News
State Education Officials Continue to Probe Possible Cheating on Standardized Tests
Dozens of schools in Pennsylvania are still under scrutiny after an examination of standardized test scores raised questions. The state Education Secretary was asked about the situation during a budget hearing in the house appropriations committee this week. Ron Tomalis said that 51 schools in Philadelphia and schools in 21 other districts, including 4 charter […]
PHEAA Prepared to Bolster State Grant Program Again This Year
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is fiscally stable according to its president. However, it’s contributions will not be enough to cover state funding cuts for college grant programs for the 2012-2013 academic year. PHEAA has tentatively approved giving a 50 million dollar supplemental grant to the state grant program, as it did last year, thanks […]
Turnpike to Take Next Step Toward All-Electronic Tolls
Imagine a Turnpike with no toll booths. A new study concludes that vision to be feasible both financially and physically. The first advantage cited in the Turnpike’s feasibility study is safety, because motorists would no longer have to slow down, jockey for position and merge at every toll plaza. “We’re also looking at a cleaner […]
Super Tuesday Showdown
Voters in ten states go to the polls today for their primary elections. Of course, all eyes are on the GOP presidential primary, as Republicans today have the chance to send a clear message about who they want to run against President Obama this fall. Much of the attention today will be on […]
Voter ID Issue Back on Front Burner
As the state Senate Appropriations Committee was preparing to consider controversial voter ID legislation, the Protect Our Vote coalition gathered in the capitol rotunda to urge lawmakers to reject the proposal. The group also unfurled a roll of petitions filled with 13,000 signatures of voter ID opponents. Copies of those petitions were then delivered to […]
Harrisburg’s Wild West Artifacts Headed for Auction Block
The city of Harrisburg may not epitomize a the idea of a frontier town, but former Mayor Stephen Reed amassed thousands of wild west artifacts and antiques for a never-built Wild West Museum. The city’s new administration is now pulling those items out of storage in anticipation of a high-profile auction this summer. President of […]
Public Utility Commission Continues Review of Storm Power Outages
Between the end of August and end of October, Pennsylvania was hit by a hurricane, tropical storm and October snowstorm. The state Public Utility Commission is still reviewing the impact on the power grid. The PUC held a special electric reliability forum in October. While the majority of customers had service restored in 48 hours, […]
Governor Corbett Heads Overseas This Month
As Pennsylvania’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities begin winding down, Governor Tom Corbett’s international trade mission will be ramping up. Corbett is leading a trade mission to France and Germany, two of the state’s most important trade partners. “The goals are to establish a stronger tie with our trading partners that we already have that do […]
Radio PA Roundtable 03.02.12
Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week. Professionally produced and delivered every Friday, Roundtable includes commercial breaks for local sale and quarterly reports for affiliate files. Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast: [audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable03-02-12.mp3]
Special Elections to Coincide with April Primaries — Update
The state Supreme Court has ordered special elections for six vacant House seats to coincide with next month’s primary. The high court’s order says the fundamental right to representation is at issue, and Philadelphia attorney Kevin Greenberg says 350,000 residents will now have somebody to represent them. “It’s likely some of these folks will be […]