News
Poll: Pennsylvanians Prefer Current Electoral College System
A new Quinnipiac University poll finds that 52% of Pennsylvania voters want to stick with the winner-take-all model, which awards all of Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the state’s popular vote. 40% of respondents favored a newly proposed plan to award Electoral College votes based on the results in each […]
CDC Report Says Teens Not Getting Enough Sleep, Engaging in More Risk Behaviors
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says most teens are not getting enough sleep at night and that brings a number of risks. Almost 70% of high school students are not getting the recommended hours of sleep on school nights according to the study based on a national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. […]
Abortion Clinic Bills Stir Controversy
The Pro-Life and Pro-Choice crowds are on opposite sides of new abortion clinic regulations that could soon make their way to Governor Tom Corbett’s desk. The State House and Senate Pro-Life Caucuses are calling for action on SB 732, which would regulate abortion centers like the state’s ambulatory surgical centers. “I would think any woman […]
Gas Prices Are Falling In Pennsylvania and Around the Country
Gasoline prices are falling nationwide and some analysts think prices could still go lower. You can thank the change in seasons, with the change over to the less expensive fall/winter fuel blend. But that’s not the only reason prices at the pump dropped again over the weekend in Pennsylvania. Jenny Robinson of AAA Mid-Atlantic says […]
New Report says More than One-Quarter of Bridges In Pennsylvania Are Deficient
A report from the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group says its analysis shows the state has the highest percentage of deficient bridges in the country. Breaking down county-by county data, PennPIRG says it finds that over 26% of the state’s bridges are rated structurally deficient by government standards. Program Associate Alana Miller says bridges should […]
Lawmakers Consider Library Code Update
Pennsylvania’s libraries are busier than ever. “Between 2007 and 2009, library visits increased by 2.5-million,” Deputy Education Secretary for Commonwealth Libraries Clare Zales explained to a Senate panel. “Nearly 850,000 patrons accessed the Internet, which is an increase of 22%.” These numbers are the backdrop as state lawmakers consider an overhaul of the state’s 50-year-old […]
$47-Million Already Approved for PA Flood Victims
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 […]
More Outdoor Time Could Help Kids Get a Better Night’s Sleep
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 […]
PUC to Review Handling of Power Outages During Hurricane Irene
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 […]
Hunger Problem Reaches Epidemic Proportions
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). […]