Federal and state officials have nearly tripled the number of Disaster Recovery Centers operating in flood ravaged parts of the state. The number now stands at 18. FEMA spokesman Eugene Brezany is in the field in central Pennsylvania, and says those DRCs have been busy. “A lot of people are following up on their […]
A new parent’s guide from the National Wildlife Federation says kids could get a better night’s sleep if they spent more time outdoors. “Green Time for Sleep Time” calls for rebalancing the amount of time children spend in front of screens such as TVs, computers and gaming systems and the amount of time they spend […]
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will take a closer look at how electric utilities handled outages during Hurricane Irene in a special forum next month. At the height of the storm, there were some 768,000 customers without power. Some were without service for up to ten days. Overall, there were more than 1.3 million customer […]
The Commonwealth reports a 43.9% increase in the need for food assistance since the economy went south in 2008. Food banks have been under pressure ever since. “It has not stopped in three years. It’s getting worse, as we can see,” says Sheila Christopher, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Regional Food Banks (PARF). […]
An unprecedented decline in fishing license sales is being tracked nationwide. Pennsylvania is no exception, as the Fish & Boat Commission reports 1.4-million PA anglers in 1996, compared to just under one million in 2006. With those numbers in mind, the commission is working to get more Pennsylvanians engaged, and they believe SB 1049 would […]
From the heavy spring rains that delayed planting, to the late summer floods, it was a bad weather year for pumpkins. “Between the weather conditions and disease potential that we’re getting in the fields, it’s a much smaller crop than in previous years,” says Penn State Extension vegetable specialist Mike Orzolek. “This might be the […]
Ten casinos are already operating in the Keystone State. Two resort casinos are pending, and two casino licenses are currently unallocated. One of those remaining two licenses was originally awarded to Foxwoods project in Philadelphia, and eventually revoked by the Gaming Control Board. The other is earmarked for a yet-to-be-built racetrack in Lawrence County. Both […]
The halls of the state capitol are filled with talk of a controversial new plan to change presidential elections in Pennsylvania. Many critics are calling it a distraction from an already busy fall agenda. Those critics gathered in the capitol rotunda, this week, to voice their displeasure. “It destroys Pennsylvania’s clout in the presidential selection […]
The deadline has passed without a resolution in a contract dispute between the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the vendor for its wine kiosk program. It means that the experiment with the wine vending machines at grocery stores has come to an end. LCB spokeswoman Stacey Witalec says the kiosks are no longer open and […]