The Department of State disclosed that it had no system in place to prevent such an error, which has devastated clergy sexual abuse survivors.
Spotlight PA
Lack of targeted outreach, translated materials leaves Latino community behind as Pa. struggles with vaccine rollout
Older Pennsylvanians, who are supposed to be among the first in line to get the vaccine, are also struggling with clunky and disjointed online signups.
How some Pa. lawmakers score a ‘golden parachute’ to pad their pensions
Ex-state legislators are frequently on the shortlist to join Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board, which boasts an annual salary of $145,000.
Pa. voters will get the last word in struggle between Wolf and lawmakers
The legislature on Friday gave final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would give state lawmakers the power to unilaterally end a disaster declaration.
In race for COVID-19 vaccinations, older residents in rural Pa. face tough obstacles
Rural counties like Sullivan are banding together to ensure older residents who lack transportation, access to providers, and internet connections can get the coronavirus vaccine.
Pa. House moves to get legal relief for clergy abuse victims back on spring ballot
“Human error” by the Department of State derailed a constitutional amendment on whether survivors of decades-old sexual abuse should be able to sue.
Wolf asks for tax increase on Pa.’s top third of earners amid pandemic, GOP pans proposal as ‘irresponsible’
The proposal is likely to be dead on arrival in the GOP-controlled legislature, whose leaders wasted little time shredding it with criticism, calling it unrealistic and hurtful to taxpayers.
What the exit of Pa.’s top election official means for the future of voting
Secretary Kathy Boockvar’s resignation has emboldened her fiercest GOP critics, even though it was not related to her handling of the closely watched vote in a battleground state.
Pa. enacted 140 laws last year. Only 27 of them addressed the coronavirus.
The nation’s largest full-time legislature — with some of the highest-paid lawmakers — emerged from 2020 having failed to address some of the public’s most pressing needs.
Alternate path for correcting crushing administrative error faces uphill climb
Some survivors and their advocates believe the quickest way to remedy a Department of State mistake is to abandon the time-consuming path of amending the state constitution and pursue legislation.
A Pa. Dept. of State error means some sex-abuse victims will again have to wait for justice
Kathy Boockvar, who oversaw a tense and difficult presidential election in a battleground state last year, will resign her position because of the error.
Stress, delays, and confusion still plague jobless in Pennsylvania, and January brought little relief
Pandemic unemployment benefits are a lifeline more than 400,000 Pennsylvanians who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment. But payments stalled this year and people are struggling.
Hundreds of Pa. senior-living facilities haven’t received vaccine as widened eligibility, low supply slow rollout
A Spotlight PA analysis shows that more than 300 senior care homes did not have a scheduled vaccine clinic, while hundreds more weren’t covered by a federal partnership.
Thousands of drug, alcohol recovery homes in Pa. still operate without state oversight
The Wolf administration has yet to implement regulations stemming from a 2017 reform law intended to better protect recovery home residents and address community complaints.
Top Pa. election official calls for end to ‘lies’ as GOP launches 2020 hearings
The hearing was the first of 14 Republicans intend to hold on the administration of an election they largely won. Democrats launched a counter-offensive, “Defending Democracy,” to “address the lies.”