I watched this clip just to see how the last name was pronounced. (We are not related, to be clear.) www.ktiv.com/2025/09/30/p...

The Institute is proud to honor @edmahon.bsky.social, an investigative reporter at @spotlightpa.org, with the 2025 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism. Join us at @pressclubdc.bsky.social on Dec. 9 to celebrate: www.pressclubinstitute.org/2025/09/12/e...

The board for the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust is meeting now. Info to view virtually is available here. www.paopioidtrust.org/meetings/202...

Big fay: I have TWO photos in Spotlight PA’s weekday newsletter. One was for a news article. The other was inspired by my kids’ obsession with the “Hamilton” soundtrack.

Pennsylvanians: Do you know someone who deserves recognition for doing good in their PA community? Nominate them to be featured in our monthly PA Local Heroes series! You can submit their name & a few lines about them here: forms.gle/9WBuEgLrTkxS... Examples of some previous profiles in thread 🧵

Great reporting out of West Virginia - by great student journalists - about where opioid settlement money is going in a state that's long been considered the epicenter of the opioid and overdose crisis.

As the Senate passes unprecedented Medicaid cuts, my colleague Sarah Gantz profiled five Philly-area families who are worried about affording food, medications, and mental health services going forward: www.inquirer.com/health/medic...

One of Jessica Berry's overdoses ended up in a news article, she said, and some of the online comments questioned why people like her were even worth saving. “It really broke my heart,” she said. “But it also lit a fire in me.” www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06...

I learned at least one new thing about Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program while creating this quiz. I'm curious if you will! www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06...

Tons of great stories in here — guarantee you’ll get some ideas! Great working on this with @edmahon.bsky.social and @aneripattani.bsky.social

A big list of 30 opioid settlement story ideas and 30 other public health story ideas: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... I created this with @aneripattani.bsky.social and @wadrewhawkins.bsky.social .

Proud of @annrejrat.bsky.social and everyone at SpotlightPA.org for getting this story told: lancasteronline.com/news/local/t...

I've written about efforts to increase oversight of medical marijuana laboratories and doctors in Pennsylvania. State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R., Erie) has proposed an arguably bigger change. www.palegis.us/senate/co-sp...

Penns Valley still rules.

New weight loss drugs like Ozempic for Medicaid patients are projected to cost PA $1.3 billion this year. To cut costs, the Shapiro admin plans to limit access next month. But some House lawmakers have another idea -- negotiate with drug companies. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06...

I’m presenting at the PA Prevention Conference today. My family drove up with me. (They are sightseeing in State College now.) Before we split up for the day, my 8-year-old son asked, “What if you mess up 15 times?”

Pa. opioid trust meeting happening now. Discussion happening now regarding this agenda item: "Presentation by Penn State re: Pennsylvania Opioid Settlement Data Website." Link to the full agenda is here: www.paopioidtrust.org/getmedia/1d4...

‪Very excited to present @IRE_NICAR next month with @edmahon.bsky.social‬ & Drew Hawkins! We'll be sharing 60 rapid-fire ideas for stories on opioid settlement money & public health topics in 60 minutes. You'll walk away with inspiration for quick turns, features & investigations.

@spotlightpa.org investigative reporter @edmahon.bsky.social partnered with @wesa.fm, Pittsburgh's NPR station, to produce an audio version of his child welfare coverage. Listen here: ow.ly/5zoF50Vtl8G

“I don’t think it was the intention of the General Assembly for us to have a de facto legalization program, and I’m concerned that that’s what we have set up with the lack of oversight of the medical marijuana program,” said state Rep. Arvind Venkat, a Democrat and physician. shorturl.at/Ebxu4

Mayor Parker's administration is ending a community-led grant program funded by opioid settlement dollars. It allowed residents to decide where money flowed in the neighborhood. www.kensingtonvoice.com/en/parker-ad...

So, I decided to get my own. Today, @spotlightpa.bsky.social is publishing data on all commutations votes taken since 2000. As you'll see, it's somewhat incomplete. But I'm hoping to bring you more soon! For now, happy Sunshine Week! www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/03...

Creative & informative tool from @spotlightpa.bsky.social that let's you be the decision-maker on opioid settlement funds. Will you make the same choices that the state council that oversees the money in Pennsylvania has so far?

We launched a new tool today as part of our ongoing coverage of opioid settlement money. I'm really excited for this one. It puts you (and the rest of the public) in the role of a decision-maker. Give it a try: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/03...

Fun day to be in the Capitol.

House Bill 33, a medical marijuana bill, is being considered for a final vote in the state House now. www.palegis.us/house/sessio...

In Pennsylvania, applying for commutation of a life sentence is kind of like playing the lottery. Only 17 women have received it in half a century. In 2023, Gail Stallworth thought she'd beat the odds. But what would happen to her was rarer still. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/03...

Starting an account over here! And sharing a new story I think is important. Clergy abuse survivors are still waiting for Pennsylvania to let them sue. One man recently told me he worries he won't live to see justice. "These people are getting away with it.” www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/02...

A private entity is poised to take temporary control of a troubled rural water company after a judge approved an emergency request by Pennsylvania’s consumer advocate.

By @briaovers.bsky.social: The Social Security Administration meant job stability. Not anymore. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

I'm at a Department of Health budget hearing today. State senators have asked several questions related to Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program, including about the doctor certification data that Spotlight PA won access to in court. (More details to follow.)

Many thanks to WITF's Rachel McDevitt for having me on the Morning Agenda podcast to talk about the debate over using opioid settlement money to boost child welfare worker salaries. You can listen here: omny.fm/shows/the-mo...

In 2022, as opioid settlement money was starting to reach local governments in Pennsylvania, officials in rural Cameron County reached out to the state attorney general's office for guidance.

Legislation prompted by a series of Spotlight PA investigations into the state's medical marijuana program is moving through the Pennsylvania legislature, passing out of the House Health Committee earlier this week.

Thanks to City Cast Pittsburgh for having me and @stephenjcaruso.bsky.social on to talk about cannabis and Pennsylvania. Full episode is available here. pittsburgh.citycast.fm

Using records an RCFP attorney helped @spotlightpa.bsky.social obtain through successful litigation, @edmahon.bsky.social has reported three data-driven investigations into Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program.

Thanks to the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce for having me on their Business Matters program to talk local news, free speech, and other important issues. www.wfmz.com/business/bus...

@spotlightpa.bsky.social found that a small group of doctors in Pennsylvania approve an outsize share of the state’s medical marijuana cards. It’s the third story based largely on records that @edmahon.bsky.social obtained with free legal support from an RCFP attorney.

A statement of solidarity from our founder and CEO, Chris Baxter. A respectful, productive bargaining table is possible — don't let them tell you any different! www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

When I stopped posting on X, I didn’t announce it. I just stopped posting. That was almost two years ago. When I stopped posting on Facebook every day after the 2016 election, same deal. IG? Same deal. Not this time. I’m going to pull back on all Meta products. Here’s why. 🧵

Attorney Paula Knudsen Burke: "The investigations that have resulted from the release of these records clearly illustrate why it is so important for journalists and news organizations to fight back when government agencies try to withhold information from the public." www.rcfp.org/spotlight-pa...

An update on my 2024 resolutions. I solved it.

Our latest investigation into Pennsylvania's medical marijuana industry looks at why some doctors approve more than 5K, and in a few cases, more than 10K medical marijuana cards a year. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/12...

Kensington’s Willard Elementary School is getting its first playground. It’s also getting something less whimsical: a bullet-resistant fence. Both have an unusual funding source: drug companies. www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

More than 180 people seek to guide how Baltimore will spend its opioid millions

A bill that would restrict where mobile medical services can operate in Kensington advanced out of a Philly city council committee yesterday -- after heated exchanges with addiction service providers who say the bill will make it harder to help people with addiction: www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...

A new database from Spotlight PA makes it easier to track how Pennsylvania counties are spending tens of millions from their first rounds of opioid settlement payments, reports 2024 Data Fellow @edmahon.bsky.social. centerforhealthjournalism.org/our-work/rep...

What do Philadelphia and Somerset County in southwestern Pennsylvania have in common? They're both fighting for more freedom over how to spend opioid settlement money. My latest: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/11...

In Harrisburg, where members of a powerful state oversight board are considering whether counties appropriately spent opioid settlement money.

Young journalists! Do want to learn how to cover government and politics from those who do it every day? And want to make money while doing it? Then apply for the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents' Association internship for the summer of 2025: