| | 2/3/12 | Legislative Effort To Cap State Spending |
HARRISBURG - Legislation is being introduced to constitutionally cap state government spending. House Bill 116 amends Article VIII, Section 18 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to establish spending limits that the Commonwealth must abide by each fiscal year. The proposed constitutional amendment would limit the rate at which the Commonwealth’s total spending could increase by applying the lowest percentage of the following: the change in the Consumer Price Index during the previous fiscal year or the change in the rate of population growth during the previous fiscal year. Westmoreland County Rep. Tim Krieger, the bill's sponsor, said state government has spent well beyond their means and continues to consume an even greater portion of our limited resources. He added that the only way to stop the growth of government is to constitutionally limiting the growth of spending.
| | 2/3/12 | Dobson Calls Santorum Only Conservative In Race |
WOODLAND PARK, CO (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum appeared at a campaign rally in Colorado with Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson. Dobson remarked, "It would appear to me that Mitt Romney is not a conservative. And Newt Gingrich, I don't know what he is." Turning to the former Pennsylvania senator, Dobson said, "You are the only true conservative in the race." Colorado holds its GOP primary next Tuesday. Dobson said that for Santorum, who has won only a narrow caucus victory in Iowa so far, Colorado "could be the place where it turns around." | | 2/3/12 | More Illness Reported From Raw Milk |
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania health officials say the number of people stricken with illness after consuming raw milk from the same dairy has risen to 35 in four states. The confirmed include 28 people in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, two in West Virginia, and one in New Jersey. Health officials said consumers should discard raw milk bought from the Family Cow farm in Chambersburg on or after Jan. 1. The farm has voluntarily suspended raw milk production and is cooperating with the investigation. An Agriculture Department spokeswoman said final test results of milk samples from the farm may be available today. Dairy farmers say demand is growing because of concerns about hormones in traditional dairy products. The dairy has sold its raw milk in stores in our region. | | 2/3/12 | Jury Deliberations Continue In PA Corruption Trial |
HARRISBURG (AP) - The jury in the corruption trial of state Representative Bill DeWeese is deliberating for a second day. The seven-woman, five-man panel reconvened this morning in Harrisburg. DeWeese is the first sitting lawmaker to face trial as part of a five-year-old
investigation by the state attorney general's office. Prosecutors say the Greene County Democrat illegally used taxpayer-paid employees to do political campaign work on state time. DeWeese testified that he never ordered or bullied staff members into doing campaign work. He's charged with theft, conspiracy, and conflict of interest.
| | 2/3/12 | Couple That Lost 7 Kids In Fire Expecting Baby |
LOYSVILLE (AP) - The Perry County couple that lost seven of their eight children in a farmhouse fire is expecting their 10th child. Ted and Janelle Clouse say they're expecting a daughter in June. It's less than a year since the late-night fire that tore through the family's Loysville area home claimed the lives of seven children. Their daughter, Leah, who ran out of the home while her mother worked in the nearby barn was the only survivor. The Clouses don't discuss the fire much with 4-year-old Leah, who still recalls the names of her siblings. A 9th child was born three months after the blaze. Janelle Clouse says sometimes it's difficult to move forward but her two young children keep her going. | | 2/3/12 | Latest In Maryland Abortion Case |
ELKTON, MD (AP) - Attorneys for a doctor accused of killing an unborn child during a late-term abortion in Maryland are asking to inspect specimens of that child. Lawyers for 46-year-old Dr. Nicola Riley of Salt Lake City, Utah, made that request in a motion filed in Cecil County Circuit Court. Riley and 55-year-old Dr. Steven Brigham of Voorhees, N.J., have been charged with murder. Riley's charges relate to an alleged victim identified as Male Fetus Brewer. Prosecutors allege the child was viable. One of Riley's lawyers, filed the motion asking a judge to order the State Medical Examiner's Office to allow an expert to inspect any specimens of the child.
| | 2/3/12 | Forum Tonight For Four Republican Candidates For U.S. Senate |
PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (AP) - Four Republican candidates vying for the nomination to challenge Democratic Senator Bob Casey will meet at a forum in suburban Philadelphia. Tonight's forum in Phoenixville is the first meeting of the candidates after last weekend's contentious Republican State
Committee meeting where Chester County entrepreneur Steve Welch won the party's endorsement with help from Governor Tom Corbett. The other candidates are former state Representative Sam Rohrer
of Berks County, Cumberland County lawyer Marc Scaringi and Tom Smith of Armstrong County, who made a fortune in coal mining that he's pumping into his campaign. The event is organized by the Valley Forge Patriots. Casey, the former state treasurer and auditor general is seeking a second term. He beat Rick Santorum in 2006. | | 2/3/12 | Bicyclist Bill Signed Into Law |
HARRISBURG - Legislation that would amend the Vehicle Code to improve safety for bicyclists has been signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett. Under House Bill 170, Pennsylvania joins 18 other states in enacting a law to establish minimum safe-passing distances. The legislation requires the operator of a motor vehicle to pass to the left of a bicyclist within not less than 4 feet at a careful rate of speed. It requires bicycle operators to use reasonable efforts so as not to impede the normal flow of traffic. In addition, the legislation more clearly defines the requirement that bicyclists operate on the far right side of the roadway when proceeding at less than the prevailing speed. The measure also prohibits motorists from making sudden right turns in front of a cyclist who is proceeding in the same direction. | | 2/3/12 | Limiting The Terms Of State Lawmakers |
HARRISBURG - Rep. Rick Saccone of Allegheny & Washington Counties announced the introduction of legislation limiting the number of terms any individual could serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. If enacted, House Bill 2160 would limit any lawmaker elected to a combined total of 12 years in office. This would include combined House and Senate service. Saccone said his legislation has the vast support of Pennsylvania voters and taxpayers because it will help to ensure that the Legislature is always refreshed with new ideas and innovative perspectives to solve up-to-the-minute challenges. He added our founders intended for public service in any legislative body to be temporary, limited, and never a permanent career. | | 2/3/12 | "Turn Around, Don't Drown" Bill Proposed |
HARRISBURG - Legislation to protect motorists and first-responders from drivers who ignore temporary police barricades is being introduced. Montgomery County Rep. Todd Stephens’ bill, called “Turn Around, Don’t Drown,” would impose a $500 fine for driving around a barrier closing a road due to a hazardous condition. It also calls for a 90-day license suspension if a driver's vehicle becomes disabled as a result. Stephens said the problem was brought to his attention by police who reported drivers placing emergency workers lives in danger by ignoring barricades in flooded areas. The bill aims to stop that dangerous practice to protect drivers, their passengers, and the first-responders who must go into harm’s way.
| | 2/3/12 | Values Action Team Spotlighted |
LANCASTER – Saturday afternoon's Spotlight looks at the work of the Values Action Team in Harrisburg. Lancaster County Rep. Gordon Denlinger is the chairman of the group. The Values Action Team is a coalition of state lawmakers from the PA House and Senate, who work on life issues, marriage, and other issues. As Chairman of the VAT, Denlinger works to unite conservative pro-family members and preserve traditional family values through the legislative process. Hear more about the work of the Values Action Team from its chairman, Rep. Gordon Denlinger on Saturday afternoon's Spotlight at 12:30 on WDAC and 2 p.m. on WBYN-FM 107.5. | | 2/3/12 | Search Resumes For Missing Kayaker |
LANCASTER COUNTY - Rescuers are back on the Susquehanna River in hopes of finding a missing Lancaster County kayaker. The search resumed today for 24-year-old Nicholas Herr of New Providence. Herr and his friend, 24-year-old Archie McConnell of Quarryville, left from the Muddy Creek boat launch in Lower Chanceford Township, York County late Saturday night. The two encountered rough waters and their kayaks overturned. McConnell was able to swim to shore and call for help, but Herr has not been found.
| | 2/3/12 | Former Policeman Charged In Sex Trafficking Case |
READING (AP) – A former Berks County policeman has been charged in connection with a sex trafficking case. Federal officials said that 37-year-old Ronald Miko of Reading is charged with obstructing a criminal investigation. Court documents allege that Miko was on the Reading police force
when he helped a pair of Berks County men in 2007 set up a prostitution ring that trafficked women as well as girls under 18. When the two men were charged by a federal grand jury in July 2010, prosecutors allege Miko wired money to one of them to keep him quiet about Miko's involvement. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. | | 2/3/12 | Raw Milk Remains Popular, Despite Illnesses |
WASHINGTON (AP) - The popularity of unpasteurized raw milk remains strong despite warnings from public health officials about its dangers and outbreaks of bacterial infections. In the latest case untreated contaminated milk from a Pennsylvania farm has sickened 38 people on the East Coast. It's a
reminder of the risks of consuming milk bottled straight from the cow. The confirmed cases of campylobacter bacterial infection include 31 people in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, two in West Virginia and one in New Jersey. The government says unpasteurized milk is unsafe because of
pathogens cows may encounter on the farm. But supporters of the raw product ranging from
libertarian-minded people like Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul to so-called real food advocates say the government shouldn't dictate what people eat and drink.
| | 2/3/12 | Fund Established For Solanco Fire Victims |
PROVIDENCE TWP. - Friends are coming together to help a Solanco family get back on their feet after a fire destroyed their home and possessions. It happened January 7th in the 400 block of Lancaster Pike in Providence Township. Fire investigators says hot embers from a burn pile blew upon the wooden home of the Daniel Bender family. The family did not have insurance. A fund has been established. Checks can be made to Bender Fire Fund and can be dropped at any local PNC Bank branch or mailed to PNC Financial Services Group, P.O. Box 3822, Lancaster, PA 17604. Their church is also accepting checks and that address is: Refton Brethren in Christ, P.O. Box 68, Refton, PA 17568. People may also call the church at 786-3008 with any questions. |
