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State, Local Democratic Leaders React to Biden’s Withdrawal from Presidential Race
President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination on Sunday after weeks of reported pressure from Democratic Party leaders following his debate performance in June. In Pennsylvania, where Biden was born and raised until age 10, elected Democratic officials were quick to praise the president for his career in public service. Among those was Gov. Josh Shapiro, who pundits have speculated could be a potential vice presidential running mate for Harris against the Republican ticket of former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. "President Biden is a patriot who has...
Rare Akhal-Teke Horses Make Their Home at Tudek Park
This story originally appeared in the July 2024 edition of Town&Gown magazine. Two mares and a new foal—each of them representing one of the world’s rarest and most ancient breeds of domesticated equines—have found a home in a pasture at Tudek Park. Just past the dog park, grasses and clovers grow in a pasture next to a red barn. A short path leads to a white house. On this idyllic spot, Jean Sanders, her dogs, two mares, and the young filly have made a perfect life for themselves. In addition, this arrangement offers the community the chance to see a breed of...
Alpha Fire Company Commemorates 125 Years of Service with Community Celebration
Founded in 1899 as the Union Fire Company, what a year later would be renamed Alpha Fire Company was formed by a group of 29 volunteers to provide fire protection to the tiny, but growing, Borough of State College. From its turn-of-the-century origins serving a few downtown blocks with hand-drawn hose carts, Alpha has grown with the State College area community over the last 125 years. It now has three stations, 30 apparatus and 100 volunteers who respond to fires, rescues, Hazmat incidents and hazardous conditions for 100,000 people across 104 square miles of the Centre Region. On Saturday, Alpha commemorated its...
CVIM Introduces Campaign to Support Behavioral Health Program
Centre Volunteers in Medicine has launched a fundraising campaign to support and expand its Behavioral Health Program at a time when the need for mental health services is more pronounced than ever. CVIM is Centre County's only permanent free clinic providing medical care, dental care, case management and medication assistance to those in need. Recognizing the growing demand for mental health services, the organization has developed a comprehensive Behavioral Health Program incorporated into primary care that offers counseling, psychiatric services and support groups for individuals facing mental health challenges. “Our community’s mental health needs are significant and continue to grow. With this...
Local Historia Launches New Docuseries
This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette. BELLEFONTE — Local Historia, a business run by Matt Maris and Dustin Elder to connect residents with local history through content, walking tours and experiences, launched its first episode of “Journeys with Local Historia” on July 1 at a viewing party at Big Springs in Bellefonte. The documentary series, presented by WPSU, aims to share the rich history of the region. “I started Local Historia in 2019,” Maris said. “As a high school social studies teacher, I began giving community walking tours in the summer and just fell in love with the process of...
Great PA News Quiz: VP Pick, Budget Loser, Biden Naysayers and a Trace of Snow
In this week’s news quiz: Attempted assassination, vice presidential pick, budget loser, Biden naysayers and a trace of snow. As always, let us know if you encounter any technical issues. Just email Newsletter Editor Colin Deppen (newsletters@spotlightpa.org) with a heads up. And good luck! BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. The post Great PA News Quiz: VP Pick, Budget Loser, Biden Naysayers and a Trace of Snow appeared first on StateCollege.com.
Plans for New Hotel Near Shiloh Road Presented to College Township Planning Commission
College Township Planning Commission on Tuesday received an overview of a final land development plan for a new extended-stay hotel near Shiloh Road. A 115-room Home2 Suites by Hilton is the first development in the planned Shiloh Commercial Park near the intersection of Shiloh and East Trout roads, next to Maxwell Truck and Equipment. College Township Council in June approved a final subdivision plan for phase 1 of the commercial park. The plan subdivides two properties owned by Ed Maxwell into three lots: two fronting Shiloh Road and behind those a 3-acre lot where the hotel will be constructed. A second phase...
‘The Best Advantage We Have’: Penn State Men’s Basketball Leaning on Veteran Players to Teach Underclassmen
Heading into his second summer at the helm of Penn State men’s basketball, head coach Mike Rhoades brought in a plethora of new faces to pair alongside his proven veteran core. Last season, 10 new players came to Happy Valley, and this season eight more will wear the blue and white for the first time. The turnover brings excitement for Penn State along with plenty of question marks and growing pains. Ace Baldwin Jr. is one of those savvy veterans who young players look up to. Coming off a campaign as Big Ten Defensive Player of The Year and returning to State College for...
Nearing Fundraising Goal, State Theatre Plans Fall Launch for New Projection System
The State Theatre has nearly reached its fundraising goal for a new digital projection system that will allow it to expand its movie offerings beginning this fall. An October launch is planned for the new digital 4k laser projection and digital cinema audio processing system, said Justin Dorsey, director of development and community outreach for the nonprofit theater in downtown State College. With the fundraising campaign officially set to close on Sept. 1, $117,000 of the $120,000 goal has been raised, and the theater has begun scheduling infrastructure modifications and sourcing equipment. Movies — usually older films and some newer indie releases...
Penn State Football Position Previews: Offensive Line
Penn State has come a long way on the offensive front the past 10 years, going from not having enough scholarships to truly developing depth to having some of the best offensive linemen in the nation. You might not say that the Nittany Lions have had among the best lines overall, but it has certainly gone from a weakness to something that the program can generally rely on. With change coming to the line in 2024, there are some questions that will need to be answered, but fans shouldn't worry too much about whether or not this group will be...
How a Global IT Outage Is Affecting Centre County
A major IT outage on Friday is impacting businesses and organizations worldwide, including several in Centre County. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike reported that a defect in an update to its services on Microsoft Windows hosts caused the issue and that a fix has been deployed. The company said it was not a cyberattack. The outage has impacted a wide range of services globally, from airlines to banks to health care. At State College Regional Airport, only one flight has been delayed so far — a United flight scheduled to arrive in State College at 2:24 p.m. — according to a check of United and...
Penn State Health’s Award-Winning Festival Banner Connects Kids Through Art
This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette. Penn State Health won first place in the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts 2024 Banner Competition — Youth Division with its collaborative project “From Our Kids to Your Kids.” The winning banner was displayed over Allen Street throughout this year’s festival. “From Our Kids to Your Kids” was an effort by Penn State Health and the Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey to bring together kids at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and patients at the hospital through art and creativity. The Penn State Health State College location was...
12 Pennsylvania Books to Read This Summer
HARRISBURG — When Spotlight PA staffers aren’t busy filing public records requests, contacting sources or preparing your favorite newsletters, we’re often reading books or talking about them. This led to the creation of an internal book club, of course. To celebrate summer and all the opportunities the season brings to read on the beach, in the park or in that perfect nook or resting spot at home, the staff has compiled a list of our favorite books. The selections span a range of genres, but all connect to Pennsylvania in some way. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough: On the cusp of summer in...
Penn State Plans Tuition Increase at University Park, Continued Rate Freeze at Commonwealth Campuses for 2025-26
Updated 2:51 p.m. July 19, 2024 Penn State's 2025-26 budget includes another tuition increase for University Park students and another rate freeze for Pennsylvania students at Commonwealth Campuses while eliminating a years-long operating deficit. Following recommendation by its Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning on Thursday, the Board of Trustees voted 17-4 to approve the $9.9 billion budget, including a $2.9 Education and General budget, as well as tuition rates on Friday during its meeting at the Penn State Altoona campus. Alumni-elected trustees Ted Brown, Barry Fenchak, Anthony Lubrano and Matt McGloin voted no. Fifteen voting members were absent or otherwise...
Centre County Celebrates Park and Rec Professionals
This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette. BELLEFONTE — The Centre County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a proclamation declaring Friday, July 19, as Park and Recreation Professionals Day in Centre County during the BOC meeting on Tuesday, July 16. Tim Herd, CEO of the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society, spoke at the Tuesday BOC meeting, describing to commissioners the importance of commonwealth parks and recreation and the staff behind the scenes. “When you go to a park, you expect it to be clean, safe and ready to use,” Herd explained. “When your family goes swimming, you expect that the lifeguards...
Mail Ballot Envelopes Will Now Be Printed with the Full Year Filled Out
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Sign up for Votebeat's free newsletters here. The Pennsylvania Department of State is hoping another change to mail ballot return envelopes will eliminate the chance of ballots being rejected this November because of voters failing to write in the year completely. In a directive earlier this month, the Department of State told counties that they should now preprint ballot return envelopes with the full, four-digit year in the date field, leaving voters to fill in just the month and day alongside their signature. “We conducted an analysis after...
This Year’s Budget Overturns Local Bans on Rodeos. No Pa. Lawmaker Will Take Credit
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. HARRISBURG — Under a little-noticed provision in the new state budget, Pennsylvania municipalities will be forced to allow rodeo events to take place in their borders even if local lawmakers have voted to restrict them. Only one place in the commonwealth appears to fit this description: Pittsburgh, which more than 30 years ago banned the use of some tools to control animals, including electric prods and spurs. The language is tucked into the nearly 140-page fiscal code, an...
Pa. Supreme Court Upholds License for Nittany Mall Casino
The state's highest court has upheld the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's decision to award a license for a planned casino at the Nittany Mall, paving the way for the project to move forward. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in an opinion issued Wednesday found the board acted properly in awarding the license to Ira Lubert at a 2020 auction, dismissing a challenge brought by losing bidder Stadium Casino. Stadium, a subsidiary of Baltimore-based Cordish Companies, has 14 days to file a motion to reconsider. The project can now move ahead unless the decision is appealed to a higher court, PGCB spokesperson Doug Harbach said. "The Gaming...
Summer’s in Bloom at Local Flower Farms
This story originally appeared in the July 2024 edition of Town&Gown magazine. The Centre County agricultural scene is robust, but if you’ve limited your explorations of Happy Valley’s farms and markets to just the products you can eat, you’re missing out. A select few farms around the region are growing and selling a product that serves a very different—but still very important—purpose: simply to make you happy. Here’s what’s happening at four of the area’s flower farms. ‘No one leaves grumpy’ “I used to sit at a desk all day,” says Christie Holloway, owner of Rooted Farmstead in Bellefonte and a former engineer....
We’re in the Home Stretch Toward a Tough New Reality for College Sports
For fans of college sports, these next 11 1/2 months mark the final march from the amateur sports model. Each day the system fans know receives another jolt as everyone tries to interpret what previous and future legal decisions will mean. And where that march will end remains unclear. The House v. NCAA case that has unleashed revenue sharing and paying back past claims of NIL damages seems to have reached a settlement. But is it actually settled? Not everyone is so sure—which only adds to the confusion. College football and college sports went through a phase like this when television rights were...
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