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Life Lion adds new helicopter to fleet

HERSHEY — Penn State Health Life Lion Critical Care Transport has added a new helicopter to its fleet to expand access to emergency and specialty care across central Pennsylvania. The Airbus H155 will be stationed at Life Lion’s Lancaster base and joins two other H155 helicopters. The aircraft can accommodate advanced medical equipment, specialty personnel and family members and is equipped to operate in low visibility and high winds. “Adding this aircraft strengthens our ability to deliver that care safely and efficiently, giving more patients access to the advanced resources ...

Pa passes law undermining court decision on lucrative mineral rights

HARRISBURG — A law quietly passed this summer aimed to end a complicated, decade-plus legal fight over who owns an estimated $1 billion in Pennsylvania natural gas. It may have only begun a new, even messier chapter. At issue are mineral rights — which give holders the right to extract coal, oil, gas, or ore — underneath as few as 60,000 acres to more than one million, depending on which side you ask. For years, a group of families, led by the Proctor family trust, has waged a legal battle with the state over mineral rights that they say their ancestors acquired more than a ...

Reassessments are a political hot potato: ‘Nobody wants to touch it’

It was 1961, the year John F. Kennedy became president, “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles reached number one, and Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his season record-breaking 61st home run. It was also the last time Franklin County did a property reassessment. State Rep. Rob Kauffman, a Republican whose district covers a chunk of the county, is well aware of the issue. The talk in Franklin, Kauffman said, is about whether local politicians should bring about a county reassessment - and not about whether the state should pass a new reassessment law. “It is a family ...

ICE considering buying immigrant detention facilities in Pa

CLEARFIELD — In mid-July, ICE published a request for information on “turn-key detention services” for four regions across the country, including central Pennsylvania, where it already has the largest immigration detention facility in the Northeast. Local activists worry ICE is either trying to contract directly with GEO Group — which owns and operates Moshannon Valley Processing Center — or even potentially buy the facility. When asked about what the RFI means for Moshannon, an ICE spokesperson told Spotlight PA in an Aug. 10 email that “ICE has access to over 80,000 ...

Mount Nittany, state confirm two positive measles cases

From staff reports STATE COLLEGE — Mount Nittany Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health have confirmed two positive measles cases that may have exposed patients and visitors at two Mount Nittany Health facilities. According to Mount Nittany Health, potential exposure occurred at Mount Nittany Health – Toftrees, 164 Greenview Drive, from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, July 31, and at the Mount Nittany Medical Center Emergency Department, 155 Wellness Way, from noon Friday, July 31, until 1 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1. The health system said it is actively identifying and contacting ...

Pa attorney general backing hemp product ban

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s chief law enforcement officer is urging congressional leaders to allow an impending overhaul of how the country treats hemp-derived products to go into effect in three months. Republican Dave Sunday joined more than 30 state attorneys general in a letter arguing the merits of the crackdown, saying it would clarify for police the legal status of certain “intoxicating products” containing THC, a chemical found in cannabis plants that can produce a high. District attorneys across the state say they are scrambling to protect kids and adult consumers from ...