Pennsylvania

Here are some highlights of how the Pennsylvania General Assembly spent taxpayer money on its own operations during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

GOP members of the legislature are organizing to reopen Pennsylvania faster than Gov. Tom Wolf wants. Businesses that defy orders could lose state licenses.

Help with refinancing debt could help shale companies in PA

At least six Pa. counties have said they would no longer enforce the governor’s business shutdown orders, meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Lancaster, Schuylkill, Lebanon and Dauphin counties have all announced plans to move from the more restrictive “red” phase to “yellow.”

With no guarantee they can collect unemployment if they refuse to go to work, immunocompromised workers fear a near-impossible choice: Risk losing their jobs, or their life.

Reopening too soon could exacerbate the already devastating death toll in long-term care facilities, they say.

Similar measures to those envisioned were later put in place, but only after widespread outbreaks were already underway.

Preliminary vital statistics show the state recorded 49,384 total deaths from any cause through the end of April. In April 2019, there were 46,521 deaths.

The governor has at least two choices, experts say: turn over the information or invoke executive privilege, potentially setting off a court fight.

Chester County has contracted with Lehigh Valley Genomics, an approved lab in Bethlehem, to monitor the tests and will offer them at two locations.

Pennsylvania has one of the least funded public health departments in the country, which is making it more difficult to contain the coronavirus.

Gov. Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine have extended the order for the state’s 43 counties in the “red” phase through June 4.

Gov. Tom Wolf wants to create a new, federally-funded ‘civilian corps’ to help respond to COVID-19. But many of the details are still unclear.

The governor championed government transparency during his campaigns, but now that commitment is being tested.