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. STATE COLLEGE — As DuBois and Sandy Township work through the yearslong process of consolidating into a new city, 80 miles southwest a consulting firm commissioned by State College recommended it also explore the idea of fusing with neighboring municipalities. The firm was hired to look into problems facing downtown State College businesses, and identified consolidation as a way to grow the region’s ec ..read more

In this week’s quiz: Government frequent flyers, when “water” is actually “soda,” Dickinson’s canceled commencement speech, and more. 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 ..read more

This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our north-central Pa. newsletter, Talk of the Town, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is offering buyouts to Commonwealth Campus employees to reduce its multimillion-dollar budget deficit, a dramatic step for Pennsylvania’s flagship university. Tenured faculty, tenure-line faculty, academic administrators, and staff who are full-time employees, not on fixed ..read more

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 — Holli Zelinsky often thinks about selling or even closing the Doodle Bug. She opened the preschool and child care center in rural Schuylkill County in 2007, and making the finances work has always been a challenge. But after the coronavirus pandemic upended the child care industry over four years ago, finding and keeping workers became even harder. Short st ..read more

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 — For the first time in at least 16 years, the Democratic and Republican parties in Pennsylvania are within half a million registered voters of one another. Since 2008, Democrats’ registration edge over Republicans has steadily shrunk — from a 12% advantage in April 2008 to about a 4% advantage in April 2024, according to a Spotlight PA analysis of Department ..read more

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 — The two-engine, eight-seat Beechcraft King Air 350i took off from a small regional airport across the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania’s state capital at 3:22 p.m. on Aug. 17. After a two-hour flight, it arrived at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, a ritzy vacation spot known for beaches and golf courses, to meet its passenger — Gov. Josh Shapiro. Th ..read more

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. Join Spotlight PA for the second annual “Clink and Think” quiz bash on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 4:30-7:30 p.m., upstairs at Axemann Brewery in Bellefonte, to support our State College bureau. Test your Pennsylvania knowledge with a quiz hosted by Penn State play-by-play announcer Steve Jones. There will be food buffets, non-alcoholic beverages, and a cash bar. Trivia teams ..read more

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 — A nonprofit that does not publicly disclose its donors paid more than $12,000 last year for Gov. Josh Shapiro to attend sporting events. The secrecy leaves taxpayers in the dark about who underwrites the outings and what interests they may have in state government policy. The money also raises questions anew about whether the Democrat is violating his ban o ..read more

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. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Democrats are again pushing to allow counties time to process mail ballots before the day of the election. But the effort appears doomed because of the Senate GOP majority’s insistence on pairing the measure with an expanded voter ID law. A House bill passed Wednesday in a party line vote would allow counties up to seven days before election day to open b ..read more

In this week’s quiz: Primary turnout lags, pro-Palestinian protests continue, and an Obama-era loophole lingers. 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 ..read more