News

Winter Storm Expected to Bring Measurable Snow to Pennsylvania

A winter storm warning covers the eastern two-thirds of Pennsylvania. The early season coastal snow storm could bring 4 to 8 inches or even more to some areas before ending Saturday night. Meteorologist Bill Gartner of the National Weather Service in State College says the risk of power outages is increased because the leaves are still […]

RadioPA Roundtable

Radio PA Roundtable 10.28.11

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/Roundtable10-28-11.mp3]

State Capitol Facing North Office Building

House Votes to Close Gaming Loophole

Unlicensed, unregulated storefronts are starting to pop up in the Keystone State, which skirt gaming laws by offering patrons online “sweepstakes” with the purchase of Internet time or phone cards.  Those cards are then used in machines that offer casino-style gambling.  “The only difference between playing a slot machine and playing one of these Internet […]

New Law Makes PA Preferred Program Permanent

The PA Preferred branding program seeks to connect Pennsylvania agriculture with Pennsylvania consumers.  “When a consumer hears or sees the PA Preferred logo, they should be thinking about quality, locally grown produce from Pennsylvania,” says State Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland), the prime sponsor of HB 1424, which has just been signed into law by Governor […]

Capitol View from East Wing

Senate Approves Education Reform Bill

A revamped version of SB 1 attempts to address three of the four tenets of the governor’s education reform agenda.  Throughout hours of Senate debate, Wednesday, there appeared to be broad support for the expansion of Educational Improvement Tax Credits and updates to the state’s charter school law.  However, a school vouchers program proved controversial.   […]

Police on the Look Out for Drunk Drivers as Halloween Approaches

Halloween has become a big party weekend not just for little kids, but also for teens and adults.  State and local police have increased patrols looking for impaired drivers through November 1st.  They’re especially watching for underage drinkers who get behind the wheel. PennDOT spokeswoman Erin Waters says there were more than 12 hundred crashes […]

Tens of Thousands of Pennsylvanians Register with FEMA for Irene and Lee Damage

Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians in 28 disaster-declared counties have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.   However, time is running short for anyone else to register if they think they may need help recovering from the storms.  The deadline is November 14th and the […]

Gov’s Office Releases Liquor Privatization Study

The long-awaited and near 300-page analysis from the PFM Group concludes that privatization would improve the current liquor sales system and benefit Pennsylvanians financially.  PFM says it’s possible to structure a fiscally neutral system, while delivering an upfront windfall of $1.1-billion to $1.6-billion.  That’s a small number to privatization critics.  “It’s going to cost thousands […]

Gov. Corbett Signs Teen Driver Safety Law

She worked on the legislation for six years and, Tuesday, Rep. Kathy Watson (R-Bucks) was able to see the fruits of her labor.  “I wouldn’t have stayed with it this long if I truly didn’t believe we will save lives with this,” Watson said in an interview with Radio PA.  The new law will limit […]

Citizens Commission Releases Its Own Marcellus Shale Report

After a series of public meetings around the state, a citizens group formed by several environmental groups and other organizations has released its report on the Marcellus Shale industry.   While there’s a lot of discussion about an impact fee or severance tax, the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission also feels enforcement and regulatory reform are paramount.  […]