A study by Women for a Healthy Environment found more than 90% of Pennsylvania school districts that tested for lead in their drinking water reported contamination. (Rafael Ben-Ari/Adobe Stock)
Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Connection

Concerning levels of lead have been detected in the drinking water at some Pennsylvania schools, according to a new report. The investigation examined nine large school districts across the state and reveals widespread noncompliance with safety regulations.

David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, says his organization filed a set of “Right to Know” requests with school districts across the state – and in all nine cases, found the districts were not implementing best practices to protect kids from lead in drinking water.

“Eight of the nine school districts were actually violating Pennsylvania law when it came to properly testing and reporting for lead in school drinking water, and even for giving children proper access to adequate amounts of drinking water,” Masur reported.

He added several districts violated the requirement to have one drinking fountain for every one hundred kids and occupants in a building, and noted that there is no safe level of lead, especially for children. Exposure can lead to learning disabilities and hearing and speech problems, as it can affect brain development and lower I.Q.

Masur said his group is calling on members of the General Assembly to immediately implement two bipartisan proposals – Senate Bill 986 and House Bill 2011. They would require all Pennsylvania school districts to replace older drinking-water systems.

“Basically they require school districts to implement the best practices,” he explained. “That includes requiring all school districts to replace old drinking fountains – any drinking fountain put in before 2014 – with lead-filtering water bottle filling stations and drinking fountains.”

He said the legislation also includes about $30 million to help school districts cover the cost of these upgrades to protect kids’ health.

Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minn., middle, celebrates after his pumpkin weighed in at 2,471 pounds to win at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row.

Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds (1,121 kilograms), falling short of the world record he set last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).

Gienger, 44, said that as he has done in the past, he focused on having healthy soil and well-fed plants but that a cold fall with record-breaking rain likely impacted his pumpkin’s growth.

“We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working,” Gienger said. “I had to work for this one, and we got it done at the end, but it wasn’t by much.”

Gienger and his family drove his gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to California.

He said the giant pumpkin’s next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional carvers will do a 3D carve on it at a Halloween event.

FILE – In this March 27, 2020, file photo, a Walgreens sign is displayed outside the store in Wheeling, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Walgreens plans to close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as the drugstore chain seeks to turnaround its struggling U.S. business.

The company said Tuesday that about 500 store closures will come in the current fiscal year and should immediately support adjusted earnings and free cash flow. Walgreens didn’t say where the store closings would take place.

Walgreens operates about 8,500 stores in the United States and a few thousand overseas. All of the stores that will be closed are in the United States.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. leaders said in late June that they were finalizing a turnaround plan for its U.S. business, and that push could result in the closing of hundreds of underperforming stores.

The plan announced Tuesday includes the closing of 300 stores that had been approved under a previous cost-cutting plan.

Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said in a statement that fiscal 2025, which began last month, will be an important “rebasing year” for the drugstore chain.

“This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term,” he said.

Walgreens, like its competitors, has been struggling for years with tight reimbursement for the prescriptions it sells as well as other challenges like rising costs to operate its stores.

The Deerfield, Illinois, company also has been backing away from a plan to add primary care clinics next to some if its stores after launching an aggressive expansion under previous CEO Rosalind Brewer.

Walgreens said in August that it was reviewing its U.S. healthcare business, and it might sell all or part of its VillageMD clinic business. That announcement came less than two years after the company said it would spend billions to expand the business.

The company started 2024 by cutting the dividend it pays shareholders to get more cash to grow its business. The drugstore chain then slashed its forecast for fiscal 2024 in June.

Walgreens said Tuesday that its net loss swelled to more than $3 billion in the final quarter of 2024. Adjusted earnings totaled 39 cents per share, and sales grew 6% in the quarter to $37.5 billion.

That topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts expect, on average, earnings of 36 cents per share on $35.75 billion in revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter, according to FactSet.

The company also said it expects adjusted earnings in the new fiscal year to fall between $1.40 and $1.80 per share, with growth in its U.S. healthcare and international businesses countering the U.S. retail pharmacy decline.

For the fiscal 2025, analysts expect adjusted earnings of $1.72 per share.

Walgreens shares jumped 5% Tuesday in early morning trading.

The stock had shed nearly two thirds of their value so far this year, falling to $9 as of Monday’s close.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s legislative Republicans would like to pass additional voter ID requirements, restrict abortion and make election changes to improve their odds of winning judicial races. Democrats want to bump up the state’s minimum wage and widen civil rights for LGBTQ people.

In the closely divided General Assembly, those proposals have gone nowhere.

Next month the state’s voters will determine whether to change that dynamic, filling all 203 House seats and half the 50-member Senate. Democrats go into the election with a one-seat House majority, while in the Senate, Republicans have 28 seats and therefore majority control.

Democrats would need to flip three Senate seats to get the chamber to a 25-25 deadlock, leaving Democratic Lt. Gov. Austin Davis to break ties on procedural votes but not final passage of legislation. They hope to thread the needle by taking GOP seats in Harrisburg, Erie and the Pittsburgh area while returning all of their own incumbents.

This year, a few dozen legislative races across the country could determine party control in state capitols, affecting state laws on abortion, guns and transgender rights. Statehouse control is more politically important in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions weakening federal regulatory oversight, giving more power to states.

In state House elections, it’s typical that only a couple dozen races are close enough to be competitive — a handful in the Philadelphia suburbs along with others scattered around the state.

Democrats were aided by redrawn district lines when they flipped a net of 12 seats two years ago, retaking majority control after more than a decade in the legislative wilderness. A state House rule linking majority status to the results of elections rather than new vacancies has meant Democrats have maintained control of the chamber floor even as two members resigned this summer and gave Republicans a bare 101-100 margin. Those seats were filled Sept. 17 by Democrats who ran unopposed, and both are also unopposed in the General Election.

This fall, more than half of the House districts have only one candidate on the ballot.

Among the Republican targets in the House is Rep. Frank Burns, a Cambria County Democrat who has somehow stayed in office despite facing biennial GOP challenges in the very Republican Johnstown area. Another is Rep. Jim Haddock, a freshman Democrat who won a Lackawanna and Luzerne district by about 4 percentage points two years ago.

Democrats have hopes of unseating Rep. Craig Williams, R-Delaware, who made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP’s attorney general nomination this spring. Outside Pittsburgh, Rep. Valerie Gaydos is also seen as relatively vulnerable.

Rep. Nick Pisciottano, a Democrat, is giving up his Allegheny County district to run for state Senate. Rep. Jim Gregory lost the Republican primary to Scott Barger, who is unopposed in a Blair County district. Brian Rasel, a Republican, faces no other candidate to succeed Rep. George Dunbar, R-Westmoreland.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, is unopposed for reelection but he’s also running for auditor general, raising the possibility the two parties could be tied after the votes are counted.

The state Senate races widely seen as the most competitive are the reelection efforts of Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, and Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Allegheny. Dauphin County Sen. John DiSanto, a Republican, is not seeking another term after his district saw significant changes through redistricting. State Rep. Patty Kim, D-Dauphin, and Nick DiFrancesco, a Republican and the Dauphin County treasurer, are facing off to succeed DiSanto.

Democrats have to defend a Pittsburgh state Senate opening because of the retirement of Sen. Jim Brewster, a Democrat. Pisciottano is going up against Republican security company owner Jen Dintini for Brewster’s seat.

(Beaver County, PA) The efforts to help those affected by Hurricane Helene continues, and a local student and her family are joining in to deliver supplies. Meredith Cote, a student from the Community College of Beaver County, who has a connection to the Knoxville, Tennessee area, said that for the next few weekends, that her and her family will be making several trips to take supplies to victims of Hurricane Helene that does not include canned foods or water, due to weight. If you would like to donate, you can at the following locations: 

• CCBC Aviation Sciences Center Student Lounge (Cessna Drive, Beaver Falls, PA 15010)
• Beaver County Airport Main Terminal (15 Piper Street, Beaver Falls, PA 15010) 
• Air Heritage Aviation Museum (35 Piper Street, Beaver Falls, PA 15010)

A large majority (80%) of Pennsylvania voters said they’d support solar power, 73% support wind energy, and 84% approve of allocating public funds to expand clean energy alternatives. (FreezeFrames/Adobe Stock)
Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service

Southwestern Pennsylvania is a major U.S. hotspot for gas extraction through fracking, but new polling reveals overwhelming public support for tighter industry oversight.

More than four in ten Pennsylvanians told pollsters they’d support an outright ban on fracking.

Sean O’Leary, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, said the poll was conducted to assess voters’ attitudes toward the fracking industry.

Multiple questions were asked about what could be done to minimize or reduce some of the impacts of fracking.

“And what we found was that, across the board, across a variety of different measures,” said O’Leary, “more than 90% of all Pennsylvanians supported increased efforts in those regards.”

O’Leary points to a recent University of Pittsburgh study that found significant health risks associated with living near fracking sites.

The poll shows 86% of Pennsylvanians are broadly concerned about water, and 82% about air pollution.

Nearly eight in ten say they worry about the effects of pollution on their family’s and community’s health. And more than four in ten believe fracking has negative effects on air and water quality.

O’Leary said voters in Pennsylvania are still generally supportive of the natural gas industry.

But he said he believes that’s the result of what he called “a widespread misunderstanding” that fracking is vital to Pennsylvania’s economy.

He contended fracking has led to a net loss of jobs and population in some counties, causing significant economic loss to these regions.

“The other thing that I think a lot of people are not aware of is that in Pennsylvania, in just the last four years, the fracking industry has laid off 40% of its workforce,” said O’Leary. “Four out of every 10 workers in fracking have lost their jobs.”

He said early industry-funded studies predicted fracking would create around 250,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.

But recent data show it’s been fewer than 20,000, or less than one-percent of the state’s total workforce.

An apparent tornado caused by Hurricane Milton, tore the awning off a 7-Eleven convenient store, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Cape Coral, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

CORTEZ, Fla. (AP) — Floridians recovering from Hurricane Milton, many of whom were journeying home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm, spent much of Saturday searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state.

In St. Petersburg, scores of people lined up at a station that had no gas, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them was Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter Magnolia, who arrived at the station at 7 a.m. and were still waiting four hours later.

“They told me they have gas coming but they don’t know when it’s going to be here,” he said. “I have no choice. I have to sit here all day with her until I get gas.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state opened three fuel distribution sites and planned to open several more. Residents can get 10 gallons (37.85 liters) each, free of charge, he said.

“Obviously as power gets restored … and the Port of Tampa is open, you’re going to see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” DeSantis said.

Officials were replenishing area gas stations with the state’s fuel stockpiles and provided generators to stations that remained without power.

Disaster hits twice

Those who reached home were assessing the damage and beginning the arduous cleaning process. Some, like Bill O’Connell, a board member at Bahia Vista Gulf in Venice, had thought they were done after the condo association hired companies to gut, treat and dry the units following Hurricane Helene. Milton undid that work and caused additional damage, O’Connell said.

“It reflooded everything that was already flooded, brought all the sand back on our property that we removed,” O’Connell said. “And also did some catastrophic wind damage, ripped off many roofs and blew out a lot of windows that caused more damage inside the units.”

The two hurricanes left a ruinous mess in the fishing village of Cortez, a community of 4,100 along the northern edge of Sarasota Bay. Residents of its modest, single-story wood and stucco-fronted cottages were working to remove broken furniture and tree limbs, stacking the debris in the street much like they did after Hurricane Helene.

“Everything is shot,” said Mark Praught, a retired street sweeper for Manatee County, who saw 4-foot (1.2-meter) storm surges during Helene. “We’ll replace the electrical and the plumbing and go from there.”

Praught and his wife, Catherine, have lived for 36 years in a low-lying home that now looks like an empty shell. All the furniture had to be discarded, the walls and the brick and tile floors had be scrubbed clean of muck, and drywall had to be ripped out.

Catherine Praught said they felt “pure panic” when Hurricane Milton menaced Cortez so soon after Helene, forcing them to pause their cleanup and evacuate. Fortunately, their home wasn’t damaged by the second storm.

“This is where we live,” Catherine Praught said. “We’re just hopeful we get the insurance company to help us.”

In Bradenton Beach, Jen Hilliard scooped up wet sand mixed with rocks and tree roots and dumped the mixture into a wheelbarrow.

“This was all grass,” Hilliard said of the sandy mess beneath her feet. “They’re going to have to make 500 trips of this.”

Hilliard, who moved to Florida six months ago and lives further inland, said she was happy to pitch in and help clean up her friend’s home a block from the shore in Bradenton Beach

Furniture and household appliances sat outside alongside debris from interior drywall that was removed after Helene sent several feet of storm surge into the house. Inside, walls were gutted up to 4 feet (1.2 meters), exposing the beams underneath.

“You roll with the punches,” she said. “Community is the best part, though. Everybody helping each other.”

Milton killed at least 10 people after it made landfall as a Category 3 storm, tearing across central Florida, flooding barrier islands and spawning deadly tornadoes. Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations.

Overall, more than a thousand people had been rescued in the wake of the storm as of Saturday, DeSantis said.

Property damage and economic costs in the billions

On Sunday, President Joe Biden will survey the devastation inflicted on Florida’s Gulf Coast by the hurricane. He said he hopes to connect with DeSantis during the visit.

The trip offers Biden another opportunity to press Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to call lawmakers back to Washington to approve more funding during their preelection recess. It’s something Johnson says he won’t do.

Biden is making the case that Congress needs to act now to ensure the Small Business Administration and FEMA have the money they need to get through hurricane season, which stretches through November in the Atlantic.

DeSantis welcomed the federal government’s approval of a disaster declaration announced Saturday and said he had gotten strong support from Biden.

“He basically said, you know, you guys are doing a great job. We’re here for you,” he said when asked about his conversations with Biden. “We sent a big request and we got approved for what we wanted.”

Moody’s Analytics on Saturday estimated economic costs from the storm will range from $50 billion to $85 billion, including upwards of $70 billion in property damage and an economic output loss of up to $15 billion.

Safety threats remain, including rising rivers

As the recovery continues, DeSantis has warned people to be cautious, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water. Some 1.3 million Floridians were still without power by Saturday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will “keep rising” for the next four or five days resulting in river flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward. Those areas were hit by the most rain, which comes on top of a wet summer that included several earlier hurricanes.

“You can’t do much but wait,” Close said of the rivers cresting. “At least there is no rain in the forecast, no substantial rain. So we have a break here from all our wet weather.”

___

Farrington reported from St. Petersburg. Associated Press journalists Chris O’Meara in Lithia, Florida; Curt Anderson in Tampa; Terry Spencer outside of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Stephany Matat in Fort Pierce, Florida; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed. ___

A previous version of this story misspelled the surname of a couple at a rest stop off Interstate 75 north of Tampa. Their names are Lee and Pamela Essenburm, not Essenbaum.