Jackie Llanos — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:06:47 -0400

This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s partnership with NOTUS, a nonpartisan news organization that covers government and politics with the fresh eyes of early career journalists and the expertise of veteran reporters.

Chair Jim Jordan said the House Judiciary Committee won’t take up legislation next week to expand a visa program for temporary farm workers, bucking Republicans who sought a quick path to help the agriculture industry.

The bipartisan bill, spearheaded by House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), would eliminate the seasonal work requirement and make other changes to the H-2A visa program, allowing for temporary workers in dairy, mushroom, ranching and greenhouse operations.

Thompson had said he believed the bill had a path forward when he introduced it last month.

“I think part of it is the border is under control, part of it is the fact that food security clearly is national security, and workforce is a main factor,” Thompson said.

But Jordan (R-Ohio) told NOTUS on Thursday he wants to pass an immigration enforcement package that resembles as close as possible the committee’s proposal from 2023. He said that proposal is slated for markup next week, and any changes to include H-2A legislation in it would have to be considered “down the road,” maybe on the House floor.

“Secure the border, step one; enforcement, step two; step three, look at all that,” Jordan said, referencing visa programs. “I think you have to go in that sequence.”

Jordan’s stance on the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 is a setback for Thompson and agriculture industry groups, who hoped that a stronger border would be enough to get immigration-minded Republicans on board with the bill.

“I expect there will be major heartburn from producers across the country if enforcement measures move forward without addressing the needs of the agriculture industry,” Thompson said in a statement to NOTUS, “and I remain confident in my belief that the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 is the best farm labor solution put forth in years.”

The H-2A agricultural guest worker program hasn’t changed in decades. The agriculture industry considers the changes long overdue and has waited patiently for a chance at reform.

Use of the H2-A program has increased dramatically over the past decade, reaching nearly 400,00 workers in 2025 due to the lack of American workers willing to work in the industry.

According to data from the Farm Bureau, only 182 of over 415,000 advertised positions received a domestic applicant in fiscal year 2025.

“Our need is not covered by the rules that we have today,” Mark Currie, CEO of The Giorgi Companies Inc., a company that grows and distributes mushrooms nationwide, told NOTUS at the bill’s introduction in June. “We’re never fully staffed ever.”

Currie said his company is often forced to pay overtime to harvest the crop, which creates high additional costs for producers. The Trump administration issued guidance in June that dairy farmers could use the H-2A program as long as the jobs they were trying to fill were seasonal, but the impetus has been on Congress to solidify changes.

The bill would also rewrite wage rules and let eligible undocumented farmworkers access the visa program.

“If lawmakers are serious about food security and affordability, we need to add SAWA to HR2,” said James O’Neill, director of legislative affairs for the American Business Immigration Coalition. “Enforcement only without legal pathways for long-term skilled immigrants only drives up cost of food and threatens our national security.”

While promoting the bill, Thompson boasted support from more than 400 industry groups. However, farmworker labor unions and groups that oppose more foreign workers rejected expanding the H-2A visa program.

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Washington), one of 51 co-sponsors of the bill, said at the bill’s introduction in June that many growers turn to the H2-A program when they struggle to find the workers they need in the communities.

“The cost of that program truly is putting very big hardship on our farmers, on their bottom lines,” Newhouse said.

What protections Pa. renters have beyond local laws

Gabriela Martínez — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

READING — A group of activists wants Reading City Council to adopt a wide-ranging proposal aimed at protecting renters from being priced out of their homes or retaliated against for organizing.

Members of the Mayor Eddie Morán’s administration and City Council said they are open to the ideas in a proposed housing bill of rights, though they cautioned that some of them are beyond Reading’s control.

Even without any new ordinances, renters in Pennsylvania have rights they can assert regardless of the tenant protections in the municipality where they reside. Here’s what renters should know:

Basic rights in a lease

A decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1979 established that all tenants have a right to live in a safe and habitable home.

As a result, all Pennsylvania leases — whether oral or written — have to include an “implied warranty of habitability.” This means a landlord must provide a home that is safe, sanitary, and livable, and must keep it that way before move-in and throughout the tenancy by making the necessary repairs.

A rental unit is considered uninhabitable for reasons including a leaking roof, structurally unsafe spaces, lack of heat, faulty electrical wiring, a broken refrigeration system, insect or rodent infestations, lack of hot and cold running water, a non-functioning sewage system, and the inability to secure doors and windows with locks.

A landlord can’t compel a tenant to accept a rental unit “as is.” Even if a tenant signs a lease agreeing to accept serious defects at the time of move-in, the law still protects their right to a livable home.

The implied warranty of habitability allows tenants to take action if there is evidence that a landlord repeatedly refused to fix a serious issue. Actions include terminating a lease and moving out; withholding all or part of the rent; making repairs and deducting costs from rent payments; or suing the landlord.

With any of these remedies, it is crucial for tenants to gather sufficient documentation — such as photos, videos, emails, text messages, and code inspection reports — to show that a defect or issue made a rental unit uninhabitable. It is also important to document that a landlord has ignored or refused to ameliorate the bad living conditions at the property.

It may help to contact an attorney, legal aid, or a tenants rights organization before starting to withhold rent, according to these groups.

Before withholding rent, tenants must give the landlord written notice, which can be a letter, an email, or a text message. The notice should give the landlord reasonable time to respond and repair the problem.

What is considered “reasonable” depends on how serious the issue is, according to PALawHelp.org. For urgent issues, like a heat outage in the middle of winter or a burst pipe causing flooding, the landlord should respond within 24 hours. If a landlord does not respond or address the problem, tenants can begin withholding rent and placing it in an escrow account.

Riquan King, director of advocacy at the Philadelphia-based Tenant Union Representative Network, advises tenants to put withheld rent into a savings account because it is easier to pull bank statements and generate a clean paper trail proving that only rent money is being deposited into that account.

If that’s not possible, the next best option is to put the rent amount into money orders and save the receipts.

King usually advises tenants against keeping a cash escrow, because it is risky to carry around and difficult to document. If the only proof in court is an unverified photo of a pile of money on a table, a judge would not be able to reliably tell where the money came from, he said.

“No matter what is happening, if you show up to court without your rent properly set aside, the judge will not listen to you,” King said. “It doesn't matter that you got a flat tire in your car. It doesn't matter that you need to buy your diabetes medication. It doesn't matter that you need to put your kid in daycare. If you spend a penny of this thing, your case becomes that much more harder.”

Renters also have the basic right to quiet enjoyment, which means they should be able to enjoy a home peacefully without the landlord regularly showing up unannounced or allowing disruptions that impact their quality of life.

In short, any protection, requirement, or process outlined in the Landlord and Tenant Act or in Pennsylvania common law can’t be waived with lease language.

‘Self-help’ evictions aren’t allowed

So-called “self-help eviction” is illegal in all 50 states. It usually involves a landlord showing up to take possession of a property when a tenant is not home, changing locks, throwing out or removing a tenant’s belongings, shutting off utilities, and blocking access to a property.

Tenants can respond by calling the police to report the illegal eviction. Proof of residence — such as a lease or rent receipts — may be required to get an officer to order the landlord to restore entry into the property. Attorneys or legal aid organizations can also advise tenants on how to regain access to the property and take legal action against the landlord.

Rules may differ for “rooming houses,” buildings where rooms are rented individually to unrelated tenants.

The Landlord and Tenant Act exempts hotel guests and boarders in boarding houses from its standard protections, which is why some guidance says that an owner may padlock a door to a room if rent is not paid. However, courts typically will pay more attention to the facts of the case and less to what the landlord calls the residence, asking questions such as, “How long has the resident lived there?” Or, “Is it the person’s sole residence and do they receive mail there?”

According to MidPenn Legal Services, a tenant living long-term in a motel room or renting out a single room may still qualify to only be evicted through a court process.

The right to legal counsel

Under the Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act, leases can't have clauses that strip an occupant’s legal rights. Both tenants and landlords have a right to seek representation in legal proceedings.

Similarly, a landlord can’t make a tenant give up the right to a hearing in court.

Berks County tenants who need legal advice can contact MidPenn Legal Services’ central intake system at (800) 326-9177 or fill out an application for legal aid online.

Normal maintenance and repairs

A landlord is responsible for keeping up with routine maintenance of a property, which includes fixing cracks in the wall, making sure utilities and smoke alarms work, and scheduling extermination if there are pest problems. That responsibility derives from the implied warranty of habitability.

However, landlords will sometimes argue that regular wear and tear or preexisting damage was caused by a tenant. That is why tenants need to take photos and thoroughly document the condition of an apartment as soon as they move in.

Tenants are required to pay for damages to a property beyond normal wear and tear, including broken windows, large holes in the walls, or serious clogs.

Here are some additional resources on tenant rights:

Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania: Guide to tenant rights in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network: PALawHelp.org
Repair & Deduct - Tenant's Right to a Safe and Decent Home
Your Right to a Safe Home

Many public libraries in Pa. are evolving into community centers. Why is their funding staying flat?

Susan Shelly McGovern — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

As funding remains flat and patron demands expand, public libraries in Pennsylvania need more help to maintain services for the communities that rely on them.

Libraries have become not just gateways to books and the internet, but spaces for families, adults, and teens to socialize with peers. Their range of services can be surprising: Libraries variously offer educational programs, storytimes, game nights, language classes, crafting groups, exercise sessions, card clubs, and more.

But all this programming comes with costs they increasingly can’t afford. Even small libraries tend to have extensive built-in overhead, including salaries and benefits, technology, utilities, and digital materials and licenses.

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When any or all of those expenses creep up, libraries, which rely on public funding, have little recourse.

“Libraries don’t charge people for their services, so they can’t pass along their increasing costs,” said Christi Buker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association. “They just need to figure out ways to spend less.”

That’s easier said than done, library officials told PA Local.

“We simply don’t have the resources or funding that our volume of services requires and deserves,” said Kaitlin Lehman, director of Bethel-Tulpehocken Public Library. “Really, we’re just doing what we can to keep our doors open.”

Located in the northwestern corner of Berks County, the bustling library is open seven days a week. Last year, according to Lehman, it supported 47,000 patron visits, loaned 160,000 physical items, and hosted nearly 600 events, despite having only one full-time employee and an annual budget of just $300,000.

“We’re always busy, so everyone thinks we’re doing great,” said Lehman. “And we are, as far as welcoming people and helping them with whatever they need. But we’re struggling to be able to continue doing that.”

Library operations and funding

About 85% of Pennsylvania’s 444 public libraries operate as independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, according to Buker. Each has a board of directors responsible for hiring a library director, overseeing operations, and assisting with fundraising.

Libraries that aren’t nonprofits are either part of a local government or another entity such as an authority, according to a report from the state Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL).

Municipal libraries include Mt. Lebanon Public Library in Allegheny County, which is owned and operated by Mt. Lebanon; Reading Public Library, a department of the City of Reading; and York County Libraries, which operate under a supportive county system.

Normally, the municipality that owns a library provides a substantial portion of its budget. Municipal libraries that meet requirements for funding also are eligible for state aid.

For example, according to its 2025 annual report, Mt. Lebanon Public Library received $2,068,645 from Mt. Lebanon, representing 73% of its entire budget.

For its 2026 budget, Reading Public Library got about 50% of its $3,381,315 in funding from the city and county, with another 18% from the state.

State support for libraries increased by $5 million to $75.47 million last year, but due to previous cuts, the gain only brought funding back up to 2001 levels, according to Buker.

The 2026-27 state budget, which Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into law on July 12, provides no increase to library funding.

Shelves and tables inside the State Library of Pennsylvania (The Office of Gov. Josh Shapiro / Flickr)

Nonprofit libraries depend on various sources for funding, including allocations from the municipalities they serve, some state aid, contributions from individuals and businesses, and support from Friends of the Library groups.

Some apply for and receive federal grant money, but the process can be burdensome to small libraries with limited staff.

Fundraising is important for most community libraries, sometimes generating a substantial portion of their budgets. And some supplement their budgets with revenue from meeting room rentals, printer fees, book shops, and passport services fees.

This patchwork approach results in major resource discrepancies across the state, and sometimes year over year at a single library.

Libraries funded by municipalities are at the whim of township or borough officials who decide how much to allocate. Typically, library staff will request a certain amount from each municipality within its service area and officials decide whether to grant the request.

Last year, Berks municipalities provided a total of $1.63 million to the 19 libraries that are part of the county’s system, according to Stephanie Williams, system administrator. Berks County provided roughly $1.26 million.

Adamstown Area Library in Lancaster County serves five municipalities but receives only 27% of its funding from them. It gets the remainder of its money from a combination of income from services, fundraising, and the state.

Those funding sources also can fluctuate.

Adamstown, along with about 24 other nonprofit Pennsylvania libraries, was dealt a blow in February when it was ordered by the U.S. Department of State to stop processing passports.

“It’s a significant funding loss, for sure, but it’s not only about the money,” Library Director Corrine Brumbach told Spotlight PA, saying the service brought between $30,500 and $50,775 annually. “Our being able to process passports provided a valuable service to our community, which is no longer available.”

She said demand for services is rising as the library’s income stays the same or decreases.

“It’s getting significantly more difficult to do what we do,” Brumbach said. "Until we get some more stable funding, I’ll keep losing a lot of sleep.”

Brumbach pins her hopes on a referendum that’s expected to be put to Lancaster County voters in November. If passed, it would create a new 0.55 mill tax to support the county’s libraries.

“That would be a game-changer for us because it would remove the human emotion that’s involved with funding a community library and assure we have support that’s adequate and stable,” Brumbach said. “We can’t solve our financial problems with a bake sale.”

More offerings — and need

Libraries have expanded their services significantly in recent years. In addition to book-related programming and activities for kids, an increasing number allow patrons to reserve tickets to area museums, gardens, zoos, and other attractions using their library cards. And many include a “library of things,” from which patrons can borrow occasionally used items such as a pressure washer or ice cream maker.

Some offer ESL or citizenship preparation classes.

“Libraries serve people of all ages in many capacities,” Buker said. "They have the ability to make a profound impact on communities and residents.”

An increasing number of community members have started showing up at local libraries for other kinds of assistance as well.

Chelsea Williams, director of the Hamburg Public Library, said some patrons are requesting help with locating basics like food and rent, while those struggling to afford housing ask for help filling out assistance forms. The library has also hosted dental and mammogram screenings and serves as a heating and cooling center during extreme weather.

“I’ve been working in libraries for 20 years and the needs have changed dramatically,” Williams said. People sometimes sleep overnight in their cars in the library parking lot, she added.

The Berks County Community Foundation recently initiated a program to bring social services into libraries in Bernville, Boyertown, Hamburg, and Morgantown.

Books in the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre. (Commonwealth Media Services)

Twice a month, social or health workers visit the libraries to support community members who have medical questions and other concerns.

The foundation hopes to expand the program by partnering with area nonprofits, businesses, colleges, and universities.

“Libraries aren’t called community centers, but many serve as them,” said Susan Tracey, president of Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries. “They fulfill a lot of needs that otherwise might go unmet.”

The future of Pennsylvania libraries

Despite the financial constraints libraries face, officials hope to continue meeting the changing needs of the communities they serve.

“Public libraries have become one of the few truly accessible public spaces for people to come without being expected to spend money,” said Melissa Adams, executive director of Reading Public Library. “People depend on us and we must keep growing and adapting to meet the demands of modern life.”

Just over half of Pennsylvanians are library users, according to the OCL report, and 4 million have a library card.

Stephanie Winward is one of those patrons. She and her kids, Ryder, 7, and River, 4, frequent Adamstown Area Library, participating in many of the children’s programs.

She was particularly pleased with dinosaur-themed programming offered earlier this summer.

“My kids just loved that,” she said. “It was fun for them and gave them something to do, and they learned so much. I don’t know what we’d do without the library.”

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Winward praised the facility’s variety of programming and services, including those geared toward older adults that focus on socialization, health, and computer literacy. She said she once turned to library staff for help filling out a tax form.

“I think a lot of people aren’t aware of how much libraries do,” she said. “They contribute an awful lot to a community.”

According to Williams with the Berks library network, in 2025 the 19 libraries of the county system loaned digital and print materials with a total value of about $28.5 million. That did not include the value of all the services the libraries offer, whether audiobooks, internet access, or free meeting space.

With libraries fulfilling more local needs, Adams called on residents and elected leaders to recognize them as essential institutions.

“The role of libraries will continue to expand, but to do that well, they’ll need sustainable funding, strong partnerships and the flexibility to respond to local needs,” Adams said. “Public libraries are constantly adapting to serve their communities, but that work requires consistent support from the state, county, local municipalities, and community members.”

She added: “The future of libraries is strong, but only if we invest in them.”

Great PA News Quiz: What the state budget deal skipped, and unusual fundraising

Colin Deppen — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0400

In this quiz: What the $50.8 billion state budget deal skipped, a rare bipartisan fundraising committee, severe storms, and Trump addresses a Defense and Innovation Summit.

If a blue “Take the News Quiz” button doesn’t appear above for you, click here instead.

As always, let us know if you encounter any technical issues. Just email Newsletter Editor Colin Deppen (newsletters@spotlightpa.org) with a heads up. And good luck!

Federal government replaces slavery exhibition at Washington's home in Philadelphia

Corey Williams — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:10:16 -0400

PHILADELPHIA — The Trump administration on Wednesday replaced an exhibit on slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia with a version that historians say whitewashes the nation’s history.

The new exhibit was installed in the same area where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. “It was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.”

The original panels were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.

The changed exhibition comes as President Donald Trump has made dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives a priority in an aggressive campaign to overhaul some of America's most sacred cultural, historic and educational institutions.

Trump issued an executive order in 2025 that called for federally owned or controlled historic sites to not display information to “disparage Americans past or living” and to focus on the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

The directive has raised concerns about sanitizing and erasing dark sides of American history.

Trump has continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. In March, Trump revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology." He has also pressured organizations outside of the government, including universities, to take similar actions with the stated aim of eliminating what he says are discriminatory practices.

The Trump administration began removing the old panels earlier this year, but a lower court forced the federal government in February to stop while the city appealed. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals reversed that and ruled July 3 that the work could continue.

The three-judge panel praised the plans for the replacement installation, writing that they were “full of historical context,” despite objections from historians and city officials that the content appears whitewashed.

The Interior Department told The Associated Press Wednesday in a statement that the new “panels are full of historical context and highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park.”

“They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity,” the statement said.

The new panels still include information on enslaved people who lived in the home and details on the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution treated slavery, the end of slavery in Pennsylvania and how Washington and his successor, John Adams, viewed and treated slavery, as well as information about the 20th century Civil Rights movement.

However, the replacement panels do not include some of the detail in the earlier ones, such as a map of slave trade routes and a timeline on slavery. They also avoid critical headlines such as “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

The city of Philadelphia had sued the federal government over the removal of information previously included in the panels. It argued that the federal government must consult with the city before making changes to the President’s House Site. Justice Department lawyers argued the administration alone can decide what stories are told at National Park Service properties.

Parker said the city intends to seek a rehearing “on serious legal issues” presented in the appeals court decision.

Michael Coard, an attorney and founder of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), said the Philadelphia-based history preservation group continues to work on legal strategies opposing the Trump administration’s changing of the panels.

ATAC joined the city’s lawsuit.

Trump is attempting to rewrite history, Coard told reporters Wednesday near the site.

“What if there’s a president next time who doesn’t like the Liberty Bell because the Liberty Bell was used by abolitionists to support the end of slavery?” he said. “What if there’s a president who doesn’t like the Statue of Liberty because too many immigrants come in? Do we remove the Statue of Liberty?”

Williams reported from Detroit.

Pa.’s attorney general is defending the state’s Medicaid abortion ban in court. Is he required to?

Kate Huangpu — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — When Dave Sunday became Pennsylvania’s attorney general in 2025, a complicated situation awaited him.

Two weeks after the Republican’s January swearing-in, judges on Commonwealth Court assembled in Pittsburgh to hear oral arguments about the constitutionality of the state’s ban on Medicaid-funded abortions.

A group of reproductive health care providers challenged the law in 2019. When Sunday’s term started, the state’s highest court had already set a new precedent — that abortion restrictions can be considered sex-based discrimination under Pennsylvania’s Equal Rights Amendment — before sending it back down to Commonwealth Court for full arguments.

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The problem was, nobody was defending the law before Commonwealth Court.

As attorney general, Democrat Josh Shapiro delegated the case to the state Department of Human Services. DHS initially defended the law. But by early 2025, the department had changed its position in the wake of the new state Supreme Court precedent and argued that the law was unconstitutional — the same position as the plaintiffs.

Soon after, Sunday would step in to defend the ban before Commonwealth Court. He appealed a loss there to the state Supreme Court, which this week agreed to take up the case again.

Unlike some attorneys general, Sunday stays away from hot-button political issues. During his campaign, he declined to share his personal position on abortion, though he did say during a debate that he didn’t think the state constitution guaranteed access to it. He later pledged that he would “follow the law regardless” of his personal feelings about abortion.

Sunday has said he took up the case because of a state statute that dictates the attorney general is responsible for upholding and defending the constitutionality of state law “in the absence of a controlling decision by a court of competent jurisdiction.”

“I have irritated the entire political spectrum, because I am defending statutes whether you like them or not. That’s literally my job,” Sunday told the Philadelphia Inquirer in June. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that the [Medicaid] law is part of the Abortion Control Act — the same law that allows abortions to occur up to six months of pregnancy, the very same law.”

Legal experts who spoke with Spotlight PA say that’s legitimate reasoning, though some noted that attorneys general have opted to delegate their responsibility for defending state laws to the governor’s administration without facing consequences.

While Sunday has taken great pains to remain apolitical, that hasn’t stopped political actors from pressuring him, according to court filings and internal emails.

Ahead of last year’s Commonwealth Court arguments, Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists were already working to get Sunday to defend the Medicaid ban. Meanwhile, advocates for abortion access were hoping he’d let the matter lie.

Sunday’s entry

The factors that would complicate Commonwealth Court’s February 2025 oral arguments in the Medicaid abortion case had been brewing for years.

The defendant that day was technically the state Department of Human Services. The first time the case was argued before Commonwealth Court, in 2020, the department argued the petitioners lacked standing, and the state Supreme Court had already ruled on the constitutionality of the abortion ban decades ago.

But in 2025 — a year after the state Supreme Court’s consequential new precedent — attorneys for the department said they now held that the abortion law was unconstitutional. In fact, they agreed with the plaintiffs on all the major points of the case. The two ostensibly opposing parties were literally sitting on the same side of the courtroom.

The judges assembled in Pittsburgh tried to figure out how to proceed. As Judge Patricia McCollough said, “There's no adversarial parties here. There's no controversy. There's no justiciable matter that we're here deciding … I don’t know what this is.”

As they struggled, one person kept coming up.

“Can this court make any ruling without the attorney general being present?” Judge Michael Wojcik asked a lawyer for GOP lawmakers. No, the lawyer said.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general typically defends the state’s laws as a matter of course, as that is the office’s duty under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act. But the act also explicitly allows the attorney general to authorize the Governor’s Office of General Counsel or an independent agency to defend litigation in their stead “upon determining that it is more efficient or otherwise is in the best interest of the Commonwealth.”

The attorney general in power for most of the abortion litigation was Shapiro, who became governor in 2023. He delegated the case to the administration of then-Gov. Tom Wolf. Sunday’s office inherited Shapiro’s stance and that of Shapiro’s appointed successor, Michelle Henry.

The week Sunday was sworn into office, a member of his staff sent an email about the agency’s position on the abortion case.

“My recollection is that we designated it to [Office of General Counsel] some time ago, and we weren’t going to take it back for a number of reasons. One of those reasons being that [DHS] is not a willing ‘client’ for us,” wrote Marguerite Quinn, the attorney general’s director of government affairs and a former Republican state representative.

Brett Hambright, a spokesperson for the Office of Attorney General, said Quinn was “refreshing her recollection of the actions of the prior administration,” rather than referring to Sunday’s.

“While we do not wish to speak for a prior administration, the decision … not to intervene was just that: another administration’s decision,” Hambright said in a statement to Spotlight PA.

Quinn’s unredacted email was one of many obtained by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party through a Right-to-Know request. The attorney general’s office later informed the party it had improperly redacted the records. Spotlight PA’s own Right-to-Know request returned the same emails, but with redactions. The office did not dispute the content of the emails.

In February 2025 oral arguments before Commonwealth Court, attorneys for reproductive health care providers said they hoped the attorney general's office would continue not to be involved.

Attorney Susan Frietsche said the plaintiffs wanted the court to “grant our motion for summary relief, which we are entitled to because there are no material disputes of fact.”

But Republican lawmakers, despite not having standing to defend the case, filed amicus briefs arguing that the state’s abortion law is constitutional, and they explicitly brought up having Sunday step in and defend it. That’s the idea David Dye, an attorney for state House Republican leaders, presented to Commonwealth Court.

“The attorney general who delegated responsibility to DHS … [was] the former attorney general,” Dye noted. “The attorney general we currently have has been in office for, I think, two weeks. Maybe maybe two weeks and a day.”

“We could at least notify him,” President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer said.

Sunday’s office had, in fact, already been notified by a number of conservatives.

Dye said in court that he knew there had been “a communication to the attorney general's office indicating … that we are going to be here today, and your name may very well be invoked.” Republicans had also sent a filing to the court arguing that Sunday should defend the law, Wojcik said.

Internal emails from the attorney general’s office show that ahead of the court’s oral arguments, Ted Meehan, the legislative director of the Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania, had sought a meeting with Sunday. Days after the inauguration, Meehan told Quinn in an email that the need to defend the Medicaid abortion ban was “the ‘most’ time-sensitive topic” he wished to discuss.

“We believe that the immediate entry of Attorney General Sunday — to defend against this suit — is essential given that the only sympathetic members of the Defense have been removed,” Meehan wrote, referencing the legislative Republicans who unsuccessfully sought to intervene in the case.

The emails show that Meehan had a meeting with Sunday scheduled for late April, but the attorney general was ultimately unable to attend as “a pressing matter developed,” according to Hambright. A member of his staff went in his stead.

Hambright said the office’s meeting with Meehan did not influence Sunday’s decision to get involved in the case, as it had filed to intervene in February 2025, shortly after oral arguments.

“And that meeting, involving an OAG staff member, took place long after OAG took its action to intervene,” Hambright told Spotlight PA.

What is the AG’s obligation to defend state law?

After taking on the case, Sunday’s office offered three “compelling” state interests to defend the ban, according to a Commonwealth Court ruling: protecting fetal life, preventing abortion to protect women from alleged psychological harm, and “not violating the conscience of those who object to abortion.”

Ultimately, Commonwealth Court ruled 4-3 in April of this year that the state’s ban on Medicaid-funded abortion violates the Pennsylvania Constitution. The majority rejected the attorney general’s arguments, finding the interests put forth by the office were not compelling and that the ban is not “the least intrusive means of pursuing them.”

The following month, Sunday appealed that ruling to the state Supreme Court. It agreed in mid-July to take up the case once more.

Lawyers and legal experts who spoke to Spotlight PA generally agreed that a strict reading of the Commonwealth Attorneys Act requires Sunday to defend the law, but weren’t unified on whether he was also obligated to appeal.

“In my opinion he has to,” said Chris Carusone, an attorney who served as chief deputy attorney general under former GOP Gov. Tom Corbett, referring to the law’s requirement that attorneys general defend laws without “a controlling decision” from a court.

“In this case you have a Commonwealth Court decision that's being appealed to the state Supreme Court, so you don't have a controlling decision at the moment,” he said.

But Ted Ruger, a professor and the former dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School, also noted that attorneys general who have declined to defend state laws in the past have faced no legal issues.

That includes Democrat Kathleen Kane. In 2013, she declined to defend the state’s ban on gay marriage, and did the same with a Republican-passed gun law the following year. (The moves were unrelated to Kane eventually having her law license suspended.)

"I believe that AG Sunday would face no legal consequence if he didn't take this appeal, but I also feel he wouldn't be following the clear terms of the CAA," Ruger told Spotlight PA, referring to the Commonwealth Attorneys Act.

Matt Haverstick, an attorney who often represents Republican lawmakers and also served on Sunday's transition team, said the prosecutor is doing a “basic requirement of the job,” and attorneys general should have been doing this all along. Haverstick also represented state Senate Republicans when they applied to intervene in the Medicaid case in 2022.

"That's my problem with an inconsistent application. It opens it up to politics," Haverstick told Spotlight PA.

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Among people concerned with the politics — and practical impacts — of the Medicaid abortion case, Sunday’s handling of it has drawn criticism from multiple directions.

Elizabeth Lester-Abdalla, a staff attorney at Women’s Law Project who worked on the case, told Spotlight PA she disagrees with Sunday’s interpretation of his responsibilities, particularly when it comes to appealing the case.

The Commonwealth Attorneys Act dictates that attorneys general defend the constitutionality of all statutes, absent a “controlling decision by a court of competent jurisdiction.” Lester-Abdalla argued that Commonwealth Court’s latest ruling serves as that controlling decision.

“Nothing in the Commonwealth Attorneys Act requires the attorney general to appeal and continue to assert the constitutionality of the statute,” Lester-Abdalla told Spotlight PA.

Ruger said he was unsure on that point, as he couldn’t find a clear statutory definition of what counts as a “court of competent jurisdiction.”

Anti-abortion advocates have meanwhile countered that not only was it Sunday’s responsibility to appeal under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, but he should also have done it sooner.

(Sunday appealed the ruling published April 20 on May 19, and his office says there was no hesitation.)

“We were disappointed in Sunday's initial reaction. He should have said, ‘This is an outrage,’” said Mike McMonagle, the president of the Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania. “He hesitated for almost a whole month before he finally decided to appeal the case, but again, when he appealed it, he did a good job.”

Public unable to access online civil court records in Berks County due to crash

Hanna Holthaus — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

READING — Berks County’s online civil court records system has been broken for more than a month, meaning the public can’t remotely access documents related to divorces, liens, and more.

Spotlight PA identified the issue June 16 when attempting to search court records, and was unable to find any public notice or release informing people that the site was nonfunctional.

County officials told the news outlet a new system is coming Aug. 3.

Berks County Prothonotary Jonathan Del Collo said he doesn’t know why the current site crashed, but IT knows it’s inaccessible. Attorneys have electronic filing access necessary for day-to-day administration, Del Collo said.

Del Collo is replacing the server-based online system, originally developed by the county IT department more than a decade ago, with a new cloud-based platform from an outside vendor. The vendor, Paperless Solutions, operates prothonotary systems in other Pennsylvania counties.

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The change won’t cost the office extra money, Del Collo said, as revenue from the e-filings that was previously meant to go to upkeep will go toward operator payments.

Members of the public looking to access the civil court dockets can do so at the prothonotary’s office in downtown Reading.

Berks County Chief Operating Officer Kevin Barnhardt told Spotlight PA that the county became aware of the issue June 8. He said that the county would benefit from the new system by having “less infrastructure, development time.”

Del Collo started looking for a new case management system around 2021 when the current system “was beginning to fail,” he said. He decided on Paperless Solutions in 2024 and signed the contract in September 2025, which he believes lasts five years.

The new site was meant to go live on April 1, then July 1, but Del Collo said the county IT department was not ready to transfer data. None of the delays have been the fault of the new vendor, he said.

Barnhardt said in an email that the delays can stem from data conversion, user requests, and new reports.

“Most software implementations have fluid go-live dates,” Barnhardt said.

5 things to know about the rise of prison sentences after overdose deaths in Pennsylvania

Ed Mahon — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Supplying drugs in fatal overdoses has led to hundreds of Pennsylvania prison sentences, while grieving families remain divided over whether these prosecutions do more harm than good.

Those are among the findings of recent Spotlight PA investigations into the state’s criminal charge of drug delivery resulting in death, a felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison. It is used for cases when someone illegally provides drugs that cause someone to die — it includes both selling and giving. The statute is broad and doesn’t distinguish between defendants who are kingpins, street-level dealers, or fellow users.

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Pennsylvania is known as one of the top states, if not the leader, in bringing this type of criminal charge. Some families of victims push for these prosecutions, while others object to this approach.

Here are five things to know about the issue and Spotlight PA’s findings.

Punishments under the law have increased in Pa.

Pennsylvania saw a dramatic increase in these charges, after a change in state law and the rise of the opioid epidemic.

In 2011, state lawmakers paved the way for the use of the charge when they effectively removed a requirement for there to be a finding of malice for drug delivery resulting in death cases. Some prosecutors embraced the charge as the opioid epidemic spread in Pennsylvania, with more than 5,000 people dying from overdoses some years.

Data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing show punishments under the charge used to be rare. The commission’s data are based on reports from common pleas courts in Pennsylvania, and an official told Spotlight PA that historically, the agency receives data on about 95% to 98% of all cases.

From 2007 through 2011, the commission’s data show not a single person was convicted and sentenced on the charge.

But such punishments reached a recent annual high of around 100 in 2019.

While many defendants in these drug delivery resulting in death cases do not receive the maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison, attorneys say the threat of such a lengthy time can pressure them into accepting guilty pleas.

Tracking these types of cases nationally is a challenge. But researchers at the Action Lab at Northeastern University found more drug-induced homicide cases in Pennsylvania than in any other state, based on media mentions.

State leaders have embraced the charge, at least in some cases.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, previously served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general. In his memoir, which was released earlier this year, he talked about his approach to drug prosecutions.

He said the attorney general’s office under his leadership charged “higher level dealers with tougher crimes” including trying “to put them away for twenty to forty years” if “the drugs they sold resulted in someone dying.” But Shapiro also said the office tried to send people to treatment instead of prison if they were “non-violent dealers who were basically just users trying to feed their addiction.”

The current attorney general, Republican Dave Sunday, previously said that when he was the York County district attorney, the office was “extremely cautious in charging it,” but that it can be “appropriate, because there has to be accountability.”

Local district attorneys have also supported the charge. Kelly Callihan, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, told Spotlight PA “it is about justice” and “sending the message to drug dealers that what you’re selling is dangerous, is poisonous. It can cause death.”

One family’s story highlights the complicated reality of these cases.

Prosecution rates vary widely between counties here. And compared to the total number of overdose deaths, charges and convictions remain relatively rare. What happens after a death can come down to how local law enforcement decides to approach these cases and the resources they have to investigate.

Spotlight PA’s recent investigations focused on the advocacy of Cyndi Compton, whose son Isaiah died in 2020 after an overdose in Tioga County. He was 24.

Cyndi became known as a relentless advocate in her community.

Less than two months after Isaiah’s death, she wrote a letter to the editor in a local paper, describing the number of overdose deaths in the county and her own research into the drug delivery resulting in death law. She questioned why local officials weren’t using the charge against drug dealers.

She said she searched for evidence — Facebook messages, an ATM receipt — in her son’s case and shared it with investigators. She started a Facebook group dedicated to stopping overdoses in Tioga County. She posted signs in the area declaring it was time to hold drug dealers accountable and that every overdose death warrants a criminal investigation. She eventually urged people to vote out the Tioga County district attorney at the time, and collected signatures for the district attorney’s opponent.

An investigation into Isaiah’s death eventually led to a prosecution and conviction — although by the time those charges were filed, drug delivery resulting in death was off the table.

A two-year statute of limitations had expired.

Some Pa. lawmakers want to give prosecutors more time to bring these charges.

Cyndi’s work led to legislation in Harrisburg named after Isaiah.

The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations when someone dies from an overdose, treating those cases like crimes such as murder and voluntary manslaughter.

The legislation from state Rep. Clint Owlett (R., Tioga) would reduce other potential barriers to prosecutions, including when there are multiple drugs involved. But it would also create a defense for people who don’t “receive any service or anything of value in exchange” — a measure intended to distinguish friends who share drugs from dealers.

Two other bills would extend the statute of limitations to five years, giving authorities more time to begin these prosecutions. Five years is also the limit for a number of other drug offenses, including possession with intent to deliver heroin or fentanyl.

State Rep. Dane Watro (R., Luzerne), a lawmaker pushing for the extension, said it would address a “legislative oversight.” Citing district attorneys and their statewide association, he said the current time limit “has hampered the prosecution of various serious cases.”

All three bills were awaiting action in state legislative committees as of early July. They had not been brought up for a vote.

State Rep. Emily Kinkead (D., Allegheny) has previously raised concerns about the state’s drug delivery resulting in death law and backed legislation to limit its use. She told Spotlight PA that unless lawmakers narrow the scope of the law to target dealers, suppliers, and traffickers, “extending or eliminating the statute of limitations is irresponsible and dangerous.”

Some families, advocates have criticized these charges

While some families push for these types of charges, others have tried to stop or limit them in Pennsylvania and nationally. Some families, defense attorneys, and public health advocates have objected to the reach of these prosecutions.

Critics say these prosecutions often target family, friends, or partners who may suffer from addiction themselves instead of large-scale dealers. They argue that these charges can discourage people from calling for help if someone overdoses, and that they also can take resources away from effective prevention efforts.

In a letter last year, family members who lost loved ones to substance-related deaths described their concerns when it comes to harsher penalties and criminalization.

“Prosecuting drug-induced homicide cases does not deter supply—it pushes the drug market further underground, making substances even more unpredictable and deadly,” they said. “These policies do not protect our children; they trap more families in the same suffering we have endured.”

This investigation was supported with funding from the Data-Driven Reporting Project. The Data-Driven Reporting Project is funded by Arnold Ventures and the Google News Initiative in partnership with Northwestern University | Medill.

The accounting tricks that balanced Pa.’s budget — but only on paper

Jaxon White — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a state budget on Sunday, leaders praised it for being a fiscally responsible $50.8 billion product that doesn’t dip into the state’s rainy day fund.

That’s a misleading picture. To reach that number, they had to employ some accounting tricks.

The biggest involves delaying two months' worth of payments — each costing about $1.3 billion — to the state’s Medicaid managed care organizations. In the Capitol, it’s a process called a “cycle roll.”

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Managed care organizations, or MCOs, are responsible for organizing health care for the vast majority of Pennsylvania patients covered by Medicaid.

Known in the state as HealthChoices programs, they cover standard healthcare; home care for older adults and people with disabilities; and behavioral services like drug and alcohol treatment. The state pays MCOs monthly fees on a per-member basis.

There’s no set date when the state will need to catch up on the two months of payments it pushed back. In theory, it could indefinitely keep this adjusted schedule, in which it makes payments for claims that are older than usual.

State House Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) told Spotlight PA the cycle roll would not impact Medicaid services.

However, Matthew Knittel, who heads the state’s Independent Fiscal Office, argued it could cause “cash flow issues” for the care organizations.

Multiple Medicaid managed care organizations, including Geisinger and UPMC, did not return requests for comment about how the budgeting maneuver would affect them.

Knittel also noted the state’s creative accounting did not solve the overarching problem of Pennsylvania spending more than it earns.

Heading into this year’s budget talks, lawmakers knew they would have to contend with that multibillion-dollar structural deficit, coupled with mounting costs for obligations like healthcare and education. In his original budget pitch, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed balancing the books by pulling about $4 billion from the state’s rainy day fund and creating new revenue streams like recreational marijuana.

But Harris said the Republicans who control the state Senate opposed any dip into the rainy day fund. The cycle roll, he said, was an ask from the upper chamber.

“We agreed to this because Senate Republicans wanted to do it,” Harris said. “This is what they wanted to do, and this is what we agreed to in order to get a budget done.”

A spokesperson for Senate Republicans did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Harris’ claim.

The cycle roll creates $2.6 billion in “temporary, one-time savings” over the course of two years, Knittel told Spotlight PA.

“It has no impact at all on the long-term structural deficit,” Knittel said.

Lawmakers also had to pull more than $500 million from off-budget “special” funds, among other transfers among accounts, to make the math work.

Pennsylvania’s net revenues this year could reach $47.75 billion, according to IFO predictions released after Shapiro signed the budget. The agency estimates that would mean the commonwealth will operate in a roughly $5 billion deficit, including one year’s cycle roll.

Asked about the delayed payments at a news conference, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) didn’t address any concerns and hinted at a new policy fight next year. He said his caucus spends a lot of time trying to find ways to cut down on Pennsylvania's human services spending.

“A lot of that money goes through these MCOs, and we talk a lot about governmental bureaucracy,” Pittman said. “Well, there's also this thing called corporate bureaucracy. I don't think it's something we paid enough attention to, and I do think it's something we're going to pay a lot more attention to in the budget upcoming."

Pittman did not elaborate.

Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Shapiro, criticized state Senate Republicans for not supporting either of the major revenue streams the governor proposed earlier this year: regulating and taxing skill games, and legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana.

“In divided government, every budget requires compromise and while Senate Republicans' only priority was saving every penny of the rainy day fund, Governor Shapiro stayed at the table to protect the critical health care services millions of Pennsylvanians rely on and secure new investments that will support our students, grow our economy, reduce costs, and improve public safety,” Lapowsky said.

Cycle rolls are an accounting trick that used to be common in Pennsylvania during times of financial stress. According to one state House Republican staff member, the practice stretches back at least to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration in the wake of the 2008 market crash that caused a recession.

In 2022, pandemic-era stimulus money allowed the commonwealth to make an extra-large payment to MCOs to clear its backlog and realign its payment plan with the fiscal calendar.

Then-Senate Appropriations Chair Pat Browne (R., Lehigh) — now secretary of revenue in the Shapiro administration — celebrated the timeline fix, arguing on the Pennsylvania Senate floor it would bring “more stability” by expediting payment cycles and “putting those payments on a more timely payment plan.”

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Critics of the cycle roll this year, mostly conservative Republican lawmakers, argue that lawmakers saying this year’s budget is fiscally responsible misleads constituents.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R., Lehigh) told Spotlight PA that taxpayers, who might not fully understand the wonkery of the Medicaid “charade,” will eventually pay for the “dishonest” decision. He voted against the deal.

“We have to be able to have an honest discussion about our finances,” Coleman said. Delaying the two months of payments is equivalent to telling people “they can save money by not paying their bills. I mean, we're the commonwealth. We should be paying our bills.”

Coleman speculated that legislative leaders wanted to expedite a deal to avoid the negative attention a late budget can bring — like last year’s four-month impasse — because half of the state Senate, the entire 203-member House, and Shapiro are all up for reelection in November.

“That shouldn't abdicate you from having to make tough decisions just because it's an election year,” Coleman said. “You don't just get a bye because it's an election year.”

Spotlight PA’s Stephen Caruso contributed reporting.

BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. This story was funded in part thanks to the support of the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund. Learn more about how we are supported here.

DHS faces 'impossible dilemma' as judges battle over Trump voter database

Adora Brown — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:22:03 -0400

Two federal judges have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to do the opposite thing, at the same time. This summer, conflicting court rulings over the use of Social Security numbers in a citizenship database have created an unusual legal dilemma within President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to create a voter verification system.

Last month, a federal judge in Washington sided with voting and privacy groups to halt government changes to the database, including a Social Security number search, ruling it “flunked compliance” with federal Social Security and privacy laws.

Days later, another federal judge in Florida ordered the government to reinstate those very features, when it comes to four states, finding that complying with the Washington ruling violated a settlement agreement in a separate lawsuit.

“The Court understands that this puts Defendants in a bind because they are subject to two contradictory orders,” T. Kent Wetherell, a U.S. district judge in Florida, wrote in a July 7 order. “One of the orders has to give.”

But which one?

DHS now faces a tangled legal process over the fate of an overhaul of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database. It was originally intended to track the status of immigrants in the country but was overhauled after a March 2025 executive order aimed at rooting out potential noncitizen voters.

That push to allow states to pare down voter databases before the midterms is moving forward in two courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. How it plays out will determine whether the administration can make sensitive information public to promote Trump’s sustained efforts to achieve what he calls election integrity, which have included pressure campaigns aimed at the states.

The dueling cases represent the complexities behind implementing the president’s aggressive — and often legislatively fallible — push to cut down on noncitizen voting, which is already an extremely rare occurrence. If the database is definitively shut down by a higher court, it would mark yet another defeat for the Trump administration on that front.

Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University whose work focuses in part on elections, said the conflicting orders are “quite rare for a bunch of reasons.”

“It is rare for the law to purport to require an agency to do something, and also for the law to purport to require an agency to do the opposite thing. It’s also quite rare because courts don’t like issuing inconsistent orders,” Levitt said.

Shut down

DHS updated the SAVE system in April 2025 and formalized the changes months later. The League of Women Voters sued DHS in September 2025, alleging that the SSN search feature constitutes a privacy violation amid broader concerns that the database itself is inaccurate and can lead to American citizens being erroneously flagged as ineligible to vote.

Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia shut down the expanded database in June with a 75-page ruling that determined the government’s disclosure of Social Security Administration records bypassed required procedures and confidentiality protections.DHS disabled a bulk-upload functionality and an SSN-search feature of the SAVE system as a result, according to court records.

But Florida — joined by Iowa, Ohio and Indiana — asked a judge to immediately restore access to those features as part of a settlement agreement reached with DHS in November. Wetherell’s July 7 ruling pointed to the states’ interests in ensuring that noncitizens are not on their voter rolls and that people who are unlawfully present in the U.S. do not receive professional licenses.

“Admittedly, the Court did not undertake an extensive assessment of the legality of the features that the settlement agreement required the SAVE system to include when it approved the agreement,” Wetherell, a Trump appointee, wrote in a footnote of his 10-page order, “but it would not have approved the agreement if it had any concern that those features were unlawful.”

DHS asked Sooknanan to pause her order, arguing in a court filing that the government faces “a significant risk that it would soon be forced into an impossible dilemma, in which compliance with all outstanding court orders is logically impossible.”

Sooknanan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote a scathing denial of that petition, including the government’s argument related to the Florida case. “But with all due respect, that court, which was no doubt pressed for time with emergency briefing on a motion to enforce the consent decree over a holiday weekend, erred in significant ways,” she wrote.

The government then on July 8 asked the D.C. Circuit to pause Sooknanan’s order, again arguing in part that it “has forced DHS to maintain, at substantial cost, both the legacy SAVE and the upgraded system in parallel.”

Levitt said of the dueling opinions: “Some of this is, seems to me, bad behavior by the litigants, and some of it seems to be some bad behavior by the courts, but it has ended up in a mess.”

The League of Women Voters’ case will collide with Wetherell’s decision as it heads to D.C. Circuit Court sometime soon. It’s further complicated by a question of jurisdiction: The Florida case, if upheld, would only apply to the four states on the suit, while the other has wider national implications by being tried in D.C. and is more likely to prevail on merit, experts say.

David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the administration’s path forward is “not clear exactly.”

“I think [DHS] is in much more peril if it now changed the status quo and reactivated the SAVE system in light of the recent D.C. district court,” Becker told reporters on a Thursday call. “As opposed to if it maintained the status quo, told the courts, ‘Our hands are tied, tell us what to do,’ and took it up at the appellate court level. It’s not an ideal situation.”

DHS did not respond to a request for comment about how the agency will move forward with these conflicting judgments.

But more government directives are piling up in the meantime: Last week, the DOJ sent letters to the chief election officials of every state and D.C. threatening criminal prosecution if they knowingly allow noncitizens to vote.

The back-and-forth is likely headed to a higher court, legal experts said — potentially all the way to the Supreme Court — and it could be a long fight before states can use the overhauled SAVE database again. Meanwhile, states in the Florida case insist the expanded system is vital to election integrity.

“We want to keep that information private, but voting is really, really important. Who we elect is really, really important. Making sure that only American citizens can vote is really, really important,” Florida’s secretary of state, Cord Byrd, told NOTUS. “It’s always a weighing-and-balancing. The opponents of election integrity reform always roll out the list of horribles, and none of them ever come through.”

Bryce Harper says FanDuel used his Cameo video as VIP reward without consent in a gambler’s case

Associated Press — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:12:28 -0400

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper said he did not know a Cameo video he recorded would be used by FanDuel as a reward for a VIP customer who later sued the sportsbook, saying it took advantage of his gambling addiction.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last week that a fan named Terry Thompson had wagered $18.5 million with FanDuel and was eventually rewarded with a personalized video from Harper.

In the video, Harper addressed the fan by name and even mentioned the man's young son. Harper shared a screenshot Monday of the request on Cameo, an app that allows users to pay celebrities to record custom videos. FanDuel obtained the video through a partnership with Cameo.

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“Had I known FanDuel’s true intent, I would not have made the video,” Harper said. “The same is true had I known anything about Terry or his situation, or about any alleged ‘partnership’ between Cameo and FanDuel.”

The Inquirer reported Thompson lost $1.5 million, according to a lawsuit that the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed in March in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Thompson and against FanDuel and DraftKings. Thompson also was reported to have lost money to DraftKings.

The video was marked with FanDuel's logo. Harper said in the video he reached out at the request of Thompson's VIP manager on the site, “your host Bryttanni at FanDuel."

Harper addressed the situation on a social media post Monday, hours ahead of his scheduled participation in the Home Run Derby.

“I did not know FanDuel would do this,” Harper wrote. “I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.”

Asked for comment, FanDuel said it was "committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers.

"Unlike illegal offshore sportsbooks, FanDuel employees are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools, and we continue to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry’s strongest consumer protection initiatives.”

Cameo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Food residue, temperature issues, and other Centre County restaurant inspections for July 6-12

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The state inspected the following food establishments in Centre County. To find more restaurant safety information, view full inspection reports, and sign up for real-time text or email alerts for specific restaurants or locations, visit Spotlight PA’s Restaurant Safety Tracker.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture produces retail food inspection reports for 61 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties using the FDA Model Food Code. Inspections are conducted regularly throughout the state, and results are posted as inspections are conducted. As noted by the Department of Agriculture, inspections are a “snapshot” of a particular day. Many violations are relatively minor and are fixed at the time of inspection.

Facilities with violations:

American Legion Post #536
510 Front St., Port Matilda, PA 16870
July 6, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Observed a buildup of dried food residue on the stem of the thermometer used to monitor the internal temperatures of TCS foods.
Moderate Priority: Observed the digital stem thermometer used to monitor temperature controlled foods was not operational due to a dead battery.

Mediteranean Grill(Mff3)
Po Box631, Philipsburg, PA 16866
July 9, 2026

2 high priority violations

High Priority: Observed lettuce and tomatoes held at ambient temperature. Food were placed in a cold hold unit
High Priority: Observed temperature controlled foods in the hot hold unit with an internal temperature of 125 degrees F not 135 degrees F as required. The time of this inspection was 11:30AM and the food facility had only been open since 11am. The foods were reheated to 165 degrees F and placed in the hot hold unit.

Know before you go: Look up inspection data for any PA retail food facility by name, city, or ZIP — and get alerts when new reports are published.

Facilities with no violations:

Bartlebaugh Amusements - French Fry #2 (Mff3), 104 Madisonburg Pike, Madisonburg, PA 16852, on July 7, 2026
Bartlebaugh Funnel Cake (Pa-Xt36672) Mff3, 104 Madisonburg Pike Po Box 56, Madisonburg, PA 16852, on July 7, 2026
Bartlebaugh Lemonade Mff3, 104 Madisonburg Pike, Madisonburg, PA 16852, on July 7, 2026
Bartlebaugh's Amusements / Rosies - Pizza (Mff3), 104 Madisonburg Pike, Madisonburg, PA 16852, on July 7, 2026
Bonfatto's Italian Market & Corner Cafe, 401 W. High St., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on July 10, 2026
Chipotle #5734, 2673 Benner Pike, Bellefonte, PA 16823, on July 10, 2026
Dollar General Store #05820, 378 E. Sycamore Rd., Snow Shoe, PA 16874, on July 6, 2026
Dubbs Grub Mff4, 221 W. Union St., Fleming, PA 16835, on July 6, 2026
Fowler Grove Community Center(Tfs3), 11246 S. Eagle Valley Rd., Port Matilda, PA 16870, on July 6, 2026
Kozee's Monkey Bread(Mff3), 212 B St., Philipsburg, PA 16866, on July 9, 2026
Packers Concessions #3 (Xcb5196)(Mff3)Ice Cream, 623 Old Fort Rd., Centre Hall, PA 16828, on July 9, 2026
Snappy's #517, 412 Walton St., Philipsburg, PA 16866, on July 9, 2026
Snow Shoe Sandwich Shop, 505 E. Sycamore Rd. Po Box 268, Snow Shoe, PA 16874, on July 6, 2026
The Painted Owl (Mff2), 205 Centennial Hills Rd., Port Matilda, PA 16870, on July 6, 2026
Wow Fudge Tfs3 (Pcf), Pa Military Museum Grounds, Boalsburg, PA 16827, on July 9, 2026

This post was automatically generated with data from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s database of Food Safety Inspections for Retail Facilities. We have also labeled violations as high, moderate, or low priority. These categories align directly with priority levels identified in the FDA Food Code: Priority, Priority Foundation, and Core.

Priority items contribute directly to the elimination, prevention, or reduction to an acceptable level of hazards associated with foodborne illness or injury, such as handwashing, food handling, and temperature control, or other direct food contamination threats, such as rodents or pests. We noted violations of priority items as high priority.

Priority foundation items support, facilitate, or enable control of risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness or injury, such as personnel training, labeling, and record-keeping. We noted violations of priority foundation items as moderate priority.

Core items usually relate to standard operating procedures, facility structures, equipment design, or general maintenance. We noted violations of core items as low priority.

To read the full inspection reports, you can visit: pafoodsafety.pa.gov/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx

Raw egg storage, frozen meat in grocery bags, and other Berks County restaurant inspections for July 6-12

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The state inspected the following food establishments in Berks County. To find more restaurant safety information, view full inspection reports, and sign up for real-time text or email alerts for specific restaurants or locations, visit Spotlight PA’s Restaurant Safety Tracker.

Facilities with violations:

7 Brew Coffee
3045 N. 5th St. Hwy., Reading, PA 19605
July 11, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: An insect control device (hanging fly strip) located above beverage prep area/blender (not in use at time of inspection) with potential to contaminate food, equipment, and / or utensils.

Auntie Anne's #Pa166
1665 State Hill Rd., Wyomissing, PA 19610
July 7, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: The deflector in the ice machine, a food contact surface, was observed to have residue and was not clean to sight and touch.

B2 Bistro & Bar
701 Reading Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
July 6, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority, 3 low priority violations

High Priority: Raw eggs were stored above lettuce in a bain marie in the pizza/sushi area. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: The handwash sinks in the bar area do not have single use towels. Corrected.
Low Priority: The light fixture above the ice machines is not working properly.
Low Priority: The light intensity in the food preparation area is poor.
Low Priority: Scoop being stored in the ice at the bar with handle touching the drink ice. Corrected.

Bella's 2.0
2342 Lancaster Pike, Reading, PA 19607
July 9, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority, 2 low priority violations

High Priority: Time in lieu of temperature being used in the food facility to control ready to eat potentially hazardous foods without written procedures or documentation to verify disposition of food. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the front display case, is not being date marked. Corrected.
Low Priority: Floor in the kitchen area is made of tiles and is cracked / roughened / and is not a smooth, easily cleanable surface.
Low Priority: Observed the large chest freezer in the downstairs storage area to have a bent door that does not allow for a proper seal. Interior has a buildup of ice.

Bread Box Mff4
2469 E. Main St., Douglassville, PA 19518
July 7, 2026

2 moderate priority violations

Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.
Moderate Priority: Soap was not available at the handwash sink in the handwash area.

Camp Manatawny
33 Camp Rd., Douglassville, PA 19518
July 8, 2026

2 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Working containers in dish washing area, used for storing cleaners taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Observed the nonfood contact surfaces on the self-serve soda dispensing machines to have a buildup of apparent mold. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed wet wiping cloths in dish washing area, not being stored in sanitizer solution. Corrected.

China V
3 Park Ln., Douglassville, PA 19518
July 7, 2026

3 high priority, 3 moderate priority, 8 low priority violations

High Priority: Observed grocery bags made of plastic, which is not an approved material for food contact, being used as a single-service, single use article. Observed grocery bags being used to store frozen meat in the front freezer. Corrected.
High Priority: Several raw animal foods were stored above ready to eat foods in the walk-in cooler.
High Priority: Multiple foods in the Bain Marie area stored open with no covering.
Moderate Priority: Observed the interior of the Bain Marie to have an apparent mold build up on the shelves and walls.
Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located throughout the facility, is not being date marked.
Moderate Priority: The Person in Charge did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety in this food facility as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection.
Low Priority: Observed deeply scored cutting board on the Bain Marie not resurfaced or discarded as required.
Low Priority: Multiple food ingredient storage containers, in the kitchen area, is not labeled with the common name of the food. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed the front chest freezer to be sitting on top of a cardboard, a surface that is not easily cleanable and is absorbent.
Low Priority: Food facility is reusing equipment (metal cans and cardboard containers), for food storage which is intended to be a single-service or single-use article.
Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Observed the vent by the hand wash sink to have an accumulation of dust.
Low Priority: Observed multiple personal foods and a medication stored with prepped foods. Corrected.
Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Observed the area between the freezer and wall by the back door to have a buildup of dirt and leaves.
Low Priority: Observed single use takeout containers not stored inverted to prevent contamination. Corrected.

Comalli Taqueria Kitchen @ 701 Court St
701 Ct. St., West Reading, PA 19611
July 7, 2026

1 high priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Raw eggs were stored above ready to eat foods in the single door refrigerator in the kitchen. Corrected.
Low Priority: Food employee personal belongings (purse) observed stored on bags of food items in the kitchen. Corrected.

Domino's 4753
2844 Penn Ave., Reading, PA 19609
July 6, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Thermometer for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in one of the pizza bain marie units.

Dunkin #340388
8448 Allentown Pike, Blandon, PA 19510
July 8, 2026

1 moderate priority, 3 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Food facility inspection indicates evidence of fruit fly activity in dry storage area. Call pest control to come out and treat.
Low Priority: Side door to the outside, located in the food prep area of the food facility is not self-closing and/or is being propped open. Corrected.
Low Priority: The floor / wall juncture in the front counter area by handwash sink is not coved and closed to 1/32 inch. Please repair.
Low Priority: The floor / wall juncture by the back door area is not coved and closed to 1/32 inch. Please repair to avoid potential pest breeding areas.

Eve's Thai Kitchen
10 S. Summit Ave., Reading, PA 19607
July 9, 2026

2 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Raw shell eggs stored above RTE foods in refrigerator. Corrected.
High Priority: Observed single use grocery bags being used to store food. Material is not an approved food contact material.
Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the refrigerators, is not being date marked. Corrected.

Florian Lounge Experience
24 E. Main St., Fleetwood, PA 19522
July 7, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Assorted foods, a refrigerated ready to eat time/temperature control for safety food, in the cold hold units area, was not compliant with datemarking by being labeled with a discard or use by date of no more than 7 days and requires discarding.
Moderate Priority: Ground beef foods are served raw or undercooked to the customer's request; however, a written consumer advisory (on the menu, table tent, or placard) is not provided to the consumer.

Giant Food #6273
600 E. Lancaster Ave., Reading, PA 19607
July 6, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Food employees observed in Seafood Department area, not wearing proper hair restraints, such as beard covers. Corrected.

Hollywood Casino Morgantown - Sportsbook
6021 Morgantown Rd., Morgantown, PA 19543
July 6, 2026

3 moderate priority, 4 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the walk-in cooler, is not being date marked.
Moderate Priority: The handwash sinks on the cook line and at the server prep station needs a barrier put in place on the left side of the sink to protect the food being prepared.
Moderate Priority: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food, located in the refrigerator by the walk-in cooler, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened.
Low Priority: Cleaned and sanitized utensils located in front prep area, are stored with food contact surfaces / food or lip area exposed to hand contact when retrieved by food employees. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed two deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required.
Low Priority: Observed the lid of the bulk sugar container to be cracked and in need of replacement.
Low Priority: Multiple food ingredient storage containers, in the prep area, is not labeled with the common name of the food.

Hollywood Casino Morgantown - the Snack Bar
6021 Morgantown Rd., Morgantown, PA 19543
July 6, 2026

2 low priority violations

Low Priority: Single use to go containers not stored inverted to prevent contamintaion in the front service area. Corrected.
Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Observed the drain by the walk-in to have a buildup of old food residue. Corrected.

Hollywood Casino Morgantown -Grab-And-Go/Tony Luke's
6021 Morgantown Rd., Morgantown, PA 19543
July 6, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Multiple foods were held at 49°F, in the Bain Maire area, rather than 41°F or below as required. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food, located in the walk-in cooler, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed one deeply scored cutting board not resurfaced or discarded as required.

Ice Delight
Leesport Farmers Market, Leesport, PA 19533
July 8, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.

La Cocina Criolla
701 Bingaman St., Reading, PA 19602
July 8, 2026

3 moderate priority violations

Moderate Priority: Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in refrigerated equipment.
Moderate Priority: Potentially hazardous ready-to-eat food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 48 hours, located in the refrigerator, is not being date marked.
Moderate Priority: Raw meat observed thawing in standing water in the kitchen sink, which is not an approved thawing method.

Lancaster Custom Meats, LLC
10 S. Summit Ave., Reading, PA 19607
July 9, 2026

2 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Food facility preparing multiple foods using reduced oxygen packaging without the required written procedures and HACCP plan.
High Priority: Food Facility is offering for sale foods prepared in an unapproved private home. Corrected. Removed from sale. Firm offering Beef Jerky for sale produced in an unapproved home kitchen.
Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the cold hold units, is not being date marked.

Oliviero's Pizzeria
1 Park Ln. Ste 101, Douglassville, PA 19518
July 8, 2026

1 moderate priority, 2 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food, located in the side refrigerator, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed deeply one scored cutting board not resurfaced or discarded as required.
Low Priority: Observed a carboard box being used a shelf cover in the side refrigerator creating a surface that is not easily cleanable and is absorbent.

Pappi's Fried Chicken
538 Franklin St., Reading, PA 19602
July 7, 2026

3 moderate priority, 2 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Old food residue, dishes and utensils observed in the handwash sink, indicating uses other than handwashing.
Moderate Priority: Potentially hazardous ready-to-eat food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 48 hours, located in the refrigerator, is not being date marked.
Moderate Priority: Chicken observed thawing in standing water in the basement sink, which is not an approved thawing method.
Low Priority: Observed cardboard being utilized as a floor covering
Low Priority: Mops are not being hung to air dry.

Philly Soft Pretzel Factory #153
2850 Penn Ave., West Lawn, PA 19609
July 6, 2026

2 moderate priority, 4 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Thermometer for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in the small bain marie in the front area.
Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration at the 3-compartment sink.
Low Priority: Rear door located in the back area of the food facility has a gap at the bottom and does not protect against the entry of pests.
Low Priority: Ceiling tiles missing near the oven need to be replaced.
Low Priority: Loose rubber door gasket observed on the small bain marie in the front area.
Low Priority: Food employees eating in the side area as evidenced by observed partially consumed food on the food preparation table at the front window. Corrected.

Pop's Malt Shoppe
208 W. Main St., Kutztown, PA 19530
July 10, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Observed cooking equipment (microwaves) in the prep area, with encrusted grease and soil accumulation.

Rooted & Grounded Cafe
1400 Lancaster Ave., Reading, PA 19607
July 9, 2026

1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Observed the nonfood contact surface of the ice machine to have a build up of apparent pink slime. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed two cases of coconut milk stored directly on the floor in dry storage area, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required. Corrected.

Simran Indian Cuisine
163 Main St., Kutztown, PA 19530
July 10, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in a reach-in refrigeration unit, is not being date marked. Corrected.

Sunoco - Marahana Inc
501 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
July 6, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Foods were held at 107-112 °F, in the table-top hot hold display, rather than 135°F or above as required. Corrected by disposing of these items and increasing the temperature setting for the holding unit.
Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration at the 3-compartment sink.
Low Priority: Tongs at the hot-hot unit are stored in a dirty holder.

Taco Fest
650 Crossing Blvd., Elverson, PA 19520
July 6, 2026

1 high priority, 1 low priority, 1 other violations

High Priority: Multiple foods were held at 110-122°F, in the front hot hold area, rather than 135°F or above as required. Corrected.
Low Priority: Food employee observed in kitchen area, not wearing proper hair restraints, such as nets, hats, or beard covers. Corrected.
Other: Food facility has a certified food employee, but they are not employed in a position to act as the Person in Charge during their working hours.

Tacos El Gordo
450 Lancaster Ave., Shillington, PA 19607
July 9, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: Bain Marie was held at 50°F, in the prep area, rather than 41°F or below as required.

Taqueria Aventura Mff3
Leesport Farmers Market, Leesport, PA 19533
July 8, 2026

1 moderate priority, 1 other violations

Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.
Other: Food facility has an employee that has taken food safety training program; however, the food safety program was not an ANSI/CFP accredited Certified Food Manager program. Owner has a Food Handler certificate, not a Food Manager certificate.

Turkey Hill Minit Market #014
3701 Kutztown Rd., Laureldale, PA 19605
July 6, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces of shelving in the walk-in cooler are not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of mold and dust.

Turkey Hill Minit Market #62
4801 N. 5th St., Temple, PA 19560
July 11, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Fan guards dusty.

Utopia Cabaret
395 Ben Franklin Hwy., Douglassville, PA 19518
July 7, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: Plumbing system not maintained in good repair - observed leaking at the 3-bay sink at the bar at the handle and faucet head.

Wegman's Poultry
2934 N. 5th St. Hwy., Reading, PA 19605
July 11, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Concrete floor is not a smooth cleanable surface.

Know before you go: Look up inspection data for any PA retail food facility by name, city, or ZIP — and get alerts when new reports are published.

Facilities with no violations:

Antietam Sd High School, 201 N. 25 Th St., Reading, PA 19606, on July 9, 2026
Blue Rocks Campground Snack Bar, 341 Sousley Rd., Lenhartsville, PA 19534, on July 8, 2026
Carsonia Park, 905 Byram St., Reading, PA 19606, on July 9, 2026
Ce Cole Intermediate School, 3630 Kutztown Rd., Reading, PA 19605, on July 9, 2026
Comalli Taqueria Mobile (Zsn-6722) Mff4, 701 Ct. St., West Reading, PA 19611, on July 7, 2026
Cracker Barrel #312, 21 Industrial Dr., Hamburg, PA 19526, on July 8, 2026
Dietrich's Country Meats, 660 Old Route 22, Lenhartsville, PA 19534, on July 9, 2026
Fleetwood Beverages Inc, 2 E. Race St., Fleetwood, PA 19522, on July 7, 2026
Funny Farm Apiaries, 17 Oak Rd., Mertztown, PA 19539, on July 9, 2026
Gasser's Golf, 3251 Pricetown Rd., Fleetwood, PA 19522, on July 6, 2026
Gauker Farms, 846 Fleetwood Lyons Rd., Fleetwood, PA 19522, on July 8, 2026
Hamburg Recreation Park Pool Concession, 2nd & Franklin Sts, Hamburg, PA 19526, on July 8, 2026
Hollywood Casino Morgantown - Bar 76, 6021 Morgantown Rd., Morgantown, PA 19543, on July 6, 2026
Hoober's Produce, 2934 N. 5th St., Reading, PA 19605, on July 11, 2026
Johnny's Pizza T-Xm42170 Mff3, 915 Cocalico Rd., Birdsboro, PA 19508, on July 6, 2026
Little Nicky's Pizza, 1179 Ben Franklin Hwy. Ste 31, Douglassville, PA 19518, on July 7, 2026
Paola's Restaurant, 4900 N. 5th Hwy., Temple, PA 19560, on July 11, 2026
Plum Creek Farm Market & Creamery, 5035 Bernville Rd., Bernville, PA 19506, on July 6, 2026
Selena's Diner, 242 W. Main St., Kutztown, PA 19530, on July 9, 2026
Sweet Ride Ice Cream Mff3 Pa Zlj2239, 4 Knollwood Dr., Reading, PA 19608, on July 6, 2026
Sweet Ride Ice Cream Mff3 T-Xjh6019, 4 Knollwood Dr., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, on July 6, 2026
Tlacuani Mexican Food Truck/Mff3/Zpl5864, 5005 Kutztown Rd., Temple, PA 19560, on July 10, 2026
Updog Hot Dogs, 850 Golden Dr. Ste 6, Blandon, PA 19510, on July 7, 2026
Updog Hot Dogs Mff3/Xpb8653, 227 Spirit Ct., Blandon, PA 19510, on July 7, 2026
Winding Road Bbq & Catering LLC Mmf/Xpy7023, 128 Sandhill Rd., Fleetwood, PA 19522, on July 6, 2026

Core items usually relate to standard operating procedures, facility structures, equipment design, or general maintenance. We noted violations of core items as low priority.

To read the full inspection reports, you can visit: pafoodsafety.pa.gov/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx

Lawmakers break without addressing unconstitutional murder sentences, leave 1K Pa. lifers in limbo

Danielle Ohl — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers recessed Sunday without fixing the commonwealth’s unconstitutional sentencing scheme for second-degree murder, making it increasingly likely they will miss a deadline set by the state Supreme Court and leave the issue in limbo.

A killing is considered second-degree murder if it occurs during the course of a violent felony, including robbery, rape, or arson. Someone can be found guilty of the crime if they participated in the underlying felony, even if their actions didn’t lead directly to another person’s death.

Because of this, a person in Pennsylvania who served as a getaway driver during a botched robbery, or caused an injury that later led to death, currently receives the same sentence as someone who knowingly plotted and carried out a killing.

However, in March the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Lee that mandatory life without parole for second-degree murder is unnecessarily cruel under the state constitution.

The court gave lawmakers until July 24 to rewrite the sentencing laws.

“While we have a clear obligation to ensure that constitutional bounds are not crossed, we may not act as legislators, who are best positioned to effectuate penal reform,” wrote Chief Justice Debra Todd for the majority.

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They also declined to make the ruling retroactive, leaving it up to the legislature to decide whether people already serving life sentences for second-degree murder convictions should be up for parole.

But months of talks among advocates for criminal justice reform, district attorneys, and members of the split legislature have not produced a compromise.

The state Senate twice tried to move a version of a proposal that would create 35-year mandatory minimum sentences for adults convicted of second-degree murder, with few exceptions, as well as a pathway to release for those already serving. However, state Rep. Tim Briggs (D., Montgomery), a key House lawmaker on criminal justice issues, told Spotlight PA the proposal is too punitive.

If the legislature misses the deadline, the state Supreme Court decision will take effect, leaving individual Common Pleas judges across the state to dole out fair sentences without legislative guidance.

And the fate of more than 1,100 people already in prison on second-degree murder convictions will likely be decided by the state’s highest court, as civil rights lawyers stand ready to petition the body for further clarity.

Should the justices apply their ruling to people who are already convicted, courts across the state will almost certainly be flooded with hundreds of petitions from those serving life in second-degree cases, some decades old.

Some advocates are ready to file those petitions, telling Spotlight PA the courts might produce better outcomes for clients than the state Senate’s proposed path forward.

“We're not afraid of going to mass resentencings,” said Sean Damon, director of strategic partnerships for Straight Ahead. His organization is the policy arm of the Abolitionist Law Center, the firm that brought the suit in Lee.

Others cautioned against that outcome.

“Inaction is not an option, in fact it is dangerous,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement sent after the legislature convened.

“Failing to act would leave our communities and victims without needed protections, and it is important that we move forward collaboratively to ensure a responsible solution.”

Lawmakers telegraphed Sunday night that they are willing to keep working on a compromise ahead of the deadline, but did not confirm whether they’d solve the issue in time.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, in a news conference, said he agrees with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling, and wants to see the legislature reach consensus.

“We're going to continue to work on this issue, and I'm confident, given some of the maneuvering that the majority leader in the House did today,” the Democrat said. “There's a vehicle ready to go when we have a compromise in place.”

Asked whether lawmakers will pass a bill by the July 24 deadline, state House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) twice told reporters: "We're hoping to get something accomplished."

Conversations, but no compromise

For decades, Pennsylvania’s justice system has applied second-degree murder to a wide variety of defendants and criminal behavior: a man who killed a 77-year-old woman during the course of a violent rape; an accomplice in the torture and eventual death of an intellectually disabled woman; a man who robbed a tourist who minutes later committed suicide; a 14-year-old with a history of abuse and mental illness, who started an accidental house fire that killed the two boys she was trying to visit.

And for decades, those convicted have all received the same, unmovable sentence: life without parole.

The state Supreme Court in March found this sentencing scheme unnecessarily cruel, and argued that without an individual assessment of culpability, it violates the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“We determine that a mandatory life without parole sentence for all felony murder convictions, absent an assessment of culpability, is inconsistent with the protections bestowed upon our citizens under the ‘cruel punishments’ clause of our Commonwealth’s organic charter,” wrote Justice Todd for the majority.

In the spring, the legislature seemed poised to act.

Lawmakers from both chambers had already proposed legislation, including a bipartisan effort by state Sens. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia) and Camera Bartolotta (R., Beaver) and another by Rep. Tim Briggs (D., Montgomery).

But at an April meeting of the state House Judiciary Committee, with advocates in attendance eager to celebrate the vote, Briggs tabled his bill. Stakeholders had reached out, he explained, with feedback and a desire to have their positions better reflected in whatever solution the legislature pursued.

“I think we can have a collaborative process to get to a better bill that balances the need to comply with the Lee decision, but also is fair and compassionate, respects victims’ rights, and above all, maintains community safety,” Briggs said during the April meeting.

Then, speaking about people already serving life sentences, he said: “These people – this is emotional – these people have been serving long, unconstitutional sentences, and I will not put them in a worse position than what I believe the Supreme Court would order for them after the [120 day] run.”

In an interview with Spotlight PA months later, Briggs said he had hoped the pause would lead to meaningful cross-party conversations.

“That never happened,” Briggs said.

In spring conversations between Straight Ahead and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the groups tried to reach a framework that would satisfy their respective coalitions. Lawmakers were not directly involved in those conversations, sources confirmed to Spotlight PA.

State prosecutors were most worried about the group of more than 1,100 people serving life sentences, said Kelly Callihan, the executive director of the district attorneys association.

“We like uniformity,” she said. “Victims deserve that, and honestly, perpetrators who have been convicted deserve that, so that it's not like the Wild West, where every county was just going to be on an island doing what they thought with resentencing.”

Public defenders feel similarly, said Sara Jacobson, the executive director of the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania. Without a legislative fix, she said, the state would be left with “justice by geography.”

“Without guidance, the results will vary widely in terms of sentences they get handed down,’ Jacobson added. “It will depend much more on the politics of a given county and an individual judge’s perspective.”

A legislative framework would be better for everyone, Jacobson said, because prosecutors, defense attorneys, and crime victims will know what to expect.

But feelings diverge from there.

The district attorneys association feels comfortable with a minimum sentence, after which the convicted person would be eligible for parole, Callihan said.

But Straight Ahead and other advocates found a high mandatory minimum for those sentenced to second-degree murder to be unpalatable.

“We have been advocating for a maximum sentence similar to third-degree,” which carries a 40 year maximum, Damon said.

In June, a compromise had not been reached when, over the course of four days, the Republican-controlled state Senate introduced, voted out of committee, and passed new legislation with bipartisan support.

That bill, SB 1400, would establish a 35-year mandatory minimum for adult offenders and preserve life without parole as an option for offenders who meet certain criteria. It allows for sentences as low as 10 years if a defendant meets a narrow set of mitigating circumstances.

For people already serving life, the bill would permit parole consideration after 35 years for most and 20 years for those over the age of 70.

The court gave the General Assembly a 120-day window “because opening the prison doors and letting out violent individuals back on the streets is unacceptable policy,” said state Sen. Lisa Baker (R., Luzerne), the bill’s lead sponsor, during a news conference after passage. Attorney General Sunday, also appearing at the news conference, supported it.

The state Senate passed a largely similar version of this legislation Sunday afternoon, attached to a House bill aimed at allowing incarcerated individuals to earn credits toward potential earlier parole by participating in educational and vocational programs.

But the bill found no purchase among House Democrats.

When he spoke with Spotlight PA in June, Briggs said the language was “too heavy-handed.”

“These are serious matters,” he said, “but I think there needs to be some compassion on the facts, and high mandatory minimums across the board isn’t the direction I want to go in.”

Elizabeth Rementer, a spokesperson for House Democrats, said Sunday that the lawmakers remain committed to continuing negotiations.

But speaking of the bill passed Sunday, she said, “Unfortunately, this isn’t it.”

Mass resentencings possible

Stakeholders are similarly split.

Berks County District Attorney John Adams, in an interview with Spotlight PA, said he largely supported the state Senate legislation and its attempt to establish both a framework for future sentencing and a path for reconsidering past convictions. As a prosecutor and former defense attorney, “I have been on both sides of this issue, so I know it by heart, and I know it through experience,” Adams said.

“This bill covers pretty much everything that I was looking for,” he said. “It offers, in the appropriate instances, the possibility that someone could be sentenced to life in prison, and it also offers otherwise some alternatives.”

But Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a progressive Democrat known for diverging from his fellow prosecutors, derided the state Senate bill as unscientific and beholden to an old-school, tough-on-crime approach to justice.

In an interview with Spotlight PA, Krasner was blunt in his assessment of the courts as a better path than the proposed legislation..

“Nothing is better than stupid,” Krasner said.

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The path to this type of mass resentencing is uncertain — for now.

Without a legislative fix, the issue will need to return to the state Supreme Court to become retroactive.

The Abolitionist Law Center is ready to pursue this path if the legislature fails to act, said Legal Director Bret Grote, whether through traditional appeal or a King’s Bench petition, which would ask the court to take the matter more quickly.

“The issue will be presented to the court promptly, and the court alone will decide when they hear such a case,” Grote said, “but with more than — and we're confident it's more than 1,100 people — serving this unconstitutional sentence, this is a constitutional crisis.”

Straight Ahead, ALC, and other advocates actively involved in conversations around the Lee decision are ready to do the most good for the most people, Damon said. “So, I'm not being glib when I say we're ready to go a mass resentencing.”

More than 500 of the people serving life sentences for felony murder were convicted in Philadelphia, where the courts do not “tend to throw the book at people,” Damon said, and where there is a reform-minded district attorney in Krasner.

“We're going to have lower sentences in Philly,” Damon said.

Rodents, violence, medical neglect: Lawsuits allege poor conditions at Blair County Prison

Melissa Pérez-Carrillo — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

People who have been incarcerated inside the Blair County Prison say they encountered rodent droppings in food, poor access to medical care, and violence at the aging, overcrowded facility, a review of nearly 80 legal filings from the past year shows.

Officials say many of these issues will be solved when the county moves out of the 157-year-old prison and into a new facility in 2029. The design for the $100 million prison — approved by the prison board but pending a land sale — includes exercise areas for all housing units, larger culinary and medical areas, and medical rooms to house individuals who may need 24/7 observation, as well as expanded support for inmates with mental illnesses. The prison usually houses people who are awaiting trial and serving short-term sentences.

But some allegations laid out in legal filings aren’t directly related to the building’s conditions, including poor medical care by a third-party contractor and limited access to psychiatric and substance use disorder medications.

Blair County Commissioner Laura Burke declined to comment on the active litigation but said commissioners and prison board members always thoroughly investigate any allegations.

Warden Matthew Hale also declined to comment on the litigation, but spoke candidly about the prison’s challenges in an interview.

Since becoming warden in September 2025, Hale told Spotlight PA his biggest challenge is working around the prison’s dated structure. He’s focusing on the things he can control and mitigating the things that he can’t, he said.

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The prison’s population in June was around 340, much higher than the 280 to 298 people it would “optimally” support under American Correctional Association standards, according to a feasibility study Blair County commissioned on the facility and options to replace it.

Of the prison’s 11 housing units, fewer than half comply with ACA standards for capacity according to the study, which Spotlight PA obtained through a Right-to-Know request. “Many units are overcrowded to the point of posing safety risks to both staff and inmates,” it says.

Ken Dean, director of the Blair County Prison Re-entry Coalition, likened the interior of the prison, which has thick stone walls, to a medieval castle. The dingy, decrepit space makes incarceration an even more depressing experience, worsening mental health for people housed there, he said.

“In your worst imagination, no matter how bad you think it could be, double that,” Dean said. “That’s how bad it is.”

The prison’s archaic design provides poor sightlines for correctional officers and makes it difficult to prevent fights or attacks among inmates, Hale said. Blair County Prison had 54 cases of inmate-on-inmate assault last year, the fourth highest amount in Pennsylvania, according to “county prison extraordinary occurrence statistics” from the state Department of Corrections.

Eyeing a new facility, Hale noted some improvements are needed to make the prison a space where incarcerated people can truly be rehabilitated. He wants to make incarceration at Blair prison as positive as possible.

“It can either be a thing that we all complain about, or it could be a thing that we sort of agree has to exist and is doing the best it can do to help society,” Hale said.

19th century prison, 21st century population

Blair County Prison was built in 1869, the same year Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in as the 18th president. It was designed to hold 100 beds, but by the late 1970s, incarceration rates surged, and the facility exceeded its capacity, forcing some inmates to be housed outside the county, according to the feasibility study.

Around 1980, the prison received minor upgrades and increased its capacity to 158. By the early 2000s, population pressures persisted, leading to the most recent expansion.

Its prison cells follow the Pennsylvania model design, where two rows of cells are split by a dayroom. It requires correctional officers to constantly pass through the housing unit to observe, which can create blind spots. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that podular housing units became more popular in U.S. corrections and improved sightlines for staff.

Hale said the old design supports fighting and other illicit activities. It also makes it difficult for correctional officers to investigate wrongdoing, he added.

“We have a whole set of issues that are caused or at least exacerbated by the way that the jail is set up,” he said. “If we had a more modern facility, those issues just wouldn’t exist.”

Of the almost 80 legal filings, two allege excessive use of force from correctional officers, and seven reference violent incidents among people held in the prison.

One man, who was incarcerated for unpaid traffic fines, alleged in a suit that he was beaten in a “suicide risk” cell. Two of the three other inmates in the cell “were mentally and emotionally unstable, had a propensity for violence, and would act out if given any opportunity.”

Spotlight PA is not naming any of the people who brought complaints against the prison, as their attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.

“When he was placed in the suicide risk cell with three inmates, [the man] was justifiably terrified and fearful for his safety,” according to the lawsuit. His “protests, questions, and complaints were deliberately unanswered and unheeded.”

Medical exams show the man suffered many injuries to his face and head, including broken and fractured bones. He underwent several corrective surgeries, according to his suit, along with metal implants and cosmetic work, to repair the damage from the assault.

The man alleged lasting damage from the injuries, including a diminished ability to chew on the right side and PTSD. The lawsuit was settled on Jan. 15 for an undisclosed amount.

Bites, droppings, and stolen food

Rodents have exploited the prison’s damaged plumbing, degraded foundations, and gaps in exterior walls to infiltrate cell blocks in search of food and shelter, several lawsuits allege. Over a dozen lawsuits filed mention mice or rats, noting bites, droppings in food, and chewed pantry items from the prison’s commissary.

“The plaintiff was subject to rats running all over the place,” one suit filed in November 2025 says. “A number of times, he had them in his box [of food], eating the plaintiff’s commissary. He has woken up to them in his bed.”

Another man who was incarcerated at the prison wrote in a complaint filed in October 2025 that he found droppings in food. “I should have never been housed at that location,” he wrote. “It was overcrowded and infested with mice, and [I] got no sleep.”

A third incarcerated person, who worked in the prison’s kitchen, wrote in a complaint filed in November 2025 that he was forced to live with mice and would wake up to them running from cell to cell to steal food.

When he went into the kitchen to work, he would find the rodents eating bread in the dry food storage room, and he was still forced to serve it, he wrote.

“We was subject to treatment that is cruel and unusual and punished for it,” he wrote. “The living condition we endure will be in my nightmares for years to come.”

Hale said that when he took over as warden, there was an ongoing issue with mice, but steps were already being taken to address it.

“Since then, we have increased our efforts further by implementing a sanitation plan and changing our pest control services,” Hale said in an email. “These efforts have had a big impact on improving the issue, and while we have not eliminated the issue completely, we have seen results and generally only have issues in high-risk [for mice] areas.”

Medical care allegedly denied

Of the 51 lawsuits and 27 motions to join a class-action lawsuit, filed between July 2025 and mid-April of this year, 11 list PrimeCare as a co-defendant. The company specializes in medical, mental health, and dental services for correctional facilities.

Blair County commissioners voted last week to award a three-year contract to Armor Health, which will take over when PrimeCare’s contract expires July 31. Hale told Spotlight PA prior to the vote that the search for a new provider was not connected to the lawsuits.

One complaint alleges a 53-year-old man did not receive a diagnostic workup despite experiencing respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath; instead, he was given Mucinex.

Two weeks later, he was taken to UPMC Altoona, intubated, and found to have a widespread lung infection, the lawsuit says. He stayed in the hospital’s ICU for 34 days, then spent another 52 in intensive inpatient rehab.

The complaint alleges the man now has chronic nerve pain, a persistent cough, and shortness of breath, and that he uses a cane, walker, and scooter. His wife had to take unpaid leave to care for her husband, according to the complaint, and now outsources tasks her husband previously handled. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

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A separate legal filing says a 42-year-old woman miscarried twins while incarcerated at the facility. The woman allegedly informed prison staff her pregnancy was high-risk and that she was spotting, but wasn’t taken to the hospital until she began bleeding more.

Back at the prison, the woman allegedly alerted medical staff that her bleeding worsened, but she was told to lie down and that there was nothing they could do. She found out that the fetuses died when she was taken back to UPMC Altoona, and then passed them separately at the prison.

“I was then taken to my cell as nothing happened!” the woman wrote in her filing. Her case was closed after court mail was returned from the prison as undelivered.

PrimeCare is also accused in at least two lawsuits of withholding or denying mental health medication.

One man said his history of mental illness was ignored and that PrimeCare staff would not administer trazodone, used to treat depression, because it wasn’t permitted in the facility.

Another man alleged that staff would not provide Depakote, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, for several days in a row. In the legal filing, he said he was told his unit was “burnt,” referring to someone on a bottom tier throwing feces on a nurse.

“Mental health doesn’t have the proper treatment, which has also affected my pain and suffering, and now being in Blair County Prison has traumatized me,” the man said in the filing.

That case was closed after court mail was returned from the prison as undelivered.

A spokesperson for PrimeCare told Spotlight PA that every person receives a full medical intake within four hours of incarceration. Anyone with a chronic condition is seen by a medical provider every 90 days, and any person who has a non-urgent medical request will be seen within 24 hours of submitting it, they wrote. Existing medications are verified during the intake process, and newly prescribed medications are given to patients within 12 hours, the spokesperson added.

Is a new prison enough?

Blair isn’t the only county building a new facility to replace a prison beyond saving.

Lancaster plans to replace its 175-year-old facility with a new one. Fayette built a new prison following lawsuits about inhumane conditions, while Northumberland had to take action more than a decade ago after a fire destroyed its century-plus-old building.

“Pennsylvania is long inhabited, and we incarcerate at high rates,” said Noah Barth, prison monitoring director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. “So, we have a lot of aging infrastructure.”

Many Re-entry Coalition volunteers want to host programs inside Blair County Prison, but there aren’t many meeting spaces.

Dean, the coalition director, hopes that with the new building, the added space will allow people to attend programs consistently. He also hopes that increased contact will allow his organization to reach people as soon as they get admitted rather than near their release.

The prison itself offers some programming, including parenting classes, drug/alcohol treatment and education, and GED classes.

But due to the existing layout, there’s just one room for these services, and it’s a full-time job just coordinating which group is using the space, said County Commissioner Burke — not to mention scheduling, and transporting inmates in and out of it, she added. In the new proposed design, there will be at least three programming rooms and a multipurpose space for each housing unit.

While the stakeholders in Blair County agree on the necessity of a new prison, not everyone thinks rebuilding alone will address the prison’s conditions.

Carol Taylor, president of Indivisible Blair, a grassroots organization that works to promote progressive candidates and policies, works in mental health and substance use disorder care.

In her work, she’s seen people end up back in prison for minor infractions of probation or parole, and get sucked into a cycle in which they spend more time in prison than in a rehab facility.

She is hopeful about the prison expanding mental health and substance use services, but wants to see that care provided in the community, not in carceral settings.

“They don’t have functional support in the community,” Taylor said of people who need this care. “And yet, what we do with them is put them in prison, making them even less functional. You can’t help people by incarcerating them.”

The $100 million new prison design has been approved by the Blair County Prison Board, but county officials estimate it won’t be completed until early 2029.

In the meantime, the Blair County Board of Commissioners is trying to introduce more rehabilitative measures, like ankle monitor use for home release and a work-release program, which is still under review. With limited parking spaces available, inmates can’t keep their cars at the prison, stalling progress for a work-release program. They’re forced to rely on someone for pickup and drop-off.

“We want people to be making better decisions,” Burke said. “We want to empower them to move on with their lives and not be stuck in this cycle of incarceration.”

Pa. adopts $50.8B budget that sends more money to poorest schools, skips difficult policy questions

Stephen Caruso — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 22:17:03 -0400

HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed a $50.8 billion budget that makes major new investments in education but fails to address skill games regulation or other pressing policy questions.

The deal was cut behind closed doors, and its details were in flux until late Saturday, when committees in both chambers advanced bills during a rare weekend session. The full legislature took final votes Sunday, almost two weeks after the June 30 statutory deadline.

It will put more than $900 million into education; provide a pension bump to thousands of retired school, state, and emergency response workers, many of whom retired before 2001; and require data centers to report their annual energy and water consumption to the state. The plan also preserves the state’s nearly $8 billion rainy day fund — a key priority for Republicans, who control the state Senate.

It does the latter by pulling more than $500 million from off-budget “special” funds, taking unused funds from agency bank accounts, and using accounting maneuvers such as delaying $1.3 billion in payments to the state’s Medicaid managed care organizations.

“This budget allows the commonwealth to fight yet another day,” Senate Appropriations Chair Scott Martin (R., Lancaster) said on the chamber floor Sunday before the main spending bill passed 44-6. The state House approved it a few hours later by a 167-35 vote.

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House Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) told reporters after a committee vote Saturday night that the plan would ensure that individuals on Medicaid plans receive their healthcare.

“At the end of the day, people get paid. Bills get paid,” Harris said. “Whether it gets paid today or gets paid tomorrow, the bills will get paid.”

The budget does not change the state’s fiscal reality — that it spends more money than it brings in. It also does not include any new revenue-generating policy changes, such as new taxes on tech firms supported by lawmakers from both major parties.

Fiscal conservatives denounced the budget’s fiscal maneuvering. State Rep. Marc Anderson (R., York) invoked the arrest of bootlegger Al Capone for tax evasion. “He was cooking the books,” Anderson said. “Citizens of the commonwealth, what we’re doing today … is voting on a budget that cooks the books.”

This year marks the commonwealth’s fifth straight late budget. They have ranged from minor delays in which policymakers spent a few extra days finalizing details to 100-plus-day impasses that stretched county, school, and nonprofit finances to the limit. While this year’s delay is comparatively short, the pattern of missed deadlines has frustrated local leaders, who face the consequences of a cutoff in state funds.

Leading up to the deal, lawmakers said negotiations were running smoothly because they were not taking big policy swings as they had in the past. The lean final product reflects that.

It does not eliminate a sales tax break given to data centers of a certain size that had increasingly earned bipartisan opposition in recent weeks. It also does not legalize recreational marijuana, include new recurring funding for mass transit, or boost the state’s minimum wage, as Shapiro and other Democrats had called for.

Shapiro acknowledged the package was missing many of his most ambitious policy proposals in remarks before signing it.

“There's a whole lot more that I want to do, that I'm going to do, like raising the minimum wage, like funding mass transit and expanding access to affordable housing across Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “But once again, we've proven that here in Pennsylvania, we can bring people together to solve problems, to get stuff done, and to build on this foundation that we've laid.”

Also missing from the deal is a regulatory framework and tax on games of skill. A state Supreme Court ruling set an October deadline for lawmakers to act before the devices are subject to seizure. Shapiro and other lawmakers support taxing skill games, which have proliferated around the state, and have floated plans they say could raise as much as $2 billion in annual revenue.

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In the aftermath of the court’s ruling, Senate Republicans called addressing skill games a “critical piece” of resolving this year’s budget. However, in an interview with WCCS Radio late last month, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said that “from a legal standpoint,” lawmakers do not need to act.

“The challenge now is that, given the Supreme Court decision, it’s very clear this is gambling. We have to approach this from the perspective of it being some sort of age-restricted environment,” Pittman said, adding: “Finding that balance I think is going to be one of the biggest challenges we have.”

In February, Shapiro pitched a $53.3 billion budget plan that would have borrowed $1 billion in bonds to fund housing, energy, and schooling infrastructure projects, and created a $100 million fund to respond to potential federal government shifts. Neither made it into the final deal.

Still, the budget embraces an “Innovate in PA 2.0” program proposed by the governor, which will allow the state to sell $125 million in tax credits to insurers. Those dollars then subsidize venture capital firms and fund grants for the life sciences and biotechnology industries.

The budget’s enabling legislation also restricts the spread of food manufacturing waste on farmland; creates several new special tax zones, including one at a Philadelphia shipyard; switches state SNAP benefits to chip cards; and gives the go-ahead for drillers to expand wells that target gas deep underground.

Some rank-and-file Democrats did not support the deal.

During debate, state Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia) said the budget “deferred” debates about “certain critical issues that are at stake for many, many constituents.” He said he opposed the budget because it does not address rising costs of energy, housing, or public transit, and it does not include any significant revenue generators.

“I believe these are issues that we cannot defer at this moment, and these are issues that our constituents do not want us to defer,” Saval told his colleagues.

Inside the education plan

The budget will allocate an additional $58 million to basic education and $55 million to special education, bringing their respective totals to $8.3 billion and $1.6 billion. It will also transfer $125 million from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to a program for improving school facilities.

It will drive an additional $565 million to school districts that lawmakers have determined are historically underfunded or have high property tax burdens, which matches Shapiro’s proposal from earlier this year.

In 2023, Commonwealth Court found the state’s education funding system is unconstitutionally inequitable after a group of advocates, including the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center, sued the state. Lawmakers then passed a 2024-25 fiscal year budget that acknowledged a $4.5 billion adequacy gap. With this year’s investment, which matches the amount lawmakers allocated in the last budget deal, the legislature has put $1.9 billion toward closing that disparity.

Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director of the Education Law Center, said in a statement that the budget was another step toward “constitutional compliance” and will make a difference in the lives of students.

“But our schools remain billions of dollars short of the funding the General Assembly identified as needed,” Gordon Klehr said. “And until every child — wherever they live — has access to a well-funded public school, Pennsylvania's constitutional obligation remains unmet.”

Adding that lawmakers must “accelerate” their plan to comply with the state constitution, Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center, noted in a statement that some historically underfunded schools had to make cuts this year.

“The warning signs are clear,” said Urevick-Ackelsberg. “To provide children the education the constitution demands, we need more teachers and more programs.”

Lawmakers also adopted multiple non-financial education policies.

Public and private schools will be required to provide at least 30 minutes of recess for students in full-day kindergarten through fifth grade, and maintain confidentiality when testing students’ body mass index.

Public schools will need to perform weekly wellness checks for students enrolled in virtual instruction. Cyber charters are already required to do the same, and the provision will tighten the guardrails for how cybers must conduct those checks and add new reporting requirements when a student fails to participate.

Lawmakers are adjusting a policy — adopted as part of last year’s budget — preventing students who are habitually truant from transferring to a cyber charter during the school year. It will now require that these students’ parents be notified that they can petition for an “educational best interest hearing” before a magisterial district judge. That judge can sign off on a student’s move to a cyber charter if they determine it’s the best educational option.

Additionally, school districts will have until the end of 2027 to provide the state Department of Education with an inventory of their facilities — including details about the age, size, and purposes of the properties they own or lease, and the grade levels those properties serve.

The budget does not include funding for a private school voucher program, which was at the center of a debate that triggered a major budget impasse in 2023.

It also lacks — for the first time in years — a funding increase for multiple related programs in which the state provides tax breaks to businesses and individuals that donate to scholarships that help students to attend private schools.

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Lawmakers aim to finish Pennsylvania’s late budget this weekend

Stephen Caruso — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:48:17 -0400

Update: Pa. advances $50.8B budget that sends more money to poorest schools, skips difficult policy questions

Original story

HARRISBURG — Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Harrisburg for a rare weekend session to try to wrap up the nearly two-week-late Pennsylvania budget.

It’s unclear whether Gov. Josh Shapiro and the legislative leaders negotiating the final deal had finished their work as of Friday afternoon. Spotlight PA observed a handful of top lawmakers and their staff in the Capitol this week as last-minute talks continued behind closed doors.

Pennsylvania statute dictates that members must pass a spending plan by June 30, and according to the state constitution, it must be balanced.

In April, the lower chamber passed a bill to implement Shapiro’s $53.3 billion budget pitch with bipartisan support. It awaits action in the state Senate, which has yet to pass a full spending plan.

Public action temporarily lost steam last week as the GOP-controlled state Senate adjourned its session on the day of the deadline, earlier than planned. Democratic leaders in both chambers accused Senate leaders of “not finishing the job.”

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Still, both chambers now feel confident enough that a deal is in reach to plan for the weekend votes.

“Progress [on the budget] has been made to the point where a return to session is warranted,” state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) wrote in an email, viewed by Spotlight PA, to his caucus Wednesday night.

The state Senate is scheduled to return Friday to hold committee votes at 8 p.m. before holding a full session Saturday afternoon. The state House is slated to return Saturday night for committee votes before both chambers return Sunday at noon.

A spokesperson for Shapiro told Spotlight PA in a text Friday afternoon that the governor would be working out of the Capitol all weekend while the legislature is in session. She said there were not yet details to share regarding a potential budget deal.

Some top lawmakers indicated in recent weeks that in the interest of reaching a deal, several of the most partisan issues members have been grappling with would be excluded from negotiations. These include revenue proposals to regulate and tax marijuana, increases to the state’s minimum wage, and overhauls of the state’s public education funding scheme.

Leaders are staying quiet about whether another priority, regulating and taxing skill games, will be in a final deal. The state Supreme Court recently ruled that the machines are illegal; if lawmakers don’t pass legislation making them legal by October, skill games across the state will be subject to seizure.

Pittman noted in a late June radio interview that there’s no penalty if the legislature doesn’t act on skill games, saying, “From a legal standpoint, we don't have to because us not acting means these machines are illegal.”

Two key items were unresolved as of Thursday, according to three sources close to negotiations not authorized to speak on the record: the fate of the state’s data center sales tax exemption and the elimination in whole or in part of a state tax on electricity utilities.

The former would kill an expensive tax break for an industry that is becoming increasingly unpopular among voters. The latter, lawmakers hope, would help reduce rising utility prices for consumers by up to $200 a year.

But both have drawbacks. The tax exemption for certain data center purchases has powerful allies in the business and labor sectors. In a letter viewed by Spotlight PA, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council asked legislators to oppose a deal that ended the exemption.

“Repealing the sales and tax exemption will not stop data centers from being built,” the organizations wrote. “It will simply ensure that more of them are built outside Pennsylvania, taking with them the construction jobs, supply-chain opportunities, long-term economic activity, and future tax revenues they generate.”

Repealing the electricity tax, meanwhile, could cost the state up to $1.7 billion in annual tax revenue at a time when it’s struggling to keep up with basic human services spending, let alone expand spending on education and transit.

Policymakers acknowledged throughout negotiations this year that — despite the state raising more than expected in the just-ended fiscal year — pulling from the state’s $8 billion emergency funds to offset rising costs could be inevitable. However, Pennsylvania budgets have also historically used accounting tricks, like shifting costs forward or deliberately underbudgeting for key services, to balance the books.

Counties, schools say they can’t afford another impasse

This is the commonwealth’s fifth straight late budget. They’ve ranged from fashionably late affairs in which policymakers took just a few extra days to iron out the details to multimonth impasses that stretched county, school, and nonprofit finances to their limits.

In recent years, lawmakers in both major parties have framed their fiscal tardiness as the cost of doing business, arguing that a good deal sometimes just takes time to hammer out.

“We would love to have that deal done on June 30,” state Rep. Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia), who chairs his chamber’s Appropriations Committee, told reporters last year before the legislature blew the deadline. “But if that deal is, you know, a few days after June 30, but it reflects our priorities, I think that is a win for all of Pennsylvania.”

Around the same time, Pittman said, “We have seen this movie before, and on July 1, the sun will come up, and I don't think the good people of Pennsylvania will see any notable difference in their daily lives.”

State lawmakers face few immediate consequences for a delay. Most state-run services, like parks and prisons, remain open when there is no budget, and state workers get paid no matter what — including lawmakers and the governor.

That reality, combined with a divided state legislature that disagrees over fundamental questions like whether state spending should grow, meant lawmakers didn’t pass last year’s budget until November.

But late budgets have real consequences for counties, schools, and a host of nonprofits that rely on state dollars to keep the lights on and pay their workers to teach kids, care for individuals with mental illness, or provide a haven to survivors of domestic violence.

Kyle Kopko, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said counties typically build a fiscal cushion through interest accrued on their bank accounts. But when state payments are delayed due to an impasse, those reserves get spent down, and those interest payments disappear.

That happened last year. Some counties were forced to get loans to cover costs, which means they’re now shouldering debt service costs.

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Kopko said one county is already curtailing services (he declined to say which), while others may start limiting purchases and travel within the first two to four weeks of a late budget. And even when a budget passes, it may take weeks for state payments to finally hit county bank accounts.

“The ability to handle a delayed budget decreases each year, particularly when we have this succession of late budgets,” Kopko said.

In the days following this year’s missed deadline, education advocates also pleaded with lawmakers to avoid another extended impasse.

“Delayed state budgets and long impasses only serve to prevent school officials from thoughtfully planning how to use new resources to close opportunity gaps for students,” Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said in a statement.

Like counties, many schools were forced to take on loans and cut services last year to continue operating, leaving taxpayers on the hook to pay the interest on that debt.

That level of statewide impact likely won’t be felt again in classrooms unless budget talks drag into the school year.

Kopko told Spotlight PA that 17 of the last 30 state budgets have been late, according to numbers crunched by his organization.

“We have a culture that promotes this type of mentality,” Kopko said. “And it's wrong.”

Maryland county adopts a two-year moratorium on data center development

Aman Azha — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:58:51 -0400

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Maryland’s second largest county is the latest jurisdiction in the state to slam the brakes on data centers.

Prince George’s County on Tuesday adopted a two-year moratorium on development of the server farms, the longest such pause in the state. It is intended to shield residents from the AI boom’s economic and environmental consequences while the County Council drafts comprehensive legislation on zoning, siting and construction of the giant server farms.

The power-hungry facilities, whose electricity demand has driven utility bills higher, have caused a nationwide push to insulate ordinary ratepayers and businesses from the cost of the energy buildout needed to run them.

The moratorium resolution grew from the work of the county’s Qualified Data Center Task Force, which was formed after a proposal to turn the shuttered Landover Mall into a hyperscale server farm drew protests from residents.

In its final report, which was delivered in November, the task force recommended that the permitting process include community input, community benefit agreements and zoning that keeps the facilities away from neighborhoods and environmentally sensitive areas.

Tuesday’s vote has made Prince George’s County the most restrictive jurisdiction for data centers across Maryland and latest to join counties including Montgomery, Frederick and Baltimore County that have paused data center development in recent weeks.

The growing pushback has come at a time when a surge of data center development, riding on the back of the federal push to take the lead in the global AI race, has hiked utility bills and caused states and communities to demand that tech companies pay for their energy needs rather than pushing the costs onto ratepayers at large. Maryland commissioned a study of the industry’s impact on air, water, the Chesapeake Bay and the power grid that is due on Sept. 1.

Krystal Oriadha, the Prince George’s County Council chair, sponsored the resolution and said the two-year pause was a compromise.

“I support a full ban. That’s what I’ve always supported, and the two-year moratorium was what the council could agree on because there’s varying opinions right now,” she said.

She said the push to turn the Landover Mall into a data center campus “awakened everyone,” turning a national debate into a local issue as residents understood that such a facility could be “in someone’s backyard.”

Vowing she would continue advocating for a full ban, she said that the council united behind the decision that “no additional project should be moving forward at this time.” Council members shared environmental, economic and ethical concerns, she said.

But Oriadha cautioned that aspects of the data-center boom are beyond the ability of counties or even states to address.

“This really has to be handled on the national level, because the grid doesn’t know what jurisdiction you’re in,” she said. Prince George’s residents are “paying higher rates because neighboring jurisdictions already have hyperscale data centers,” she said, referring to the data center corridor in neighboring Virginia, part of the same regional electric grid. Data center development, she said, “has to be regulated on the national level to ensure equity and fairness when it comes to the impact across the country.”

David Lapp, who represents residential utility ratepayers as Maryland’s People’s Counsel, said the county moratoriums are buying time.

“Anytime data center development is moved back, it provides more time for us to fill in regulatory gaps that expose regular households to cost impacts of data centers,” Lapp said. Since the rules to protect ratepayers are yet to be written, “moratoriums are useful.”

Regulatory protections are being built on two tracks at once, Lapp noted, but neither is finished. Electric distribution costs fall under the Maryland Public Service Commission, which is drafting data center rules, whereas transmission, capacity and energy costs fall under the purview of federal regulators that have ordered grid operators to propose reforms. Delaying new projects, he argued, “provides more time to lock in those protections.”

Lapp dismissed the framing that an AI arms race justifies moving faster. “You still have this issue of who’s paying for that, and it should not be ordinary households” while the regulation needed to insulate them is still being developed, he said.

State Sen. Katie Fry Hester, who took the lead role in Maryland’s legislative push on data centers, said there was a fear that the industry is expanding more rapidly than governments can manage it.

“People are scared because things are happening fast,” said Hester, a Democrat who represents parts of Howard and Montgomery counties. Data centers have very localized impacts on water, air and noise, for which no standards yet exist, she said.

Counties “need time to get their zoning ordinances or the regulations up to date,” Hester said. She pointed out that Maryland lawmakers in the last General Assembly session created what she called the first state data center registry in the country, which lists energy and water use and can expose the “phantom load” of developers filing duplicate requests in different jurisdictions. But it does not go into effect until January 2027.

Counties have authority over land and noise, and local governments are free to set tougher limits, she said. “We will have, probably, the best statewide framework for data centers in the country,” she said, “but it takes time to move from legislation to implementation.”

In search of rustic relaxation and live arts? Take a day trip to Mt. Gretna.

Asha Prihar — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

As you drive into the wooded corner of Lebanon County where Mount Gretna is nestled, “you can take a deep breath,” said Suzanne Stewart, executive and artistic director of Gretna Music. “It’s all so gorgeous and lush.”

The small borough is best known for being Pennsylvania’s Chautauqua, one of just a handful of remaining places nationwide oriented around a 19th-century movement aimed at fostering education, the arts, recreation, and religion (historically, Christianity).

Gretna and the surrounding area are rustic, with lots of foliage and gardens, low-slung wooden structures, and stone-lined paths. For me, it conjures up memories of Girl Scout camp. Within Mount Gretna itself, you won’t see supermarkets, hotels, gas stations, big box stores, or chain restaurants, although all of those can be found a short drive away. (It’s not exactly the middle of nowhere, despite the remote vibe.)

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Mount Gretna is quiet in the cooler months, since some businesses are seasonal and part-time residents aren’t home. But it bustles from late spring through early fall, when its arts and cultural programming are in full swing.

A day isn’t enough to take it all in. Sue Hostetter, a resident since 2005 and president of the Mount Gretna Area Historical Society, cautions against coming to town and “rushing around and trying to do everything.”

“The point of coming to Mount Gretna is you get to come back again and again,” Hostetter said. “You come here to relax.”

Using advice from Stewart and Hostetter, PA Local put together a guide to enjoying a summer day in Mount Gretna. It offers a bounty of options — just make sure you don’t attempt to do them all at once.

Before you go

No two summer days in Mount Gretna are the same. Hostetter and Stewart both recommend checking the community calendar while planning your day. Many events are open to the public. Some are free or encourage donations, while others charge admission.

Some weekend offerings can keep you occupied for hours, including the Tour of Homes (this year on Aug. 1), the Outdoor Art Show (Aug. 15 and 16), or the International Film Festival (also Aug. 15 and 16). Other activities offered all week — like artist and author talks, performances, film screenings, and Christian lectures and services — are usually brief enough to leave room in the schedule for other things.

The weather is also worth checking in advance. Many things to do are outdoors, or require walking through woods, so be sure to have a plan B in case of rain.

Morning

To start, you’ll need to park. Parking is free, but spaces are limited, so for group outings Hostetter recommends carpooling rather than taking multiple vehicles.

Parking in the lot at the corner of Carnegie Avenue and Chautauqua Drive will get you close to many main attractions. Using the lot at Soldiers Field, just off Timber Road, puts you near a path to the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.

Several breakfast options are a quick walk from the central parking lot. Mount Gretna Coffee Cottage serves drinks, sandwiches, pastries, and salads, while Porch & Pantry offers alfresco dining with omelets, grain bowls, and other morning favorites. And while it might not sound like a morning spot, Mt. Gretna Pizzeria opens early and offers breakfast, Stewart said.

Once you’re fed, explore the area and its neighborhoods on foot to really get a sense of the place.

“From the outside eye … you’d probably be like, ‘What the heck, there’s nothing here,’” Stewart said of a cursory glance at Mount Gretna’s clusters of “little, tiny buildings” and relative lack of retail. “Because it’s all these little nooks and crannies, and you just have to kind of slow down and walk around and observe and take it in to really, truly appreciate it.”

(Asha Prihar / Spotlight PA)

As you stroll, you might hear birds chirping, run into some plein air painters from the Mount Gretna School of Art, or see residents sitting on porches, Hostetter said. There are also QR codes on local landmarks, which lead to facts from the Historical Society.

Some specific spots to aim for as you walk: the Mt. Gretna Community Library, grocery and gift shop MG Mercantile, the specialty tablecloth store La Cigale, and the fairy garden near the info center.

Afternoon

Organize your afternoon around your interests, whether that means attending Chautauqua programming or securing tickets to a matinee at the Mount Gretna Playhouse.

If your schedule is more open, catch a walking tour at the Historical Society on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. (They’re free, though Hostetter noted that donations are appreciated.) You can also check out the society’s museum, which boasts artifacts such as carousel animals and organs on weekends.

Lovers of outdoor recreation have options aplenty. For swimming, check out Mt. Gretna Lake & Beach. For hiking, biking, or a nature walk, there’s the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail and nearby Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick, where Stewart said an old fire tower offers beautiful vistas. There’s also throwback thrills at Mt. Gretna Mini Golf, which Hostetter described as very “old” but “a fun, bumpy little course to experience.”

Hungry? All the breakfast spots above have afternoon hours (though Porch & Pantry closes at 1 p.m.), and the Mount Gretna Hideaway — a tavern with a large deck — is open for lunch Wednesdays through Sundays.

(Asha Prihar / Spotlight PA)

Stewart also recommended two spots within 15 minutes of Mount Gretna: Ancestor Coffee & Creperie in Cornwall, and Colebrook Crossing.

If you’d rather stay local, sandwiches, salads, and wraps can be found at the Jigger Shop. But it’s really ice cream that this beloved local joint is known for — so leave room for some scoops, or more adventurous concoctions like a shoofly pie sundae or beignets sautéed in caramel and served over ice cream.

Evening

At dinnertime, try Timbers, which comes recommended by both Stewart and Hostetter. The restaurant has a seasonal menu and opens at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. On the first Friday of each month, the venue typically hosts area musicians and displays pieces by local artists.

If it’s a Friday or Saturday night and your energy isn’t completely spent, get your skate on at Mount Gretna Roller Rink, which is open to the public between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.

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Or consider catching an evening performance at the open-air (but covered) Playhouse, which has several tenants offering different programming. Gretna Theatre brings plays, musicals, family-oriented entertainment, and other live performances to the stage, while Gretna Music specializes in high-caliber classical, jazz, chamber, and world musicians — and offers steep discounts for children, young adults, and adults accompanying kids. For a week in August, the Cicada Festival takes over the venue for a series of cover band concerts.

However you fill your day, Hostetter asks that you “help take care of this place,” which thrives in part thanks to hard work by local volunteers.

“Come and visit Mount Greta, but leave it in as good or better shape than you found it,” Hostetter said. “There’s a lot of love and care that has gone into maintaining this place. It’s very old, and that takes a lot of care and attention, and we’d like to keep it that way.”

Legal barriers keep Reading from enacting some tenant protections advocates seek

Gabriela Martínez — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

READING — This spring, a group of advocates asked Reading City Council to adopt a wide-ranging proposal aimed at protecting renters from being priced out of their homes or retaliated against for organizing.

Council members expressed sympathy and thanked the speakers for sharing their experiences. But the discussion focused on whether the city has the legal authority to adopt or enforce parts of the proposed “Housing Bill of Rights.”

A Spotlight PA analysis of the ideas found that several are indeed off limits for Reading to enact on its own.

For example, the city is unable to cap rent increases, as the advocates called for. That power lies with the state, where such proposals have been introduced but not voted on by the divided legislature.

But the advocates did propose actions the city could take, such as strengthening enforcement of habitability conditions.

Reading Managing Director Jack Gombach said Mayor Eddie Morán’s administration “philosophically agrees” with a lot of the ideas in the housing proposal.

“It's just always going to be this delicate balancing act of what legally can we do and offer, and then from an execution standpoint, what does that look like?” Gombach said.

‘Destabilizing and demoralizing’

The Housing Bill of Rights, presented at an April City Council meeting by members of Berks Stands Up and Make the Road, calls for:

Free legal counsel in eviction proceedings.
Disclosure of all fees and charges.
Expanded anti-discrimination protections.
Capped rent increases.
Protections for unhoused residents in public spaces.
Stronger habitability enforcement.
Tenant organizing rights.

Their proposal points to a need for tenant protections in Reading, where nearly 6 in 10 households are renters and the eviction rate is higher than the state’s 7% average.

According to census data, the median household income for renter households in 2024 was $30,465 a year. At that income, an affordable monthly rent payment would be about $760, if following a common guideline that rent should not be more than 30% of monthly income. Reading apartments currently listed on Zillow average about $1,355 a month.

Some of the advocates shared personal experiences with unstable housing, eviction, and dysfunctional landlord-tenant relationships, arguing that many of the challenges they faced could have been prevented or mitigated if the city had better regulations.

Cierra “Cece” Mayo, 30, is a housing advocate in Reading. (Gabriela Martínez / Spotlight PA)

Cierra “Cece” Mayo, a 30-year-old massage therapist, told council members she supports a cap on rent increases to prevent landlords from raising rent more than 3%. She also advocated for a “right-to-rest,” which would protect unhoused people, including those living in their cars, from fines or other penalties.

Mayo described how a $577-a-month apartment, originally managed by the Reading Housing Authority, was sold to a private landlord, who then raised the rent to $1,000 per month. After about three years of keeping up with rent, a series of crises — her family’s SNAP benefits being cut, having to help her mother buy food and medication, and a car accident on Thanksgiving — left her behind on rent.

Mayo said she does not remember the judge asking her any questions during her Dec. 4 eviction hearing before ruling that she had 20 days to pack her belongings and leave her apartment. She had asked her landlord if she could move out but keep her things stored until early January, but he refused. She was evicted on Christmas Eve.

“By New Year's Eve, I was sleeping in my car with my dog,” Mayo told City Council members. “It was freezing. What I went through was dehumanizing. It was destabilizing and demoralizing.“

At the same time, her experiences navigating homelessness have pushed her focus to advocacy around tenant protections in Reading.

“It lets me really lean into the community and work with people who are also going through this, so I feel like my vision going forward is just: I don't want this to happen to family members or neighbors or people who are in the city,” Mayo told Spotlight PA.

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Reading can’t cap rent increases

There is no law in Pennsylvania that caps or limits rent increases. However, Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act establishes “basic rules for renting residential property,” according to the state Office of Attorney General.

“I believe it is clear that anything addressing rental amounts or caps on rental increases and other fees, as well as enforcement of evictions and similar terms in lease agreements or occupancy arrangements, are preempted by the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, as amended, of Pennsylvania,” Michael Gombar, Reading City Council solicitor, told Spotlight PA in an email.

Robert Damewood, staff attorney with Regional Housing Legal Services, said it’s not preemption stopping Reading from unilaterally capping rents. He pointed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Warren v. City of Philadelphia, which found that the Landlord and Tenant Act did not invalidate the city’s 1955 emergency rent control ordinance. Instead, the court said, the ordinance was valid as long as the housing crisis that justified it continued.

However, “Pennsylvania is a so-called ‘Dillon’s Rule’ state, which means that municipalities do not have inherent legislative powers, only such powers that are expressly delegated to them by the state,” Damewood explained via email.

And while Reading is a third-class home-rule municipality, meaning it has additional powers, it still generally can’t regulate businesses unless there’s a statute that explicitly allows it to.

That means landlords can increase rent as much as they want, provided the increase complies with the lease terms. Generally, landlords are not allowed to raise rent mid-lease unless the tenant agrees to the increase.

There are some legal limits on fees. For example, by law, landlords cannot require a security deposit that is more than two months’ rent.

Over the past few years, there have been proposals at the state level to cap rent, but those bills have not advanced out of committee. Former state Sen. Jimmy Dillon (D., Philadelphia) sponsored a bill in 2023 to create statewide rent increase regulations. Similarly, HB 914, introduced by state Rep. Jim Prokopiak (D., Bucks), proposes amending the Landlord and Tenant Act to include limits on rent increases.

What Reading can do

Even with legal restraints due to municipal authority, Reading could strengthen tenant protections that already exist under state and federal law.

A “right to safe and habitable homes,” included in the proposal, aligns with Pennsylvania’s “implied warranty of habitability,” which requires landlords to provide a home that is safe, sanitary, and fit for human habitation. In Pennsylvania, all residential leases have that warranty, giving tenants the right to terminate a lease or withhold rent if a landlord repeatedly fails to address serious habitability issues.

All Pennsylvania landlords are required to provide safe homes, including basic necessities like water, heat, structurally safe spaces, and functional plumbing. It's up to municipalities to enact their own regulations for enforcement, inspections, licensing, and penalties.

More specifically, advocates want stronger inspections and more penalties for landlords who chronically violate codes.

Gombar, city council solicitor, said the city may have the ability to strengthen code enforcement to prevent landlord negligence.

“As far as the right to safe and habitable homes, that is something that can be looked at, as far as inspections go, to do that on a more regular basis,” Gombar said at the meeting on April 27. He added that it would also depend on whether the administration has the “ability, resources, manpower, and time” to increase enforcement.

Reading already requires all multifamily and rental properties to be inspected every two to five years, and noncompliance can result in fines. Tenants can also file housing complaints with the Citizens Service Center, and the Property Maintenance Division will investigate potential property code violations.

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In January, the city reinstated pre-sale health and safety inspections. Reading moved to post-sale inspections for a period because of a shortage of city property management staff, Dave Barr, Reading’s director of community development, said in an interview with the Reading Berks Association of Realtors.

City officials said these inspections can hold owners accountable, enforce maintenance standards, and identify code violations before the property changes hands.

The city does these reviews even if buyers decide to forgo an independent home inspection.

“In Berks County, people are very quick to waive their inspection rights in order to close the deal, and that exposes the tenant, the owner to so much risk,” Gombach, the city managing director, said.

Gombach said Reading has made progress on housing safety and increased inspection volume without slowing down real estate transactions as some had feared.

“I would like to see us get a little more efficient in the processes and procedures that we already have on the books before we seek to expand, because I think we have a good toolbox already to basically address some of these issues,” Gombach said.

The main challenge is finding a way to regulate bad actors without punishing responsible property owners,” said Mark Mohn, government affairs director for the Reading-Berks Association of Realtors.

“Any sort of wide-sweeping measures that are punitive across the board, we certainly would not be in favor of that. We'd rather see incentivization for the good actors, the ones that are doing what they need to do,” Mohn said.

For example, the city could adopt an inspection system similar to Lancaster City’s, conducting inspections less frequently at properties owned by landlords who have strong compliance records, and more frequent, targeted inspections in properties with a history of code violations and tenant complaints.

Damewood said there is “really broad state authorization” for Pennsylvania municipalities to regulate the health and safety of rental housing because of the Municipal Housing Ordinance Authorization Law, which allows them to regulate inspections, licenses, and enforcement.

Another Housing Bill of Rights plank the city could potentially examine is the “right to rest,” which, Gombar said at the April meeting, would involve “looking at the current regulations in place that are impacting homeless people and whether any of that can be scaled back.”

The proposal also calls for expanding anti-discrimination protections for renters to include source of income, household and family composition, and immigration status.

Damewood from Regional Housing Legal Services said this could be partially done. The city could pass legislation to add more protected classes — specific groups of people — that would be protected from housing discrimination. Adding “source of income” as a protected category could face legal hurdles though, because it would make landlords accept what the state Supreme Court calls an “affirmative obligation,” by requiring them to accept Section 8 vouchers.

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said, you know, wait a minute, that's obligating a landlord to enter into a contract with the housing authority, enter into a contractual relationship with the housing authority, and that's an affirmative obligation, that's not just nondiscrimination,” Damewood said.

Reading already investigates anti-discrimination complaints through its Human Relations Commission. City Council could take legislative action to increase funding and resources to increase the Human Relations Commission’s ability to investigate more complaints.

Free legal counsel for tenants, one of the provisions in the proposed Housing Bill of Rights, would be possible, but would depend on available funding. Reading could fund a program similar to Pittsburgh’s “Lawyer of the Day” program, which sends attorneys and other social services to four of the city’s 12 magisterial district courts.

A 2020 pilot eviction program that increased tenant access to legal advice in one of Reading’s magisterial district courts was hailed a success by housing advocates. An analysis by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania found that in 2021, orders of possession dropped in the pilot court compared with other courts in the city.

For now, the proposal remains in its early stages. No ordinance has been introduced in City Council.

Briana Rodriguez, organizer for Berks Stands Up, said the group is in the process of setting up meetings with different officials in charge of enforcing zoning code, as well as with the city’s legal department. The goal is to have a final ordinance draft that could be introduced by City Council before the end of the year.

State senator profited from $30M property sale for a massive data center development

Ethan Young — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state senator made money from the $30 million sale of property last year to a developer building a massive, controversial data center project in Cumberland County.

A career real estate agent and chair of the state's Republican Party, Greg Rothman said he was not involved in the June 2025 sale to a data center developer. However, he confirmed that RSR Realtors — a company that his father founded and that he chairs — had, through its relationship with the property’s previous owner, “received a real estate fee for the sale of the land only.”

Real estate advisor Igal Feibush, who also represented the seller, separately said that Rothman was paid for prior work when the deal closed last year, alongside several other brokers and consultants. Feibush now serves as CEO of Pennsylvania Data Center Partners, which is overseeing the PAX-1 development.

Rothman did not respond to a question about how much he was paid, and Feibush declined to say.

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The lawmaker served as a listing broker for the property, which was known as PennTerra, in 2017 when it was put up for auction, which eventually fell through.

“I have been a real estate agent with RSR Realtors for 37 years, and represented and provided various real estate services for the previous owner of PennTerra over the course of the last 20 years,” Rothman wrote in an email to Spotlight PA, noting that RSR “has never been involved with the PAX-1 project.”

Still, Rothman’s ties to the property have fueled anger among a bipartisan, grassroots group that wants to halt data center development. Stewards of Cumberland County held a town hall in June that organizers say was attended by 300 people.

“This political figure who ostensibly represents us, who has been deaf to people’s complaints about Middlesex, and has very explicitly supported legislation that would disempower communities further, has a financial stake, best we understand it — at least at some point — in the health of this project,” organizer John Werner said.

State lawmakers, including Rothman, are actively debating how to regulate data centers.

In 2025, he frequently made public comments about how Pennsylvania needed to work to attract data centers.

Less than a month after the PAX-1 sale closed, Rothman introduced a data center-friendly bill that, in its original form, would have expedited permitting and created a “regulatory sandbox” for data centers, AI, and other emerging technologies. It also would have barred local municipalities from regulating data centers more aggressively than other industries.

Rothman and others involved in the data center transaction say the legislation was unrelated to his prior involvement with the property.

Feibush said he did not discuss the bill with Rothman before it was introduced. At the time, the project had already qualified for a separate expedited permitting program from the state, and Middlesex Township had approved a critical zoning overlay for the project, though an appeal and local negotiations over other approvals are still ongoing.

Rothman said that he “will always work in the best interests of my constituents and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I believe in local control and decision making on data center proposals.”

Rothman began his career at RSR in 1989, and later served as the company's president and CEO. He works at the firm alongside several members of his family, and has continued selling real estate since being elected to the state House in 2015 and winning election to the state Senate in 2022.

Dual roles are common in Harrisburg. Pennsylvania law allows lawmakers to hold other jobs, and a 2024 analysis from the Philadelphia Inquirer found that more than half of state House and Senate members do so.

The PennTerra property

The more than 500-acre property that makes up the bulk of the land where the data center is being built had been owned since the 1980s by California-based developer Fred Kayne.

Feibush said in a phone interview that he joined Kayne as a partner on the PennTerra property in 2017. Rothman was one of the first people Feibush met after coming to Harrisburg, he said, and when the partners decided to sell the property, they hired the lawmaker to serve as the listing broker.

With Rothman as the broker, the partnership put the Middlesex property up for auction in 2017. The land was preapproved for a 1,000-home development Kayne had proposed for the property, but that plan had gone on hold during the Great Recession, according to the Central Penn Business Journal.

In marketing the property, Rothman said at the time that it offered a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for a mixed-use development in the region.

In October 2017, Rothman and Feibush announced the auction was canceled because several potential buyers were opting “to deal directly with the owners” on the complicated transaction. Another buyer entered into a purchase agreement, but that ultimately fell through.

Then, in 2023 Feibush became aware of the nationwide data center boom, he said. He got connected with PowerHouse Data Centers, a Virginia-based real estate company. Working with them as a co-developer, Feibush said a deal was made to sell the PennTerra property to the limited-liability Carlisle Development Partners, a joint venture between Pennsylvania Data Center Partners and PowerHouse.

While RSR Realtors benefited from the final sale because of its early work on the property, Rothman had nothing to do with making the transaction happen or working out details, he and Feibush emphasized.

“That’s what investors want”

One of the largest proposed data centers in the state, PAX-1 is slated to be a three-campus, $15 billion facility that is expected to deliver a capacity of 1.35 gigawatts. Blasting and other site work began this spring, and initial delivery for the first phase of the project is planned for the second quarter of 2027.

The project was one of more than a dozen championed by President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) during last summer’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit.

Rothman explicitly introduced his data center bill in advance of that summit, saying in a news release about the legislation that the summit would “powerfully showcase Pennsylvania’s historic opportunity to both lead and power the nation’s AI boom.”

Of the measure’s goal to give faster permitting and other benefits to AI-related projects, Rothman told Next Generation Newsroom at the time, “That's what investors want. They want to be able to deploy their capital and build what they want to build and start getting a return on their investment. Time is money.”

Though the original bill would have also banned local municipalities from enacting zoning ordinances that place harsher restrictions on data center developments than other industrial projects, co-sponsor state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R., Montgomery) later amended it to remove that provision, as well as language surrounding expedited permitting.

The measure hasn’t otherwise moved since Rothman and Pennycuick introduced it.

Rothman’s recent legislative record isn’t uniformly sympathetic to data centers. Late last month, he voted for a bill that would eliminate a major data center sales tax exemption; the bill would also expand a tax credit that funds private school scholarships and eliminate a 5.9% state tax on the sale of electricity.

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Feibush and other individuals associated with the PAX-1 project, including general counsel Andrew Giorgione and local real estate attorney Charles Courtney, have contributed money to Rothman’s campaign fund in recent years, according to public filings.

That financial support, Feibush said, should be seen as a reflection of Rothman’s popularity and personal friendships between individuals involved in the project and the senator.

“Contributions to my campaign are publicly disclosed, in compliance with all state laws and do not influence my legislative decisions,” Rothman wrote in an email.

Pennsylvania Data Center Partners is currently exploring an additional campus in Cumberland County. According to a letter sent by Giorgione to the Monroe Township Board of Supervisors, the developers have acquired two properties in the township. Rothman was not involved in either of those transactions, his chief of staff said.

Werner, the Cumberland County anti-data-center organizer, said this issue is ultimately bigger than Rothman and any sympathies the lawmaker might have toward developers.

“Rothman is a useful device because Rothman is a large-scale real estate developer who has been incredibly supportive of data center development,” Werner said.

“But in another crucial sense,” he added, “Rothman really doesn’t matter and is pretty inconsequential because, given how things are and the lay of the land being what it is, we do still have to fight these things at every municipal level.”

Great PA News Quiz: Severe storm damage, coach charged, and Pa.’s big produce buy

Asha Prihar — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0400

In this week’s quiz: The PECO strike ends, a former governor weighs in on the SAVE America Act, and Pennsylvania’s contributions to America’s Time Capsule.

If a blue “Take the News Quiz” button doesn’t appear above for you, click here instead.

As always, let us know if you encounter any technical issues. Just email Newsletter Editor Colin Deppen (newsletters@spotlightpa.org) with a heads up. And good luck!

Trump admin threatens to prosecute local election officials if noncitizens vote in midterms

Jenna Monnin — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:59:07 -0400

The Department of Justice sent a letter to dozens of state and local election officials threatening to prosecute them if any noncitizens are found to have voted in the upcoming midterms, sharply escalating the Trump administration’s attacks on local election oversight across the country.

The letter was signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a staunch Trump ally who is serving as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division.

It’s the latest in a series of attempts by President Donald Trump’s administration to exert control over state-run elections.

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Trump has pushed for Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship at the time of registration and a photo ID verification when voters cast their ballots. The SAVE America Act received bipartisan pushback from lawmakers and is currently at a standstill in the Senate because it lacks the support needed to advance the bill.

The president’s efforts to crackdown on states’ administration of elections have also faced multiple courtroom losses, which prompted Department of Homeland Security officials to consider using grant funding allocated to states — and the threat of withholding it — to “advance core national security priorities.”

“Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s SVRL [State Voter Registration List] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” Dhillon wrote in the letter. It’s unclear how many officials were targeted by the administration.

Election workers have five days to respond to the Justice Department with plans to comply with the federal, state and local election laws. The Justice Department confirmed in a statement that it sent letters to officials of all states and Washington, D.C., “asking for voluntary compliance in a timely manner with their obligations under federal law to ensure only citizens vote in federal elections.”

The push is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to crack down on noncitizen voting, which experts say is extremely rare.

“Noncitizen registration is already rare, and noncitizen voting is even less common,” a February report from the Bipartisan Policy Center said.

It’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Any noncitizen who attempts to break the federal law could be fined, imprisoned for up to one year, or both. “This is what panic and desperation looks like,” David Becker, a former voting rights lawyer for the Justice Department who now runs the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told The New York Times. “They’ve had 18 months to find evidence of a crime that was never committed, and found nothing. And now they fall back on crude and transparent bullying tactics.”

Trump issued an executive order in March directing the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create a “state citizenship list,” documenting people who are U.S. citizens and will be at least 18 years old by the next federal election. The order also instructed the U.S. Postal service to add more tracking features for absentee and mail ballots.

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A federal judge in D.C. blocked the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, tool from being used in upcoming elections. The SAVE system was originally intended to verify the citizenship status of those applying for federal benefits, but Trump overhauled the tool by combining it with other databases to create a national voter database.

However, a federal judge in Florida granted an emergency motion on Tuesday allowing Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Indiana to use the SAVE tool by enforcing a prior settlement agreement with the Homeland Security Department from November 2025.

The language in the Justice Department’s new letter leaves the door open for broad enforcement, including the prosecution of public officials.

“An intentional act that is aimed at diluting the votes of citizens could also constitute a violation,” the Justice Department wrote.

Parents of Bucknell football player who died say they appreciate criminal charges against coach

Gene Johnson — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:33:45 -0400

The parents of a Bucknell University football player who died after collapsing during the first day of training camp in 2024 said Tuesday they appreciated a decision by the Pennsylvania attorney general to bring criminal charges against the strength and conditioning coach who oversaw the session.

Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr. was a freshman in July 2024 when Mark Kulbis told him and other football players to do 100 “up-downs,” also known as “burpees,” along with full-body plank drills, according to the attorney general’s office. Dickey had sickle-cell trait, a medical condition that can increase the risk of serious injury or death following extreme exertion.

“We're at the point where we're just glad that someone is being held responsible for our son's death,” Calvin Dickey Sr., of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “We just want to see the process through, and we're going to leave it to the attorney general to continue following the evidence.”

Prosecutors announced Monday that Kulbis had been charged with felony aggravated hazing and misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and hazing.

“While the death of Calvin Dickey is tragic, Mark Kulbis did not contribute to it and is not responsible for it,” his attorney, Barbara Zemlock, said in a written statement. “The strength and conditioning program that was implemented was appropriate and in accordance with the training that Mr. Kulbis received, and with applicable standards."

Sickle-cell trait, which is diagnosed through a blood test, doesn’t usually affect people’s daily lives. But it can cause decreased blood flow and muscle breakdown after intense exertion, dehydration or high body temperatures. In very rare cases, that can result in collapse and death.

After other deaths involving athletes with sickle-cell trait, the NCAA in 2010 began requiring that new Division I athletes be tested for the condition and alerting coaches that athletes with it should slowly build up their intensity while training and be provided adequate rest and recovery.

Dickey, who was 6-foot-5 (195 cm) and nearly 300 pounds (136 kg), had grown up playing sports and by his junior year of high school decided to focus on football, his parents said. He played both offensive and defensive lineman, meaning he was often in for the vast majority of the game.

According to a federal lawsuit they filed against Bucknell last year, they did not know he had sickle-cell trait until he took the mandatory screening just weeks before training camp. Calvin Dickey Sr. said that the day before camp was to start, he received assurances from the offensive line coach that his son would be protected.

But Dickey Jr. started struggling and passed out while doing exercises that Kulbis had assigned as a punishment for the players not performing drills correctly, the lawsuit said. He was hospitalized and died two days later.

While it is rare for coaches to be charged criminally in cases where athletes collapse and die, some have been.

In Georgia, a girls basketball coach and an assistant coach were charged with murder after 16-year-old Imani Bell suffered heat stroke and died in 2019 during a training session that was held outdoors despite a heat advisory being in effect. That case remains pending. The school district settled the family’s lawsuit for $10 million and agreed to rename the gym in her honor.

In 2009, a former Kentucky high school football coach was acquitted of reckless homicide and endangerment charges in the heatstroke death of 15-year-old Max Gilpin. Defense attorneys argued that the Gilpin’s medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had caused him to overheat.

Dickey Sr. and his wife, Nicole Dickey, said their son loved playing football, but he planned to use his scholarship to Bucknell to receive an education that would eventually help him work in pharmacy. He became enamored of the field after speaking to a family friend who worked as a hospital pharmacist, they said.

Since his death, they have channeled their grief into a foundation that helps raise awareness about sickle cell trait in athletes and promotes the health of student-athletes. It provides scholarships and hosts a program for football linemen called “50 Cal Big Man Camp,” after the number he wore.

“Those are the kind of things right now that bring a smile to my face and touch my heart,” Nicole Dickey said. “We want to protect the next generation and share what we've learned.”

Pa. election 2026: Where governor candidates Garrity and Shapiro stand on marijuana, hemp, and more

Jaxon White — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Voters who have strong opinions about whether Pennsylvania should legalize adult-use marijuana will find a clear divide between the major gubernatorial candidates this year.

Since taking office in 2023, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has asked the General Assembly to create a recreational marijuana program run by the state Department of Agriculture in each of his yearly budget proposals. The tax revenue would help the state pay for rising healthcare and education costs.

Republican challenger Stacy Garrity, who serves as state treasurer, says she would veto any such bill that cleared the legislature.

But recreational use isn’t Pennsylvania’s only cannabis-related policy debate. The commonwealth’s decade-old medical marijuana program has faced questions about who should oversee the program and what medical conditions should qualify a patient for a card.

The state is also home to tens of thousands of people incarcerated for possession, and it has intoxicating hemp-derived products proliferating in gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops.

Here are Garrity’s and Shapiro’s positions on these issues:

Recreational adult-use marijuana

In the absence of federal policy changes, 24 states — including all but one of Pennsylvania's neighbors — have made it legal for people 21 and older to possess and use at least small amounts of recreational marijuana.

Statewide polling shows legalization is popular among voters. Yet proposals that have circulated the Capitol for years have not made real headway.

Last year, Pennsylvania Senate Republicans shot down House Democrats’ proposal to sell marijuana in state-owned stores, similar to ones that sell liquor. That followed years of inaction from the upper chamber on a bipartisan proposal from Sens. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia) and Dan Laughlin (R., Erie) to tax recreational sales at 14% total and expunge the criminal records of all people convicted of nonviolent marijuana possession.

Shapiro has repeatedly proposed a total tax of 26% on recreational marijuana sales, which his administration estimates would raise about $200 million annually once fully in effect. His administration estimated that in its first year, legalization would make $729 million from taxes and one-time licensing fees.

“Governor Shapiro has been clear that as nearly every one of our neighboring states has already legalized marijuana, we cannot afford to keep losing out on this revenue — and we need comprehensive cannabis reform to make Pennsylvania more competitive and more just,” Sam Reposa, a spokesperson for Shapiro’s campaign, said in an email.

His proposal would allocate $25 million in sales revenue to help small businesses and those owned by people of color looking to enter the new marketplace under the state Department of Agriculture.

Some details are missing from Shapiro’s proposal, and neither his campaign nor his administration responded to questions about them. Those include what type of sale model he would support and whether users would be permitted to grow cannabis plants at home.

While Garrity told Spotlight PA in an email that marijuana is “an addictive substance with negative public health and safety side-effects” that should not be legalized for recreational use, she said the law should not treat it like heroin.

“Marijuana is a psychoactive drug, and it has serious respiratory and cognitive impacts on users,” Garrity said. “This is particularly true for younger marijuana users, whose brains are not fully developed and are more susceptible to long-term learning and impulse control problems.”

She also called Shapiro’s pitch to tax sales revenue a “desperate” attempt to fill the state’s budget deficit.

Medical marijuana

In 2016, state lawmakers agreed to adopt a medical marijuana program. There are more than 430,000 active patients, and the program has seen about $9.1 billion in sales since products became available in 2018, according to the Department of Health, which runs the program.

Pennsylvania permits 25 growers and processors to operate. The cost of opening is about $210,000 in fees and requires proof of $2 million in capital. There were initially 50 total dispensaries statewide, but that number has since risen to nearly 200.

Garrity told Spotlight PA in an email that she had concerns regarding “regulatory inconsistencies and a lack of transparency from the Pennsylvania Department of Health,” though she did not elaborate on what changes she would implement.

“Under my administration, we will ensure that medical marijuana is properly administered and regulated so it is not abused for non-medical purposes and the distribution system is fair and balanced,” Garrity said.

Spotlight PA investigations uncovered that a small number of doctors disproportionately approved many medical marijuana cards for patients in Pennsylvania — one case highlighted during state Senate budget hearings in 2024 found a single doctor had approved at least 11,000 certifications in one year.

The Department of Health also rarely prevented doctors who had been previously disciplined from joining the program, Spotlight PA found.

In 2023, Shapiro signed an expansion of the medical marijuana program into law, allowing eligible grower-processor permittees that are independently run — i.e. not owned by multistate companies — to apply to run up to three dispensary locations. It also allowed independent dispensaries to apply to grow and process marijuana.

Another bill introduced by Laughlin would have transferred oversight of the medical marijuana program from the Department of Health to a newly created Cannabis Control Board. It failed in a state Senate floor vote after multiple Democrats who supported the proposal turned against it. Laughlin was quick to blame Shapiro’s opposition for influencing the Democrats’ change of opinions.

Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for the Shapiro administration, said in a statement that Laughlin’s bill “does not advance” its stated goals, including to “protect patient access to the current Medical Marijuana Program.”

Restorative justice

Current state law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, as it does heroin, psilocybin, and ecstasy. Without a medical card, possessing 30 grams or less — which is referred to as a small amount — is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in prison and a $500 fine. Any more could amount to 1 year in prison and a fine of $5,000.

Shapiro, previously Pennsylvania’s attorney general, has repeatedly called on lawmakers to expunge nonviolent offenders' records if they were convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana. Mentioning that proposal drew a standing ovation from most Democrats during his budget address last year.

This year, Shapiro’s budget proposal would allocate $10 million of revenue generated through taxing marijuana sales toward restorative justice efforts.

Garrity did not respond to a question sent via email regarding her thoughts on expunging records for nonviolent marijuana possession.

According to Pennsylvania State Police data, nearly 10,000 people were arrested by their local police departments in 2025 for possession of marijuana. That statistic is despite Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and some other municipalities having decriminalized possession of 30 grams or less within their respective ordinances.

Researchers at Cornell University and other institutions found earlier this year that nationwide, Black people were far more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related offenses.

Hemp products

Products that derive their high-inducing cannabinoids from hemp — including edibles, seltzers, and smokeables — have spread across the country in states where recreational marijuana remains illegal. Pennsylvania is no different.

Both hemp and marijuana come from the same plant and can produce the same intoxicating effects, usually through different types of THC. Under the federal 2018 Farm Bill, a product is considered hemp if the plant it comes from contains no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight at the time it’s harvested. If it exceeds that limit, it is legally classified as marijuana and cannot be sold for recreational purposes.

Law enforcement officials have warned that bad actors selling these hemp products have targeted children, and do not regulate themselves to ensure a safe product.

Pushback from state lawmakers, advocates, and law enforcement officials arguing hemp products exist in a gray market drove Congress last year to close the perceived loophole beginning Nov. 12 of this year.

Asked how the Shapiro administration would enforce that new policy, Lapowsky said current law prevents the sale of food and beverages containing “any level” of THC.

“No new hemp or food safety regulations are in progress at the Department of Agriculture regarding these products,” she added.

Garrity did not respond to questions about hemp policy.

Hemp business owners and advocates warn that allowing the new federal ban would force some legitimate businesses to close their doors. There are roughly 115 permitted hemp growers and 32 permitted processors in Pennsylvania, according to the Department of Agriculture — concentrated in the eastern half of the state.

Earlier this month, U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told federal lawmakers they should amend their impending regulations of hemp to “ensure the fair treatment of hemp products” or “at minimum” delay the implementation of the new regulatory framework.

Pa. elections could look different if Democrats win full control of state government in 2026

Carter Walker — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Pennsylvania’s free newsletter here.

The movement to change voting laws in Pennsylvania is all but dead.

Despite bipartisan support for changes in Harrisburg, no major election bill has become law since the state implemented no-excuse mail voting in 2020. The issue has become deeply partisan since then. Bills routinely pass either the GOP-controlled state Senate or Democratic-controlled state House, then wither in the other chamber. And a board meant to advise the legislature on bipartisan solutions sits idle.

But could that change if Democrats win a state government trifecta — control of the state Senate, state House, and governorship — this fall? And what policies would they prioritize?

Republicans have controlled all three for stretches in recent decades, most recently from 2011 to 2014. During that period, they passed a major voter ID requirement that was ultimately overturned in court. Democrats in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, haven’t held both chambers and the governorship since 1993. Even then, the trifecta lasted just one year.

But a path, though difficult, exists for Democrats to regain unified control in November’s midterm elections.

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Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro leads state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, his Republican challenger, by more than 20 points in several recent polls.

Democrats would also have to maintain their narrow majority in the House and flip the Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 27-23 majority. That would require them to retain a seat they flipped in Lancaster County last year and pick up new ones in potentially vulnerable districts in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia suburbs.

Democrats have reason to think those seats are within reach. Conventional political wisdom holds that when a sitting president has low approval ratings, the opposing political party tends to have a good year in the midterms.

If Democrats succeed, they could have an easier time passing election law changes that have eluded them in recent years.

They may also face political pressure from their base to go further and pursue the kind of partisan mid-decade redistricting that other states under single-party control, like Texas and California, have recently undertaken.

What voting changes do Democrats want?

Democrats have made it clear during this legislative session where their election priorities lie.

Last May, the state House passed an omnibus election bill sponsored by Democratic Speaker Joanna McClinton that would have significantly reshaped Pennsylvania elections.

The bill would have established true in-person early voting, instead of the current, time-consuming process of requesting and casting a mail ballot at a local election office; mandated at least two mail ballot drop boxes in every county; and required counties to adopt electronic pollbooks by 2027.

It also would have given counties more time to prepare mail ballots for counting before Election Day. Advocates say this preparation, known as pre-canvassing, leads to faster election results. The state House also recently passed pre-canvassing as a stand-alone bill.

Earlier this month, at a rally for voting rights in the state capitol, McClinton again called on the state Senate to consider her omnibus bill.

“We’ll have everything necessary so that we can continue to lift up our voices in this democracy,” she said of how things would look if her bill passed.

State Sen. Jay Costa, the Senate minority leader, responded to McClinton’s call on X, saying Senate Democrats were ready to take up the bill. But the bill hasn’t come up for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate because GOP leaders have insisted that any election legislation include expanded voter ID requirements.

Asked how the election policy conversation would change under a Democratic-led Senate, Costa highlighted many of the issues covered in McClinton’s bill as well as other Democratic priorities: pre-canvassing, drop boxes, electronic pollbooks, preregistering voters who will be 18 by Election Day, early voting, and same-day voter registration.

He also mentioned opening up Pennsylvania’s primaries to independent and third-party voters. It’s a proposal that has been gaining some bipartisan traction in recent years.

“We want to make it easier for people to vote, but also have a system that has integrity,” Costa said.

Costa added that if Democrats pass these proposals next session, they would also try to provide counties with funding to implement them.

McClinton’s bill also included funding to help counties implement the changes. It would authorize up to $60 million in bonds for new equipment, provide $2 million for electronic pollbook vetting and approval, and designate about $100,000 annually, plus benefits, to pay a new staffer.

Would election changes be a priority?

Should Democrats win a trifecta, they would surely have a lot of things other than election policy on their wish list. But Kyler Miller, a former Democratic Senate staffer who now works as a policy advocate with the nonpartisan group Protect Democracy, thinks that election legislation would be fairly close to the top — perhaps even in the top three.

Miller said President Donald Trump's attacks on voting have elevated the issue for Democrats, pointing to the Department of Justice’s attempts to obtain election materials and voter rolls, as well as threats to reject unfavorable election results.

“That playbook that is being deployed against American elections is very much a top issue for the Dems and their electorate,” he said. “People have fought for years for the right to vote, and it’s being slowly eroded over time by the administration and the Supreme Court.”

Miller agreed that a Democratic trifecta would likely focus on passing priorities they’ve already identified, such as pre-canvassing and codifying certain court rulings.

State courts in recent years have required counties to use a system that notifies mail voters if election officials determine their ballots will be rejected due to a fixable error. They have also affirmed voters’ right to have a provisional ballot counted if their mail ballot is rejected. Voting rights advocates cheered both decisions, but both advocates and jurists have expressed frustration that the legislature did not clarify those ambiguities itself.

Miller also said the state should provide more funding for election officials’ safety and training, given the exodus of experienced local officials in recent years.

What about redistricting?

With full control over state government, Democrats would also have the ability to redraw Pennsylvania’s congressional map to better advantage their party.

The current map, selected by the state Supreme Court in 2022 after a partisan deadlock in the legislature, elected 10 Republican representatives and seven Democrats to Congress in 2024. However, it’s possible to draw a map with as many as 12 or 13 safely Democratic seats.

Over the past year, several other states, including Texas and California, have redrawn their congressional lines as part of an unprecedented spate of mid-decade gerrymandering.

Last year, Shapiro said he was not pursuing mid-decade redistricting and called Texas’s redraw “shameful.”

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A spokesperson for Shapiro’s campaign didn’t respond to questions about whether Shapiro would pursue partisan redistricting if Democrats won a trifecta or what specific election law priorities he would pursue. But press secretary Sam Reposa said in a statement that the Republican grip on power has been an impediment to election law changes more broadly.

“For over 30 years in the majority, Senate Republicans have stood in the way of more progress we could be making in the Commonwealth,” Reposa said, specifically citing “passing key reforms to protect our democracy.”

Erica Clayton-Wright, a spokesperson for state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, responded in an email that Senate Republicans are the “last line of defense” protecting taxpayers on a variety of issues, including “safeguarding elections.”

“Pennsylvanians know [Democratic] policies are detrimental to positioning our Commonwealth for growth, which will prevent a trifecta in Pennsylvania,” she said.

Even if a Democratic trifecta did redraw Pennsylvania’s congressional map, it would likely face a court challenge. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution when it threw out a GOP-drawn congressional map.

Carter Walker is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Spotlight PA. Contact Carter at cwalker@votebeat.org.

RFK Jr. targets key health panel that decides free medical screenings for millions

Paige Winfield Cunningham — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:09:52 -0400

One year after overhauling a key group of vaccine advisers, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to put his stamp on another critical health panel, one whose recommendations determine which screenings millions of Americans can get for free.

The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to announce eight new members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and plans to let the group meet in late August, according to a notice sent out last Thursday and confirmed Monday by HHS.

It will be the group’s first meeting in 17 months, after the administration canceled four prior meetings, ousted two of the task force’s vice chairs in May and didn’t replace other members as their terms expired. Normally composed of 16 experts, the task force has shrunk by half in recent months.

Kennedy has previously called the task force “lackadaisical” and “negligent” — a similar criticism he had of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which he replaced last year with handpicked panelists, several of whom have associations with the anti-vaccine movement.

Now, former Preventive Services Task Force members say they’re concerned the forthcoming changes will hinder the panel’s ability to make timely, evidence-based recommendations.

“Kennedy is doing the same thing as he did for ACIP,” said Mike Silverstein, who was a third co-chair of the task force before his term ended in March. “But he’s doing it in slow motion and he’s doing it in a way that doesn’t generate a big splash.”

Potential new members are being screened primarily by a political appointee, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Director Roger Klein, and his staff, including career medical officers, without the usual input from task force vice chairs. Kennedy dismissed former vice chairs Esa Davis and John Wong in May. Davis said she reapplied but hasn’t been contacted for an interview.

The arm of HHS that oversees the task force is also operating with roughly 70 percent fewer staff, according to numbers from the Department of Personnel Management.

“This feels more like a political process now,” said John Ruiz, a psychologist whose task force term ended in January. “Whoever ends up [on the task force] may or may not be qualified. But the process had been so transparent before.”

Klein is seeking specialists — a marked departure from the usual practice of appointing primary care doctors with experience considering large, diverse patient populations.

That shift toward specialists, which HHS previewed in an April notice, has alarmed stakeholders, who have watched medical specialties lobby for years to have a seat on the panel.

It would be “a huge shift” to appoint specialists, said Aaron Carroll, who follows the task force closely as president of AcademyHealth, a nonprofit representing health policy researchers.

“If you put a kidney doc on, that’s great when you’re focusing on a recommendation for kidney disease, but not expertise for anything else,” Carroll said.

NOTUS previously reported the administration was considering appointing Mark Shirley, whose daughter Malia Shirley works at HHS and is involved in the appointment process.

An HHS spokeswoman confirmed that the task force meeting originally scheduled for July had been postponed until late August, but didn’t provide a date for that meeting or respond to a question about when the new members will be named.

The task force plays a major role in determining how easily Americans can access screenings for cancer and other illnesses by issuing recommendations and giving them grades based on the level of confidence in their net health benefit.

State Medicaid expansion programs and most private insurers must cover services graded “A” or “B” without charging patients any copays or deductibles. Recommendations with these high grades include mammograms, colonoscopies, pap tests and screenings for a range of other conditions.

When the task force does meet in August, it will face a backlog of recommendations to consider, former members said.

The group had intended to vote over the past four canceled meetings on recommendations for prostate cancer screening and weight loss counseling for adults, among other topics. Members said they had been meeting informally but haven’t been allowed to vote.

Updated recommendations on cervical cancer screenings, perinatal depression, alcohol abuse and fall prevention for the elderly are also in limbo, finalized by the task force before meetings were frozen but not published or made formal by HHS.

Dishwasher solution, unmarked dates, and other Centre County restaurant inspections for June 29-July 5

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Facilities with violations:

Woodward Camp - Dining Hall and Coffee Shop

Woodward Camp - Dining Hall and Coffee Shop
134 Sports Camp Dr. Po Box 93, Woodward, PA 16882
June 29, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Observed the concentration of the chlorine based sanitizing solution in the mechanical dishwasher was 0 PPM not 50-100 PPM as required.
Moderate Priority: Observed temperature controlled foods prepared in the facility, cooled and placed in refrigeration not marked with the date they were prepared.

Know before you go: Look up inspection data for any PA retail food facility by name, city, or ZIP — and get alerts when new reports are published.

Facilities with no violations:

Homan's General Store, 125 Old Fort Rd., Spring Mills, PA 16875, on June 29, 2026
Mae's Makin's Mff3, 209 Walnut St., Philipsburg, PA 16866, on June 30, 2026
Woodward Camp - Canteen and Hamburger Grill, 134 Sports Camp Dr., Woodward, PA 16882, on June 29, 2026

Core items usually relate to standard operating procedures, facility structures, equipment design, or general maintenance. We noted violations of core items as low priority.

To read the full inspection reports, you can visit: pafoodsafety.pa.gov/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx

Albright College warned by accreditors over financial instability, budgeting issues

Amanda Fries — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

READING — Albright College has been warned that continued poor budgeting and financial instability could risk the eventual loss of its accreditation.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education issued notices last month to over a dozen schools, including the private Berks County liberal arts college, for issues such as budgeting, educational effectiveness, and ensuring adequate physical and technical infrastructure.

Albright received a noncompliance warning, which is the least serious type of noncompliance notice the commission offers.

Three other Pennsylvania institutions received warnings, while the private and Christian University of Valley Forge in Chester County received a show-cause notice — the most serious action.

To be accredited, colleges must meet academic standards set by a commission recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

No law requires schools to be accredited, but the status allows students to transfer credits and for degrees to be recognized by other institutions and employers. Additionally, accreditation is required for students to receive federal financial aid for the college they’re attending.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville professor Robert Kelchen, an expert in higher education finance, accountability policies, and practices, said colleges and universities commonly fall out of compliance with accrediting agencies. For Albright College, the warning serves as an early alert to accreditors having concerns.

But the private college in Reading isn’t high on the commission’s radar at this point, Kelchen said.

“It's not like accreditation loss is imminent,” he said. “But it's the accreditor sending a clear message that if you can't turn things around in the next year or so, then you may really be at risk of losing accreditation.”

Albright has until Feb. 16, 2027, to show accreditors it “has achieved and can sustain ongoing compliance” with Standard VI, which deals with planning, resources, and institutional improvement. The college will have a site visit with the Middle States Commission in March.

Albright College President Debra Townsley told Spotlight PA on July 2 that students, faculty, and staff were notified June 30 of the accreditor’s warning, as was the college’s Board of Trustees.

In a June 30 email to Albright staff obtained by Spotlight PA, administrators said over the past year the school had submitted a self-study report addressing “all operations of the college” to the commission.

“The college satisfactorily met almost all of the required standards of [accreditors], but improvement of our financial condition remains,” Irene Langran, vice president for academic affairs, wrote. Because of this, Albright was issued a warning, and accreditors want “to see continued improvement in the financials of the college over the coming year.”

Townsley said the self-study report was based on “multiple prior years, including COVID and post-covid years.”

The warning from accreditors comes after an audit earlier this year found the college’s touted $10 million surplus was less than half that, underscoring the school’s continued financial strain. In a routine review, auditors also flagged a material weakness due to turnover in positions like the controller. A material weakness is a serious, systemic failure in an organization’s internal financial controls, which can lead to errors in financial statements.

Kelchen said it’s “quite possible” that Albright College’s critical audit released earlier this year played a part in accreditors flagging the college’s status.

“It could be driven more by other factors,” Kelchen added. “The other factors that could potentially trip the accreditor would be … an institution being placed on heightened cash monitoring by the Department of Education.”

Albright College has been on heightened cash monitoring for “financial responsibility” since September 2025, according to the federal education department.

Townsley said the material weakness in the college’s latest audit “did not contribute” to the accreditor's warning. Some of what was requested, like an IT plan, hadn’t been written, Townsley added, but that will be in place this coming year.

“As you know, we have implemented a turnaround. When the report was submitted to [the Middle States Commission], only one year of the report was based on the turnaround and turnarounds take three to five years,” Townsley said. “We maintain our accreditation and all student financial aid is unaffected. As noted above, we are continuing in our turnaround strategies and the transformation of the college.”

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Albright remains accredited for now, but the Middle States Commission gave the educational institution a deadline to take corrective measures to be deemed compliant. Specifically, the commission asked the college to provide:

A financial planning and budgeting process that aligns with the college’s mission and goals.
Documented financial resources, a funding base, and plans for “financial development adequate to support its educational purposes and programs and to ensure financial stability.”
Evidence of actions taken to address findings in prior audited financial statements.
Comprehensive plans for “facilities, infrastructure, and technology that includes consideration of sustainability and deferred maintenance and is linked to the institution's strategic and financial planning processes.”

Other local colleges and universities, including Alvernia, Kutztown, Penn State, and Reading Area Community College, all had their accreditations reaffirmed by the commission in recent years.

Kutztown was issued a noncompliance warning by the Middle States Commission in 2018 and returned to compliance the following year. Penn State received a warning in 2012 amid the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Alvernia has not had any accreditation actions against it since at least 2010, according to the commission website.

Raw food storage, swollen cans, and other Berks County restaurant inspections for June 29-July 5

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Facilities with violations:

Bagel Bar
214 W. Main St., Kutztown, PA 19530
July 2, 2026

2 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in a few refrigeration units.
Moderate Priority: Cold water, as observed at hand wash sink in the rear prep area, is not under pressure during inspection.
Low Priority: Observed deeply scored and stained cutting boards in the prep area.

Barbon's Tavern Inc
1006 New Holland Rd., Kenhorst, PA 19607
June 30, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Sanitizers used to sanitize equipment and utensils are not available for use during all hours of operation.

Carachilo - Lemonade Mff3
Ggm Community Days, Shillington, PA 19607
June 29, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Observed wet wiping cloths in sink area, not being stored in sanitizer solution. Corrected.

Casa Cortes Mexican Grill
360 E. Wyomissing Ave. Ste D, Mohnton, PA 19540
June 30, 2026

2 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Multiple foods were held at 45-48°F, in the Bain Marie and back refrigerator area, rather than 41°F or below as required.
High Priority: Raw chicken was stored above raw beef and pork in the back refrigerator. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the refrigerators, is not being date marked. Corrected.

Community Fire Co of Fritztown - Social Qtrs
1060 Fritztown Rd., Sinking Spring, PA 19608
June 30, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Interior ice machine and soda gun holder were observed with mold build up and in need of cleaning. Please increase the cleaning frequency of these two items to avoid build up.

Domino's 4749
3801 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, PA 19606
June 30, 2026

1 high priority, 4 low priority violations

High Priority: Plumbing system not maintained in good repair - observed water leaking at the handwash sink in the restroom.
Low Priority: Floor in the 3-compartment sink area is cracked/damaged and is not a smooth, easily cleanable surface. A couple floor tiles are also missing under the preparation tables in the front area.
Low Priority: Side door located in the back area of the food facility has a gap along the hinge side and does not protect against the entry of pests.
Low Priority: Floor, walls, and ceiling in the unused restroom are extremely deteriorated. The surfaces in this room are not cleanable.
Low Priority: The light intensity in the walk-in cooler is poor making it difficult to see properly for cleaning purposes.

Dream Garden
3564 Penn Ave. Ste 2, Sinking Spring, PA 19608
June 30, 2026

2 moderate priority violations

Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the walk-in cooler and refrigerators, are not being date marked.
Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available chlorine sanitizer test strips or chlorine test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.

Dunkin Donuts
2241 Lancaster Pike, Shillington, PA 19607
June 30, 2026

1 high priority, 2 low priority violations

High Priority: Food in the walk-in area stored open with no covering. Observed five trays of eggs stored open in the walk-in cooler. Corrected.
Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Observed the drain for the ice machine to have an accumulation of slime and apparent mold.
Low Priority: Observed the ice machine covering to have tape covering a crack in the plastic. Tape is not approved for repairs and is not an easily cleanable surface.

Family Dollar
400 S. 6th St., Reading, PA 19602
July 2, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: Severely dented, swollen, distressed canned items observed in display shelf are and intended for use or sale in the food facility.

Jp's Concessions Tff2/Xp24644
159 Rudloff Rd., Mohnton, PA 19540
June 29, 2026

1 other violation

Other: Food facility has an employee who held a Certified Food Manager certificate; however, the certificate has expired and is no longer valid.

Knights of Columbus #7179 (Xfn-5782) Mff-3
Mobile Unit, Reading, PA 19607
June 30, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Beverage container tops / lids submerged in ice in consumer self-service display container. Corrected.

Ledgerock Golf Club - Club House
1 Greenbriar Dr., Mohnton, PA 19540
June 30, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Multiple foods, a refrigerated, ready to eat time temperature control for safety food in the kitchen area, was date-marked by the facility, but was beyond the 7-day use or sell by date and requires discarding.
Moderate Priority: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food, located in the walk-in cooler, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened.
Low Priority: Floor in the bar and service hallway area are made of wood and is cracked, roughened and is not a smooth, easily cleanable surface.

Shillington Swimming Pool
999 E. Broad St., Reading, PA 19607
June 29, 2026

2 moderate priority violations

Moderate Priority: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food, located in the back refrigerator, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Observed the left side of the grill area to have a buildup of grease.

Shoemakersville Boro Pool
1003 Main St., Shoemakersville, PA 19555
June 29, 2026

1 other violation

Other: Food facility has an employee who held a Certified Food Manager certificate; however, the certificate has expired on 5/13/2026 and is no longer valid.

Wyomissing Swimming Pool Snack Bar
Parkside Dr. & Evans Ave., Wyomissing, PA 19610
June 29, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: The stand fan near the milk shake mixer has an accumulation of dust/dirt that could blow off onto food/food contact surfaces.

Know before you go: Look up inspection data for any PA retail food facility by name, city, or ZIP — and get alerts when new reports are published.

Facilities with no violations:

A Taste of Comfort Mff, 3430 New Holland Rd., Mohnton, PA 19540, on June 30, 2026
Amc Berkshire 8, 800 Berkshire Blvd., Wyomissing, PA 19610, on July 1, 2026
Appalachian Campsites (Store) - Mhc Appalachian Lp, 60 Motel Dr., Shartlesville, PA 19554, on July 1, 2026
Comb Coffee Co., 330 W. Weis St. Ste 5, Topton, PA 19562, on June 29, 2026
Doc & Bubba's Mff4, 5071 Cherrywood Dr., Mohnton, PA 19540, on June 30, 2026
Dunkin #367024 @ Walmart #1777, 5900 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, PA 19606, on June 29, 2026
Goose Lane Egg Farm, 111 Goose Ln., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, on June 30, 2026
Gracie's, 1534 Manatawny Dr., Pine Forge, PA 19548, on June 30, 2026
Kiwanis Club of Berks County (Tfs3), Ggm Community Days, Shillington, PA 19607, on June 30, 2026
Mcdonald's #02385, 3710 Penn Ave., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, on June 30, 2026
Mcdonalds #05917, 3400 Conrad Weiser Pkwy, Womelsdorf, PA 19567, on July 1, 2026
Mohnton-Cumru Lions Club #1 Tfs-3, Ggm Community Days, Shillington, PA 19607, on June 30, 2026
Reading Country Club, 5311 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, PA 19606, on June 29, 2026
Redvo Restaurant, 6213 Oley Tpk. Rd., Oley, PA 19547, on June 30, 2026
Rocky Top Concessions Tfs3, 101 S. Waverly St., Reading, PA 19607, on June 30, 2026
Simply Bold, 550 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611, on June 29, 2026
Taqueria Las Marias-Mff3-Zlg6158, 591 Godfrey St., Bethel, PA 19507, on July 1, 2026
The Cheese Affair Mff3/Xrc5367, 109 E. High St., Womelsdorf, PA 19567, on July 1, 2026
West Reading Pool Snack Bar, Sycamore & Museum Rds, West Reading, PA 19611, on June 29, 2026
Wrasslin Hogs Bbq Mff3, 1981 W. Philadelphia Ave., Oley, PA 19547, on June 29, 2026

Core items usually relate to standard operating procedures, facility structures, equipment design, or general maintenance. We noted violations of core items as low priority.

To read the full inspection reports, you can visit: pafoodsafety.pa.gov/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx

Pa. election 2026: Where governor candidates Garrity and Shapiro stand on data centers

Kate Huangpu — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Republican Stacy Garrity is trying to differentiate herself from incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro on something that’s top of mind for many Pennsylvanians — data center development.

A review of their positions shows at least two distinct differences, but also many blank spots where the candidates have not taken public stances.

Neither candidate has offered detailed plans for regulating data centers. Still, they have taken somewhat different positions on issues such as a moratorium on development and offering economic incentives.

Shapiro favors voluntary environmental, workforce development, and energy standards in exchange for incentives and has been silent on a moratorium. Garrity hasn't released a detailed plan, but says she favors mandatory rules not tied to climate and a pause on data center development.

At the same time, both candidates have also accused each other of flip-flopping on their support for data centers.

Garrity has said Shapiro was data centers’ “biggest cheerleader” until recently.

“He claims to be putting guard rails on an industry he was championing just a few months ago,” Garrity said at a data center listening session in Montgomery County last month. “It's really a massive flip-flop, plain and simple.”

Shapiro has not commented directly on Garrity’s positions on data centers, but a spokesperson for his campaign said Garrity has a “long record of supporting completely unregulated data center development.”

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Pennsylvanians across the state are fighting against proposed data centers, citing their impacts on energy prices, water availability, and property values. A poll of Pennsylvania adults conducted this spring found 64% view data centers as a crisis or a problem.

Chris Borick, the director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, which conducted the polling, said that the number of people concerned about data centers is “significant,” especially in a swing state such as Pennsylvania.

“Given [Garrity’s] standing in this race, the polling, the financial disparity between the candidates, I think she has latched on to data centers as a potential place to get a boost for her campaign and tap into what we’re seeing,” Borick said.

The governor can pursue private investment and shepherd projects through the state permitting system, as Shapiro did with nine data center projects in his Fast Track program. They can also sign or veto legislation sent to them by the legislature, which is scrambling to address growing concerns over data center development.

In late June, both the state House and Senate passed bills that would repeal a sales tax exemption for data centers’ purchases of computer equipment. The state Senate bill also would prevent data centers from receiving tax benefits for building in “opportunity zones”— designated parcels of land where the state encourages private investment through tax breaks.

Here’s what we know about where the candidates stand on the issues:

Josh Shapiro and Stacy Garrity’s data center history

Both Shapiro and Garrity were initially enthusiastic about data centers and the private investment they attract, but have seemingly tempered those positions as communities raise concerns about their economic and environmental impacts.

Throughout his first term, Shapiro pursued partnerships with major tech and AI companies. He partnered with OpenAI to create a pilot program for government workers to use ChatGPT and attended an AI summit with U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), where $90 billion of private investment in data centers and auxiliary industries, such as energy generation and workforce development projects, was announced.

In June 2025, Shapiro touted a $20 billion Amazon Web Services investment to build data centers in Pennsylvania and provided these projects with “fast-tracked” permitting.

“Right now there is a battle for supremacy when it comes to AI, a battle that will be won by either the United States or China,” Shapiro said at the announcement. “I’m comforted by the fact that thanks to Amazon, the future of AI is going to run right here through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Fast forward to February 2026, when Shapiro announced his plan to incentivize data centers to meet environmental and economic development standards.

“We need to be selective about the projects that get built here,” Shapiro said at his budget address, where he first unveiled his plan.

Last month, he released more details about those standards — which include using clean energy to power at least 32% of their operations and writing a community benefits agreement — in return for access to existing tax breaks.

As state treasurer, Garrity is not involved in attracting big tech investors into the state. But her early comments on AI were largely positive. She lauded Amazon’s $20 billion investment when it was announced. The following August, she said that Pennsylvania could be “doing more” to encourage data center development.

“We have 88 data centers. Ohio is kicking our butt. They have over 192. And so, you know, we could just be doing so much more in that space,” Garrity said on a radio show.

But her tone began to shift in early 2026. In January, Garrity told reporters that there are a lot of areas in the state where communities would welcome data centers, but “you have to engage with them.”

“You have to talk to them. You can’t just jam it down their throats,” Garrity said.

Then in June, Garrity began hosting data center listening sessions across Pennsylvania, where she has criticized Shapiro for “doing nothing to address the concerns that were raised by communities about data center development” and letting such developers benefit from “sweetheart tax deals.”

Garrity has told reporters she supports more restrictions on the industry, criticizing Shapiro’s GRID proposal for being voluntary, but her campaign did not answer Spotlight PA’s questions about specifics. She also proposed locating data centers in brownfields or industrial sites, away from residential communities.

“I’m not opposed to data centers, but we have to do them the right way,” Garrity said at a listening session in Montgomery County.

Regulating data centers

Data centers are not subject to any specialized regulations in Pennsylvania. Still, they must follow the same state and local regulations as other developments, including obtaining proper zoning status and construction permits.

But in recent months, the Democratic-led state House has passed a slate of bills aimed at regulating and overseeing data centers — from mandating disclosure of energy and water usage, to conditioning tax benefits on factors like verifying they haven’t used non-disclosure agreements with government agencies.

One of the most stringent bills would direct the Public Utility Commission to establish baseline requirements for contracts between data centers and utility companies that would apply to most of the newly proposed facilities in Pennsylvania. It also mandates that data centers use at least 32% clean energy by 2035 to power their campuses and directs them to contribute to state programs that help low-income Pennsylvanians pay their heating or cooling bills.

In a press release, a Shapiro spokesperson said the administration “worked closely” with the prime sponsor of the bill to “establish baseline standards for how data centers should operate,” but stopped short of endorsing the bill.

“[The Shapiro administration] is working closely with the House Democrats on an appropriate package of data center legislation that will protect Pennsylvanians and establish strict guardrails to hold data center developers accountable,” Rosie Lapowsky, spokesperson for the administration, said in a statement to Spotlight PA.

But Shapiro’s own signature data center proposal takes a different approach, tying an existing economic incentive — a sales and use tax exemption for data centers’ purchases of computer equipment and tax breaks associated with designated parcels of land — to meeting environmental, economic, and energy standards.

He would need the state legislature to buy in to do so. The state House has already passed a bill that includes these standards; however, the state Senate has yet to do so. (The state House also passed a conflicting bill that would repeal the tax exemption.)

Shapiro’s standards, also known as GRID, include creating at least 200 construction jobs, paying $1.5 million annually in total wages, and bringing or paying for the energy they use. Data centers that meet these standards would also have access to fast-tracked permitting.

Notably, these standards would be voluntary.

Garrity has not specified what kinds of regulations she would support, but criticized Shapiro’s GRID standards for being voluntary. She said she would mandate regulations for developers.

“[Shapiro’s regulations] are voluntary. They’re for tax breaks,” Garrity told reporters at her data center listening session in Montgomery County in June. “I'm saying no, they absolutely have to.”

In a statement to Spotlight PA, Garrity said that while she wants a framework to address data center development, she does not support the “clean energy mandate” included in the GRID standards bill.

“We need to be utilizing the abundant natural gas resources under our feet that currently accounts for 60% of Commonwealth’s electricity generation,” Garrity said.

Garrity pointed to a development in Homer City, where a former coal plant is being converted to provide energy for data centers, as a positive example. She added there are many rural sites, including brownfields, that would benefit from data center developers’ investments.

“It really is improving in the community. It's going to add housing, it's going to add jobs,” Garrity said. “Not everybody's happy with it, but there's a lot less contention.”

Economic incentives

Data centers have access to a few major economic incentive programs in Pennsylvania, and there’s growing support in the legislature to restrict access to some of them.

In 2021, the state legislature amended an existing sales and use tax exemption for data centers, allowing them to claim an unlimited refund on the sales tax of computer equipment purchases.

Data centers aren’t mandated to disclose their spending, so it’s unclear how much the state has lost in tax revenue due to the exemption. But in Shapiro’s latest budget projections, he estimates that the exemption will have cost the state $2 billion by 2031.

Both the state House and state Senate passed separate legislation that would repeal the exemption in the past month, but neither bill has passed the other chamber.

Garrity said she would support appealing the exemption.

“Yes, my goodness, even Ohio has paused that,” Garrity told reporters at the same listening session in Montgomery County.

Shapiro did not respond to Spotlight PA’s inquiry as to whether he would support repealing the exemption. His GRID plan calls on lawmakers to amend the exemption so only data centers that meet his requirements can access the tax break.

Shapiro’s plan also proposed that lawmakers change economic opportunity zone programs, which allow investors to receive tax breaks if they build projects in specific places, so that data centers could only access the program if they meet GRID standards.

The state Senate recently passed legislation that would prohibit data centers that were built from February 2026 on from accessing those tax breaks at all.

When asked by Spotlight PA about whether she supports changing the opportunity zone program, Garrity said she does “not believe data center development should receive special tax incentives.” She previously told reporters there should be “no more sweetheart tax deals” for developers benefiting billionaires and their companies that are building these centers, such as Jeff Bezos and Amazon Web Services.

Moratorium on data center development

State lawmakers have introduced a bevy of bills that would enact moratoriums on data center development. Some give municipalities the option to enact a moratorium for a few months while others create a blanket moratorium across the state for three years.

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While none of these bills have passed through both chambers, the state House passed the bill allowing temporary local moratoriums at the end of June and it was subsequently voted through in the Senate Local Government Committee.

Garrity said she would support a “pause” in data center development for “however long it takes” so townships could update zoning requirements and plan emergency services needs related to data centers.

She emphasized, however, that she would not support a moratorium lasting three years or longer, but did not specify how long a pause should last.

The difference, she says, is that “a moratorium is a definitive period of time.”

Shapiro’s campaign did not respond to questions about whether he would support a moratorium on data center development.

Trump administration’s interpretation of slavery under George Washington can be reinstalled

Geoff Mulvihill — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:34:07 -0400

An appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration can reinstall interpretive panels that critics say whitewash the history of slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia.

The signs would be in the same area where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. A message seeking comment was left Friday with the National Park Service.

The new educational panels were designed to replace ones put up in 2010 that told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation's capital.

Their removal stemmed from Trump's 2025 executive order calling for federally owned or controlled historic sites not to display information to “disparage Americans past or living” and to focus on the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

Friday's ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals, which is based in a courthouse across an intersection from the President's House site, was a technical one to allow implementation of a ruling made last month.

That ruling — by one judge Trump nominated, one nominated by former President George W. Bush and one chosen by former President Barack Obama — said a lower court was wrong to force the federal government to take down its new panels.

The government asked Thursday for the go-ahead to put them back up, saying that the panels were ready to install and that they should go up “without further delay.” The administration has said in court filings that its information also discusses slavery.

Advocates, academics and officials have been concerned for months that the version that complies with Trump’s order could give a history that downplays the pain in the nation’s past in favor of a more triumphant view.

A government website with images of the new panels shows they would still have information on enslaved people who lived in the home, plus details on the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution treated slavery, the end of slavery in Pennsylvania and how Washington and his successor, John Adams, viewed and treated slavery, as well as information about the 20th century Civil Rights movement. The replacement panels do not include some of detail in the earlier ones, such as a map of slave trade routes and a timeline on slavery. They also avoid critical headlines such as “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

The City of Philadelphia, which sued over removal of the previous information, is trying to put the brakes on the new installation. The city on Friday asked the appeals court to recall its order from earlier in the day — at least long enough to allow the city to respond to the request Trump's administration made on Thursday.

Philadelphia said in its filing that it would be hurt if the new panels go back up: “The President’s House is a site of exceptional importance to Philadelphia and the Nation, developed through years of federal-local collaboration to tell a historically significant and long-suppressed story.”

About half the previous panels were reinstalled earlier this year before a court ordered that work to stop.

A Pa. mom's fight reveals the messy reality of treating overdoses like homicides

Ed Mahon — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Justice System

Relentless

A Pa. mom's fight reveals the messy reality of treating overdoses like homicides

July 6, 2026

by Ed Mahon

Spotlight PA

Photo by Ed Mahon of Spotlight PA

Support This Work

Part 2 of 2 | Read Part 1 here

After her son’s fatal overdose, Cyndi Compton wanted action.

She took to the streets of Tioga County, putting up signs in the rural community. They sent a clear message regarding Isaiah’s death and others like it.

“It is TIME WE hold DRUG DEALERS Accountable,” read one.

“Ask your County District Attorney why Drug Dealers are getting away with MURDER,” read another.

She searched for information that would help investigators and pushed for changes in her community and across the state. She became known as a relentless advocate.

“I don’t know how she kept on going,” her husband, Thad Compton, said in court years later.

Her search for justice offers a window into the complicated on-the-ground reality of treating overdoses like homicides.

Some prosecutors, lawmakers, and families have embraced a criminal charge known as drug delivery resulting in death. The felony is punishable by up to 40 years in prison in Pennsylvania, and is used for cases when someone illegally provides drugs that cause someone to die — it includes both selling and giving.

Critics of the law, including families, defense attorneys, and public health advocates, have objected to its reach, saying the statute does more harm than good and frequently ensnares fellow drug-users instead of large-scale dealers.

Pennsylvania saw a dramatic increase in these charges, after a change in state law and the rise of the opioid epidemic. It is known as one of the top states, if not the leader, for this type of prosecution.

But prosecution rates vary widely between counties here. And compared to the total number of overdose deaths, charges and convictions remain relatively rare. What happens after a death can come down to how local law enforcement decides to approach these cases and the resources they have to investigate them.

In 2020 — the year Isaiah died — Pennsylvania had more than 5,100 overdose deaths.

The same year, state court data show there were about 190 new drug delivery resulting in death charges filed.

Eventually, a grand jury investigation into Isaiah’s death led to drug delivery-related charges against a person — Dayton Wood, now 29 years old. Wood wasn’t a stranger to the family. He and Isaiah grew up in the same community. Years earlier, Thad coached both Isaiah and Wood in football.

Wood was also charged following an investigation into another person’s overdose death: Carl Sargent, who died in 2019, a year before Isaiah. Wood’s defense attorney later described his client as friends with both Isaiah and Sargent.

In both criminal cases, by the time Wood faced charges from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, the two-year statute of limitations for drug delivery resulting in death had expired. He faced other counts.

In October of last year, Cyndi was waiting for Isaiah’s case to resolve. She wanted Wood to spend time in state prison — even if it was just a year.

And there was something else she wanted.

“I would love for him to tell me, ‘I’m sorry,’” she told Spotlight PA. “But I know that’s probably not going to happen.”

Connecting with others

Near the front entrance to Cyndi and Thad’s home in Mansfield borough, the family has set aside space to honor Isaiah, with photos, mementos, and his urn.

When Cyndi, 62, thinks about Isaiah, she recalls how he had “the prettiest blue eyes,” the ability to light up a room, and a good sense of humor. The former offensive lineman liked hands-on work, and became an accomplished arborist. He was comfortable climbing up high, cutting off branches, and taking trees down in sections.

“He loved it,” she said.

Cyndi and Thad Compton stand outside Tioga County’s courthouse. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

Thad, 58, described years of grief. He regretted not taking a photo of Isaiah on “a beautiful fall day” they spent together, shortly before his death.

At the time of Isaiah’s death in October 2020, Thad worked as a county probation officer. He felt he had to distance himself from the investigation — he didn’t want “anybody saying I was trying to influence” anything, he told Spotlight PA. “I just don’t operate that way.”

But Cyndi became a public advocate. Her fight ultimately grew bigger than Isaiah’s case, spreading across Tioga County.

The rural community of about 41,000 residents lies in north-central Pennsylvania, bordering New York state. The county seat of Wellsboro is known for its charming downtown and gas-lit streets. A local business chamber boasts the area has hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails nearby, including rugged mountain terrain. The lumber industry has historically been big for the county, and Tioga State Forest still hosts active timber harvests and natural gas drilling sites.

Like many parts of Pennsylvania, this rural community saw a rise in overdose deaths as the opioid epidemic spread.

Rhonda Moore, mother of a Tioga County overdose victim, told Spotlight PA, the epidemic “just went crazy, crazy” in the area. The death of her 23-year-old daughter, Jenna Moore, eventually led to a prosecution.

“It was everywhere. … I live so far out in the woods, but it doesn’t even matter,” she said. “It finds you or they find it.”

State court data show one drug delivery resulting in death prosecution and no convictions on the charge in the county from 2015 through 2020. The one time Cyndi found that it was charged locally — in a case involving the death of a newborn — she didn’t think it fit the definition of the crime.

After Isaiah’s death, she wrote a letter to the editor in a local paper, questioning why the district attorney and police weren’t using the charge against drug dealers.

“With the rising number of overdose victims, I believe the law is very clear,” she said in the 2020 letter. “These drug dealers must be prosecuted and held to the letter of the law.”

In January 2021, Cyndi created a Facebook group: “No More Victims of Overdose in Tioga County Pennsylvania.” She described her attempts to contact local leaders, pointed to prosecutions in other counties, and criticized what she called plea deals “for drug dealers over and over and over again.” She also posted about grief support meetings.

Her messages resonated with others.

Beverly Wesneski, the mother of an overdose victim, said the group connected her with people who had suffered a similar tragedy. “When you’re on there, you feel like somebody’s listening to you,” she told Spotlight PA.

But by late 2022, time had run out in Isaiah’s case for a drug delivery resulting in death charge under Pennsylvania law. The two-year statute of limitations was up.

Challenges to prosecutions

Some Pennsylvania prosecutors and lawmakers have raised concerns about the two-year time limit for bringing these drug delivery resulting in death cases.

“District attorneys have come to us and said, ‘That’s just too short of a period of time sometimes for what these investigations entail,’” Kelly Callihan, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, told Spotlight PA.

She described several challenges to these prosecutions.

Counties might not be able to afford to autopsy every overdose death. It can also be hard to prove that not only did someone deliver drugs — but that those specific drugs led to someone’s death, especially when multiple substances are involved. Moreover, some agencies have less experience investigating these cases and fewer existing relationships with confidential informants.

Another challenge can be overcoming some jury members’ beliefs that the person who died assumed the risk by taking an illegal substance, according to Callihan. She said witnesses are generally uncooperative, and the investigations — particularly if they involve a grand jury — can be lengthy.

Callihan’s organization supports legislation that would increase the statute of limitations to five years for these prosecutions to begin. That’s the time period for a number of drug offenses, including possession with intent to deliver heroin or fentanyl. State Rep. Dane Watro (R., Luzerne), a lawmaker pushing for the extension, said it would address a “legislative oversight.” Citing district attorneys and their statewide association, he said the current time limit “has hampered the prosecution of various serious cases.”

But on the other side of the courtroom, the idea causes concern.

The Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania opposes expanding the state’s crimes code, Executive Director Sara Jacobson told Spotlight PA. She said a “commonsense approach to improving” the state’s drug delivery resulting in death law “would add in clear protections for people who share and use drugs together, without extending the statute of limitations.”

Amanda Jones, a private criminal defense attorney based in Dauphin County, told Spotlight PA that long prosecution windows cause multiple problems for defendants, including creating constant anxiety.

“You’re living in years of uncertainty,” said Jones, who has represented defendants in drug delivery resulting in death cases. “You can’t move forward in your life because you have this hanging over your head.”

As time goes by, key witnesses might move away, become difficult to locate, be more reluctant to testify, or even die, according to Jones. She said it can also become harder for witnesses, including the people accused, to recall specific details of what happened — creating concerns about unreliable testimony.

State Rep. Emily Kinkead (D., Allegheny) has previously raised concerns about the state’s drug delivery resulting in death law and backed legislation to limit its use.

She told Spotlight PA that because the law is broadly written, prosecutors use the charge to punish people “who co-use drugs with someone or who shared their drugs with someone and happened to survive.” This can discourage people from calling for help that could save lives, she warned.

Unless lawmakers narrow the scope of the law to target dealers, suppliers, and traffickers, Kinkead said “extending or eliminating the statute of limitations is irresponsible and dangerous.”

As of early June, different bills to give Pennsylvania prosecutors more time to bring these cases all awaited action in state legislative committees. None had been brought up for a committee vote.

That included legislation named after Isaiah Compton. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Clint Owlett (R., Tioga), would eliminate the statute of limitations entirely following an overdose death.

His bill would reduce other potential barriers to prosecution, including when multiple drugs are involved. But it also attempts to address concerns about the law being too broad and used against friends who share drugs. It would add a defense that Owlett says is meant to shield people “who are not dealing drugs in return for profit or services.”

Cyndi has urged lawmakers to act on Owlett’s legislation, saying the two-year limit has allowed people to evade accountability for deaths.

“A Drug Dealer behind bars is much less likely to cause a Death,” she wrote to lawmakers.

Frustration in the community

In Tioga County, Cyndi focused on replacing the district attorney, Krista Deats. Deats had worked in the office for years and was first elected to the position in 2015.

In February of 2023, Cyndi urged registered Republicans to sign a petition for Deats’ challenger, attorney Sandra Olson. The same month, news reports described charges against Travis Ott, a defendant in a Tioga County drug delivery resulting in death case. The victim in the case was 23-year-old Jenna Moore.

For Cyndi, it was too little, too late. “While this is fantastic news, let us not forget the 40+ people who lost their lives with no justice under Krista Deats’ reign as District Attorney,” she wrote on Facebook. “And, surprise - it’s election year.”

Politically, Tioga County is solidly Republican, and Olson and Deats were both competing for the GOP nomination. Ahead of the 2023 primary, there was no Democratic candidate for district attorney on the ballot.

During the campaign, both candidates identified drugs as a major issue in response to questions for an article in the Wellsboro Gazette.

Deats wanted to continue “the push of prosecutions involving controlled substances in our communities,” she said. She highlighted a county treatment court program, money seized through “the successful prosecution of many drug offenders,” training for officers, and work in schools.

Olson said she would “focus additional resources on the illegal drug epidemic,” pledged to “support law enforcement with education and resources to bring drug dealers to account,” and described speaking with mothers of children who died from an overdose. “I will work diligently to address this issue on all fronts,” she said.

Olson ultimately swept both contests, winning more than 61% of the Republican vote. For the Democrats, she received 335 write-in votes — enough for a victory there, as well.

“There was a sense that Deats was not performing the role the way they were supposed to. … People were dissatisfied,” Gabe Hakvaag, chair of the local Democratic committee, told Spotlight PA.

For Cyndi, it was a victory.

That fall she celebrated another Tioga County drug delivery resulting in death charge, this time against defendant Jaden McGee.

“Things have changed so much in the last 3 years,” she wrote on Facebook. “Better watch out drug dealers - they are coming after you too!”

But securing a conviction on drug delivery resulting in death charges proved complicated in Tioga County.

Securing a conviction on drug delivery resulting in death charges proved complicated in Tioga County. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

Different versions in court

As a candidate, Olson highlighted a diverse background, including working as a registered nurse and an attorney, and serving as an ordained minister. During the campaign, she raised alarm about drug overdoses in the county and the lack of prosecutions for drug delivery resulting in death. She called the situation “completely unacceptable.”

“We must fix this problem,” she said.

She took office with the Ott and McGee drug delivery resulting in death cases still pending. Both became early tests for Olson.

Each case led to a plea deal, highlighting the challenging nature of bringing these types of charges and the different versions of events that can emerge in courtrooms.

Transcripts obtained by Spotlight PA bear this out.

In McGee’s case, police accused her of delivering fentanyl that caused the death of 27-year-old Jaguar Gordon. In a criminal complaint, police cited Facebook messages and video surveillance footage as evidence.

The district attorney’s office, under Olson, ultimately dropped the charge of drug delivery resulting in death. McGee pleaded guilty to two felonies: criminal use of a communication facility and a possession with intent to deliver charge.

At the August 2024 sentencing hearing, Olson argued for a tougher sentence than the standard range, saying McGee “agreed that she delivered fentanyl to a victim and the victim died.” The defense attorney argued otherwise, saying there was “no indication that she sold him anything that day whatsoever.”

McGee received a prison sentence of at least 12 months — on top of a sentence she was already serving in another case, which Olson argued for. McGee also was given credit for time already served.

In the other Tioga County drug delivery resulting in death case, Ott entered what’s known as an Alford plea for voluntary manslaughter — he maintained his innocence but accepted the penalty. The district attorney’s office dropped the drug delivery resulting in death charge.

At the July 2025 sentencing, Olson described how the death of Jenna Moore left behind two young children now being raised by Moore’s mother, Rhonda. She also highlighted the number of Pennsylvanians who die each day from an overdose, and acknowledged the limits of putting one person in prison.

“Law enforcement is working diligently to find those who are selling the drugs and thwart their efforts, but prosecution is not going to solve this problem,” she said. “The defendant, Mr. Ott, will be replaced by someone else.”

Ott declined to make a statement at the hearing. He received a minimum sentence of over six years, with credit for time already served.

The families continue to deal with the impact of the deaths.

Gwendolyn Burdick, Gordon’s mother, wanted a longer sentence in McGee’s case. “Twelve months is — it’s a slap in the face when my son is dead,” she told Spotlight PA.

Rhonda Moore told Spotlight PA she doesn’t know if she’ll “ever be right again,” following Jenna’s death. She was relieved after Ott’s conviction.

“I felt lucky that anything was done honestly, ’cause I’ve known a lot of people around here that lost their children, and there was nothing,” she said. “There was no justice at all.”

Disappointment with the new DA

The McGee plea deal frustrated Cyndi. She’d spent a lot of time and energy helping get Olson elected, and thought things would be different.

“Keep letting drug dealers off on lesser offenses….. Exact same as the last DA,” she posted online in August 2024. “I am so very disappointed!!”

She followed up with a simple message: “Do you ever feel used?”

Olson defended her record. She told Spotlight PA she’s working to meet the goals she set during her campaign, and believes “in a two-prong approach to prosecuting drug cases.”

Law enforcement must address both the supply of drugs and treatment for people addicted to substances, she said. She described herself as an advocate for treatment court programs, and said people who deliver drugs “on a regular basis and in large amounts must be prosecuted and sent to prison.”

Citing statewide data, she also said drug delivery resulting in death cases and convictions decreased from 2023 to 2024. The rise in the “use of methamphetamines instead of heroin and fentanyl which are more likely to cause overdose deaths” may be a factor in the drop, she noted.

Regarding plea deals, Olson considers “a myriad of variables.” She told Spotlight PA that Ott’s sentence for voluntary manslaughter was consistent with a drug delivery resulting in death sentence, and said McGee received a state prison sentence. An additional drug delivery resulting in death case was filed in early January in the county, she added.

“Since I have taken office, we have been diligently working on the drug issue in our county,” Olson said.

Tips: Do you have a tip about drug overdose prosecutions that we should investigate? Or a story to share? We want to hear from you.

By last year, Cyndi was less critical of Olson. Reflecting back on her public comments on the McGee case, Cyndi talked about the toll of grief and told Spotlight PA, “When I get down, I get way down … over these things.”

She recalled how, before Isaiah died, she worked with a parent who had lost a child. At the time, Cyndi was struck by how — even though the death occurred two years earlier — the loss remained vivid for the parent, as if it had just happened. That makes sense to Cyndi now.

“Until you’ve been in somebody else’s shoes, you don’t understand,” she said.

Cyndi still wished McGee had faced a longer sentence. But she thought Olson was bringing attention to these issues and getting more done than the prior district attorney.

“I know her heart’s in the right place,” Cyndi said in October.

Several months later, Cyndi said she admired Olson — and expressed a measure of regret over her earlier criticism of the current district attorney. “It’s not an easy, cut-and-dry job,” Cyndi said. “And I should keep my mouth shut sometimes.”

Isaiah Compton's family keeps items to memorialize him at their home in Mansfield, Pa. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

Charges years after 2 deaths

Isaiah’s case took a winding path to a conviction.

In 2023, criminal charges were filed in connection to his death, according to court reporting in the Wellsboro Gazette. It was not a drug delivery resulting in death case. The two-year statute of limitations had expired, meaning that charge wasn’t an option. Records of that case are no longer publicly available.

After taking office in 2024, Olson told Spotlight PA she reviewed outstanding cases and it was determined that “the Wood case” would be better for the attorney general’s office, using a statewide grand jury. She said she had to withdraw a Tioga County case for the statewide grand jury investigation to proceed.

Grand juries can be a powerful tool. An attorney general office spokesperson noted they have “subpoena power to compel testimony from otherwise reticent witnesses with key information about criminal conduct.”

In 2024, the attorney general’s office charged Wood in connection to Sargent’s death. The next year, the office charged Wood again, this time in connection to Isaiah’s death. A grand jury presentment called Isaiah’s death “overdose-related” and said it involved fentanyl, cocaine, and other substances.

In both cases, evidence tied Wood to the victims’ drug use. In Sargent’s case, there were phone records, GPS tracking, and app payments of $100 and $160. In Isaiah’s, there were Facebook messages, surveillance footage, an ATM receipt showing an $80 withdrawal, and multiple unnamed witnesses.

One unnamed witness in Isaiah’s case said Wood was their source of “heroin/fentanyl,” that they had traveled with him to obtain drugs, and “that Wood was obtaining multiple bricks of heroin to distribute,” the presentment said. A brick usually has about five bundles — each with about 10 individual packets of “heroin/fentanyl,” the unnamed witness said.

Based on the same witness’ testimony, the presentment attributed a direct statement to Wood after Isaiah’s death: “I just killed my friend.”

In each case, Wood did not face drug delivery resulting in death charges. The attorney general’s office’s “first meetings with local investigators — who had jurisdiction over these cases — were multiple years beyond” the two-year limit, according to agency spokesperson Brett Hambright.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was state attorney general when Isaiah died, made a similar point, saying local authorities didn’t reach out asking the office to intervene until 2024. Shapiro was governor by then.

Deats, the former district attorney, did not respond to multiple calls, emails, and letters, requesting comment for this story. Robert Hoffa, Wood’s attorney, declined to comment, and told Spotlight PA to “refrain from contacting” Wood or his family.

Isaiah Compton's football helmet and jerseys are seen at his parents’ home in Tioga County. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

Choosing what to say

In early November, Wood accepted a deal in each case, pleading guilty to one felony in Sargent’s case and two in Isaiah’s. Other charges were dropped as part of the agreements.

On the day of the guilty pleas, Cyndi and Thad sat in a large Tioga County courtroom. Thad had the feeling of just wanting “to hear your kid’s name connected to Dayton,” he later recalled.

At the hearing — as Wood answered yes to a series of questions from the judge — Wood acknowledged delivering cocaine to Isaiah and conspiring to deliver fentanyl and heroin to him.

The parties agreed to a minimum two-year prison sentence, followed by five years of probation. Wood could be eligible for a drug treatment program while in prison, although the judge noted there were no guarantees he’d qualify.

After the guilty pleas in November, Isaiah’s parents still wished Wood had been charged with drug delivery resulting in death before the two-year limit had passed.

“That’s the only thing that is a little disappointing — is that it’s not that,” Thad said that day. “Because I do think that it needs to be used when it’s appropriate.”

Three months later, friends and family members of Cyndi and Thad showed up to the Tioga County courthouse for Wood’s sentencing.

On that February afternoon, Cyndi wore some of Isaiah’s clothes: a green shirt and bright, patterned socks. In the courtroom, her sleeves were rolled up, making visible her tattoos in memory of Isaiah.

When it was her turn to speak, she brought a framed photo of Isaiah up with her, and made a point to look at Wood.

She described reading Facebook messages involving Wood and Isaiah, saying her son “was trying to help you with jobs and stuff.” Isaiah had been drug-free for about a year and Wood knew he was “vulnerable and in recovery,” Cyndi said in court.

“You did not simply sell drugs, you exploited trust,” Cyndi told him. “You endangered a known recovering individual. You caused the death of my son.”

Thad started his remarks by thanking three people: the prosecutor, a state trooper, and his wife. “Without her, I know that we wouldn’t be here today,” he continued.

Thad recalled coaching Wood and Isaiah in football when they were younger. They had good times — experiences Thad still holds onto, he said, despite the grief of the five years since his son’s death.

The father told Wood that even though it was tough, he forgave him. Thad knew the prison stint would be painful, but wanted it to be a turning point for Wood. He hoped one day Wood would have children — and get to do the things that he was able to do with Isaiah.

“I wish you all the best,” Thad said.

Wood’s attorney, Robert Hoffa, addressed the court and family members. He said his client “does have deep, deep regret for what happened here and apologizes to all of you.” He talked about how Wood was friends with both Isaiah Compton and Carl Sargent.

“It’s unfortunate they were all three doing drugs together at various times,” Hoffa said. “He was an addict as well, and he used the same drugs that, unfortunately, took the lives of those two individuals.”

Wood had gone through rehabs multiple times, Hoffa said. “He wants to take responsibility, he wants to remain sober, and he wants to get on with his life,” the attorney said.

The judge then gave Wood a chance to speak.

“Yeah,” Wood said, “I just want to say to the families that I am deeply sorry.”

He talked about how he had to live with regret, had lost two best friends, and wanted to continue to improve his life. “Again, I want to say that I am deeply sorry,” he said at the end.

The judge issued the sentence in each case, consistent with the plea deals. Thad and Cyndi talked with friends and family members afterward.

Later that day, away from the courthouse, they reflected on the case. The sentencing, Thad said, went as well as he thought it could have. He had once wondered if this day would ever come.

Thad noticed Wood apologized twice, and Cyndi observed that when she looked over at Wood, he looked right back at her.

Their remarks in court had differed. Thad said he forgave Wood, while Cyndi didn’t mention forgiveness. She was, she said afterward, still working on that.

As the months went by, some routines continued. Cyndi has been adjusting to the aftermath of a mini-stroke she suffered last year. She was taking new medications, eating healthier foods, and, she said, wanting “to not get so worked up.” She spends many days in the backyard shed where she works as a seamstress — tailoring dresses, costumes, and other projects for friends, family, and customers. A large piece of fabric showing Isaiah in a tree hangs on a wall, next to spools of thread. He would have turned 30 in March.

She thinks about Wood too. In April, Cyndi learned he was transferred to a state prison that offers an intensive drug treatment program.

She was glad, and hoped it would help keep Wood alive: “I don’t want his mom to go through what I’ve been through.”

A large piece of fabric, showing Isaiah Compton in a tree, hangs in a backyard shed at Cyndi Compton's Tioga County home. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

New power plants for data centers would significantly increase Pennsylvania’s climate pollution

Jon Hurdle — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:14:10 -0400

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Data center developers in Pennsylvania plan to rely on at least seven new natural gas-fired power plants that would emit climate-warming gases equal to adding 14 million cars on the road every year, according to a new report.

The report from the Environmental Integrity Project, an advocacy group, said the plants would together emit some 68 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, part of a national trend that would result in a huge rise in greenhouse gas emissions amid global efforts to slow climate change. That bump would mean a 24 percent increase in Pennsylvania’s emissions as of 2022.

The planned power plants, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the United States, are so-called “behind-the-meter” plants that would supply electricity directly to data centers rather than to the grid, where data centers would have to draw energy alongside other users, such as homes and businesses. EIP’s report, titled “The Power Behind AI,” focused on larger power plants capable of generating 100 megawatts or more. The plants planned in Pennsylvania would produce about 14 gigawatts of power combined.

As plans for data centers proliferate across the United States, and affected communities claim the rush toward development will damage the environment and public health, the report is the latest to warn of a national surge in greenhouse gas emissions in response to huge new demand for electricity from the industry. Natural gas-rich Pennsylvania has attracted significant interest from tech companies hoping to build near an abundant fuel supply, even as the state’s legacy of fossil fuel extraction means that some residents are more skeptical of those plans.

“These gas power plants pose serious risks to our climate as well as the health and wellbeing of nearby communities,” the 44-page report said. “Investments in artificial intelligence are driving the construction of a huge wave of data centers and dirty gas power plants across the U.S.”

Aaron Tinjum, vice president of energy at the Data Center Coalition, a trade group, declined to confirm whether the seven Pennsylvania plants would emit 68 million tons of greenhouse gases a year, and did not respond to a question about whether the planned power plants would hurt the health and wellbeing of nearby communities, as the report claims. But he said the industry is making “significant investments” in clean energy and “next generation” technologies.

Data centers accounted for half of the contracted wind and solar capacity in 2024, Tinjum said, quoting research by S&P Global.

“While grid planning and management are ultimately the responsibility of utilities, grid operators, and regulators, the coalition is committed to leaning in as an engaged partner to help promote solutions that advance affordability, reliability, and modern economic growth for all customers,” he said.

In Pennsylvania, the biggest behind-the-meter power plant studied by the report is the Homer City Generating Station, a former coal-fired plant east of Pittsburgh in Indiana County, which would emit more than 17.5 million tons a year of CO2 equivalent. If fully converted to natural gas, it would create up to 4.7 GW of power, making it one of the biggest generators in the country. As a coal-fired plant, Homer City closed in 2023.

Another plant, at Shippingport in Beaver County, would emit even more greenhouse gases—21.1 million tons a year—although its generating capacity would be less than the Homer City plant, at 3.6 GW, the report said.

Together, the seven Pennsylvania plants would increase the quantity of greenhouse gases by an amount equal to more than doubling the number of cars and trucks on Pennsylvania’s roads, according to Griffin Bird, the report’s lead author.

Pennsylvania’s attractiveness to data center developers is boosted by sitting atop the Marcellus Shale, one of the world’s biggest reserves of natural gas. The state is second only to Texas for gas production in the U.S.

Nationally, at least 74 gas-fired power plants, nearly all of them new, are planned to fuel the data-center industry, generating 662 million tons of greenhouse gases, equal to the annual emissions of Australia or putting another 140 million cars and trucks on the road, the report said. In aggregate, the plants identified by the study would generate three times as much power as California uses.

Almost half of the plants covered in the report would be located in Texas. Another 20 would be built in the Ohio River Valley across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

Both the national and statewide estimates are likely to understate the problem because the survey only covered large behind-the-meter plants, Bird said. Pennsylvania has 66 data center projects that are proposed, approved, under construction or in some form of preliminary activity, according to Data Center Proposal Tracker, an independent website. Some of those may involve behind-the-meter power plants that were not captured by the EIP survey because they generate less than 100 MW, Bird said.

Alex Bomstein, executive director of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Clean Air Council, said the proposed Homer City plant, if fully built, would be the largest single pollution source in the state.

The fracked gas needed to run the plant would require 250 new wells to be drilled about every five years, increasing the chances of aquifer contamination and the risks to public health, Bomstein said.

“That’s 250 new toxic intrusions into neighborhoods across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, on and on, for as long as the plant is running,” Bomstein said during a press conference held to launch the EIP report.

He accused the industry and the administration of Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapiro of promoting data centers in the face of community opposition. Shapiro has said data center developers should provide their own power and be transparent with communities about their plans if they want permitting help from the state.

“What does Indiana County gain from this, and what does America gain?” he asked. “The public hasn’t asked for AI data centers, and the public does not want them. In an era of hyper-partisanship in America, one thing that unites us is opposition to these giant data centers,” Bomstein said.

The report also found that data centers and their dedicated power plants were often proposed in low-income communities where public health and environmental quality is already compromised.

“Adding more air pollutants and particulate matter from these plants could worsen these health disparities,” said EIP’s executive director, Jen Duggan. She said almost 90 percent of the power plants are planned in counties where life expectancy is below the national average.

To lessen the likelihood of unwanted data centers and their power plants, communities should be allowed to approve or deny the plants on their own terms, Duggan said.

If they are built, data centers should be powered by wind or solar energy, backed up with battery storage, and not by natural gas or coal, the report argued. “Gas requires a large fuel price year after year, and eventually the gas runs out, and you have to put in solar anyway. There’s not a limitless supply of gas, even in Pennsylvania,” Bomstein said.

Duggan agreed. “It makes no sense for a technology of the future to be powered by the dirty fossil fuels of the past,” she said.

John Dickinson refused to sign the Declaration. History never forgave him.

Hillel Italie — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:45:24 -0400

NEW YORK — For a quarter century, Jane Calvert has been on a mission shared by few scholars of the Revolutionary War era. She has championed a founder mostly remembered, when remembered at all, as the man who wouldn't sign the Declaration of Independence — the lawyer and statesman John Dickinson.

“It has been a constant struggle,” says Calvert, a former associate professor at the University of Kentucky who has written often about Dickinson and is the founder of the John Dickinson Writings Project, which aims to make his works widely available.

For much of the country, the 250th anniversary of independence on Saturday is a time for celebrating and debating the country's birth. But for Calvert and others, it's also a moment to challenge the lingering image of a man who at times has been ignored, ridiculed or literally cast aside.

He was the Revolution's ‘penman’

Dickinson, a Maryland native who spent much of his life in Delaware and Pennsylvania, was once regarded as among the most important and inspiring founders. His “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania,” a dozen missives published in the 1760s, were widely read attacks against Britain's right to tax the colonies that helped give Americans a shared sense of identity and purpose. He even wrote the words to one of the country’s first patriotic anthems, “The Liberty Song.”

Admirers would call him the “Penman of the Revolution.”

But Dickinson also sought peace with Britain well after the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. In July 1775, he helped compose the Olive Branch Petition, a call for reconciliation that King George III essentially ignored. When the Continental Congress voted for independence in July 1776, Dickinson and fellow Pennsylvanian Robert Morris abstained. While Morris later signed the Declaration, Dickinson withheld his name.

“He wasn’t opposed to independence per se, but he thought it should happen gradually and without bloodshed,” Calvert says.

“America wasn’t prepared in any sense, including militarily, and there was no constitution, no foreign allies, and no domestic manufacturing. Neither was there unanimity on the independence question,” Calvert adds. “But as critical as all these things were, Dickinson’s main concern was that there were no legal protections for the most vulnerable Americans. He was most worried about religious dissenters, particularly the Quakers in Pennsylvania.”

History downgraded him

Dickinson's reputation as a man more of words than of action has long outlasted him.

At the Signers' Hall exhibit in Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, the Dickinson statue is placed apart in a corner, sculpted in a contemplative pose. Popular storytellers of the American Revolution, whether documentary maker Ken Burns or “Hamilton” playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, tend to leave Dickinson out of the narrative. He is otherwise a smug Anglophile in the musical “1776,” and, in the 2008 HBO miniseries about John Adams, he is portrayed as the compromising foil to Adams' militant righteousness.

“It’s pretty egregious,” Calvert says. “He is depicted as a scowling and sunken-eyed naysayer of the Patriot cause. We know that he was a compelling and charismatic figure, well-liked among his colleagues and seen as a devoted Patriot leader. He did not wear a wig, don fancy clothes, walk with a cane or speak with a Scottish brogue — all things added in the show to make him appear aristocratic.”

Once independence was declared, Dickinson did not retire from public life or side with the British, but served in the Pennsylvania and Delaware militias. He helped draft the June 1776 Articles of Confederation, supported the U.S. Constitution as a Delaware delegate and served as the president of Delaware and of Pennsylvania. Dickinson and his wife, Mary, were the namesakes for the first college — based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania — chartered after the founding of the United States. When he died, in 1808, then-President Thomas Jefferson called him “one of the great worthies of the revolution.”

Praising his contributions both before and after independence, Calvert believes Dickinson should be placed alongside Adams, Jefferson and others among the elite of founders. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the Constitution Center, is among those who say Calvert has broadened his understanding of Dickinson (he speculates that the center's Dickinson statue was meant as a tribute to his “scholarly nature”).

Some historians see it differently. Joseph Ellis, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Founding Brothers,” credits Dickinson as the leading voice of resistance in the decade leading up to 1776 but laments his decision not “to take the last step.” Fellow Pulitzer winner Jack Rakove says that Dickinson’s thinking in 1776 was a “quirk of his conscientious political personality” that shouldn't diminish his other achievements.

But he still wouldn't rank him in the first tier. Instead, he places Dickinson just below, alongside such figures as Benjamin Rush and John Jay. Says Rakove: “Perhaps his qualms of conscience in 1776 have affected his reputation.”

Thank you, ‘South Park’

Dickinson himself would lament that his opposition to the Declaration was a “finishing blow” to his “diminished popularity.”

Adams was among his detractors, dismissing him as a “piddling genius whose fame has been trumpeted so loudly.” In the 1840s, Calvert says, historian George Bancroft helped seal Dickinson's legacy by condemning him for how he “dulled the resentment of the people, and paralyzed the manly impulse of self-sacrificing courage.”

Calvert has not been alone in defending Dickinson. His other advocates range from the late conservative commentator William Murchison, author of a 2013 biography that cites Calvert's research, to such historians-Dickinson Project editors as Ian Iverson and Nathan R. Kozuskanich. Calvert even praises the creators of “South Park” for an episode aired in 2003, during the Iraq War. As supporters and protesters clash, Cartman travels back to 1776, witnesses the independence debate and finds parallels to the present.

“It’s the only pop culture representation of Dickinson I’ve seen that portrays him as being motivated by principle — that we shouldn’t found a country based on war,” Calvert says.

“Here Dickinson is the forefather of those antiwar protesters,” Calvert says. “Whether he would have gone so far as to say that the reasons for the Revolution were trumped up, I don’t know. Maybe. In any case, there is a lot to like!”

Great PA News Quiz: State budget status, a company’s breakup plan, and Pa. at the Great American State Fair

Asha Prihar — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0400

In this week’s quiz: Giant Eagle’s buyer, shifts in age demographics, portrait’s plaque change, and price manipulation punishment.

If a blue “Take the News Quiz” button doesn’t appear above for you, click here instead.

As always, let us know if you encounter any technical issues. Just email Newsletter Editor Colin Deppen (newsletters@spotlightpa.org) with a heads up. And good luck!

Warehouses add to air pollution in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley

Carolyn Beans — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:57:22 -0400

This article was originally published by the Chesapeake Bay Journal, an award-winning nonprofit news organization that has been covering environmental issues in the Bay region for more than 30 years.

Over the past few decades, Cumberland Valley communities in southcentral Pennsylvania — home to the Interstate 81 corridor through Franklin and Cumberland counties — have seen rapid growth in the number and size of warehouses.

The industry, which includes fulfillment and distribution centers, has been a major economic boon. In those two counties, roughly 10% of workers are in the warehouse industry. But these massive facilities also draw air-polluting truck traffic.

Now, an analysis led by researchers at Shippensburg University reveals links between warehouse expansion, health risks and economic benefits within the Cumberland Valley.

The analysis shows that air pollution is higher within the valley, where warehouses are concentrated, than outside the valley. There have been improvements over the past decade, though, as clean air regulations reduced air pollution, even as warehouses and truck traffic increased. However, air pollution during some parts of the year still regularly hits the federal safety threshold and surpasses the stricter World Health Organization limit.

That means air quality is still a concern, said study author Tim Hawkins, a Shippensburg earth scientist. “But we’re allowing [warehouses] to be here as a society because there’s a lot of economic benefit,” he said.

The region became a draw for warehouses, in part, because of its geography. By way of Interstate 81 through the valley, trucks can reach about two-thirds of the U.S. population within about a day, Hawkins noted.

The area also boasts ample farmland adjacent to urban areas like Shippensburg and Carlisle — open space ripe for massive warehouse projects in close proximity to highways.

Amazon moved in, as did many retailers, such as Walmart, Target, Lowe’s and Home Depot, all of them building fulfilment centers for online shoppers.

Exhaust from diesel trucks stopping at these facilities contributes to a form of pollution known as particulate matter, or PM2.5. These tiny particles measuring 2.5 micrometers across or less can travel deep into the lungs and cause respiratory and even cardiovascular diseases.

To weigh the pros and cons of the warehouse boom, Hawkins, undergraduate researcher Grace Coffman and others collected data on the industry’s local expansion from the late 1980s through early 2020s. They also trained a computer model to identify fulfillment and distribution centers in aerial images of Cumberland and Franklin counties taken periodically from 2004 onward.

Records showed that there had been four such facilities in 1988. By 2022, there were about 200. The average size of new warehouses in the region doubled, from less than 10 acres in 2003 to more than 20 in 2022.

The team also tracked changes in truck traffic using PennDOT data on average daily tractor-trailer traffic surrounding Carlisle. From 2001 to 2023, that increased more than 20% on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and 43.5% on Interstate 81.

To gauge how air quality differs between the Cumberland Valley and the surrounding region, the researchers compared data from an EPA sensor in Carlisle with an EPA sensor south of the valley in Arendtsville. They also used readings from nine other sensors that generate publicly available data, eight of them within the valley and one just outside.

The two EPA sensors showed that average daily particulate matter levels are 14% greater, on average, in Carlisle than in Arendtsville. In winter, the particulate matter levels are 31% greater.

Of the nine additional sensors, the one outside the valley registered the lowest air pollution levels. Additional data from NASA satellites also suggested that particulate matter concentration is higher in the valley than in the surrounding area.

The authors attribute the heightened air pollution to the concentration of warehouses and associated truck traffic in the Cumberland Valley, as well as highway traffic in general. Valley geography also plays a role, Hawkins said. Mountains on either side of a valley often block wind that would otherwise carry pollutants away. And in winter, warmer air overtop a valley can act as a lid that traps colder air within the valley, along with pollutants.

The team also used an EPA model to predict the amount of pollution within the valley coming from warehouses specifically over time, based on emissions expected for a warehousing industry of a given size.

They found that PM2.5 emissions from warehouses declined in the Cumberland Valley by 45% between 2014 and 2020. Consequently, the monetized public health impacts associated with warehouses in Franklin County — a proxy for the valley as a whole — dropped by 66% over the same period.

Meanwhile, from 2017 to 2020, the local gross domestic product for the Franklin County warehousing industry grew by 30%.

Hawkins’ team attributes the decline in particulate matter to improvements in engine efficiency, as well as laws that prevent trucks from idling. “The Clean Air Act works,” Hawkins said. “Pollutants have come down at national levels, and so this is just a nice local example.”

Large drops in particulate matter levels over the past 20 years across the eastern U.S. are also linked to reduced emissions from coal power plants, said Daniel Goldberg, an air quality scientist at George Washington University in the District of Columbia, who was not involved in the study.

But despite improvements, summer and winter particulate matter levels in the Cumberland Valley still regularly bump up against the EPA’s limit for safe air and surpass the stricter World Health Organization limit, Hawkins said.

There are other environmental impacts of warehouses not captured in the study. In 2024, Goldberg and colleagues reported that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, another diesel exhaust-related pollutant, are elevated by about 20% near warehouses across the country. But because the data was collected by satellites at a resolution of about 8 square miles, the authors do not know how pollutant levels may vary across individual neighborhoods. Some residents downwind of heavily trafficked warehouses may experience pollutant levels even higher than the estimate.

Warehouses, with their massive impermeable footprints, also create stormwater management challenges, Hawkins said. “You’re dumping warmer water, potentially, into the streams that historically have been groundwater fed.”

Kirk Stoner, director of planning for Cumberland County, said that the Shippensburg study “provides great information on air quality in our valley.” But as an advisor to the county’s 33 municipalities on zoning issues, he said he would be hesitant to use the study to make zoning guidelines for warehouses, or any other transportation intensive uses, because there are so many other contributors to air pollution in the valley, including highway traffic unrelated to the warehouses.

Cumberland Valley municipalities are now bracing for the next big development push: data centers, which can pollute the air with their backup diesel generators and, like warehouses, create stormwater management challenges.

Warehouse construction in Cumberland County, meanwhile, has slowed. Much of the available land close to interchanges has already been developed into warehouses, Stoner said. “Our municipalities don’t appear to be willing to rezone land that is farther away.”

‘Dark money’ group paid Democrat Janelle Stelson for disappearing podcast

Avani Kalra — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:02:51 -0400

Janelle Stelson, a former local news anchor who Democrats are hoping will unseat Republican Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) this November in one of the nation’s hottest House races, was paid by a “dark money” group to produce a podcast that no longer exists online, federal records show.

Stelson was paid $45,000 between January 2024 and October 2025 by Voting for America to produce four episodes of “Voices of Central Pennsylvania With Janelle Stelson,” according to her 2025 financial disclosure report. Tax records show the organization, which has ties to Democrats, reported less than $50,000 in total income in 2025.

District of Columbia records show that Voting for America was founded in June 2024 and led by three alumni of the Democratic National Committee and House Democrats’ campaign arm, alongside a political lawyer.

Mara Kunin, a Democratic operative listed as the organization’s principal on its tax records, did not respond to a request for comment from NOTUS.

The podcast series appears on only one audio platform, Podchaser, and the four episodes taped by Stelson and published in 2025 are not playable due to an “error in episode file” or an “episode file missing.”

NOTUS obtained recordings of the four podcasts, which were each roughly 20 minutes long and featured interviews by Stelson with people with connections to Pennsylvania who were tackling issues such as Medicaid cuts and job losses among union workers.

“As an award winning anchor, Janelle had the opportunity in 2025 to record a short series of podcasts that once again gave her an outlet to uplift her own community and shine a light on the issues that people are facing,” a spokesperson for Stelson’s campaign told NOTUS.

A person familiar with Stelson’s work on the podcast told NOTUS that she is no longer paying the server’s fee to keep the podcast online.

Free Newsletter: Sign up for a free roundup of the top news from across Pennsylvania, all in one daily or weekly email from Spotlight PA.

The campaign did not answer questions from NOTUS about why Stelson did not list the podcast publicly on a free hosting site such as SoundCloud. But the campaign clarified that the podcasts were previously listed on Spotify and Apple.

Michael Beckel, the director of money in politics at Issue One, a nonpartisan political reform organization, told NOTUS that the circumstances behind the podcast and payment seem murky.

While Stelson is a respected former news anchor, and it’s not uncommon for a Democratic group to work with someone like her on a podcast series, a lack of information about the funding organization and its spending raises some questions, Beckel said.

“It’s certainly a stream of revenue that helps her continue to share news with fellow Pennsylvanians, or share information,” Beckel said. “But it’s very unclear from public records alone who was behind Voting for America and what types of pet policies they might be pushing for if she’s elected to Congress.”

This is Stelson’s second bid for Congress after she failed to oust Perry in 2024.

Her federal financial disclosure forms show the podcast was a meaningful portion of her income in 2025 –– her campaign committee also paid her about $19,000 and a political analytics group paid her about $15,000 in consulting fees. Stelson also reported earning around $45,000 from her retirement plan in 2025.

She disclosed no earned income other than her nearly $130,000 salary as a news reporter in the candidate report she filed ahead of her 2024 bid against Perry.

Beckel said that regardless of the podcast’s status, it’s important to understand “what other business relationships and background and pledges and priorities that candidate is bringing to the table.”

Kroger buying regional grocer and pharmacy retailer Giant Eagle in deal valued at $1.65 billion

Michelle Chapman — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:38:04 -0400

Kroger is buying regional grocer and pharmacy retailer Giant Eagle in a deal valued at $1.65 billion.

Giant Eagle, which is privately held, has 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies across northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. Kroger has thousands of stores operating under various brands, including Ralphs, King Soopers, Smith’s and Fred Meyer.

The transaction includes $1.25 billion in cash and the assumption of approximately $400 million in outstanding liabilities, the companies said Wednesday.

“Giant Eagle is a well-run, high-quality regional grocer with a strong reputation for fresh products, pharmacy, private label and customer loyalty,” Kroger CEO Greg Foran said in a statement. “We evaluated the opportunity carefully, and the strategic fit is clear."

Foran, a former Walmart executive, was named Kroger's CEO in February. He has a reputation as a tech-savvy and detail-oriented leader.

Kroger and Giant Eagle said that they anticipate having to divest a limited number of Giant Eagle stores in order to receive the necessary regulatory clearance for the transaction.

The deal is expected to close next year.

Kroger's stock fell nearly 3% before the market open.

Bare hands, grease buildup, and other Centre County restaurant inspections for June 22-28

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Facilities with violations:

Grahams up in Smoke Bbq
838 Tyrone Pike, Philipsburg, PA 16866
June 25, 2026

1 high priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Observed a food employee handling ready to eat foods with bare hands.
Low Priority: Observed an excess amount of grease on the sides of the deep fryers and the floor in the deep fryer area.

Greenberg Performance Dining Facility
109 Lasch Football Bldg, University Park, PA 16802
June 24, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Several of the handwash sinks located in the kitchen area does not have a metering faucet to provide water for 15 seconds without reactivation.

Minit Mart #235
325 Front St., Philipsburg, PA 16866
June 23, 2026

1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Observed the facility does not have test strips to monitor a quaternary ammonia sanitizing solution at the manufactures recommended concentration.
Low Priority: Observed pizza boxes stored in direct contact with the floor in the ware wash area.

Nittany Country Club
110 Country Club Dr., Mingoville, PA 16856
June 26, 2026

3 low priority violations

Low Priority: Observed an excess buildup of grease and food residue on the handles of the prep table and refrigeration units.
Low Priority: Observed the tongs used for handling ready to eat food, hanging on the food cart handle allowing for contamination of the food contact surface.
Low Priority: Observed deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required.

Stop 1884
2782 Earlystown Rd., Centre Hall, PA 16828
June 24, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: The quaternary ammonia concentration in the sanitizing solution of the 3-bay ware wash sink was 0 ppm, rather than 200-400 ppm as stated on the manufacturers use directions. Corrected during inspection.

Know before you go: Look up inspection data for any PA retail food facility by name, city, or ZIP — and get alerts when new reports are published.

Facilities with no violations:

Avid & Candlewood Suites Bellefonte Pa, 132 Amberleigh Ln., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 26, 2026
Domino's Pizza, 422 Front St., Philipsburg, PA 16866, on June 23, 2026
Encompass Health Rehab Hospital of Nittany Valley, 550 College Ave., Pleasant Gap, PA 16823, on June 26, 2026
Hearth and Harvest Mff-4, 593 Laurel Run Rd., Port Matilda, PA 16870, on June 24, 2026
M&S Concessions Tfs3, 143 Ayva Ln., Spring Mills, PA 16875, on June 24, 2026
Piper's Kitchen, 198 Match Factory Pl, Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Progress Grange #96 Tfs4, 217 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Centre Hall, PA 16828, on June 26, 2026
Scott"S Roasting #2 Xfj-6180 (Mff4), 120 Sylvan Acres Ln., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Scott's Roasting #1 Xv20228(Mff4), 120 Sylvan Acres Ln., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Scott's Roasting (Jason & Amanda) Xge-3429(Mff4), 120 Sylvan Acres Ln., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Scott's Roasting (Jason) Mff4 Xlt-8822, 120 Sylvan Acres, Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Scott's Roasting (Prep Kitchen), 120 Sylvan Acres Ln., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Scotts Roasting Food Truck Mff4 Zvs-1138, 120 Jacksonville Rd., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026
Smoker's Square, 300 Willowbank St., Bellefonte, PA 16823, on June 24, 2026

Core items usually relate to standard operating procedures, facility structures, equipment design, or general maintenance. We noted violations of core items as low priority.

To read the full inspection reports, you can visit: pafoodsafety.pa.gov/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx

Leaking faucet, debris on floor, and other Berks County restaurant inspections for June 22-28

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Facilities with violations:

7-Eleven Store 40241J
1547 Lancaster Ave., Reading, PA 19607
June 23, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Cooking equipment (microwave) in the retail area observed with grease and soil accumulation.

Aj's Family Pizzeria
204 Crossings Blvd., Elverson, PA 19520
June 23, 2026

1 high priority, 2 moderate priority, 3 low priority violations

High Priority: Cheese, a refrigerated, ready to eat time temperature control for safety food in the walk-in cooler area, was date-marked by the facility, but was beyond the 7-day use or sell by date and requires discarding. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Commercially processed refrigerated, ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food, located in the walk-in cooler, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Observed employee using the handwash sink to wash a knife. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed single use containers on the cookline area not stored inverted. Corrected.
Low Priority: Food dispensing utensil in the bulk food bins observed stored in the food and not with handle above the top of the food and the container. Corrected.
Low Priority: Observed clean and sanitized food equipment being rinsed before air drying / use, not following proper procedures. Corrected.

Antonio's Trattoria
1636 W. Phildelphia Ave., Boyertown, PA 19512
June 22, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Observed deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required.

Blackwood Golf Course
510 Red Corner Rd., Douglassville, PA 19518
June 24, 2026

1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the refrigerator, is not being date marked. Corrected.
Low Priority: Refrigerators in the front service area, has non-food contact surfaces exposed to splash, spillage, or other food soiling, made of cardboard, an absorbent and rough material. Corrected.

Clover Hill Meats
845 B Woodland Rd., Wyomissing, PA 19610
June 25, 2026

2 moderate priority violations

Moderate Priority: Some prepackaged food items in the customer self-serve case are not labeled with the name of product and ingredient statement.
Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.

Dairy Queen #10296
4399 Penn Ave., Reading, PA 19608
June 25, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Mops are not being hung to air dry.
Corrected during the inspection.

Deli Station
845 B Woodland Rd., Wyomissing, PA 19610
June 25, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Prepackaged dips and flavored cream cheese are not labeled with the ingredient statement or an 'ingredients available upon request' notice.

Dollar General #0497
700 S. 4th St., Hamburg, PA 19526
June 23, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: The walls in the backroom/ stock area, has holes in several areas of the dry wall and is in need of repair to prevent potential pest harborages areas.

Domino's 4720
8537 Allentown Pike, Blandon, PA 19510
June 24, 2026

1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: 3 spray bottle containers in the dish and front counter area, used for storing chemicals, cleaners taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected on site.
Low Priority: Mops are not being hung to air dry. Corrected on site.

Fairgrounds Farmers Market
2934 N. 5th St., Reading, PA 19605
June 27, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Ceiling has peeling paint above corner market stand (WD).

Giant Food #6289
2104 Van Reed Rd., West Lawn, PA 19609
June 22, 2026

1 high priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Observed a significant amount of water leaking at the faucet for one of the sinks in the deli/Taipei Kitchen area.
Low Priority: The bottom, front panel of the 3-door reach-in refrigeration unit in the meat department is very rusty and deteriorated. This surface is no longer easily cleanable.

Hawaii Kitchen
510 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
June 23, 2026

2 moderate priority, 1 other violations

Moderate Priority: Food facility hot water heater is not producing enough hot water to supply all sinks at the time of this inspection. Facility has ordered a part for the hot water heater.
Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.
Other: The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view.

Herman's Drive-In Inc
50 W. Weis St., Topton, PA 19562
June 22, 2026

1 other violation

Other: Food facility has an employee who held a Certified Food Manager certificate; however, the certificate has expired and is no longer valid.

Hillbilly Bbq Xgb-0928
904 Ben Franklin Hwy., Douglassville, PA 19518
June 24, 2026

1 high priority, 2 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Plumbing system not maintained in good repair - observed faucet leaking at the hand wash sink.
Moderate Priority: Food Employee is not using available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine sanitizer concentration.
Moderate Priority: Food facility is using an approved non-public water system, but does not have current laboratory testing results for water potability.
Low Priority: Observed deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required. CORRECTED.

Joyful House
180 Old Swede Rd. Ste 1, Douglassville, PA 19518
June 24, 2026

2 high priority, 2 moderate priority, 2 low priority violations

High Priority: Multiple foods in the walk-in cooler and Bain Maire's area stored open with no covering. Corrected.
High Priority: Food was held at 50°F, in the front Bain Marie area, rather than 41°F or below as required.
Moderate Priority: Refrigerated ready to eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared in the food facility and held for more than 24 hours, located in the walk-in cooler, is not being date marked. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Observed wooden table, in kitchen area, with an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, debris on non-food contact surfaces.
Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Walls, drain pipes and nonfood contact surfaces of equipment observed to have a buildup of grease.
Low Priority: Shelving, in kitchen area, has non-food contact surfaces exposed to splash, spillage, or other food soiling, made of cardboard, an absorbent and rough material.

Julie's Country Cafe
924 W. Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown, PA 19512
June 22, 2026

1 high priority, 2 low priority violations

High Priority: Tomatoes were held at 47.8 °F, in the Bain Marie area, rather than 41°F or below as required.
Low Priority: Observed several food items being stored uncovered in the freezer in the kitchen area.
Low Priority: Mechanical warewashing equipment does not have a manufacturer data plate with operation specifications.

Mom Chaffe's Cellarette
146 Tulpehocken Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
June 25, 2026

2 high priority violations

High Priority: Raw eggs stored above produce in two refrigerators. Corrected.
High Priority: Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. Facility will be sanitizing all dishes in the 3-compartment sinks (kitchen and bar) until the dishwasher is properly pumping sanitizer.

Pleasantville Diner
2644 W. Philadelphia Ave., Oley, PA 19547
June 24, 2026

1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration at the dishwasher.
Low Priority: Observed an accumulation of dirt and old food debris on the floor under equipment in the cooking area.

Red Plate Diner
440 E. Penn Ave., Wernersville, PA 19565
June 22, 2026

1 high priority, 2 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. Bottle of sanitizer was empty and replaced during this inspection. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Paper towel dispenser empty at the handwash sink in the kitchen area. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Soap was not available at the handwash sink in the kitchen area.
Low Priority: Observed cases of food stored directly on the floor in the walk-in freezer and cooler area, rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required.

Rita's Italian Ice - Muhlenberg
3403 North 5th St. Hwy., Reading, PA 19605
June 27, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Mops are not being hung to air dry.

Sammy's Steaks & Fries #1 (Xp-57581) (Mff3)
410 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
June 25, 2026

1 low priority violation

Low Priority: Screen door is missing some of the screening.

Screpesi Sandwich Shop
1365 Alleghenyville Rd., Mohnton, PA 19540
June 23, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Temperature measuring device for ensuring proper temperature of equipment is not available or readily accessible in 2 refrigeration units. PIC provided thermometers.

Sheetz #345
3830 Main St., Morgantown, PA 19543
June 23, 2026

1 high priority, 1 moderate priority violations

High Priority: Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. PIC put in work order and firm will manually sanitize until serviced.
Moderate Priority: Observed a buildup of old food residue under the slushie machines. Corrected.

Spunktown Tavern
699 Englesville Rd., Boyertown, PA 19512
June 25, 2026

1 high priority, 2 low priority violations

High Priority: Observed food being stored uncovered in the walk-in-cooler and the refrigerator in the cookline area.
Low Priority: Food employees observed in the cookline area, not wearing proper hair restraints, such as nets, hats, and beard covers.
Low Priority: Observed deeply scored cutting boards not resurfaced or discarded as required.

Sweet Ride Ice Cream Parlor & Soda Fountain
542 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
June 23, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. Corrected by priming the sanitizer.

Taco Fest
650 Crossing Blvd., Elverson, PA 19520
June 23, 2026

3 high priority, 3 moderate priority, 3 low priority violations

High Priority: Foods in the back prep area stored open with no covering.
High Priority: Multiple foods were held at 100-105°F, in the back prep area, rather than 135°F or above as required. Corrected.
High Priority: A food, a refrigerated, ready to eat time temperature control for safety food in the walk-in cooler area, was date-marked by the facility, but was beyond the 7-day use or sell by date and requires discarding. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Observed wall in back prep area around the trash can to have encrusted old food residue.
Moderate Priority: Nozzles on the soda machine, a food contact surface, was observed to have food residue and was not clean to sight and touch.
Moderate Priority: The Person in Charge did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety in this food facility as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection.
Low Priority: Non-food contact surfaces not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil. Observed the drain for the sink in the drive thru area to have a buildup of apparent mold.
Low Priority: Observed clean food equipment and/or utensils in the ware washing area, stored wet in a manner that does not allow for draining and/or air drying (wet nesting).
Low Priority: No sign or poster posted at the handwash sink in the women's restroom area to remind food employees to wash their hands.

Taste of Crepes
617 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611
June 23, 2026

2 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Thermometers for ensuring proper temperature of equipment are not available or readily accessible in the refrigerators in the basement.
Moderate Priority: The handwash sink in the basement food preparation area does not have single use towels. Corrected.
Low Priority: Door to the outside located in the kitchen area of the food facility is not self-closing and was open, without screening, during this inspection.

Tosco Pizza Parlor
2601 Penn Ave., Reading, PA 19609
June 22, 2026

1 moderate priority, 2 low priority violations

Moderate Priority: Working containers (spray bottles) in the upstairs 3-compartment sink area, used for storing chemicals, cleaners taken from bulk supplies, were not marked with the common name of the chemical. Corrected.
Low Priority: Doorway to the basement area, located at the bottom of the stairs, is not finished. There are exposed edges of drywall and bare wood. These surfaces are not smooth, easily cleanable, non-absorbent.
Low Priority: An open employee's beverage container was observed on a table in the kitchen food preparation area. Corrected.

Turkey Hill Minit Market #257
3321 Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508
June 25, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: Observed two gallons of 2% milk offered for sale beyond the sell-by date of 6/22/26. Corrected.

Twin Valley Recreation
5981 Morgantown Rd., Morgantown, PA 19543
June 24, 2026

3 high priority, 1 moderate priority, 1 low priority violations

High Priority: Food Employee observed donning single use gloves without a prior hand wash. Corrected.
High Priority: Multiple foods were held at 45°F, in the refrigerator area, rather than 41°F or below as required.
High Priority: Nacho cheese was held at 112°F, in the crockpot, rather than 135°F or above as required. Corrected.
Moderate Priority: Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.
Low Priority: Observed the freezer in the check in area to not be sealed.

Universal Mart/Sunoco
3500 Kutztown Rd., Laureldale, PA 19605
June 23, 2026

1 high priority violation

High Priority: Raw shelled eggs were observed stored above ready to drink drinks in the reach in cooler. Please move cartons to the bottom shelf to avoid potential contamination risk.

Wawa #0282
10 Maplewood Dr., Douglassville, PA 19518
June 24, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Observed cappuccino equipment, in self-serve area, with an accumulation of food residue on non-food contact surfaces.

Womelsdorf Volunteer Fire Co
20 N. Front St., Womelsdorf, PA 19567
June 25, 2026

1 moderate priority violation

Moderate Priority: Soda gun, a food contact surface, was observed to have organic residue and was not clean to sight and touch. Corrected.

Know before you go: Look up inspection data for any PA retail food facility by name, city, or ZIP — and get alerts when new reports are published.

Facilities with no violations:

American House, 737 Fritztown Rd., Sinking Spring, PA 19608, on June 22, 2026
Bebe's Kitchen, 101 W. 1st St., Birdsboro, PA 19508, on June 24, 2026
China House, 825 Main St., Bally, PA 19503, on June 22, 2026
Chipotle Mexican Grill #1546, 2733 Paper Mill Rd., Wyomissing, PA 19610, on June 22, 2026
Domino's #4810, 5000 Shillington Plz, Shillington, PA 19607, on June 23, 2026
Domino's 4847, 1 W. Penn Ave., Robesonia, PA 19551, on June 22, 2026
Fleetwood Orioles Nest 23, 16 W. Washington St., Fleetwood, PA 19522, on June 24, 2026
Fuji San, 5314 Allentown Pike, Temple, PA 19560, on June 26, 2026
Hamburg Diner, 210 State St., Hamburg, PA 19526, on June 22, 2026
Homer's Bar & Grill, 21 W. Main St., Fleetwood, PA 19522, on June 23, 2026
Jen & Jessie's Creamery, 798 Memorial Hwy., Oley, PA 19547, on June 24, 2026
Michael's Restaurant, 1211 W. Benjamin Franklin Hwy., Douglassville, PA 19518, on June 22, 2026
Pastelitos by Val, 2605 Kutztown Rd., Reading, PA 19605, on June 23, 2026
Perk up Truck/Mff 2 (Zgc9888), 1001 Main St., Shoemakersville, PA 19555, on June 23, 2026
Playa Bowls, 945 Hill Ave. Ste 225, Wyomissing , PA 19610, on June 23, 2026
Porky's Last Stand Smokehouse + Bbq Mff3, 924 W. Penn Ave., Robesonia, PA 19551, on June 23, 2026
Primo Hoagies, 945 Hill Ave. Ste 275, Wyomissing, PA 19610, on June 23, 2026
Reading Coffee Roaster, 316 W. Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508, on June 23, 2026
Sammy's Steaks & Fries #3 (Xp-57582) (Mff3), 410 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611, on June 25, 2026
Sammy's Steaks & Fries #6 (Xhh6048) Mff3, 410 Penn Ave., West Reading, PA 19611, on June 25, 2026
Scoupe De Ville, 3365 Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508, on June 24, 2026
Scrimager Meats Too, 2934 N. 5th St. Hwy., Reading, PA 19605, on June 27, 2026
Shades of Green, 3384 Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508, on June 24, 2026
Sly Fox at the Knitting Mills, 820 Knitting Mills Dr., Wyomissing, PA 19610, on June 22, 2026
Sweets by J, 3524 Kutztown Rd., Reading, PA 19605, on June 23, 2026
Taco Bell #42249, 2257 Lancaster Pike, Reading, PA 19607, on June 23, 2026
The Bowers Hotel, 298 Bowers Rd., Bowers, PA 19511, on June 24, 2026
The Cone, 55 W. Penn Ave., Wernersville, PA 19565, on June 25, 2026
The Philly Jawn Cheesesteak, 159 S. Reading Ave., Boyertown, PA 19512, on June 25, 2026
Toss of the Town LLC, 110 Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown, PA 19512, on June 25, 2026
Turkey Hill Minit Market #244, 4899 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, PA 19606, on June 24, 2026
Uncle Paul's Pretzels Mff3 Pa Xgw7516, 94 Pine Rd., Hamburg, PA 19526, on June 25, 2026
Uncle Paul's Pretzels Mff3 Pa Zjs3226, 94 Pine Rd., Hamburg, PA 19526, on June 25, 2026
Uncle Paul's Pretzels Mff3 Pa Zpj9849, 94 Pine Rd., Hamburg, PA 19526, on June 25, 2026

Core items usually relate to standard operating procedures, facility structures, equipment design, or general maintenance. We noted violations of core items as low priority.

To read the full inspection reports, you can visit: pafoodsafety.pa.gov/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx

Pennsylvania’s budget is late for the fifth year in a row

Katie Meyer — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s budget is late for the fifth year in a row.

The Republicans who control the state Senate sent their members home on the Tuesday deadline without a deal, and said in a statement that the week’s talks had given them “necessary clarity on many outstanding issues which were delaying completion of this year’s budget.”

They estimated that a deal will be in the offing “in the days following July 4th” and said they’ll return to session once final language is ready.

The Democrats who lead the state House were less positive in a news conference later Tuesday.

“The Senate Republican majority is failing again, not leading, not working, not compromising, and most importantly, not finishing the job we’re all charged to do,” House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) said.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who didn’t attend the news conference, did not return a request for comment.

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One of the biggest issues overshadowing budget talks is the state’s longstanding structural deficit. In recent years, lawmakers have dipped into the state’s cash reserves to make up for spending more than Pennsylvania generates in revenue. Now virtually all that’s left is their emergency reserve fund.

Democrats have proposed using some of it, noting that it’s flush with nearly $8 billion. Republicans argue that’s fiscally irresponsible. Democrats, in turn, say they’ve advanced multiple revenue proposals — such as legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana and regulating and taxing skill games — and Republicans haven’t come to a consensus on any of them.

Other policy debates are complicating the picture.

Along with being Harrisburg’s likeliest new revenue option, skill games across the commonwealth are in peril after the state Supreme Court ruled last month that they are operating illegally. The court stayed enforcement until October, but if lawmakers don’t legalize and regulate the machines by then, they’ll be subject to seizure.

Recent weeks have also featured considerable action on data centers. House Democrats passed two conflicting proposals — one, backed by Shapiro, would add conditions to a state tax exemption in an effort to incentivize better behavior from developers; another would repeal the benefit entirely.

Senate Republicans also proposed cutting the data center tax exemption, adding the measure this week to a sweeping package that would also expand a tax credit that funds private school scholarships and eliminate a 5.9% state tax on the sale of electricity — both of which would make the budget deficit worse. The electricity tax cut in particular is estimated to cost the state $1.7 billion in the next fiscal year.

The state House passed its own version of that electricity tax cut. Neither chamber has directly addressed how it would affect the overall budget picture. House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) argued that the cut would “rejuvenate” the economy by lowering customers’ utility bills. He added that the state “should look at places to get rid of stuff” to cover revenue gaps.

“When we cut taxes, it forces the government to make decisions that they need to make or should have made years ago,” Topper added.

Topper also said lawmakers have intentionally left some of Harrisburg’s more contentious issues out of budget talks in an effort to smooth the process, including “more robust” school choice programs, increasing the state’s minimum wage, and legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana.

State House Education Committee Chair Pete Schweyer (D., Lehigh) indicated in an interview with Spotlight PA that lawmakers are approaching overall education policy in a similar way.

The issue has been a major point of budget tension in recent years, but Schweyer said that while last year’s education code was “extremely dense and had a lot of things in it that we were extremely proud of,” this year’s likely wouldn’t “be quite as robust, but I don’t necessarily think it has to be.”

There is little impact on the state if the budget is late by a matter of days or weeks.

The state has a constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget by June 30 each year, and up until 2009, that deadline was a big deal. If lawmakers missed it, many state payments had to halt, including to state workers.

However, amid a long budget impasse in 2009 that saw state workers protesting at the Capitol, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the federal Fair Labor Standards Act overrode state constitutional language that said most state funds couldn’t be spent without an enacted budget.

That meant state workers would no longer go unpaid. It was a relief for them, but also did away with one of the most potent disincentives for a late deal.

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Still, nonprofits, libraries, schools, counties, and many other recipients of state funds eventually suffer if an impasse stretches for months.

After last year’s impasse, which dragged on until mid-November, public schools across the commonwealth cut programs, spent down their reserves, or took out loans as the state failed to make billions in critical payments. The strain also extended to safety net programs like rape crisis centers, nonprofits like those that run early childhood intervention programs, and county-administered services such as foster care and homeless assistance.

Asked Tuesday what the biggest remaining sticking point in talks was, state House Appropriations Committee Chair Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) said of the Senate, “They’re not here.”

“They got on the highway,” McClinton said.

Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, Jaxon White, and Ethan Young contributed reporting.

State lawmakers want to lower electric bills. The budget impact might be too big to swallow.

Charlotte Keith — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 04:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Responding to public anger over soaring energy costs, Pennsylvania lawmakers in both parties have voted in support of a massive tax cut that would lower electric bills for customers across the state — although they have said little publicly about how to pay for the $1.7 billion hole the measure would create in the budget.

Legislators in both parties are touting it as the largest tax cut in Pennsylvania history, although it’s not clear whether it will actually become law.

The proposed change would eliminate a 5.9% state tax on the sale of electricity. It would take effect immediately and apply to all customers, including businesses and nonprofits. Utilities would be required to pass the savings on to customers or face fines.

The state House, where Democrats have a narrow majority, passed the measure unanimously last week as part of a bill that would dramatically change the way utility profits are regulated. House Republicans criticized the changes to utility regulation, but voted in favor of the legislation after it was amended to include the tax cut.

“There is no other way for the legislature to lower people’s electric bill immediately,” said state Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar (R., Somerset), who introduced the tax cut amendment.

“Everything else is pie in the sky.”

The state Senate has not taken up the regulatory changes, but approved the tax cut in expedited fashion last week as the centerpiece of a broader package that would also repeal a sales tax exemption for data centers and expand a tax credit that funds private school scholarships.

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A spokesperson said Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the cap on utility profits, but did not address his position on the tax cut. The profit cap follows the approach the governor outlined in a letter sent to utility leaders in May, warning them to stop seeking “unacceptably high” rate increases, or face his public opposition.

Shapiro and legislative leaders are currently in the thick of negotiations over the state budget. Republican leaders in the state Senate said in a statement Tuesday that they expected a deal “in the days following July 4th.”

Asked how the state could afford such a large tax cut, state Rep. Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told Spotlight PA: “Everything is on the table right now, and anything that’s gonna help people is gonna be on the table until we’re done.”

Fair returns

The bill began life in the state House as a way to curb utility profits.

The average electric bill in Pennsylvania has risen by more than 60% over the past five years, according to data compiled by Heatmap News and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Several factors have contributed to the increase. The rapid growth of data centers has contributed to a surge in demand, prompting a spike in wholesale prices, which are passed on to residential customers. There have also been delays in bringing new generation online.

The tax cut could offer fast relief for residents squeezed by rising bills, as concerns over affordability are top of mind for voters ahead of the November election. But it would also cost the commonwealth an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue in the next fiscal year, without an obvious way to make up the shortfall.

Even without the tax cut, spending is set to outpace available revenues, making it likely that lawmakers will need to dip into the rainy day fund to balance this year’s budget.

Republican leaders have argued that Pennsylvania needs to cut spending, while Shapiro’s proposed budget would boost state spending by roughly 5%.

The state Senate passed a similar tax cut to lower electric bills in 2024, but it did not ultimately become law.

In a local radio interview, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) acknowledged that the tax cut “would have an impact” on the state’s deficit, but added that “there’s a shared understanding that affordability is a major issue.”

While most Senate Democrats voted in favor of the tax cut, some criticized it as a political stunt.

“What taxes will go up to cover it? What services will be cut?” state Sen. Lindsey Williams (D., Allegheny), one of six Democrats to vote against the tax package, asked during the floor debate on the bill.

“No one is answering those questions and no one will.”

Profit formula

Consumer advocates have long argued that excessive utility profits also play a role in driving up residents’ bills. In their view, the profits that the state Public Utility Commission allows utility companies to earn are too high, given that their status as monopolies makes them a relatively safe investment.

By law, utilities are entitled to recover “reasonably incurred” expenses, as well as the opportunity to earn a fair return on their investment. The Public Utility Commission considers rate requests in complex and technical legal proceedings that can last months.

“They don’t need to be making as much profit as they are making now,” said state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D., Philadelphia), chair of the House Energy Committee, who introduced the original legislation.

Fiedler said there is a “shared frustration” among lawmakers in both chambers and both parties about utility costs.

Fielder’s proposal would cap the profits that investor-owned utilities can earn based on a formula tied to the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds. Alternatively, a utility company could hold a “sealed bid competitive auction process” to determine the rate of return required to attract investment.

In a typical rate case, a utility’s experts and consumer advocates use the same financial models to come to very different conclusions about the profits that utilities need to earn in order to attract continued investment, said Patrick Cicero, an attorney at the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project.

The bill is an attempt to be “more granular and precise” in setting profits, said Cicero, who previously served as the state’s official consumer advocate.

“Why approximate when we don’t have to?”

Changes to the profits that utilities earn could add up to millions of dollars in savings for customers, supporters say.

A reduction of 2 percentage points in the profits of PPL, which serves more than 1 million customers across central and eastern Pennsylvania, could save a typical residential customer almost $60 on their electric bill by 2030, according to a report by Synapse Energy Economics, a consulting firm.

Credit concerns

Opponents say the profit cap is an untested policy that would harm utilities financially and drive investment from the state.

“Trying to undo a century’s worth of process on the fly is not sound energy policy," said Andrew Tubbs, president and CEO of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, which represents electric and natural gas utilities.

The bill “wouldn’t just change how rates are set, it would take Pennsylvania and make us really outside of the mainstream.”

No state regulates utility profits this way, although similar legislation has been proposed in New York. New Jersey is considering tying profits to performance, including affordability and reliability.

The returns available to investors allow private water utilities to attract the money they need to make infrastructure improvements, Jenn Kocher, vice president of communications for the National Association of Water Companies, said in a statement.

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Capping those profits “directly threatens the safety and reliability of water and wastewater in Pennsylvania,” said Kocher, who was previously a spokesperson for the state Senate’s Republican caucus.

In the state House, Republican lawmakers were largely critical of the bill — before voting in support of it once the tax cut was added.

The Public Utility Commission is neutral on the legislation to cap profits, according to a spokesperson.

Two of the agency’s five commissioners, however, wrote to state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) to express their opposition, arguing that the proposed changes “will not make a positive contribution and may make matters worse.”

Additionally, they argued, legal challenges would be inevitable, and the costs of that litigation would be passed on to ratepayers.

Another commissioner, Vice Chair Kimberly Barrow, took a different view, saying at a recent legislative hearing that she was “very pleased” to see the bill advance in the House.

Spotlight PA’s Stephen Caruso contributed reporting.

Democrats make final push to raise minimum wage in this year’s Pa. budget

Ethan Young — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:29:55 -0400

HARRISBURG — Democratic state lawmakers called on the Republicans who control the Pennsylvania Senate to raise the minimum wage as part of this year’s almost-overdue budget.

During a news conference Tuesday — on the 20th anniversary of the vote that last raised the state minimum wage — lawmakers lambasted the upper chamber’s leaders, characterizing them as a roadblock to enacting legislation they say is necessary as the cost of living has increased.

Democrats want to gradually raise the hourly wage floor from $7.25 to $15, a number Republicans have long argued is too high. The upper chamber last passed a minimum wage increase in 2019, which would have set a $9.50 floor. (It failed in the state House, which was then also controlled by Republicans.)

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Speaking on the floor of the state Senate about the budget process Tuesday, Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said he would be open to advancing a minimum wage bill if lawmakers would “meet in the middle” with a wage that was lower than $15.

Pittman elaborated further in an email to Spotlight PA, writing that “any possible action would need to be a commonsense adjustment, and sensitive to the impact changes would have on small businesses and non-profit organizations.”

Democratic governors and lawmakers in the state House and Senate have for years made an annual show of calling for a higher wage.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has pitched a $15-an-hour minimum in his last four budget addresses, and at least one — and sometimes more — bills to raise the wage have passed the state House in every legislative session since Democrats took control of the chamber in 2022. Each has stalled in the Republican-controlled state Senate.

“Are our workers not deserving to be able to be paid with dignity when housing costs have skyrocketed?” House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) said at a Tuesday news conference. “Look at what has happened in the 20 years since the Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have raised the wage. Well, we're here this morning to say it together, ‘Raise the wage.’”

During an appearance with MSNOW's Jen Psaki last week, Shapiro said that raising the minimum wage would be one of his priorities if Democrats win control of the state Senate in November's election.

In March, the House passed its latest version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Dawkins (D., Philadelphia). The measure would incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 2029. It would also set wages for tipped employees at 60% of the statewide minimum wage. The state Senate hasn’t acted on it.

They’ve tried different approaches in the past. Last year, for instance, Dawkins sponsored a bill that would have raised the wage to $15 in counties with the biggest populations but $12 in smaller ones — a design intended to get some Republicans on board. It, too, never saw action from the upper chamber.

Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) also tried a procedural technique to force action on Dawkins’ latest bill, filing a discharge petition in an attempt to bring the bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.

Members can theoretically use discharge petitions to force popular bills out of a committee without the consent of the committee’s chair, by putting the petition to a majority floor vote. But without some bipartisan support, they’re easy to circumvent. When Costa made a motion for the full chamber to consider his petition on Tuesday, it failed in a party-line vote.

Rep. Roni Green (D., Philadelphia), one of 12 co-sponsors on Dawkins’ current bill, said in an interview that she “can't think of anything better or quicker that would impact working families and the lives of working families more than raising the minimum wage.”

“I hear from my constituents how a minimum wage increase of at least $15 an hour … will allow them to continue to put food on the table, pay for housing, expenses, pay for gas that has increased, pay for childcare that is increasing,” she said.

Green started her minimum wage advocacy while working as a Philadelphia human services caseworker and serving as a shop steward for her then-union, SEIU Local 668. The union represents about 20,000 workers in Pennsylvania, many of whom work for state, county, and local government.

Republicans have consistently argued that raising the minimum wage will not solve the problems that proponents claim it would.

“If I truly believed that a government-mandated wage would be the utopia that we hear, and that it would fix all of the problems that we hear about, I would support it.” House Minority Leader Rep. Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) said when Dawkins’ bill passed the chamber this year. “The problem is fundamentally, I don't believe it will accomplish those goals.”

The conservative Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry has also been a consistent opponent of a higher minimum wage. A spokesperson for the organization said in a statement that it has “long warned that government-mandated wage increases can reduce employee hours, eliminate jobs, and raise consumer prices.”

“If lawmakers pursue an increase, it must be paired with pro-growth policies that help employers continue hiring, investing, and growing in Pennsylvania,” the spokesperson added.

Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D., Philadelphia), who helped negotiate Pennsylvania’s last minimum wage increase, routinely notes the number of days that have passed since that 2006 vote. That tally is now at 7,305.

“We are going to keep pushing and pushing until the Republicans in the Senate do what's right,” she said during Democrats’ Tuesday news conference.

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The bill the legislature passed 20 years ago gradually raised the state's minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.15 an hour. When the federal government raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in 2009, that rate became effective in the commonwealth.

In 2025, there were more than 40,000 workers in Pennsylvania who were paid at or below the minimum wage, according to a report from the Department of Labor and Industry’s Minimum Wage Advisory Board. More than 80% of those who earned at or below the $7.25 an hour threshold were women, according to the report.

Just over 17% of Pennsylvania workers were paid an hourly salary in 2025 that sits between the current minimum wage and the $15 an hour level that Democratic lawmakers have proposed — a slightly smaller percentage than the year prior.

Every state that borders Pennsylvania has a higher minimum wage. New York has the highest at $17 an hour, and West Virginia the lowest at $8.75 an hour.

“It's not just my constituents that are affected by higher grocery bills, by higher utility bills, by higher transportation bills, by higher housing bills. This affects people in all 67 counties,” Green said. “I'm asking the Republican Senate to please come to the table, negotiate in good faith.”

Pa., 24 other states sue Trump administration over Medicaid work-requirement rule

Jenna Monnin — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:33:18 -0400

A coalition of 25 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration for its strict interpretation of new Medicaid work requirements included in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Massachusetts, claims a new June 3 rule from the Health and Human Services Department and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services forces “vulnerable Medicaid members” to “jump through unnecessary administrative hoops to get and retain life-saving healthcare coverage.”

CMS and HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democratic attorneys general filed the suit on behalf of their respective states, and two governors, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, joined in their official capacity.

The state officials claim the new rule ignores work-requirment exemptions Congress passed through the OBBB. Individuals excluded from the requirements include people who are “medically frail,” as well as people who are blind, physically, intellectually, or developmentally disabled, or have severe mental disorders.

The Medicaid work requirements passed in the OBBB mandated that able-bodied individuals can qualify for coverage by completing at least 80 hours per month of activities such as paid employment, federally recognized job-training or education programs, and community service.

The new rule rejects a broader definition of “medically frail” individuals, and requires those seeking coverage to prove their condition “significantly impairs” their ability to comply with the work requirements — rather than solely declaring they have a diagnosis or condition that would qualify them for the exemption.

“CMS adopted a rule that dramatically narrowed the Congressionally established categorical exclusions from the work requirement for some of the most vulnerable Medicaid members,” the plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit.

The administration pursued the strict interpretation of the Medicaid work requirements to cut down on alleged fraud and abuse in the system, NOTUS reported earlier this month.

“We’re forgiving but we’re not foolish,” CMS administrator Mehmet Oz said at a press briefing after the rule was published.

Will education again divide the Pa. legislature this budget cycle? There are signs of smoother sailing.

Jaxon White — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0400

HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to include $565 million in this year’s budget to continue closing an “adequacy gap” among public schools as his fellow Democrats push a proposal to overhaul tax credit programs that fund private school scholarships.

Republicans who control the state Senate have pushed back, calling for changes to the formula adopted two years ago to rectify the funding disparity and for an expansion of the scholarships.

While a dispute over education funding contributed to a months-long budget impasse a few years ago, one key lawmaker thinks the issue won’t be much of a sticking point, in part because lawmakers in the divided state legislature are pursuing a less ambitious agenda.

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“Last year's education code bill was extremely dense and had a lot of things in it that we were extremely proud of,” said state Rep. Pete Schweyer (D., Lehigh), who chairs the House Education Committee, referencing additional oversight of cyber charter schools and a reduction in the money districts pay them.

“This year, I don't think it's gonna be quite as robust, but I don't necessarily think it has to be.”

The state budget, negotiated behind closed doors by the governor’s staff and top lawmakers, is due June 30. While the major players have offered few details about negotiations publicly, they have all sounded optimistic they will avoid a prolonged impasse. Still, there remain differences of opinion, primarily on overall spending.

The ‘adequacy’ conversation

Looming over all discussions about education is a 2023 ruling in which a state court found Pennsylvania’s school funding approach to be unconstitutionally inequitable and ordered lawmakers to fix it.

In response, the legislature in 2024 adopted a state budget that acknowledged a $4.5 billion “adequacy” gap and instituted a formula that uses factors such as poverty and level of English proficiency to decide how much additional money a district should receive. Lawmakers have so far appropriated more than $1 billion to close the gap.

Shapiro proposed an additional $565 million for underfunded schools this year, and state House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) told Spotlight PA this month that passing that boost is among his "priorities.” Shapiro also pitched $50 million increases to basic education and special education funding.

But for many Republicans, the adequacy formula has become an issue. State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) told Spotlight PA in early June that his caucus does not support it and that it should be reevaluated: “We view that formula as picking winners and losers.”

Schweyer said any significant changes to the formula this year would likely “elicit some sort of response from the litigants.”

Hillary Linardopoulos, policy director at the Education Law Center, one of the groups that brought the original school funding lawsuit against the state, declined to comment on the possibility of litigation should lawmakers approve a spending plan advocates deem inadequate.

ELC and other public education advocacy groups have pushed lawmakers to adopt a firm funding timeline, rather than renegotiating an adequacy payment every year. The legislature hasn’t done that.

Linardopoulos said she thinks the General Assembly should accelerate its funding, but the advocates recognize that rectifying the “decades-long injustice" takes time.

“The court's mandate is clear, and we intend to ensure that it's properly implemented so that kids can thrive,” Linardopoulos said.

The budget is negotiated by the governor's office and top lawmakers from each chamber, and no one close to the talks has publicly commented on their status. Still, some Capitol insiders remain optimistic a deal could be signed as soon as early-to-mid July. Such predictions have circulated in the past, before deep divides on certain issues spark hostilities.

Possibly the worst example in recent history happened in 2023. That year, the state Senate passed a budget that included $100 million in taxpayer money to fund private school tuition for students in low-performing public districts. Shapiro had been publicly supportive of a voucher program during his campaign, but — facing pressure from fellow Democrats — vetoed that part of the budget. That decision remains a point of tension in his relationship with GOP leaders.

With a multibillion-dollar gap expected between the state’s revenue and its expenditures, lawmakers will likely need to tap the state’s rainy day fund to offset rising costs, like education. State House Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) said the public will understand.

“We know that there is a significant cost to carry with public education, as well as we know what the court has required us to do,” Harris told reporters in mid-June. “These are things that must happen.”

Alternatives to public schools

Pennsylvania has for decades run programs that provide tax breaks to businesses and individuals that contribute money to educational nonprofit organizations, which then pay for students to attend private schools.

The Educational Improvement and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs have grown steadily, and the amount allocated for scholarships is currently capped at $575 million.

Last week, state Senate Republicans passed a budget-enabling tax code bill that makes several tax cuts and expands EITC by $25 million. Pittman said in an interview with WCCS Radio in Indiana County that the move was “very important for empowering parents.”

The state House, meanwhile, has passed a bill that would overhaul these tax credits and replace them with a program that its supporters say targets more funding at disadvantaged students and provides more oversight. (The overall level of funding would stay the same.)

According to the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Nikki Rivera (D., Lancaster), the legislation was inspired by an Independent Fiscal Office report from 2022 that showed the research agency did not have enough information to determine whether the credits “substantially enhance educational opportunities available to all Pennsylvania students.”

At the time, the IFO’s analysts recommended the legislature permit the state to collect student performance and demographic data so that the programs could be meaningfully evaluated.

Rivera’s bill would require the state’s auditor general to conduct compliance audits of scholarship organizations and participating private schools, while the IFO would produce reports studying overarching trends of contributors, scholarship organizations, and recipients.

“It's the same level of detail that any public school has to provide,” she said.

The Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank, claims those requirements are designed to "intimidate" donors, schools, and parents from participating.

Another point of contention over Rivera’s bill is the proposed 2% administrative fee on contributions to help cover the cost of running the program. Rachel Langan, senior education policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, said the fee would unnecessarily take away money from the organizations’ donations.

Schweyer, the chair of the House Education Committee, said he doesn’t “hate” the tax credit programs. He backed the more thorough reporting requirement legislation, which won support from three House Republicans, to ensure the credits are working most effectively.

“I'm not adversarial to it,” Schweyer said. “I want to expand it where it makes sense, and I want to make sure we have oversight over a massive program.”

State Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, chair of her chamber’s Education Committee, declined to comment for this story. Her spokesperson deferred emailed questions to Senate GOP leadership.

The state’s longstanding debate over education tax credits is also being projected onto a much larger stage this year — Shapiro has until Jan. 1 to decide whether to enroll the state in a federal program that works essentially the same way as EITC. It offers individuals up to $1,700 in tax credits for contributions made toward private school scholarships.

Even if the General Assembly passes legislation to opt in, the governor’s administration must provide a list of qualifying scholarship providers before the dollars can be rolled out next year.

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More than half of states have enrolled in the program, the Internal Revenue Service reported earlier this month, despite opposition from two unions representing 4.8 million educators nationwide.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick are among the Republicans urging Shapiro to sign the state up.

But the Shapiro administration has not yet made a decision. Last week, after the U.S. Treasury released more information regarding the program, Shapiro’s spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said in an email that officials continue “to evaluate as we await additional information on how this will affect use of our existing tax credits, how states will be expected to administer the program, and how eligibility will be determined.”

Langan told Spotlight PA that Shapiro should enroll in the federal program “as early as possible” because families are beginning to look into school tuition rates for the next semester.

“It would just make it a much smoother rollout if we're going to eventually opt in to do it before the school year starts,” Langan said.

Spotlight PA’s Stephen Caruso contributed reporting.

Comcast plans to split into two public companies by spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky

Michelle Chapman — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:08:49 -0400

NEW YORK — Communications giant Comcast is planning to split itself into two: one media-centered business that would include brands like NBCUniversal and Sky and a separate company focused on broadband and wireless services.

In a Monday announcement, Comcast said the breakup will put both of these operations in a better position to pursue their own priorities and growth. The move arrives as communications companies continue to wrestle with years of cord-cutting, and shifting habits in how consumers now buy subscriptions for anything from their phone plans to streaming budgets more broadly.

“The world is changing faster than ever,” Comcast Chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts said on a Monday call — adding that it “has become clear” the company’s technology and media businesses each “have compelling opportunities in front of them that are distinct in nature and best pursued with dedicated focus.”

Upon the spinoff’s completion, both businesses would become their own publicly-traded companies. Comcast said it expects to complete the process in about a year, pending regulatory approvals and a final greenlight from its board.

That means consumers shouldn’t feel immediate impacts. But a host of major brands currently sit under Comcast’s umbrella — from internet and wireless provider Xfinity to streaming platform Peacock, NBC News and Universal Studios. And analysts are eyeing what those businesses could look like farther down the road.

What could be in store for NBCUniversal and Comcast

“In the short term, bundles, pricing, and distribution will likely hold,” said Mike Proulx, a vice president and research director at market research firm Forrester. For NBCUniversal — set to head the media-centered company Comcast is spinning off — the split in itself carries little effect on its current business, he noted, and is “more to do with what it becomes longer term.”

Proulx is bracing for future acquisitions in this space, adding that “Comcast is following a playbook we have already seen.” He pointed to Warner Bros. Discovery, which announced its own intention to split just last June — before becoming a takeover target that erupted into a messy tug-of-war between Netflix and Skydance-owned Paramount. Paramount eventually became victorious, and is now edging closer to closing its $81 billion buyout of Warner’s entire company.

Comcast executives have appeared to so far dismiss the possibility of heading toward a similar fate. When asked on Monday’s call whether investors should view the separation as a step toward “potential strategic transactions” for either business, Roberts said: “Absolutely not.”

His co-CEO Mike Cavanagh — who is set to become the chief executive of the NBCUniversal spinoff — echoed that sentiment. Cavanagh reiterated plans to “build and invest for growth” with more freedom as a standalone business.

Still, analysts like Proulx speculate that even if NBCUniversal doesn’t become a takeover target, “it’ll likely be the company doing the acquiring.”

“As it stands, traditional TV is dying, and Peacock alone isn’t enough to compete at scale against the biggest streaming services,” Proulx said via email. “One way or the other, NBCU’s entertainment business will look different within the next couple of years.”

This isn’t the first spinoff for Comcast

Like other companies, Comcast in recent years has shifted its business emphasis away from traditional cable toward streaming and other sources of revenue, such as its movie studio, theme parks and home wireless and internet services.

NBCUniversal includes that theme parks division, Universal film and television studios, NBC and Telemundo networks, Peacock, and Bravo — and with the spinoff, European media business Sky will also be part of that portfolio led by Cavanagh.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia-based Comcast will continue providing internet services to residential and business customers. Comcast’s former Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis will become the CEO of that company following its separation.

Comcast has split off assets before. Monday’s move arrives just months after the company officially completed its separation of Versant Media Group — which, as first announced in November 2024, is the new home of networks like USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC (now MS NOW). Movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site were also included.

Once the latest split is complete, Comcast shareholders will own shares in both Comcast and NBCUniversal. Comcast expects to keep a stake of up to 19.9% ownership position in NBCUniversal for up to one year after the spinoff is complete.

Comcast jumped more than 6% as of midday trading following Monday’s announcement. Shares still are down over 10% since the start of 2026.

Congress wanted unity for America's 250th. Trump made it a campaign rally.

Igor Bobic — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:57:55 -0400

Congress wanted the nation’s 250th birthday to unite America in celebrating its founding principles, common bonds and democratic institutions that have made the country so unique. It passed bipartisan legislation a decade ago creating a commission to support events in the capital and around the country to mark the occasion.

Instead, the semiquincentennial events in Washington, D.C., have become intensely partisan, with President Donald Trump essentially taking over as master of ceremonies. The president and his administration have spurned congressional efforts to celebrate the anniversary in favor of their own high-profile events, such as the UFC match at the White House and campaign-style rallies on the National Mall, culminating with one on July Fourth that Trump has dubbed “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all.”

“I will be speaking at approximately 9 P.M., preceding the Fireworks which again, like the Airshow, will be approximately ten times larger than any Fireworks in the History of our Country. So, if you like Airplanes and Fireworks and President Trump, be there!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

A handful of Democratic-led states are openly boycotting Trump’s 16-day Great American State Fair, progressive activists are organizing competing events in D.C., and some Washingtonians are skipping the traditionally bipartisan July 4 events on the National Mall altogether.

“I think that’s sad,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told NOTUS.

“If the celebration of the miracle of democracy that comes from the founding of this nation becomes partisan, shame on us,” lamented Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina).

Trump this week kicked off 250th celebrations with a campaign-sounding speech on the National Mall in which he touted anti-transgender policies, praised immigration agents implementing his deportation push, and promoted a tentative peace deal with Iran. The fair is being put on by Freedom 250, the Trump-backed group funded in part with private donations, which has overtaken the bipartisan America250 commission created by Congress in 2016. The bipartisan commission told Congress earlier this year it has a $100 million funding shortfall, while Freedom 250 received $68 million in taxpayer funds this year.

“He can’t help himself – especially with things that don’t involve him, don’t praise him, don’t highlight him – President Trump couldn’t help but try making America’s 250th birthday all about himself,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) said during a Senate hearing this week.

Padilla further questioned how much taxpayer money had been spent on Freedom 250, as opposed to America250, and whether any conflicts of interest existed with funneling private donations to Trump’s favored group. The Trump administration is withholding tens of millions in taxpayer funds from America250 while simultaneously directing money toward Freedom 250, as NOTUS first reported.

“Which donors have supported those efforts, let alone what requests might have been made alongside those contributions? How much of this has been pay-to-play or quid pro quo?” Padilla asked.

Speaking ahead of Trump at the state fair event last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the music artists who pulled out of performing at the event shortly after the lineup was announced last month due to its partisan nature.

“We have to give a big round of applause for our military band and singers. Way better than those libtards that canceled on us,” Duffy said, using a derogatory word for liberals.

Congressional Democrats who serve on the bipartisan America 250 commission blamed Trump for undermining bipartisan efforts aimed at commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Many of them said they still intended to celebrate the anniversary, just in their own states.

“I remember the 200th [anniversary] in 1976 and how the whole country celebrated together, and it’s unfortunate that it seems to be turning into a more partisan event,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), a member of the commission, told NOTUS.

“A campaign rally is not celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country,” she said. “I expect to attend something in New Hampshire for the 250th, and I think a lot of people will be attending events in their home states.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told NOTUS it’s an important time for the country. “My hope is that everybody is going to be doing something that stops and recognizes the just the special nature of what it means to be a citizen of the United States, and to celebrate that in your own way.”

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), said that the 250th anniversary “shouldn’t be partisan,” and told NOTUS he’s interested in making a “public inquiry” into what is happening with the appropriated funds. In July last year, Congress appropriated $150 million for the 250th celebration.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) sent the Department of the Interior a letter in March asking why Freedom 250 was receiving taxpayer money. A Schiff spokesperson told NOTUS the letter has not received a response.

Rosie Rios, the chair of the America250 commission, refused to answer NOTUS’ questions on whether the organization had received the tens of millions of dollars it’s supposed to get from the administration. Instead, Rios told NOTUS “we continue to be in constant communication” with the administration.

“The private sector has been very, very, very generous. We have great partnerships, we have great sponsorships,” Rios said.

Rios downplayed concerns that the 250th anniversary celebrations had become too partisan, telling NOTUS, “We cannot be all things to all Americans, but we have something for every American.”

The America250 commission, she said, has “remained focused on implementing our values-based programming, regardless of any other organization and their own planning activities, and that’s where we’ve been successful.”

The Republican members on the congressional America250 commission downplayed the rift between the competing groups, insisting that Trump isn’t favoring one over the other.

“He’s not trying to sabotage the America250,” Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama) told NOTUS. He acknowledged that there are people in the America250 commission who do not “embrace” what Freedom 250 is doing, “but that’s OK.”

“There’s plenty of room for everybody and everything,” said West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. “I don’t think the nation’s birthday needs to be a partisan event. I think July 4 should be a unifying event.”

That hasn’t assuaged critics of Trump’s approach to the celebrations. Organizers with the progressive group Next250, for example, are planning “a broader, more inclusive vision for how the country approaches its 250th anniversary,” including events around the country designed as a response to “an increasingly narrow and exclusionary narrative from the MAGA regime. A separate group, We The People 250, is also planning a D.C. march on July 4 “against authoritarianism and political violence.”

But Murkowski, at least, is holding out hope that bipartisanship will prevail.

“We’re already divided enough as a country, and I think this needs to be the one time where we all just say, isn’t it amazing that we’ve made it this far?” she said.

How Spotlight PA reported its investigation into Pa.’s drug delivery resulting in death law

Ed Mahon — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Whether and how to prosecute someone after a fatal drug overdose emerged as a major issue during Spotlight PA’s ongoing reporting on Pennsylvania's addiction crisis.

In 2025, the newsroom organized a series of listening and engagement events focused on the opioid crisis and the debate over how best to spend billions of dollars in settlement money from drug companies. The goal was to create opportunities for the people most affected by the issue to get involved and share their own stories and solutions.

Multiple sources brought up the issue of prosecuting people who provided the fatal drugs. Some opposed this approach, while others said it could bring accountability.

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Pennsylvania is known as a national leader for these types of prosecutions, and Spotlight PA set out to understand the complicated on-the-ground reality of them.

The newsroom contacted dozens of people affected by the issue: friends and family members, people in recovery, prosecutors, defense attorneys, government officials, and a variety of experts. Spotlight PA interviewed or received comments from more than 50 people, and reviewed hundreds of pages of court records, covering Tioga County cases and ones that reached a state appellate court.

The news organization also obtained unique datasets from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts — the combined records covered hundreds of cases over multiple decades.

Spotlight PA reporter Ed Mahon first interviewed Tioga County resident Cyndi Compton in July of 2025, the same month that new criminal charges were filed in connection to her son’s death. He stayed in regular contact with her throughout the reporting process. He also made three in-person trips to Tioga County: two in November 2025 and another in February 2026.

While You’re Here: If you learned something from this report, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future.

Spotlight PA decided to focus on Cyndi Compton’s advocacy and cases in Tioga County as a way to understand the broader debate — and to see conflicts around the issue play out in real time.

Supplying drugs in fatal overdoses has led to 100s of Pa. prison sentences. Grieving families are divided.

Ed Mahon — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Justice System

Resulting in Death

Supplying drugs in fatal overdoses has led to 100s of Pa. prison sentences. Grieving families are divided.

June 29, 2026

by Ed Mahon

Spotlight PA

Photo by Ed Mahon of Spotlight PA

Support This Work

Part 1 of 2

Cyndi Compton relived the October day over and over again.

Early that morning, her 24-year-old son, Isaiah, stopped by her house in rural Tioga County and woke her up with a request.

Would she make him breakfast?

Of course. They both had the day off from work. She cooked French toast.

That meal was, she later recalled, one of the last ordinary moments she ever had with Isaiah.

Isaiah was a fighter from an early age. He survived childhood cancer and grew into a young man known for his good sense of humor and a love for the outdoors, particularly scaling trees. Working as an arborist, he felt at home high up in the air and among the branches: confident in his ropes, secure in his harness.

He had also struggled with drug use. Cyndi remembers looking at Isaiah’s eyes in 2019 and suspecting he was using again. He returned to treatment, and she saw him make progress. By the fall of 2020, Cyndi felt he was moving forward with his life.

But the day after the breakfast, she got the phone call. Isaiah was gone.

“Our family will never be whole again,” she said in court, years later.

Isaiah was one of thousands of people in Pennsylvania to die following an overdose. While still grieving, Cyndi became an advocate, seeking to save lives like Isaiah’s. She also pushed for a response that divides some families who have suffered similar tragedies.

Cyndi urged law enforcement officials and lawmakers to prioritize the use of a criminal charge known as drug delivery resulting in death. It’s a felony for cases when someone illegally provides drugs that cause someone to die. Pennsylvania’s statute is broad: It includes both selling and giving drugs, and doesn’t distinguish between defendants who are kingpins, street-level dealers, or fellow users. A conviction can bring a prison sentence of 20 to 40 years.

Her advocacy put Cyndi — a 62-year-old grandmother, seamstress, and retired licensed social worker — into the middle of an emotionally charged question over how best to respond to drug overdoses.

Pennsylvania is known as one of the top states, if not the leader, in bringing this type of criminal charge. In 2020, the year Isaiah died, there were about 190 new drug delivery resulting in death charges filed here, state court data show. And even with some recent prosecution declines, there’s been a significant increase in people convicted and sentenced on the charge over the past two decades.

Some lawmakers are pushing to expand how long after a death these prosecutions can begin, beyond the current two-year limit. Others have called to restrict when the charges apply, seeking to protect people who share drugs but don’t sell them for profit. The state’s highest court heard arguments earlier this year over what limits should exist on these cases.

As those debates occur, Cyndi’s search for justice offers a window into the complicated on-the-ground reality of treating overdoses like a homicide. It highlights how the consequences for a death in Pennsylvania can depend on where it happens and how quickly investigators act.

Some families say these prosecutions do more harm than good, while others push for them.

For Cyndi, it felt like Pennsylvania’s system was letting drug dealers get away with murder.

‘Relentless’

After the October 2020 call, Cyndi remembers thinking it was wrong — that her son couldn’t be dead. “I know I was screaming that,” she told Spotlight PA.

When she got to the apartment, it felt like forever before she could see his body. Finally, she got down on the floor, lay next to him, and tried to listen to his heart.

“There was nothing,” she said.

A grand jury presentment later called Isaiah’s death “overdose-related” and said it involved fentanyl, cocaine, and other substances.

From early on, Cyndi both grieved — and took action.

She got a permanent reminder of him: a tattoo down her right forearm. It shows Isaiah working high up in a tree, his arms spread wide, just as he had appeared in a photo — an image where he had compared himself to a bird.

Cyndi Compton shows a tattoo she has in memory of her son Isaiah. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

Cyndi also started looking for how the person who provided him the drugs could be held accountable. Isaiah shared responsibility for what happened, she later said, but Cyndi felt he shouldn’t be the only one to pay the price. She came across the charge of drug delivery resulting in death and quickly made her case in public for stricter enforcement of the law.

Thad Compton, Cyndi’s husband and Isaiah’s father, described her as “relentless” and told Spotlight PA she talked “to anybody that would listen.”

Shad Alexander, a longtime friend of Isaiah’s and a fellow arborist, said Cyndi kept advocating even “when people thought she was crazy.”

“She wouldn’t stop,” said Alexander, a former heroin user who is in long-term recovery. “How many other parents do I know that lost their kid? You don’t see them posting on Facebook or talking to representatives. …They grieve, but that’s it. Cyndi did not stop.”

An investigation into Isaiah’s death eventually led to a prosecution and conviction — although by the time those charges were filed, drug delivery resulting in death was off the table. The two-year statute of limitations had expired.

Cyndi’s work led to legislation in Harrisburg named after Isaiah. The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations when someone dies from an overdose, treating those cases like crimes such as murder and voluntary manslaughter. The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Clint Owlett (R., Tioga) called Isaiah’s story “heartbreaking to hear.”

“We worked together to try to draft some legislation,” he told Spotlight PA. “And we’ve been working at advocacy on this for a while now, and we’re going to keep at it.”

The legislation would reduce other potential barriers to prosecutions, including when there are multiple drugs involved. But it would also create a defense for people who don’t “receive any service or anything of value in exchange” — a measure intended to distinguish friends who share drugs from dealers. Multiple versions of the bill have been filed in the legislature but never made it out of committee as of early June.

Other families have visited Owlett to share their stories.

“They’ll bring pictures of their loved ones and lay ’em on my desk,” Owlett said, adding, “Cyndi’s not alone in this.”

A grand jury presentment called Isaiah Compton's death “overdose-related” and said it involved fentanyl, cocaine, and other substances. (Ed Mahon / Spotlight PA)

Michelle Taylor — who has known Cyndi for decades — has shared the heartbreak. Taylor went to Isaiah’s 2020 funeral. Her son Scott Reese, who also struggled with addiction, joined her.

Taylor, 54, remembers Cyndi hugging Reese and telling him to stay clean. She wanted him to live.

But three months later, Reese died from an overdose, Taylor said. She remembers finding his body, knowing it was too late, but begging him to wake up.

Cyndi was one of the first people to show up to Taylor’s home to comfort her.

In the years since, Taylor’s been grateful to her friend for her advocacy and her willingness to be a voice for others.

“She’s fighting the fight that a lot of us aren’t,” Taylor said.

‘Anger in you’

Support for escalating the use of these types of prosecutions isn’t unanimous. Others are trying to stop or scale back the use of these types of laws.

Tyler Cordeiro died from an overdose involving fentanyl in 2020. He was 24 years old.

His mother, Susan Ousterman, briefly considered pursuing criminal charges, she told Spotlight PA.

“You have that anger in you. You want someone to pay,” said Ousterman, a national drug policy advocate based in Bucks County. “But I knew that … the person that gave him the drugs was no different than him.”

Ousterman has since opposed these types of drug delivery resulting in death prosecutions in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

Last year, Ousterman and others who lost a loved one to a substance-related death wrote to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, raising a number of concerns about the state’s response to the opioid crisis. They criticized harsher penalties and criminalization.

Susan Ousterman, right, is a national drug policy advocate based in Bucks County. (Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PA)

A Shapiro spokesperson last year responded to that letter by telling Spotlight PA the governor “has a long track record of fighting for families who have lost loved ones to the opioid crisis.” In the governor’s memoir, which was released earlier this year, Shapiro talked about his approach to prosecutions when he was attorney general.

He said the office charged “higher level dealers with tougher crimes” including trying “to put them away for twenty to forty years” if “the drugs they sold resulted in someone dying.” But Shapiro also said the office tried to send people to treatment instead of prison if they were “non-violent dealers who were basically just users trying to feed their addiction.”

Even though drug delivery resulting in death prosecutions are relatively rare compared to the total number of fatal overdoses, they still have a big impact, said Alice Bell of Prevention Point Pittsburgh. She directs the nonprofit’s overdose prevention project, and said the fear of arrest and the possibility of spending years in prison deters people from calling for help.

“People are aware of it, and there’s a fear of it,” she told Spotlight PA. “The more often that it’s used, or the more publicity about it, the less likely people would be to call 911 if there was somebody who overdoses.”

Ousterman has had what she described as painful and deeply personal conversations with other parents to help them understand the harm of these policies.

“It’s got to be done with compassion,” she said.

Critics say these prosecutions often target family, friends, or partners who may suffer from addiction themselves instead of large-scale dealers. And these charges can take resources away from effective overdose prevention efforts, they argue.

A 2021 article published in the International Journal of Drug Policy described several ways these drug-induced homicide laws may worsen opioid-related harms, including by potentially creating unpredictable fluctuations in the drug supply and a potential “chilling effect on those who could call 911 during an overdose.”

But the researchers also described the issue as “unexplored and untested” and said there was an “immediate and great” need “for comprehensive research that can validate or invalidate these hypotheses.”

In more than a dozen interviews with family members of overdose victims, Spotlight PA found a wide range of opinions on whether these types of prosecutions help or hurt.

Some supporters say they can bring accountability and reduce deaths.

Cumberland County resident Erika Shambaugh’s views of drug delivery resulting in death have changed over the years. She lost two children — Austin and Joshua Legassey — to overdoses in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

At first, Shambaugh wanted someone to face the charge in each case. Now she thinks prosecutors should only use it when the victim is under 18 or when the dealer doesn’t have any substance use issues.

“You can’t judge every case in a single category,” she told Spotlight PA.

For some families, the failure to prosecute is a point of frustration — and a sign that people in power didn’t value their loved one.

At a Berks County forum last year, a mother described losing her daughter a month earlier to a fentanyl overdose, reaching out to police, and feeling like “nobody gives a shit.”

Over a year later, Beth Nazaryk still felt frustrated. She was waiting for someone to be arrested and for accountability. She started missing monthly grief support meetings, and wondered what to do next.

“I feel like if I found out who sold her those drugs — and I say this to people all the time — and … if you could put me in a dark room with that person, I would come out on top,” Nazaryk said.

She added: “Because I’m so angry.”

During a public forum hosted by Spotlight PA in April 2025, Beth Nazaryk talks about the overdose death of her daughter. (Susan L. Angstadt / For Spotlight PA)

Increases in prosecutions

Pennsylvania saw a dramatic increase in these charges, after a change in state law and the rise of the opioid epidemic. Fights over these prosecutions have played out in courtrooms and the legislature.

In 2011, state lawmakers paved the way for the use of the charge when they effectively removed a requirement for there to be a finding of malice for drug delivery resulting in death cases. Two state representatives cited local deaths involving street-level dealers as they made the case on the House floor.

The legislation received no dissenting votes in either chamber, before then-Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, signed it into law. And as the opioid epidemic spread in Pennsylvania, with more than 5,000 people dying from overdoses some years, some prosecutors embraced the charge.

Criminal sentences on the charge used to be rare, according to data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. The commission’s data are based on reports from common pleas courts in Pennsylvania, and a commission official told Spotlight PA that historically, the commission receives data on about 95% to 98% of all cases.

From 2007 through 2011, the commission’s data show not a single person was convicted and sentenced on the charge.

But such punishments reached a recent high of around 100 in 2019.

Defense attorneys, public health advocates, and others have objected to the broad reach of the charge, with some calling it an “outdated ‘war on drugs’ approach.”

About 90% of convictions on the charge result in state prison sentences, data show. In those situations, the average minimum sentence is about six years.

Veronica Miller, deputy legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, criticized the charge, arguing the opioid epidemic needs to be addressed “as an actual public health issue.”

“It really does not get to the heart of the issue,” she said.

Meanwhile, some prosecutors have argued the charge is an appropriate response to overdose deaths. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, a Republican, previously said that when he was the York County district attorney, the office was “extremely cautious in charging it,” but that it can be “appropriate, because there has to be accountability.”

These investigations can provide answers to families and have a broader impact for those who might sell or use drugs, according to Kelly Callihan, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. She said “it is about justice” and “sending the message to drug dealers that what you’re selling is dangerous, is poisonous. It can cause death.”

Tips: Do you have a tip about drug overdose prosecutions that we should investigate? Or a story to share? We want to hear from you.

Defense attorneys have tried to rein in the charge, with limited success. In March, Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices heard arguments in cases that could set an important precedent going forward and potentially add legal protections when the accused acquired and used drugs alongside the person who died.

But some justices appeared skeptical that they — and not the legislature — had the power to make that change. A ruling was pending as of early June.

For now, much of the power over this issue comes down to how local law enforcement decides to approach these cases and the resources they have to investigate them. The use of the charge has varied widely across the state.

In Tioga County, Cyndi has urged lawmakers to act, saying municipal police lacked knowledge, resources, and time to fully investigate Isaiah’s death. She sees extending the statute of limitations beyond two years as one solution to the obstacles investigators face.

Cyndi hasn’t wavered in her support for drug delivery resulting in death prosecutions. She’s listened to arguments against, including the claim that someone else will just take a convicted dealer’s place. Well, catch that person too, she said. “You’ve got to do something.”

Even if the accused is experiencing addiction themselves, she still thinks they need consequences. She compared the situation to someone with an alcohol addiction who drinks, gets behind the wheel of a car, and kills someone.

“You’re still held accountable,” she said.