Pennsylvania Capital-Star

09/02/2026

While Pennsylvania has long been among the states most affected by Lyme disease, the incidence of other tick-borne illnesses is unknown because there’s no requirement to report them to public health authorities, state lawmakers heard Wednesday.

Read Peter Hall's story. The link is in the comments.

09/02/2026

In the past year, FirstEnergy Pennsylvania has seen a growing number of attempted malware and cyberattacks around their critical infrastructure.

“Our defensive systems block tens of thousands of automated malicious connection attempts against public facing services each month,” said Brian Harrell, the chief security officer at the company that serves 2.1 million electric customers across 56 counties in Pennsylvania.

Read Ian Karbal's story. The link is in the comments.

09/01/2026

Advances in battery technology and other innovations have made small, lightweight e-scooters designed to travel short distances cheaper — and faster — than ever, but Pennsylvania’s legal code and safety regulations haven’t kept up.

“It’s like the wild west out there,” Scott Slingerland, the executive director of the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, told state legislators in Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.

Read Whitney Downard's story. The link is in the comments.

09/01/2026

We understand the importance of making every dollar count.

If you are facing a tight budget and aren’t able to make a gift to the Capital-Star at this time, it’s OK. We’ll still be here for you, day after day, connecting the dots on how policy decisions impact you and your community.

But if you are able to invest today, you will be helping to keep your fellow Pennsylvanians educated and informed about issues impacting our great commonwealth.

The link to make a contribution now is in the comments.

08/31/2026

As public sentiment sours on automatic license plate readers — particularly cameras operated by Flock Safety — state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are introducing legislation to curtail their use across the commonwealth.

A trio of bills introduced recently range from an outright ban on fixed cameras to stiffened penalties for unauthorized data access.

Read Whitney Downard's story. The link is in the comments.

08/28/2026

The Week in Focus is a recap of our top stories, with a new video posting every Friday.

1. Food banks in Pa. struggle to keep up with demand amid SNAP cuts.

2. Pennsylvania reports the nation’s first measles-related deaths of 2026.

3. Big Tech is getting a bill from Pa. for what its negative impacts on kids.

Food banks in Pennsylvania struggle to keep up with demand amid SNAP cuts.

08/25/2026

The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed two measles-related deaths in Lancaster County. Both people, who lived in the county, were unvaccinated.

They are the first confirmed measles-related deaths in the nation this year, and come amid the country’s largest outbreak of measles in decades.

Read Ian Karbal's story. The link is in the comments.

08/25/2026

A monumental figure in Pennsylvania’s environmental movement passed away last week. Former state legislator Franklin Kury, who was 89, led Pennsylvania to become one of the first governments in the world to adopt a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a healthy environment as a basic right.

Read the story from our friends at Inside Climate News. The link is in the comments.

08/24/2026

While the summer is usually a relatively slow period, in the last two months, the Allentown food bank facility has seen a 55% increase in new clients.

But leaders at food banks across the state point to another factor – perhaps the biggest driver of recent demand for their services. It’s the changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Read Ian Karbal's story. There is a link in the comments.

08/21/2026

The latest Folo PA podcast episode is out!

About 80 data center projects are in the works throughout Pennsylvania. They’re at various stages: from preliminary exploration when land hasn’t yet been acquired, up to construction being underway.

And public reaction tends to be strong where the facilities have been proposed.

Peter Hall recently published a story based on his reporting in three future, prospective or would-be host communities in the commonwealth, published a story and made time to talk more about it on this episode.

Listen to it in any of the places you find your favorite podcasts or click on the link in the comments.