Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is dedicated to producing nonpartisan investigative journalism about Pennsylvania government and urgent statewide issues. We are an independent watchdog unafraid to dig deep, fight for the truth and take on the powerful to expose wrongdoing and spur meaningful reform. We connect Pennsylvanians to their state, and to each other, through public service journalism that matters to their lives and is creatively told in the many modern, digital ways they consume their news.

Vaccination Clinics for Pa. Teachers Could Open as Soon as Next Week. Here are the Details.

March 4, 2021March 4, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Colin Deppen of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Vaccination sites for teachers and school support staff will begin operating as soon as next week, Pennsylvania officials said …

The $1 Billion Plan to Close the Gap Between Growing and Shrinking Pa. School Districts

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — When Pennsylvania passed a new formula to distribute money for public schools in 2016, it was hailed as a …

The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Pa.’s Frustrating Vaccine Rollout

February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Ese Olumhense of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. Pennsylvania is in the midst of a frustrating vaccine rollout, and that might put it lightly. This has primarily been driven …

Lack of Targeted Outreach, Translated Materials Leaves Latino Community Behind as Pa. Struggles With Vaccine Rollout

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Ese Olumhense of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — In the weeks since Pennsylvania began its coronavirus vaccine rollout, the Wolf administration has stood by its localized, do-it-yourself …

In race for COVID-19 vaccinations, older residents in rural Pa. face tough obstacles

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Jamie Martines of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. SULLIVAN COUNTY — Robert Keen figured his year of dodging the coronavirus was over. At 84, the retired ambulance driver — …

A Pa. Dept. of State Error Means Some Sex-abuse Victims Will Again Have to Wait for Justice

February 3, 2021February 2, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG— Pennsylvania’s top election official will resign after her agency made a mistake that will delay a statewide vote on whether …

Stress, delays, and confusion still plague jobless in Pennsylvania, and January brought little relief

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by Spotlight PA

Rebecca Moss of Spotlight PA Sandra Huffman was cleaning St. Luke’s hospital in Quakertown, gloved and maskless, when she got sick last March. It felt as though a film of spiderwebs had caked her throat, she said. At 54, she was sleeping upright in bed, breathing through a borrowed nebulizer, and drinking an old family …

Pa. could become a national outlier in how it elects appellate judges. Here’s why experts are worried.

January 28, 2021January 28, 2021 by Spotlight PA

By Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It’s made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — A proposal moving through the GOP-led Pennsylvania legislature could soon …

Top Pa. election official calls for end to ‘lies’ as GOP launches 2020 hearings

January 22, 2021January 22, 2021 by Spotlight PA

(By Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA) This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top election official spent nearly three hours Thursday defending her handling of the 2020 presidential …

Spotlight PA Template

January 22, 2021January 11, 2021 by Spotlight PA

(by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA) Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Democrats in the Pennsylvania legislature are calling for the state Senate to investigate a Republican member who attended …