Drunk driving has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two decades according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but officials say the numbers are still too high. Adults admitted to drinking and getting behind the wheel more than 100 million times last year. Those numbers have declined 30% in the past five […]
Governor Corbett has proposed an impact fee on natural gas wells to be assessed at the county level, but some lawmakers continue to push for a broader fee on gas extraction, with more money going statewide. Two House Republicans, Representatives Tom Murt and Gene DiGirolamo, are calling for a tax of 4.9 percent on the […]
Food pantries are seeing more repeat users, and a new study, “Food Banks: Hunger’s New Staple“, says it reflects a shift from emergency food assistance to chronic. More Americans are depending on food pantries and other charitable food services to feed themselves and their families according to the study by Feeding America. Mara Daly, chief […]
It took an hour for the House State Government Committee to advance the first piece of the National Security Begins at Home legislative package, via a party line vote. The legislation (HB 439) would revoke the professional license of an employer who knowingly hires illegal immigrants. “If you can hold somebody who has a professional […]
Pennsylvania allocates its Electoral College votes based on a winner-take-all model. Critics say it disenfranchises the millions of Pennsylvanians who vote for the losing candidate, every four years. “The integrity and weight of an individual’s vote is something that must be preserved and protected,” says Luke Bernstein, Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Tom Corbett. […]
Governor Corbett has released his plan for the Marcellus Shale industry, calling for some stronger regulations, an impact fee and the development of green corridors for natural gas vehicles. He made the announcement after weeks of reviewing the recommendations of his Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. The Governor’s proposed impact fee on Marcellus Shale wells would […]
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has some updated figures on the number of pheasants lost due to flooding. They’ve recovered about 8 to 9 thousand of the birds they thought were lost to flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. Those birds were still running around outside the holding pens. In addition, there was not quite as much damage […]
In the aftermath of a disaster, clean up is the main focus. But officials are already looking at ways they can prevent some of the devastating flooding from happening again. Tropical Storm Lee brought more than a foot of rain to parts of Pennsylvania, but some of the flooding was made worse by other factors […]
If you’ve been swatting more mosquitoes lately, you can lay some of the blame on Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The back to back storms left a lot of standing water, where mosquitoes are likely to breed. Kevin Sunday, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, says they started noticing more mosquitoes showing […]
The house has concurred with senate amendments, giving final approval to a bill to boost teen driver safety. Representative Kathy Watson (R-Bucks) has been trying to strengthen the teen driver law since 2005, she says the greatest distraction is other teens in the vehicle. The senate watered down the key provision limiting passengers for new […]