A Spotlight PA investigation found the head of the Penn State Cancer Institute was repeatedly under internal review in recent years for extra chemo doses, unexplained delays in changing treatments, and creating a 'toxic' workplace.

In your inbox, if you subscribe to Access Harrisburg: A deep dive on the budget, from deficits and flying cars to the NFL draft and Trump tax cut repeals. You can sign up (for a new monthtly sub!) here: buy.stripe.com/dRm28t9SXfTc...

It's Friday, which means it's time to district yourself from work for a few minutes by playing a little game, brought to you by yours truly: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/11...

Student journalists: Want a hands on opportunity to learn government and political journalism alongside a crew of veteran reporters, diving into the machinations of a key swing state? Then apply to the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents' Association internship!

Anywho, amid all this, here's the latest update I got: Shapiro and Democrats may agree to end a statewide program to cap carbon from power plants to appease Senate Republicans and end the 130+ day budget impasse. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/11...

A fun fact about me is that I will almost always love the live version of an album better than the studio version

Are you voting today in Pennsylvania? If you still have questions about where your polling place is, who is on the ballot, and how to vote, Spotlight PA has you covered: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10/pennsylvania-municipal-election-day-2025-last-minute-voting-guide-elections/

My colleague @katehuangpu.bsky.social reports that a similar meeting has taken place this morning. "We're working," President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) told reporters after she left.

I'm like 99% sure the barista at Starbucks earlier this week gave me a cup of just peach juice instead of a peach green tea, and it was kinda undrinkable as-is but I'm not even upset because I've been keeping it in my fridge and adding it to tea at home so it's lasted me three days instead of one 🧡

Obsessed with every time the Inquirer does an interactive scrolly-telly multi-modal race share.inquirer.com/QsLtPx

The pending acquisition of WPSU by @whyy.org could mean some notable changes to the workforce of State College's public media outlet. I spoke with WHYY's CEO about them for this week's Talk of the Town newsletter.

Hi all. I’m launching a newsletter with @SpotlightPA. Starting next week, you can get the latest on Pennsylvania government & state politics right to your inbox featuring the same mix of reporting and silly jokes that likely helped you find me on ye ole bird app. www.spotlightpa.org/newsletters/...

Horror is as Pennsylvanian as scrapple. From the Gothic fiction of authors like Charles Brockden Brown and Edgar Allan Poe, to the creature features of George A. Romero and mindbenders of M. Night Shyamalan, the commonwealth has long been a hub for the genre.

Spotlight PA is hiring! It's a union position! Come work for one of the best newsrooms in the bizzz spotlightpa.applytojob.com/apply/FIsBWv...

Pennsylvanians: Do you know what you're doing this weekend? I designed a cute little one-minute quiz to help you figure out how to take advantage of autumn in our beautiful state - www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/10...

four listens in & I’m filling out my Jack Antonoff apology form

Happy goose day to all who celebrate

I was on vacation last week so didn't get a chance to share this piece when it came out, but I had a lovely time speaking to people in the Juniata River Valley about Goose Day, a quirky & unique local holiday that's celebrated every Sept. 29: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/09...

If you are a museums nerd like me and will be traveling domestically, I highly recommend getting a local museum membership that offers reciprocal admission to others. My bf & I joined one for $150 before we left for a multi-city trip and ended up going to $200+ worth of museums 💸

Leap-the-Dips, a 123-year-old coaster near Altoona, only travels at about 10mph, but a now-rare type of engineering adds extra thrills. Fans told me it's a unique experience, but no one has been able to ride it since 2023 — and its future is unclear. My latest: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/08...

Big news from me: The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General is currently locked out of many crucial systems after being hit by a ransomware attack earlier this month. Will provide updates as I have them.

After having such a lovely time bookshop-hopping at Philly's annual bookstore crawl on Saturday, it was such a delight to read this WVIA story about downtown Scranton's three indie bookstores & how they encourage visitors to do their own little informal crawls 💖 www.wvia.org/2025-08-25/b...

If you'd like a fun read on this cloudy morning, check out my interview with Michele Bannon, the mayor of Carbondale, PA. We talked about her city's hidden gems, her decades-long government career, and Carbondale's claim to fame: an (alleged) UFO sighting. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/08...

Two years ago, after publishing a story on competency assessments trapping people in jail, I got a call from Sue. She told me about her yearslong struggle to get her son mental health care, and how none of it mattered. In the end, all of those attempts failed to find stability for her son Robert.

Pennsylvania's train history is extensive and rich, and I learned over the course of working on this story that there are many, many museums/heritage railroads across the state that try to preserve it and share stories about how railroads shaped PA. Like, a lot. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/07...

I can’t get on board with social platforms overusing AI for many reasons, & a minor one among them is that when I search “which bagel is your girlfriend” it’s APPARENTLY not smart enough to conjure up the “which bagel is your girlfriend” post that I literally JUST saw but lost when I refreshed

if I am watching a dessert recipe video on Instagram and I see any sign of protein powder, that’s my sign to stop watching

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 🧵

i always appreciate a dubai chocolate roundup because i'm allergic and it helps me know which bakeries to avoid (at least until the craze is over). 10/10 service journalism

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 🧵

now seems like as great a time as ever to re-up this piece I wrote in 2022: billypenn.com/2022/06/10/p...

I have been listening to the original Taylor Swift albums alongside the Taylor’s Versions and picking my favorite version of each song, and I know I’ve said this before but like……..why did she do that to Girl At Home

unexpected side effect of covering philadelphia for years is that sometimes when you're typing fast and sounding out a word in your head, you type a "ph" instead of an "f"

Play summer bingo with us at Spotlight PA!! We've got a ton of cool trip recommendations from readers to get you started. Bucket list + other details here: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06...

Very much enjoyed working on this piece about a local pronunciation quirk that I never thought twice about growing up. I love getting to do pieces like this, especially when they're about my hometown! www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06...

Here's your palate cleanser for a week of wild news: Spotlight PA's @ashaprihar.bsky.social writes re: Lebanon bologna. Berks' Patrick Donmoyer of the PA German Cultural Heritage Center at KU, weighs in. Mentions Kunzler's + neat interview with Seltzers www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06...

After watching so many fridge restock videos on the internet, I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ve unlocked the biggest hack for saving money on groceries (having a Brita filter and drinking primarily water)

Do you have a favorite Pennsylvania gem that's worth visiting in the summertime? Share it with us! www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/05...

I missed this from last month, but genuinely stellar reporting from @davisshaver.bsky.social of LebTown about a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who killed four people, cost the state more than $3 million in settlements, was reassigned to counsel other troopers, and just got promoted.

Today, at 5 p.m. ET, the Penn State Board of Trustees will vote on closing seven campuses — DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York. You can tune into the meeting here: trustees.psu.edu/thursday-may...

This is such a great story. A mayoral candidate for a teeny tiny Pennsylvania borough tried to steal the election, and couldn't, showing how hard it would be to pull off something similar at a national scale.

A week long AIPAC-funded sojourn to Israrel. A bipartisan junket to Taiwan. Hot dogs and zoo tickets to hold shindigs for constituents. And, of course, Eagles seats. That's a taste of the $119k in trips & trinkets gifted to top state lawmakers last year. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/05...

not to be a hater but I don’t really get why people love neapolitan pizza

New: Citing growing healthcare monopolies, Pa. policymakers want more oversight of hospital sales. But whether to only cover private equity, or also include nonprofit systems that are the biggest driver of consolidation, has emerged as a key divide. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/05...

As someone who once interned in a newsroom in Toledo, Ohio & loves The Office, I cannot express my sheer level of excitement for The Office spinoff series to be set in a newsroom in Toledo, Ohio

Where in Philly can one obtain a large bag of white basmati rice at a reasonable price?

Very sad that we finally got some journalists depicted in Andor but it turns out they’re just propagandists :(

everything's gotta have a PA angle, huh

the s’more-flavored Oreos truly have no business tasting that good