Media Mentions
State lawmaker calls for a Congressional ban on insider trading and prediction market betting
State Sen. Lindsey M. Williams (D-Allegheny) announced that she will introduce a resolution urging Congress to prohibit insider stock trading and betting in prediction markets for federal public officials. “For people to trust their elected officials, they have to...
Could AI replace teachers? PA Sen. is looking to stop the possibility
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Senator is looking to ensure that students in the Commonwealth have access to human teachers over Artificial Intelligence (AI). “For every aspect of a student’s life, there’s a tech company trying to digitize it for profit,” Sen....
Shaler Area Middle School named 1 of state’s Schools to Watch
It only took a few seconds for Shaler Area Middle School principals and students to accept a banner Friday from Bruce Vosburgh, director of Pennsylvania Schools to Watch, recognizing the school’s accomplishments. But Principal Shannon Howard noted that the time,...
Pirates host Southwestern Pennsylvania Career Signing Day celebration
Prior to their game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, April 29, the Pirates hosted the fourth annual Southwestern Pennsylvania Career Signing Day and Career and Technical Education Celebration in the Left Field Lounge at PNC Park. During the event, 50...
Pittsburgh-area pharmacies cling to razor-thin margins as reforms trickle in
Running two drugstores is a break-even endeavor for Primary Care Pharmacy Services owner Anthony Bertola, as long as he barely pays himself. There’s little he can do to improve his margins — he’s at the mercy of a small number of companies that oversee prescription...
Pennsylvania PBS honors seven Champions of Lifelong Learning
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania PBS and its seven member stations celebrated public media and seven Champions of Lifelong Learning award winners during “A Beautiful Day in the Capitol” in Harrisburg on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. “This recognition is a reminder that...
New legislation to tax Big Tech’s digital advertising considered by PA House committee
HARRISBURG, Pa. — One April 29, the PA House Finance Committee considered H.B. 1678, new legislation that would tax revenue derived from digital advertising platforms. The bill, known as the Digital Ads Tax, was introduced by state Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-184th...
Pittsburgh, Western PA elected officials urge new Post-Gazette owners to fully staff newsroom, bargain in good faith with union journalists
PITTSBURGH — Federal and local officials sent an open welcome letter to leadership of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s incoming ownership on Wednesday afternoon, urging the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism to maintain a robust staff as well as a good-faith...
$3M state grant to help support redevelopment of Mt. Alvernia in Millvale, Shaler
A $3 million state grant will support the $100 million redevelopment of Mt. Alvernia in Millvale and Shaler. The money comes from the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s mixed-use revitalization grant program. Created in 2024, the program provides...
Husband of late West View Councilwoman Kim Steele gives $25K to borough in her honor
As a member of West View Council, Kim Steele felt she had a responsibility to the community to make the borough a better place to live. Following her death in November, her husband is helping make sure that continues. A $25,000 donation from her husband, Ken Reilly,...
Lawmakers Highlight Living Organ Donor Tax Credit Proposal
HARRISBURG – Republican Senator Lynda Schlegel Culver from Columbia, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, and Snyder Counties joined Democrat Senator Lindsey Williams from Allegheny County, advocates, donors, and transplant recipients at the Capitol on Monday to...
Advocates seek more funding for Pennsylvania rape crisis centers in Harrisburg
With Pennsylvania’s state budget deadline two months away, advocates for the nearly 50 rape crisis centers in the state say it’s not too early to remind legislators of their urgent request: Include more money for the round-the-clock services they provide for survivors...
Sens. Culver, Williams advocate for living donor change
Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver shared her own personal story of organ donation at a press conference in Harrisburg on Monday to highlight Senate Bill 124. Culver and Sen. Lindsey Williams are co-sponsors of the bipartisan legislation in support of living organ donors....
Proposed legislation would redefine emergency dispatchers as first responders
Sharpsburg resident Jon Jaso called his job as an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher rewarding but laden with emotional baggage. “Listening to tragedies every day doesn’t get any easier,” said Jaso, who started in 1990 at McCandless municipal dispatch before...
Culver hosts Capitol press conference on Living Organ Donor Tax Credit Bill
HARRISBURG — State Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Northumberland, and Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny, held a press conference at noon Monday in the East Wing Rotunda of the Capitol to highlight Senate Bill 124, bipartisan legislation they co-prime sponsor to support...
Pa. Senate Republicans — again — push forward transgender female athlete ban
Following in the footsteps of more than two dozen other states, Pennsylvania Republicans in the state Senate are again trying to push a bill that would ban transgender female athletes from playing for a team aligned with their gender. Sponsored by Sen. Judy Ward...
Brackenridge awarded $13.2M from state for water plant upgrades
Brackenridge got a major boost from the state this week to upgrade its water filtration plant and rectify previous concerns from the Department of Environmental Protection about aging mechanisms. The borough landed more than $13 million — a $5.7 million grant and a...
Pennsylvania county bans poll workers from using election prediction markets
A county in southeastern Pennsylvania has banned its poll workers from using prediction markets to bet on elections. The board of elections in Delaware County, outside of Philadelphia, recently approved a resolution that amended the oath poll workers take ahead of the...
$87K Arts Investment Aims to Boost Pittsburgh Tourism
PITTSBURGH, PA — A new state-backed arts initiative aims to position Pittsburgh as a national destination for craft, supported by $87,000 in seed funding and a multi-year strategy to grow tourism and economic activity.
House passes bill to shield Pa. energy users from data center costs
Pennsylvania lawmakers have pushed forward with a proposal to shield commonwealth consumers from surging utility costs related to data centers. The move comes amid concerns about the energy demands of these data hubs, which are proliferating to support a burgeoning...
2025 included 22 CPR saves for McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority
What mattered most to Chief Chris Dell was the 22 successful CPR resuscitations achieved by the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority crew in 2025. Dell provided a year-in-review presentation of the MFPAA on March 16 at its main station on Grubbs Road and...
Alleged mishandling of pet cremations by Harrison funeral director spurs state legislation
Tiffany Mantzouridis sat in the balcony of the state House chamber Monday, overwhelmed by emotion as legislators unanimously approved a bill to protect pet owners from what they called glaring oversights in cremation services. The Irwin resident is the whistleblower...
Ingomar Volunteer Fire Company receives funding for radio upgrades
A $308,000 grant will help Ingomar Volunteer Fire Company in McCandless replace outdated radios throughout the department, ensuring its volunteers have safe and dependable communication in emergencies. The grant, awarded by the Department of Community of Economic...
Living organ donors could get $10k tax deduction under Pa. bill
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state senators aligned behind a bill proposal that would create a $10,000 tax deduction for living organ donors to cover unreimbursed expenses. Eligible expenses include travel, lodging, lost wages and medical bills. The deduction could only...
Disclosure Of AI In Political Ads
HARRISBURG – Allegheny County Sen. Lindsey Williams is introducing legislation that will require political advertisements to disclose if artificial intelligence was used in their creation. Williams says voters deserve to know when images and videos that they are...
Senate Finance Committee Advances Bill to Support Living Organ Donors
Senator Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-27) announced the Senate Finance Committee has approved Senate Bill 124, bipartisan legislation she is co-prime sponsoring with Senator Lindsey Williams (D-38), to provide targeted tax relief for Pennsylvanians who choose to become...
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Consider State Civil Rights Office As Federal Oversight Slows
Pennsylvania lawmakers and state civil rights officials are racing to fill a hole left by the U.S. Department of Education after a wave of layoffs and regional office closures last year. Families in districts like Norwin say federal monitoring of school civil rights...
With less federal oversight, what’s next for civil rights enforcement in Pennsylvania schools?
When Norwin School District, about 40 minutes east of Pittsburgh, signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in September 2024, the district agreed to take several actions to fix what the department called a “racially...
Senate Finance Committee advances Culver, Williams bill to support living organ donors
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee approved Wednesday Senate Bill 124, bipartisan legislation to provide targeted tax relief for Pennsylvanians who choose to become living organ donors. Senate Bill 124, co-sponsored by Sens. Lynda Schlegel Culver,...
Pennsylvania senators propose requiring disclosure of AI in campaign ads
HARRISBURG, Pa. — In an election year, attack ads are nothing new. What is new, however, are ads depicting candidates using artificial intelligence. The use of AI in political campaigns is drawing backlash, and in Pennsylvania, it’s now drawing a proposal to scale it...
AI political ads are here, and a Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to make sure voters know
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Campaigns frequently exaggerate political ads, but as Pennsylvania heads into election season, voters might not even know if what they’re watching even happened at all. In artificial intelligence’s quest to touch all aspects of society, it...
Pa. senators mull inheritance tax cut, deductions for organ donors
Two bills that would cut taxes for Pennsylvanians in two very different circumstances advanced through a state Senate panel on Wednesday. One would allow living organ donors to deduct costs related to their donation.
Do political ads have to disclose AI usage? PA bill could require makers to do so
PA Sen. looks to ban insider stock trading for Congress, President of United States
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Senator is looking to ban insider stock trading and participation in prediction markets. “Public officials should not be able to make money off non-public information provided to them in service of their elected position,” Sen....
Legislation would boost tech school capacity as enrollment spikes
Jason Lucia took over in late 2020 as administrative director at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton, beginning the school year with 990 students. When the doors opened last fall, that number had shot up about 50% to 1,500. Direct paths to...
Pa. Human Services, Education officials defend increased funding in budget hearings
Additional funding for the state’s neediest schools and the Trump administration’s impacts on human services have dominated the budget hearings for Pennsylvania’s two most expensive agencies. About 80 percent of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $53.3 billion spending proposal...
Families turn to states for civil rights support as Trump dismantles the Education Department
WASHINGTON — In their mostly white school district, Black students routinely heard racial slurs. White classmates hurled insults like "slave," "monkey" or worse. It often went unpunished. Parents made those claims in a 2024 complaint asking the U.S. Education...
Pennsylvanians feel the pinch after Trump dismisses affordability
While addressing the nation at the State of the Union address last week, President Donald Trump downplayed affordability concerns and stated that inflation is at the lowest levels in more than five years.
Penn State should stay neutral re union
One hundred and two state legislators, senators and representatives of the General Assembly are publicly calling on Penn State University’s administration to exercise neutrality toward faculty unionization. State Sen. Jay Costa, minority leader, sent the letter to...
School crossing signs, zone signals in McCandless area to be replaced, upgraded
Students in the North Allegheny School District should have a safer experience when waiting for the bus or walking to school. A grant of $134,415 from PennDOT’s Automated Red Light Enforcement program was awarded to McCandless for replacing faded school crossing...