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| Opioid suits, crisis numbers, liquor control, police reports, work gaps, banned books, and the Pennsylvania Farm Show returns. It's Friday. Happy weekend. |
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro says Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner lacks standing to sue his office over an opioid settlement Krasner feels is too low and too slow to pay.
According to The Inquirer, Shapiro's office argued in court this week that Krasner lacks standing to sue him over the proposed settlement, and that Krasner's related suit should be dismissed.
That suit was filed earlier this year and mirrored by Allegheny County's DA. Both take issue with the proposed settlement, which Shapiro's office helped broker and which could bring up to $1 billion to the state over 18 years.
Among the objections to Shapiro's proposed settlement: uncertain legal implications for Krasner's own ongoing suit against drug companies that helped fuel the opioid epidemic.
THE CONTEXT: Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf was in Philadelphia on Thursday to highlight the need for more funding to combat the opioid crisis and to call on lawmakers to pass related legislation.
Wolf has spent almost the entirety of his tenure under rising rates of addiction and overdoses — including a sharp rise in deaths seen during the pandemic.
But he is now plotting the state's response without the benefit of a disaster declaration that was in place for years before Republican lawmakers failed to renew it this summer.
Republican leaders say they're open to finding other ways to fill the gaps.
Meanwhile, family doctors insist any effort should not include sharing prescription records with insurance companies, per Morning Call. |
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NOTABLE / QUOTABLE"I'd been given this public forum, and I needed to do something about it." —U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D., Lehigh) on efforts to raise awareness about mental health issues following the 2019 suicide of her longtime partner |
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| A fellow golfer spotted at Quail Valley Golf Club near Littlestown. Thanks for the photo, Lex M.! Send us your gems, use the hashtag #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
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 CRISIS CARE: Experts warn Pennsylvania — a state with one of the nation's oldest populations — is headed for a profound eldercare crisis as Alzheimer's disease and dementia rates continue to climb and the state's readiness plan continues to falter. Spotlight PA reports on a collection of key statistics that illustrates the cause of their concern.
 CUTOFFS: State-run liquor stores are limiting sales of certain booze to two bottles per business or person per day, the AP reports. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board blames supply chain issues. The limits on 43 types of champagne, bourbon, tequila, cognac, and whiskey begin today and will remain in place "for the foreseeable future."
 'HIGH PROBABILITY': Delaware County's district attorney says there's a "high probability" that police were responsible for the gunfire that fatally wounded 8-year-old Fanta Bility outside a high school football game on Aug. 27. CBS3 reports the Delaware County Black Caucus is demanding details and accountability for any officers involved.
 WORK HISTORY: An embattled York County Prison contractor being eyed for a big contract at Allegheny County's jail has been the subject of lawsuits, a foreclosure, tax liens, and also apparently lied about his work history. TribLIVE reports all four sheriff's offices where Joseph Lee Garcia said he previously worked confirmed he was never an employee.
 BOOK BAN: Central York High School's ban on certain books by Black and Latino authors — from Layla F. Saad's "Me and White Supremacy" to an African-themed cookbook — has made national news. CNN spoke with locals and an expert who says the ban indicates "an allergy to anything mentioning race or racism" amid Critical Race Theory fixations. |
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SHOW TIME: The 106th Farm Show will be held at the namesake complex in Harrisburg in January, and it will be live and in person again after a virtual pandemic run, Capital-Star reports. The theme will be "harvesting more."
BUG LIFE: Spotted lanternflies aren't just a Pennsylvania problem: A boy's bug collection showcased at the Kansas State Fair last week included one and triggered state and federal investigations, Washington Post reports.
GLO UP: The Garden Theater on Pittsburgh's North Side is in the midst of a slow-moving rehab project. But the work took a big — if not symbolic — step forward this week with the lighting of the theater's long-dormant sign.
COLD SNAP: With the Federal Trade Commission reportedly interested in the durability of McDonald's ice-cream machines — or a lack thereof — here's an online tool to track the broken ones in your neck of the woods.
CHOO CHOO: Pennsylvania's official tourism office says you haven't seen fall foliage until you've seen it from a moving train. Here's a list of places where riding the rails also means peeping some leaves. |
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Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. R O B E S E A T M N D L
Yesterday's answer: Constitutional
Congrats to our daily winners: Irene R., Craig W., Doris T., Susan F., Barbara F., Susan N., Becky C., Susan D., Craig E., Rita C., Judith D., Dennis M., Heidi B., Neal W., David W., Bruce T., Brandie K., Dianne K., James B., Alan V., Don H., George S., Bill S., Mike B., Elizabeth W., Kevin H., John A., and Ann E. |
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