Today’s the last day!!!

I don’t usually cover breaking news, but this story is truly wild. A pastor in central PA brought an AR-15 to church and pointed it at people during his sermon. Gun safety experts and internet commentators are, predictably, not happy! (Paywall free link below) www.pennlive.com/news/2025/10...

Let it be known I work with the absolute best team. @julietterihl.bsky.social and I are taking home the John VR Bull First Amendment Award from the Pa Newsmedia Association for our coverage of corruption and shenanigans at the top levels of Dauphin County.

The Dauphin County Prison Board recommended the county choose between PrimeCare & Wellpath for the jail’s healthcare There is a wild disconnect with board members trusting an audit that found P was ok at DCP but recommending two of the lowest ranked bidders www.pennlive.com/news/2025/06...

Calling all football fans: Don’t miss this award-winning podcast by my wonderful colleagues!

After crashing his county-owned SUV, being charged with DUI and disappearing for 32 days, Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick is back on the job. @pennlive.com exclusive: www.pennlive.com/news/2025/05...

Hey bestie, your new favorite podcast just dropped!! Don’t miss episodes 1+2 of Death County, the unbelievable criminal justice podcast by investigative journalist @joshuapvaughn.bsky.social, now available on *all* the platforms

The latest from @julietterihl.bsky.social

📣 Meet the 2025 Livingston Awards Finalists for Local Reporting! 📣 These outstanding young journalists are shining a light on critical local issues—and shaping the future of news. 👏 Congratulations to all these finalists! Read their work: loom.ly/LAVASEQ #livingstonawards #uofm

Very excited to announce I’m a 2025 Livingston Awards finalist for my reporting on Dauphin County’s shady dealings. Grateful to @umwallacehouse.bsky.social for this honor and my colleagues @pennlive.com for their unwavering support! 🙏🏻 www.pennlive.com/news/2025/04...

BREAKING: Dauphin County just released a recording of the 911 call from firebomber suspect Cody Balmer following the arson attack on Gov. Shapiro’s residence. Read the story for deets on what he says and a link to the recording: www.pennlive.com/news/2025/04...

NEW: The suspect in the arson attack at the PA Governor’s Residence tried to turn himself in three times, over the course of 12 hours, before police finally took him into custody. @chasthompson.bsky.social has the story: www.pennlive.com/crime/2025/0...

PS. To other media chasing this story, please cite our work. It’s common courtesy. Thank you 🙏🏻

SCOOP: We obtained a search warrant saying Gov. Shapiro was targeted for “what he wants to do to Palestinian people.” Read for more details ⬇️ www.pennlive.com/crime/2025/0...

How often do you get shots of a commissioner, who has crashed 4 county vehicles and has come under suspicion of drunk driving, wheeling a keg into the county administration building? bsky.app/profile/case...

Grateful to be included in today’s @columjournreview.bsky.social newsletter along with @savvyliterate.com 🙏🏻

I'm a fan of great local watchdog journalism, and this piece by @julietterihl.bsky.social is a prime example. H/T to @bgrueskin.bsky.social for including it in his CJR newsletter.

Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick told police he drank half a bottle of vodka before driving to a public county meeting Wednesday but did not undergo drug and alcohol testing, despite county policy reportedly mandating it, @julietterihl.bsky.social reports.

Dauphin County officials are calling for “thoughts and prayers” for Commissioner George Hartwick after he scraped his county-owned SUV against a pillar in the county garage, reports @julietterihl.bsky.social and @joshuapvaughn.bsky.social.

More on the George Hartwick story from @julietterihl.bsky.social: the Dauphin County commissioner never showed at the flag planting he claimed he had attended, organizers told PennLive.

Watch the video at the bottom of the story to see behind-the-scenes footage of me arguing with security for not letting us into the county garage, ha. (Little did they know we’d already gone in earlier and gotten photos and video of the smashed car)

Big news out of Dauphin County today:

Rows of golfers lined up to hit the links could soon be traded for rows of computer servers in a giant warehouse, as a popular publicly-owned golf course is up for sale and being eyed for a future data storage site. Read the full story from @julietterihl.bsky.social:

"I think, for someone who came to this country in a legal process, to have been detained by ICE, under immense pressure from this administration, I feel that that is wrong.” If you read one thing (outside the @penncapital-star.com today), check out this story from @brettsholtis.bsky.social.

The blood moon lunar eclipse at peak totality as seen over Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 3-14-2025. Nikon D780 • Nikon 200-500mm @ 500 mm, ISO 400, 1 sec., f/5.6

Just me and my assistant who doesn’t seem to care I’m on deadline

Spending a good chunk of my day covering high school individual wrestling championships with @evanwheaton.bsky.social and @tomdemartini1.bsky.social. This will be my first time seeing girls wrestling, and I'm really looking forward to it.

When government employees in PA leave their jobs, state law prohibits them from getting a contract with their former employer for the first year. But in Dauphin County, it’s happening anyway. New from me (paywall-free link!) www.pennlive.com/news/2025/03...

Looking through PA’s legislative archives today and found an interesting reference to Trump, circa 2004. (Context: Lawmakers were passionately debating whether to pass legislation to allow gambling in PA, which they did)

This is funny and interesting but also, the real ones know Duolingo is trash for learning Mandarin lmao

i think it’s unfair to expect regular people to know precisely how journalism works so i will say the answer to “why did they sit on that story for so long” is often “because of lawyers”

Come work with Juliette and the rest of our amazing reporters!

JOB ALERT 🚨 @pennlive.com is hiring another investigative reporter to round out our i-team. Position is remote anywhere in PA (!). Stated salary range is $62-70K Come work with me! (DMs open for questions) myjobs.adp.com/advancelocal...

Kudos to every single local reporter putting themselves at risk tonight during the #PalisadesFire to keep us informed. I have seen at least a dozen journalists overcome with smoke, embers, and within mere feet of active flames. Thank you for your bravery and your fine reporting. #JournalismMatters

New: Amid turmoil in Dauphin County, its top elected official could soon be dethroned. Commissioner George Hartwick, who chairs the board, will likely be replaced by Commissioner Justin Douglas at next Wednesday’s public meeting. Read for more ⬇️ www.pennlive.com/news/2025/01...

Jeff Haste is no longer second in command of Dauphin County’s Republican Committee. His resignation comes after a host of controversies involving him and just six months after he was a delegate at the 2024 RNC. 🎁 link ⤵️ nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Happy holidays to everyone but *especially* records officers in PA who don’t automatically issue 30-day extensions ✨

Getting yelled at can indeed be a job, kids.

Dauphin County just approved a whopping 22% property tax hike. The move marks the first time the county has raised property taxes in —*checks notes* —19 years. www.pennlive.com/news/2024/12...

Your daily dose of Dauphin Co. politics news:

From @julietterihl.bsky.social: Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas on Wednesday accused a well-connected political consultant of double-dipping in county funds by receiving grant money from a program he oversees.

PennLive continues to expose questionable contracts using public money. Story by @julietterihl.bsky.social and @joshuapvaughn.bsky.social

One of the most powerful lobbyists in PA, who has represented Dauphin County for 20 yrs, was also secretly business partners with ex-Dauphin Co Commissioner Jeff Haste. The latest in a string of potential conflicts of interests in Dauphin County: www.pennlive.com/news/2024/12...

The story continues to unfold!

Former Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste, who resigned in 2021, took $10,000 from companies involved in the unfolding corruption scandal after he left office. Haste is allegedly at the center of an ongoing FBI investigation. keystonenewsroom.com/2024/12/03/j...

If you haven’t been keeping up, there are big things (read: potential conflicts of interest, misuse of public funds, etc) going on in Dauphin County, PA. The DA’s office has now referred one matter to the AG’s office, which will decide whether to investigate: www.pennlive.com/news/2024/12...

Monday

Come work with us! Our reporters are outstanding, the editors encourage you to pursue your passion projects, and the pet photos shared on the internal Slack are S-tier.

📢 JOURNALISM JOB ALERT 📢 @PennLive.com is looking for a PA Capitol investigative reporter. This post is a government watchdog’s dream. If you’ve got qs, lmk! I’m not the hiring manager but I’ve worked here for ~6 months and love it (really). Salary & details: jobs.pennlive.com/company/adva...

The mayor of Steelton Borough is calling for a forensic audit into its finances. Mayor Ciera Dent said those concerns revolve around contracts with political consultant Mike Musser II, his employer, McNees Wallace & Nurick, and other companies he’s worked with. More from @julietterihl.bsky.social.