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Pa. farmer wins transparency battle after township spent thousands fighting to keep records secret

by Ann Rejrat for Spotlight PA TULPEHOCKEN — A Berks County township has turned over drafts of a proposed agriculture law to a farmer after spending thousands of tax dollars in a legal fight to keep them secret — even after the township had abandoned its effort to enact the law. Farmer John Schueller said he felt vindicated by the result, but was disappointed it took about a year and cost so much. He and fellow Tulpehocken Township residents spent an estimated $5,000 of their own money to access documents an independent state agency decided they were entitled to. The case ...

Lawsuit targets media merger over competition concerns

From staff reports HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday has joined a multistate lawsuit challenging Nexstar Media Group’s acquisition of TEGNA, arguing the merger would reduce competition and raise costs for consumers. The lawsuit alleges the deal would create the nation’s largest broadcast station group and limit local television options in markets where both companies operate, including central and northeastern Pennsylvania. “Pennsylvanians have been declaring that enough is enough when it comes to rising TV service subscription costs,” Sunday said, adding the ...

U.S. House OKs Fetterman bill allowing SNAP to cover hot rotisserie chicken

By John Cole | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – A bill that would allow recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to buy hot rotisserie chicken is one step closer to becoming law. On Thursday, the state House voted 384-35 in support of an amendment to the Farm Bill, which would modify the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 law to allow the purchase of hot rotisserie chicken for SNAP beneficiaries. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., introduced bipartisan legislation labeled the “Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act,” in the Senate a week ago ...

PennDOT: Traffic deaths at historic low levels

From staff reports HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania recorded its lowest number of traffic deaths on record in 2025, with fatalities dropping from the previous year to the lowest level since recordkeeping began in 1928, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT reported 1,047 traffic deaths statewide last year, 80 fewer than in 2024. The agency also recorded 979 fatal crashes in 2025, down from 1,060 the previous year and the lowest number on record. Overall, there were 109,515 reportable crashes statewide, the second-lowest total behind only 2020, when traffic ...

Where Garrity and Shapiro stand on broadband, federal cuts, and other key rural issues

by Marley Parish of Spotlight PA State College and Jaxon White of Spotlight PA HARRISBURG — While Pennsylvania’s two major party candidates for governor are both prioritizing helping rural communities, their approaches to some major issues — like how to handle broadband installation and federal program cuts — could lead to significantly different results for the people who live in the state’s more remote areas. Rural communities in the commonwealth are home to more than 3 million people, and face different challenges compared to more populated areas as existing residents ...

Pennsylvania court grants public access to voting data

HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high court ruled Tuesday that spreadsheets of raw data associated with every ballot are public records, providing access to the “cast vote records” that had been requested by an election researcher hired by the Trump Administration last year. The Democratic-majority Supreme Court said its unanimous decision was a way to “satisfy the voting public that our elections are safe, secure and accurate” while preserving the state constitution’s requirement that votes remain secret. The Lycoming County elections director in Williamsport had ...