Latest Pennsylvania Headlines

All the headlines from our Pennsylvania Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Insurance Does Not Cover Shootings by Drunk Pennsylvania Doctor

Dec 18 2009 // The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a man’s drunkenness did not render his attempted shootings of a woman accidental and therefore did not trigger coverage under either his homeowners policy or his...

Erie, Pennsylvania Bans Cell Phone Use While Driving

Dec 18 2009 // Northwestern Pennsylvania’s largest city has banned hand-held cell phone use by those driving vehicles or riding bicycles. Erie City Council approved the measure this Wednesday. Mayor Joe Sinnott says he’ll...

Two Pennsylvania Insurance Agencies Merge

Dec 2 2009 // Pennsylvania insurance agencies, The Securus Group and The Dunlop Agency, have merged in a move they say is aimed at bolstering their market share in the Lehigh Valley and South Central regions of the state. The merged...

Best Downgrades Kingsway and Several Subsidiaries Ratings

Nov 25 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) and senior debt ratings to “ccc” from “b-” of Canadian insurer Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (KFSI) and Kingsway America Inc. (KAI),...

Plea Deal Reached in Pennsylvania Steel Town Arson Case

Nov 24 2009 // A former assistant fire chief accused of setting two small fires in an arson-plagued steel town near Philadelphia has worked out a plea bargain freeing him from jail. A Chester County judge says the deal for Robert Tracey...

Pennsylvania Woman Can’t Re-Sue Ernst & Young for $103M

Nov 20 2009 // A federal appeals court says a western Pennsylvania woman isn’t entitled to a new trial on her claim that an accounting error by Ernst & Young cost her $103 million. The Pennsylvania Superior Court two years ago...

Insurance Agent Seeks GOP Nod in Pennsylvania Congressional Race

Nov 17 2009 // An insurance agent from Meadville, Pennsylvania says he’ll seek the Republican nomination for the 3rd Congressional District in northwestern Pennsylvania. Fifty-one-year-old Steven Fisher says he’ll challenge...

Pennsylvania Regulator to Fight Kingsway over Share Donations

Nov 17 2009 // The Pennsylvania Insurance Department said it will take legal action against Kingsway Financial Services Inc. over its attempt to divest Lincoln General Insurance Co. In a press release, the state’s insurance...

Pa. Court: Earlier Asbestos Settlement Has No Impact on New Suit

Nov 15 2009 // The estates of two men who died of asbestos-related lung cancer years after receiving a settlement for increased risks and fear of the disease can sue another manufacturer of the material under the so-called...

Scientists Reassure Pennsylvania Residents in Quake Swarms

Nov 13 2009 // Scientists have met with residents of a central Pennsylvania town to reassure them about the hundreds of tiny earthquakes the area has experienced over the past year. Charles Scharnberger, Millersville University professor...

Pennsylvania Landowner Blames Energy Drilling for Water Pollution

Nov 9 2009 // An Avella, Pennsylvania landowner is suing an energy company for polluting his soil and water in an attempt to link a natural gas drilling technique with environmental contamination. George Zimmermann, the owner of 480...

Suit over Western Pennsylvania Fire that Killed 4 Dismissed

Nov 2 2009 // A panel of judges has dismissed a lawsuit against a utility company for a western Pennsylvania fire that killed four people. Two Cambria County judges say Penelec, which cut off service days before the fire, can’t be...

Pa. Court: Earlier Asbestos Settlement Has No Impact on New Suit

Oct 30 2009 // The estates of two men who died of asbestos-related lung cancer years after receiving a settlement for increased risks and fear of the disease can again sue another manufacturer of the material under the so-called...

Arrests Made in Western Pennsylvania Arson Spree

Oct 29 2009 // Eight people have been arrested for more than a third of the 34 fires police say were intentionally set in the last two years in New Castle in western Pennsylvania. “Hopefully, we can rest a little easier now,...

Feds Propose $504K Fines for Pennsylvania Mine Operator

Oct 21 2009 // The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is proposing $504,900 in fines against an eastern Pennsylvania coal mine operator for a miner’s death. Forty-five-year-old Robert Carey was killed on June 16, 2008,...

Pennsylvania AG Sues Texas Firm Over Lost Health Insurance

Oct 15 2009 // Pennsylvania’s attorney general has sued a Texas company that allegedly stopped paying employees’ health insurance premiums for five months before its insurer retroactively canceled coverage, leaving some...

Explosion at Pennsylvania Asphalt Plant Injures Three

Oct 14 2009 // Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania say an explosion and fire at an asphalt plant injured three workers, two of them critically. Cumru Township Fire Marshal Keith Fritz says an electrical panel burst into flames in the...

Pennsylvania Farmers Reminded of Sept. 30 Crop Insurance Deadline

Sep 29 2009 // Pennsylvania farmers can protect their income against unexpected losses by purchasing crop insurance before Sept. 30, said acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. The Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC) base fall price for...

Pennsylvania Hospital Says Patients Exposed to ‘Health Risk’

Sep 21 2009 // The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says some patients at one of its hospitals in northwestern Pennsylvania have been exposed to an unspecified “health risk.” UPMC says the patients who recently had...

Former Pennsylvania Firefighter Enters Plea in Arsons

Sep 8 2009 // A former volunteer firefighter has pleaded no contest in connection with a series of arsons in northeastern Pennsylvania. Twenty-six-year-old Benjamin Christensen entered the plea in Lackawanna County Court on...