Latest news with #TalkoftheTown
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Penn State trustees agree to legal training, improved transparency in settlement with Spotlight PA
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at Penn State University's Board of Trustees will complete a training on the state's open meetings law and disclose more information about its closed-door gatherings as part of a settlement with Spotlight PA. The agreement, signed last week, ends a case the newsroom, in partnership with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, brought against the board in December 2023 for alleged violations of the Sunshine Act, the state law mandating transparency from governing bodies. 'The settlement ensures that one of Pennsylvania's most influential institutions will conduct its business with the transparency that taxpayers, students, faculty, and staff deserve,' said Christopher Baxter, CEO and president of Spotlight PA. 'The university's most recent decision to close seven campuses — and the effect it will have on communities across the state — underscores the need for these important reforms.' Neither Penn State nor board leadership responded to a request for comment for this story. Spotlight PA has documented the board's decadelong use of private meetings and practices that may have run afoul of the state's transparency law, including that university leadership met privately with trustees to discuss Penn State's multimillion-dollar budget deficit and to consider naming the football field after former coach Joe Paterno. Internal board communications, previously obtained by the newsroom, revealed that board leadership directed trustees to ask questions during a private session rather than at a public meeting, a request a media law attorney described as a 'gigantic red flag.' Penn State has already altered some of its practices to increase transparency. In October, a committee of top university officials held its first public meeting since 2011. Under the new settlement agreement, every meeting of the executive committee must be publicized on the board's website, and the board must continue to publish the group's meeting agendas. Additionally, according to the settlement, the board will hold a Sunshine Act training for trustees and publicly report which members completed the session. The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records is scheduled to provide the training on Sept. 11, according to the agency's calendar. Incoming trustees will be offered the training starting in 2026. Liz Wagenseller, executive director of the Office of Open Records, said in a statement that the state's open meetings law 'plays a vital role in ensuring the public can see how tax dollars are spent and how government entities operate. The Office of Open Records values every invitation to assist agencies and others subject to the law in better understanding their obligations regarding public meetings. We look forward to working with the Penn State Board of Trustees to help uphold the transparency and accountability the Act is designed to promote.' For years, the Penn State board has met behind closed doors with university officials in 'conference,' a practice allowed under the law for 'any training program or seminar, or any session arranged by State or Federal agencies for local agencies, organized and conducted for the sole purpose of providing information to agency members on matters directly related to their official responsibilities.' The public had limited insight into these gatherings. Under the agreement, the board will disclose the person providing the training and the topic. Similarly, when the trustees hold an executive session, the board will publicly say the reason why and cite the legal exemption that allows for the private meeting. The terms of the settlement will last for five years. Read the full agreement here. 'This is such an important win for transparency in the Commonwealth,' said Paula Knudsen Burke, the Pennsylvania attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press who represented Spotlight PA in the case. 'The university and its board of trustees are ultimately accountable to the people of Pennsylvania, and their business is the public's business. This agreement, which explicitly includes Sunshine Act compliance training, sets a clear expectation that they can no longer hide behind closed doors and executive sessions.' The settlement ends more than 18 months of legal arguments in local court. In October 2023, Spotlight PA and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent the board a letter requesting the trustees 'immediately cease holding improper executive sessions and conferences, advertise and record meeting minutes for all public meetings, and halt the practice of deliberating in secret.' The university's vice president and general counsel, Tabitha Oman, responded that she was 'confident that the Board has taken its official actions and conducted its deliberations in compliance' with the law. During the board's November 2023 meetings in University Park, Spotlight PA witnessed what it believed were potential violations of the open meetings law, prompting the lawsuit in Centre County Court of Common Pleas. After the board's February and May 2024 meetings, the lawsuit was amended to include additional allegations. Throughout the legal process, Penn State argued its trustees followed the law. 'Penn State is a more transparent institution than it was a year and a half ago thanks to Spotlight PA and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press,' said Sarah Rafacz, managing editor of Spotlight PA's State College bureau. 'With this agreement in place, we will see more public disclosures about the business of the trustees than ever before. Our push for transparency will also continue through our tenacious accountability reporting on the university.' In September, Commonwealth Court will tentatively hear arguments in an ongoing case between Penn State and the state Department of Education against Spotlight PA to decide whether university documents the Office of Open Records previously deemed public should be turned over to the newsroom. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Illustrator Tom Bachtell's ideal day in Chicago
Many Chicagoans know Tom Bachtell for his two decades (until 2018) of iconic illustrations for the New Yorker magazine's "Talk of the Town" column. Today, the acclaimed artist creates his distinctive brush and ink illustrations for magazines, album covers and books while also finding time to dance and perform chamber music around town. What's up: We recently caught up with Bachtell as he accepted a posthumous Studs Terkel Award for his longtime partner and arts reporter Andrew Patner. We asked the Chicagoan of four decades to describe his ideal day in the city. ☕️ Breakfast: " Pastore's, a cheerful and bustling breakfast place in my Lincoln Square neighborhood. The owner is from Guanajuato in central Mexico. "I always order oatmeal and traditional café de olla, and just soak in the atmosphere." 🕺🏽 Morning Activity:"I like to burst out of the gate by Zoom swing dancing and improvising with my hooping, dancing friend Denise E Williams." "✍️ Then I take the el train (along with a stop at my neighborhood farmers market) to my studio office in the Monadnock Building and draw and draw and draw." 🥙 Lunch: "I go to the Oasis Cafe in the back of a jewelry mart at 21 N. Wabash, and order an eggplant sandwich. Or to the Walnut Room (yes!) at Macy's and order chicken pot pie. 🖼️ Afternoon Activity: " A stroll in the Loop, back to my studio in the Monadnock Building — to get back to my drawing pad." "If there's time at the end of the afternoon, I'll head over to the Art Institute or go for a quick workout at LA Fitness." 🥡 Dinner: "It's an easy subway ride to Chinatown to grab a Cantonese seafood dinner at the Golden Bull, but not eat too much, because I plan to go swing dancing afterwards." 💃🏼 Evening Activity: "In my dream world, I head to the Green Mill every night to pretend I'm Fred Astaire, and dance every number during the Cellar Boys ' first set from 8 to 9pm."
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Former teacher hopes Mannington Middle School benefits from endangered property status
FAIRMONT — After facing the possibility the school would be closed and the students merged with Blackshere Elementary, former technology teacher Rusty Elliott is now glad that Marion County Schools is taking steps to preserve the historic building that houses Mannington Middle School. 'It's one of those schools that was built in 1902,' Elliott said. 'And it's as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.' In March, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia announced Mannington Middle School had been added to the state's Endangered Properties List. School Superintendent Donna Heston told WAJR's Talk of the Town in March she hoped the designation opened up opportunities for the school similar to what Alderson Elementary School in Greenbrier County received. According to an article from November 2024, the former Alderson High School was renovated into an elementary school after the school district worked with the West Virginia School Building Association, DC Shires and The Thrasher Group's engineering division to refurbish the school. 'Structurally it is sound, we've had engineers come in and look at it,' Heston said about Mannington Middle on WAJR. 'Beautiful wood floors, it has a very historically rich structure as well as a historically rich library.' Heston said Mannington Middle Principal Jane DeVaul, a group of parents and the Preservation Alliance did the work to move the school onto the endangered properties list. The school faced closure as the county school system worked to put together a bond proposal for the 2024 election. However, the proposal was removed from the final bond before it was presented to voters. Elliott said while the building is structurally sound, the roof could use replacing. In 2023, Marion County Schools had the Thrasher Group check the tower area of the school. The Board of Education instituted safety precautions around the tower in 2022. The inspection led the Board of Education to believe there were no significant structural issues with the school. On its website, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia wrote that the building was built in the Victorian Romanesque architectural style, and is a significant part of Mannington and the state's history. It's one of the oldest functional public schools in the state. The school was designed by an architectural firm out of Wheeling, and construction finished on the school in 1925. 'While still functional, the BOE, stretched thin, hopes its inclusion on this list will help with the preservation efforts for this outstanding building,' the alliance wrote on its website. It added the Endangered Properties List is a powerful tool used by the alliance to raise awareness about threatened historic sites across the state. Earning a place on the list increases visibility, advocacy and access to preservation resources for historic places. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, is also working on a Rural Historic Tax Credit which could potentially support preservation projects like the one in Mannington. The Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act would reduce financial barriers to historic preservation in rural areas, alleviate burdens for small developers by boosting net proceeds and lowering compliance costs, as well as increasing access to capital to small towns who suffer from high construction costs but lower lease rates, which discourages developers. Elliott said the building should be fixed up, and doesn't require a lot of work to keep up. He supports the school now being on the Endangered Properties List. 'Let's fix it up,' he said. 'It is a treasure in the state of West Virginia. Too many times we tear down our treasures and don't keep them going.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penn State board backs plan to close 7 campuses, saying low enrollment, financials leave no other choice
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at Penn State's Board of Trustees approved the closure of seven campuses Thursday, putting into motion a process that will impact thousands of students and more than 500 employees. Citing declining enrollments and financial challenges, the university will close the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York locations after May 2027. Ahead of the vote, President Neeli Bendapudi told the board that closing the locations was a strategic and humane decision. 'We are spreading our students, faculty, and staff so thin that we jeopardize the quality of education and the support that we can offer,' Bendapudi said. 'We are subsidizing decline at the expense of growth.' The board passed the president's closure plan by a vote of 25 to 8. Trustees Ted Brown, Donald Cairns, Lynn Dietrich, Barry Fenchak, Chris Hoffman, Anthony Lubrano, Jay Paterno, and Nicholas Rowland voted against the measure. The three state secretaries on Penn State's board — Cynthia Dunn, secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Carrie Rowe, acting secretary of education; and Russell Redding, secretary of agriculture — did not attend the meeting due to a perceived conflict of interest, said board Chair David Kleppinger. Multiple trustees said this was a difficult, but necessary decision for Penn State's future. The move brings some finality to months of uncertainty and consternation among university officials and employees. Under Bendapudi, Penn State made steep budget cuts to its statewide system, centralized leadership and administrative positions, and paid some employees to leave. However, internal documents obtained by Spotlight PA suggest those moves did not stem financial losses at the campuses. In February, the university began to review closing up to 12 of its 20 statewide campuses. Some faculty bristled at the perceived lack of transparency from the administration about the factors and data informing which locations it chose to review. Initially, Penn State said Bendapudi would decide which campuses to close. Then, in April, the university announced the governing board would approve the closure plan. Leading up to Thursday's vote, some trustees challenged Penn State's reasons and goals for shutting down locations. Hundreds of people signed an open letter to trustees asking them to consider other options for the campuses. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the list of seven campuses the president wanted to close. Spotlight PA obtained nearly 250 pages of internal Penn State records, including the full text of the university's recommendation and related materials informing the board's private discussions. Those records revealed Bendapudi envisions a Penn State that is more regionalized and that maintains the campuses with the largest enrollments, those in areas with growing populations, and ones that generate revenue or are near self-sustaining. The campuses Bendapudi recommended for closure did not meet these criteria. Following Spotlight PA's story, Penn State publicly shared the recommendation report. Kleppinger, the board chair, said trustees met privately for nearly four hours in two executive sessions this month to answer dozens of trustee questions on Bendapudi's plan. Transparency advocates have questioned the board's use of executive sessions to restrict public access to those gatherings. Melissa Melewsky — media counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which Spotlight PA is a member — said that closing campuses was 'the exact type of discussion that should be happening amongst the board at a public meeting.' A former university trustee wrote in this week that someone living locally should take legal action against the board for one of its private gatherings. Thursday afternoon was the first time trustees discussed the topic at a public meeting. For more than an hour, some trustees applauded the university for taking action on the topic, while others voiced concern with how the closure plan would be implemented or whether the administration considered other options. 'This is a decision that's been facing us for decades, and we're finally getting to it,' said Naren Gursahaney, a trustee representing business and industry. 'And I see no upside to waiting at this stage. I think the sooner we move forward, the sooner we can impact this … and avoid having to make the false tradeoffs we've had to make over those last 15 to 20 years.' Rowland, the academic trustee, said he would've liked to see more creative solutions. 'Voting to close these campuses is more than a fiduciary decision. I think it's a statement,' he said. 'It's a statement about who we are. It's a statement about who we choose to serve and who we're going to leave behind.' The board's Thursday meeting was held on Zoom without an in-person component, a practice legal experts had previously said could run afoul of Pennsylvania's open meetings law. If the gathering's legality was challenged in court, a judge could overturn any decision made at the meeting. Kleppinger said trustees received hundreds of emails ahead of Thursday's vote. Additionally, more than 150 people submitted written public comments to the board, with most asking the board to reconsider the proposal and sharing their experiences at Penn State's various locations. Bendapudi said passion does not change reality. 'Maintaining the status quo is not sustainable,' she said. The internal records previously obtained by Spotlight PA say that Penn State does not anticipate political or financial fallout from the decision. The university also does not think the hundreds of millions of dollars it receives each year in taxpayer funds, now under consideration, are in jeopardy. In a press conference following the meeting, alumni-elected trustee Jay Paterno said that, under Pennsylvania law, the state secretary of education must also approve the closure plan. and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rare birth of a new city in Pennsylvania inches closer as voters pick a whole new council
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at STATE COLLEGE — When some residents of a rural Pennsylvania county go to the polls on May 20, they'll pick who they want to represent a city that doesn't yet exist. The City of DuBois and surrounding Sandy Township in Clearfield County will consolidate in January 2026 and become a new city, still called DuBois. The pairing is only the third such occurrence in Pennsylvania since a 1994 state law established the procedure for a municipal consolidation or merger. Before that happens, roughly 12,000 people will be eligible to pick seven city council members and a treasurer. The choice affects about 25% of the county's registered voters, Commissioner Dave Glass told radio station Connect FM. It took four attempts over several decades for voters to approve the consolidation, and a 2021 referendum passed with only 33 more yes than no votes in Sandy Township. As elected officials worked to combine the finances and services of the communities, a sweeping corruption scandal involving DuBois' former City Manager Herm Suplizio complicated the effort. Some residents began to doubt the city leadership and lost confidence in the merger. New city officials are tasked with unifying the two municipalities — both logistically and emotionally. Thirteen candidates — two Democrats and 11 Republicans — are running for council seats in the May 20 primary. Voters from each party can nominate seven candidates to advance to the November election, meaning the race will be contested on the Republican side. The top seven vote-getters in the general election will become council members for the new city. 'I do get the impression that people are tuned into it,' Ben Kafferlin, manager for both municipalities, told Spotlight PA. The rare chance to elect a whole new slate of a governing board is driving voter interest, he said. No candidate is running for the city treasurer's office, which is an important position that sets policy relating to how finances are handled. If no one is elected, the new city council will appoint the position. Kafferlin said he hopes a candidate might emerge before November so voters can have a say at the ballot box. Voters from both communities initiated and approved a referendum in 2021, setting the consolidation in motion. Gerald Cross is a local government researcher and author of a Pennsylvania Economy League report that recommended the consolidation of DuBois and Sandy before the referendum. He said leaders of the new city should be people who recognize and are prepared for the unique charge they will face. 'They'll have to understand that it isn't business as usual any longer,' Cross said. The new city council will need to hit the ground running after their election, because the consolidation 'won't just end at that January moment in time,' Kafferlin told Spotlight PA. Reorganizing staffing, negotiating union agreements, managing the budget and accounts, and passing a new set of ordinances for the city are among the myriad tasks that new leaders will be responsible for. Experience and knowledge of local government operations will be important, Cross said, but new leadership that is not attached to the previous municipalities could also benefit the new DuBois. Nine of the 13 city council candidates running in the primary have held elected or appointed positions in either DuBois or Sandy Township as Republicans: J Barry Abbott Sr., Sandy Township supervisor Randy A Beers, deputy fire chief of the West Sandy Hose Company William A Beers Jr., Sandy Township supervisor Blaine David Clark, former DuBois police chief Samuel J Mollica III, Sandy Township supervisor Duane Patrick Reasinger, DuBois mayor and council president Mark T Sullivan, Sandy Township supervisor David Alan Volpe, DuBois city controller Richard A Whitaker, Sandy Township supervisor None of these candidates held a role of authority over Suplizio when he was city manager. Other candidates include Democrats Melissa G Keen and Michael J Piccirillo, and Republicans Shirley M Dahrouge and Devon Duane Vallies. After the corruption allegations against Suplizio came out, Sandy Township sued to put a pause on the consolidation, a scenario not explicitly addressed by Pennsylvania law. Township supervisors voted unanimously to terminate the lawsuit last year, after the city began a forensic audit aimed at straightening up questions surrounding its finances. Since then, officials from both municipalities have proceeded with the union in what DuBois Council Member Elliot Gelfand previously called 'an unprecedented period of cooperation leading up to formal consolidation.' The official unification of the two communities next year will represent 'a significant milestone in our region's history,' Reasinger and Sullivan wrote in a letter to the White House last month, inviting President Donald Trump to a celebration in 2026. 'After years of careful planning and cooperation, the consolidation of DuBois City and Sandy Township into a single, unified City will bring new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and unity,' the letter said. 'We believe this moment is worthy of national recognition, and your presence would make the occasion even more memorable for our residents and local leaders.' Cross said he believes voters were right to choose consolidation and that they will see the benefits of it in due time. 'The citizens owe the new government patience, [and] the new elected officials owe the new government patience,' he told Spotlight PA. 'You got to give the plant time to blossom before you pick the fruit. And that takes a season.' and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
