Shapiro renews calls for legal weed, regulated skill games in budget that would send $526M to poorest schools spotlightpa.org/news/2025/02/j…

Pennsylvania is the largest state in the country that lacks a child advocate or ombudsman, and is one of only 6 states without one, via Samantha Melamed Lacking staff and necessary investigatory powers, Pa.'s child advocate stepped down inquirer.com/news/pennsylva…

As more older adults continue to die in high numbers while known to Pa.'s protective services network, we wanted to know why. But Pa.'s Dept. of Aging has stopped tracking that information. Read the latest installment in Spotlight PA Unprotected series: spotlightpa.org/news/2025/04/e…

Of course, the Pa. legislature could just change the law and make explicitly public many of the same records they require other government agencies to disclose.... spotlightpa.org/news/2025/04/p…

Fire at Josh Shapiro’s residence caused by arson: PA police • Spotlight PA spotlightpa.org/news/2025/04/p…

"The suspect, 38-year-old Cody Balmer, allegedly confessed during a police interview and said if he had confronted Shapiro inside the historic Susquehanna riverfront residence, he would have beaten him with the hammer." spotlightpa.org/news/2025/04/p…

Important read by Danielle Ohl :

Gov. Shapiro's "security detail has an office inside the official residence, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Two troopers were on duty when Balmer allegedly broke in," according to three sources interviewed by Spotlight PA: spotlightpa.org/news/2025/05/p…

“The conflict escalated suddenly and bitterly over the past week, with skill games developer and distributor Pace-O-Matic now accusing the state Senate’s top two GOP leaders of intimidating its hired guns in the halls of the Capitol.”

.PCN asked GOP Leader Joe Pittman about this story today. He did not deny that leadership had pressured lobbying firms to drop Pace-O-Matic, instead saying that his caucus expects "those represent an issue, any issue, present it to us in a factual, consistent manner...

“It’s really kind of depressing these days,” said Ziss, who keeps tabs on what remains of Avalon’s live music scene for a Facebook page, Bands in Avalon and Beyond. “What we knew was going on has now been engraved in stone,” he said. Indeed, a great read:

"It is all but certain that Pa. will need to scrounge up, at minimum, an additional $125 million in its budget in the next fiscal year to keep those benefits intact. In the worst-case scenario, that tab could balloon to nearly $800 million." w/Charlotte Keith spotlightpa.org/news/2025/07/t…

Repairs at the Pa. Gov's residence following the brazen arson attack there three months ago could cost millions -- some of it not covered by insurance. That is where Team PA, a group that doesn't disclose its donors, steps in. My latest for Spotlight PA: spotlightpa.org/news/2025/07/j…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (The Associated Press) _ Pennsylvania's House of Representatives met hastily Monday to pass transportation funding legislation in a last-ditch effort to stave off deep service cuts at the Philadelphia region's public transit agency.

"A Spotlight PA investigation over the past year has revealed significant and persistent failures in Pennsylvania’s older adult protective services system, some of which have led to devastating or catastrophic outcomes." spotlightpa.org/news/2025/08/p…