Pennsylvania’s education secretary says the results of teacher and principal evaluations in the 2009-10 school year in Pennsylvania raise serious concerns about the quality of the evaluation system. Ron Tomalis says he has great concerns about a system that ranks nearly 100% of the educators as satisfactory, when one out of four of the students […]
Texting while driving would be a primary offense. Talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving would be a secondary offense, under legislation that passed the State Senate Wednesday afternoon. It started out as a simple secondary offense texting ban, but Tommy Tomlinson’s bill was amended in committee to include hand-held cell phones and other […]
Police, prosecutors and non-profit groups have joined forces to announce the state’s first Human Trafficking Response Team. It will cover a five county area in Central Pennsylvania, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico. “Just as we’re a major pass through for commerce, we can also be a thoroughfare for human trafficking,” Marsico said […]
Several hundred protesters, representing 13-environmental and related groups, converged on the state capitol Tuesday. “We keep coming back to Harrisburg because [Marcellus Shale] drilling’s been going on in Pennsylvania for almost four years now, and what has our state legislature done? They have done nothing,” said Myron Arnowitt, Pennsylvania state director of Clean Water Action. […]
Between 800 and 1,000 Pennsylvania members of AARP gathered on the state capitol lawn, Tuesday, for their annual lobby day. All donned red AARP t-shirts. State director Dick Chevrefils says they came to share their voices with the legislature about the issues that are important to the AARP. “There’s a family caregiver piece of legislation […]
Legislation has been introduced to make Pennsylvania the 38th state to ban teacher’s strikes. The Strike-Free Education Pact would ban teacher strikes and lockouts in Pennsylvania and sets penalties for illegal work stoppages. Representative Todd Rock (R-Franklin) says teacher strikes produce no winners. He says the biggest losers are always the children. Rock says it’s […]
State House Democrats are attacking a Voter ID bill that may come up for a final vote this week in the house. Representative Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) says the Republicans in the General Assembly are poised to suppress the votes of law abiding citizens. House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) called it a smokescreen. He […]
The latest voice in a crowded GOP presidential field belongs to former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Launching his White House bid from the steps of the Somerset County Courthouse, Santorum said America is great because it was founded that way – not because of its government. Santorum chose Somerset, PA for the announcement because his […]
Wildlife habitat improvement projects are underway, this spring, on Pennsylvania’s 1.4-million acres of State Game Lands. “In today’s age it’s not hard to understand there’s an enormous amount of landscape that’s being turned from wildlife habitat due to developments,” says Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser. That’s why he tells us it’s critical to ensure that wildlife […]
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is losing almost one-third of its existing wine kiosk locations. Wegmans Food Markets has notified the LCB it will be removing the wine kiosks serving 10 of its stores in Pennsylvania, saying they did not fit well with the store environment. In a statement, the company said they hoped its […]