By Tim Lambert | Editor-in-chief
“What we’re saying is that they can be used for legitimate law enforcement purposes, conducting criminal investigations, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws enforcing state d local parking laws and controlling access to secured areas, and it’s only allowed to be used by government and law enforcement.” — Rep. Jen O’Mara’s (D-Delaware), who’s proposed limiting how government agencies can use ALPRs and what the data can be used for.
A good Monday morning to you. Time to rise and grind as we gear up for the new work week. By Thursday, parts of Pennsylvania could see temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s.
On this day in 1787, the Continental Congress debated what types of powers would be granted to the United States Congress. One centered on its power to make war. But, a motion was passed to change “make” to “declare.” According to the National Park Service, the move was made to ensure the president had the authority “to repel sudden attacks.”
Thanks for starting your day with us. As always, we deeply appreciate you reading, sharing and supporting our work. -- Tim
A police officer uses the Flock Safety license plate reader system. Many left-leaning states and cities are trying to protect their residents’ personal information amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, but a growing number of conservative lawmakers also want to curb the use of surveillance technologies. (Photo courtesy of Flock Safety)
By Peter Hall
As Pennsylvania lawmakers proposed measures to better regulate the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) and the data they gather, a major purveyor of the technology announced last Thursday it would tighten the optional controls on how police use its system.
Flock Safety said it would shorten the default period its system stores information about vehicles and their whereabouts from 30 days to seven days, although police departments that use it could opt to keep the longer data retention period.
The announcement came amid mounting public pushback against the tech’s broad deployment across the country following reports of law enforcement officers misusing it.
SCI Somerset on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Photo by Commonwealth Media Services)
By Whitney Downard
In two GOP-led meetings last week, county district attorneys across the state repeatedly spoke about the oncoming “chaos” created by the state legislature’s failure to create a sentencing structure for felony murder. The discussions took place in the wake of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life sentences were unconstitutional.
“People are going to be treated disparately in every county across the commonwealth, and that’s very dangerous because there will be no uniformity. We will still have no idea what’s going on,” said Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli on Thursday. “It will create chaos and violations in our communities … that scares me a great deal.”
Data from the state Department of Corrections indicate that Westmoreland County has nine felony murder cases that could now be revisited. That number pales in comparison to the caseload Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will oversee, which accounts for almost half of the state’s 1,100-plus cases.
The state’s highest court gave the General Assembly 120 days to draft a solution, but lawmakers didn’t come to a consensus before the July 24 deadline.
Exposure to mixed coal mine dust that contains silica — a carcinogen — can lead to the development of pneumoconiosis, commonly known as black lung disease. (Getty Images)
UMWA calls for ‘immediate’ enforcement of silica rule as black lung hits new high in Pa., Appalachia
By Caity Coyne of West Virginia Watch
The United Mine Workers of America made an “urgent demand” of the federal government on Thursday for the “immediate, uncompromised” enforcement of previously approved policies and rules that would protect coal miners from incurable black lung disease.
The call from the UMWA comes after new research this month shows that black lung rates have increased to an almost 50-year high after years of decline, with the highest rates of the disease found in miners from central Appalachia.
“More needs to be done, and it needs to be done now,” said UMWA International President Brian Sanson. “Miners are wearing masks, they are following rules, and yet they are still breathing in killer dust. We will not stand by while federal regulations are ignored and sat on while our members and coalfield workers pay for it with their lives.”
According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, coal miners in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky have, historically, filed the highest number of claims for black lung benefits.
Independent reporting on Pennsylvania's state government that impacts communities statewide — free to read and republish.
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The edge of a cornfield in Ronks, Lancaster County on October 14, 2025. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Anne Danahy of WPSU
Dan Kniffen, president of the Centre County Farm Bureau, said the prices farmers are getting for their crops are not keeping up with rising costs — especially the price of fertilizers.
“Everybody that’s growing crops this year is in a negative position,” Kniffen said.
One major factor: the war in Iran. About a third of the world’s fertilizer shipped by sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to fertilizer shortages and a spike in prices.
TODAY IN THE CAPITAL-STAR
States move to fortify elections against Trump: State Democratic officials are preparing for chaos at the polls this November, amid President Donald Trump’s push for more federal involvement in local voting. At stake is not only whether Republicans will maintain their grip on Congress, but also the control of state legislatures across the country.
ICYMI
Latest Pa. budget lacks home health nurse funding increase: Like many other 6-year-old girls, Scarlotte Sell’s excited to start first grade and laughs easily. Scarlotte also has an extremely rare genetic disorder — one of three children in the world with her gene mutation — and requires round-the-clock care. But getting medically trained caretakers when her dad, Brandon Sell, is away from their Adams County home hasn’t always been easy.
Neighbors live in fear after pipeline leak in ‘unleashing American energy’ era: Work crews recently finished four new holes on a street in Mount Eyre, Bucks County, the latest of 44 wells drilled in the community. The driller, Energy Transfer, is using the wells to determine how far and how deep an unknown quantity of petroleum fuel has spread into drinking water supplies from a rupture in its 68-year-old pipeline beneath this neighborhood.
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