Dozens of amendments to our state constitutionare pending in the legislature that would forever reshape Pennsylvania. That's why we've launched a new, nonpartisan public-service initiative to raise awareness and education about what might be coming to your ballot.
Our 📜 Amendment Tracker allows you to see and search all proposed amendments in one place. And we want to make improvements to the design and add other features, such as email alerts as amendments progress and events in support of public awareness.
» STRIKE TEAM: A 23-person federal strike team will stay at WellSpan York Hospital for at least another month. The team was sent to help the strained hospital on Jan. 3 and originally slated to stay just 30 days.
» MUST BE BOOSTED: The Philadelphia Theatre Company will require proof of a booster shot to get in, making it one of the first performance venues — if not the first — in the region to do so, 6ABC reports.
» LONG HAULERS: A study published Tuesday in the medical journal Cell outlines four factors that can be found early in coronavirus infections and increase the chances of developing long-term symptoms.
BILL BLOCKS: Most state House lawmakers support a bill regulating how many patients a single nurse can care for at a time, a move meant to ensure better outcomes. But as Capital-Star reports, majority support matters less in this instance than that of powerful committee chairs who decide "what bills see a vote and which wither and die without action," a dynamic that has frustrated reform efforts before.
BIG BUSINESS:Large companies and corporations control 83% of Pennsylvania's medical marijuana market, according to a new report that details the obstacles keeping smaller firms on the sidelines. Among the hurdles are high licensing fees and financing requirements, access to capital, and — the biggest of them all — a highly restricted number of available licenses, the Post-Gazette reports.
IN OTHER NEWS
FIRST-PERSON: Inquirer scribe Abraham Gutman's great uncle, Mishka, was killed by Nazis, most likely in a little-known massacre in an Ukrainian forest. Gutman wrote about Mishka on Holocaust Remembrance Day: "I want to know him. But there is no one to ask. That pain won't go away."
WEATHER WATCH: A nor'easter is set to swing up the East Coast today and into tomorrow, dropping large amounts of snow on New England and smaller amounts on southeastern Pennsylvania. Here are the latest predictions for the Philadelphia area, via the National Weather Service.
BAKED UP: If you're like me, you looked at Pennsylvania's "Official Groundhog Cookie Recipe" and thought: "72 or more" medium-size groundhog-shaped cookies sounds like a good start, but 72 cookies from 2 cups of flour seems ... unlikely. Well, I plan to find out and will report back.
ON THE LOOSE: The possible-dog-possible-coyote taken in by a Westmoreland County shelter last week has escaped the facility while waiting for test results to confirm its identity. TribLIVE reports the mystery animal clawed its way out and is currently on the lam.
ON THE LINE: We leave you this week with the cornucopia of commonwealth character that is WNEP's Talkback 16 segment. This week's callers got hot about a squirrel named Butters and "the monkeys" but mostly mocked NFL legend Tom Brady ruthlessly. Enjoy the weekend. We'll see you Monday.
THE SCRAMBLER
Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag.
N T E I N U A E X T G
Yesterday's answer: Inexorable
Congrats to our daily winners: Becky C., Craig W., Barbara F., Vicki U., Susan D., Suzanne O., Doris T., Michelle T., Karen W., Bonnie R., Elaine C., Mike B., Don H., Patricia M., Kimberly S., John A., George S., Rick G., Cindy G., Bill S., David W., Susan N.-Z., Dianne K., Kim C., James B., Alan V., Suzanne S., and Elizabeth W.
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WITF Public Media.
DAY ONE: A Commonwealth Court judge 
FAKE ELECTORS: 
SAVINGS PLAN: Gov. Tom Wolf is entering his last budget season in office with tensions resurfacing around what to do with billions in leftover pandemic aid. Democrats want to spend more to help people and businesses quickly. 
BILL BLOCKS: Most state House lawmakers support a bill regulating how many patients a single nurse can care for at a time, a move meant to ensure better outcomes. But as Capital-Star reports, majority support matters less in this instance than that of 
BIG BUSINESS: 