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Trump-backed Parnell loses the custody battle, suspends campaign

HARRISBURG (AP) — Sean Parnell, the candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, on Monday suspended his campaign after he lost a court fight over custody of his three children in which the judge said he believed allegations of abuse by Parnell’s estranged wife. In a statement, Parnell said he was devastated by the judge’s decision, and planned to ask the judge to reconsider, but that he cannot continue his campaign. The high-stakes campaign in the battleground state could help determine control of the U.S. Senate in next year’s ...

Four local projects to receive state funding

HARRISBURG — The Commonwealth Financing Authority approved funding today for several local transportation and community improvement projects, according press releases from the offices of state Sen. Jake Corman and state Reps. John Hershey and Kerry Benninghoff. The projects announced include: Mifflin County ¯$130,725 for an expansion project at Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology, including reconfiguring and widening an access road at the Lewistown campus. ¯$100,000 for Brown Township Reedsville Main Street Streetscape Additional Lighting Project. Grant funding ...

Senate GOP hires firm to review Pa.’s 2020 election

HARRISBURG (AP) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate said Friday they will pay up to $270,000 over the next six months to have an Iowa consulting firm examine the 2020 election with an eye toward developing changes to state election law. The “forensic investigation” is being launched in response to pressure from Republican supporters of former President Donald Trump upset over his 80,000-vote loss in the state, but is well short of the Arizona-style “audit” that many of them have clamored for. A related subpoena issued by a GOP-controlled Senate committee, seeking ...

Corrections officer dead in Blair County shooting

A Blair County corrections officer was killed Wednesday afternoon when a male inmate disarmed her during a struggle at the Central Court building, at 615 Fourth St. Rhonda Jean Russell, 47, of Altoona, was pronounced dead at UPMC Altoona, according to state police, who were called in to investigate the incident. According to state police, a known suspect, who was a prisoner at the Blair County Jail, was at Central Court for court proceedings when he allegedly disarmed Russell of her firearm and a struggle ensued. A law enforcement officer within the court building responded to the ...

Top 2 Pennsylvania school pension system executives to be out of jobs

HARRISBURG (AP) — The top two executives at Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system will leave their jobs under resolutions approved by the system’s board Thursday, amid two federal investigations into the agency and calls by board members for their resignations over lackluster investment returns. Their departures come after a protracted fight to get the $62 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System — which manages one of the nation’s biggest public pension funds — to divest its pricier investments in things like private equity firms. Under the ...

State officials, lawmakers and judges get big 2022 pay raise

HARRISBURG (AP) — Inflation is driving up consumer prices and will drive a big salary increase for Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2022. For many of these positions, it’s the biggest increase in three decades. Salaries across the board will rise 5.6%, a figure tied by state law to the year-over-year change in the consumer price index published last week by the U.S. Department of Labor for mid-Atlantic urban areas. It is the largest year-over-year increase since 1991, according to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ...