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‘A Home Run for Happy Valley.’ 1,600 Compete in Centre County’s Second Ironman 70.3
The Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley returned for its second year on a humid Sunday as 1,600 competitors supported by nearly 1,000 volunteers swam, biked and ran through Centre County. Athletes from 12 countries and 41 states participated in what is dubbed a "Half Ironman" (at 70.3, miles it is half the distance of a full Ironman). Starting at 7 a.m., competitors swam a 1.2-mile, single loop in Sayers Lake at Bald Eagle State Park. From there they embarked on a 56-mile bike ride that swung into Clinton County before traveling through Nittany and Penns valleys and into the State College...
Settling the Frontier: The First Land Grabs of Centre County
This story originally appeared in the June 2024 edition of Town&Gown magazine. In the chaotic times of the 1760s, many settlers attempted to forge a homestead from the isolated frontier in the heart of the Pennsylvania wilderness. Decades before the iron boom of the 19th century, future Revolutionary War figure James Potter blazed a trail through Native American lands, proclaiming he’d “discovered an empire.” The years that followed highlight one of America’s great land grabs, which quite literally carved out the communities of today’s Centre County. The land rush followed a time of limited westward mobility. The British Empire, in the wake...
What to Know About Roth IRAs
When I first started at Nestlerode in 1992, the only option for a qualified retirement account was traditional, tax deductible for money being contributed. Money going into the typical retirement was deducted from taxes and taxes were owed on the distributions in retirement. In 1998, U.S. Sen. Will Roth of Delaware proposed the idea of a Roth IRA, where money going in was taxed but all earnings were tax-free and qualified distributions were tax-free in retirement. Both types of individual retirement accounts have similarities. The limits are the same for both, for 2024, the maximum contribution is $7,000 with an additional...
Tornado Watch Issued for Centre County
The National Weather Service at State College has issued a tornado watch for a 43-county area of western and central Pennsylvania — including Centre County — on Saturday. The watch is in effect until 8 p.m. and means tornados are possible in the designated area. A warning would be issued if a tornado is sighted or indicated by radar. A short distance from Centre County, a radar-indicated tornado warning was issued for the Birmingham and Petersburg areas of Huntingdon County at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. For Centre County and the rest of the watch area, isolated hail up to the size of a quarter...
Penn State, Teamsters Union Reach Tentative Deal, Avert Strike
Penn State and the union representing about 2,500 of its technical service employees reached a tentative agreement on Friday for a new four-year contract, averting a potential strike with their current deal set to expire on Sunday. Members of Teamsters Local Union 8 will receive wage increases totaling 20% over the four years, according to the union's website. More details about the terms of the contract — which will run from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028 — are expected to be made public after members vote on ratification "in the next few weeks," according to a university news release. Local...
Great PA News Quiz: Canceled VP Debate, State Budget Deals, Legal Pot and a Boycott Bill
In this week’s news quiz: Netflix House, vice presidential debate scrapped, budgeting on a deadline and legal pot next door. 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: Canceled VP Debate, State Budget Deals, Legal Pot and a Boycott Bill appeared first on StateCollege.com.
Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Add Receiver to 2025 Class
Class of 2025 four-star wide receiver Jeff Exinor Jr. has committed to Penn State football, he announced Friday. Exinor became the 20th commit to the Nittany Lions in the current recruiting cycle. Hailing from Owings Mills, Maryland, Exinor is rated as the No. 7 overall player in his home state and the 11th-best athlete in the country, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. Rated as the eighth-best player in Penn State’s recruiting class, Exinor joined a class ranked as the No. 6 group in the nation prior to his commitment, according to the network. Exinor plays his high school ball for the McDonough School, which has produced the likes of Dani Dennis-Sutton and Curtis Jacobs for Penn State. In nine games for the McDonogh School, the 6’2″, 220-pound Exinor caught 76 passes for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in his junior season, per his MaxPreps profile. Exinor became the second wide receiver to commit to the Nittany Lions, following four-star pass catcher Lyrick Samuel. The post Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Add Receiver to 2025 Class appeared first on StateCollege.com.
Boil Water Notice Lifted in Bellefonte Area
A boil water notice for that had been in effect for some Bellefonte area residents for two days was lifted on Friday afternoon. Bellefonte Borough Water Authority customers in the Borough of Bellefonte and Spring Township were under the notice since Wednesday afternoon, after testing found that the water did not meet disinfection requirements. The required disinfectant residual concentration is .85, but samples collected on Wednesday showed a disinfectant residual concentration of .01. Concentration levels were restored to .85 the same day, but the authority had to wait for testing confirmation before lifting the notice. A message to residents on Friday stated the problem was corrected and the notice was lifted as of 3:40 p.m. While the notice was in effect, affected customers were told to boil water first or use bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation. Disinfectant residuals, according to the Environmental Protection agency, protect against microbial contaminants, act as an indicator of distribution system upset and limit growth of bacteria within the distribution system. Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms that can cause symptoms including as diarrhea, nausea, cramps and headaches. The post Boil Water Notice Lifted in Bellefonte Area appeared first on StateCollege.com.
Which Version of Medicare Is Best: Traditional Coverage or Medicare Advantage?
This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here. Upon turning 65 or retiring, Americans face a major choice: Go with traditional Medicare or sign up for Medicare Advantage? In commercials featuring celebrities like retired Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson, insurance companies strongly push the latter. There are tradeoffs between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and parsing out the differences is often confusing. To discuss the two options, How We Care spoke with Tricia Neuman of...
Centre Region Council of Governments Names New Executive Director
The Centre Region Council of Governments has appointed a new executive director who will begin in the role in August. Benjamin Estell will succeed Eric Norenberg, who retired on Thursday after four years as the COG's executive director. The COG General Forum — the governing body made up of elected officials from its six member municipalities — approved hiring Estell on Monday, though his name was not disclosed at the time. Estell has been borough manager/secretary of the Borough of Dormont, a Pittsburgh suburb of about 10,000 residents in Allegheny County, since 2015. He brings 20 years of municipal services management experience...
Penn State Athletics: As Expenses Grow, Kraft Still Committed to 31 Sports at Penn State
In the face of growing spending for Penn State athletics and athletic departments across the nation, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft is committed to keeping all 31 varsity sports programs, he told StateCollege.com last week. "What I always tell people is the football [and] basketball, is the national brand national piece," Kraft said. "Our Olympic sports, especially here where you're uber competitive — think 22 of our teams made the NCAA this year in the postseason — they build our culture, they build the community. Now when you reach a wrestling status like we have, we're the best in...
Penn State’s No. 23 Finish in Learfield Cup Standings Not So Krafty
Back on May 1, 2022 — just a few days after he was officially hired as Penn State’s athletic director — Dr. Patrick Kraft touted the power, reach, success and mission of Penn State’s 31 varsity sports and the head coaches who lead them. “We are 31 strong,” Kraft enthused at the time. “Hear me again: We are 31 strong. And we are committed to winning national championships, conference championships. We will continue the tradition of winning. “We’re going to continue to win,” Kraft promised. “I need to talk with Cael (Sanderson) and see how he’s done it so well so consistently. That’s...
Bellefonte-Area Sheetz to Temporarily Close for Rebuild
A Centre County Sheetz will be out of service for about five months while the store is demolished and rebuilt. The gas station and convenience store at 2850 Benner Pike in Benner Township will close on July 7, according to a sign on the store's windows. The new Sheetz is expected to open in December, Sheetz PR Manager Nick Ruffner wrote in an email to StateCollege.com. In addition to a new 6,139-square-foot building with indoor and outdoor seating, the rebuilt Sheetz will add a drive-through and a new car wash, Ruffner wrote. The gas station will have the ability to fuel 12...
School Vouchers May Make It into Pennsylvania’s Budget. What Would They Really Do?
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 — Few arguments in Harrisburg are as fraught as the one happening now over school choice vouchers, and it features a lot of spin from lawmakers and lobbyists. Still, as budget talks speed toward a resolution that may include them, there is also a substantial body of research from decades of voucher use in multiple states that can offer some clarity. Broadly, voucher programs route public funding into private schools, generally in the form of...
Keep an Eye Out for ‘The Iron Mayor’ at This Year’s Ironman
STATE COLLEGE — When Ezra Nanes is not busy with his mayoral functions, serving on different boards and spending time with his wife, Mieke, and children, he is busy running, biking and swimming to train to compete once again in this year’s Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley. “You know, that’s one of the questions I get a lot,” Nanes shared, when asked how he balances it all. “I work full time at AccuWeather. I’m the mayor of State College. Competing in an Ironman. And I like to think I’m a very engaged and loving husband and father. I am a family...
Shapiro Visits Centre County to Tout Expanded Relief from Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Philipsburg on Thursday to discuss Pennsylvania's expanded Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program that will provide more money to a greater number of older and disabled adults. Speaking at Philipsburg Towers senior living community and Philipsburg Senior Resource Center, Shapiro announced that the first checks since an expansion of the program was signed into law last year will go out beginning July 1. Passed with bipartisan support, the legislation marked the first update of the program since 2006. "It’s been really effective. The problem is, it hadn’t been updated in 20 years," Shapiro said. "So every time a senior would get...
Penn State Football Player Accepted into Diversionary Program for Assault Charge
A star Penn State football player who was charged with misdemeanor assault after a confrontation with a tow-truck driver has been accepted into a pre-trial intervention program for first-time offenders. Abdul Carter, 20, was placed in a one-year Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program on Wednesday, Centre County Court Administrator Kendra Miknis confirmed. The program gives non-violent offenders with no or limited prior criminal records an opportunity to have charges dismissed and their records expunged upon completion. Participants are those who lend themselves to rehabilitation rather than punishment, and they must abide by terms and conditions, including complying with supervision requirements and remaining arrest-free. Centre...
New Bellefonte Mural to Be Dedicated with Block Party Celebration
A new public mural that showcases Bellefonte's role in the history of U.S. air mail will be dedicated on Friday with a block party-style celebration. The festivities will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Spring Street Municipal Parking Lot as part of Downtown Bellefonte Inc.'s Friday in the 'Fonte monthly summer series. The event will include nearly two dozen vendors and organizations along with live music by Lance Turner Burgess. DBI worked with community members over the past two years to facilitate the mural project and develop a creative brief. Muralists Key Detail were selected after an open call...
Building Tradition with Ironman 70.3 Happy Valley
This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette. STATE COLLEGE — After a successful run in 2023, the Ironman 70.3 Happy Valley Triathlon will make a comeback to Centre County on Sunday, June 30, as part of a three-year contract with just one year remaining. However, if Ironman 70.3 Happy Valley continues to see major success and participation in the area, it could soon become an annual tradition in the area. “As we approach year two of a three-year commitment, the HVAB and the Happy Valley Sports and Entertainment Alliance are hopeful that Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley become a mainstay of...
Gov. Shapiro Wanted to Regulate Skill Games in This Year’s Budget, but Talks Aren’t Going Well
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — An effort to tax a lucrative and legally iffy gaming sector appears to be in jeopardy amid Pennsylvania budget talks, potentially threatening a funding stream that could have been a bargaining chip during negotiations. At the center of the dispute are skill games, untaxed and unregulated devices that resemble slot machines and can be found in bars, restaurants and convenience stores across the commonwealth. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, threw his weight...
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