Pennsylvania
DOJ's silence on background checks source of ongoing frustration for Pennsylvania nurses – Pennsylvania Capital-Star
“An acute frustration” is how Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt described his staff’s effort to work with federal officials to allow Pennsylvania nurses to use their licenses in other states.
Since September, nurses licensed in each of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states except New York have been able to work in Pennsylvania if they have obtained a multistate license in their home state.
And although Pennsylvania passed legislation in 2021 that would allow Pennsylvania licensed nurses to work in other states, a communication breakdown between the Department of State and the FBI remains a barrier to full reciprocity, Schmidt said during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Likewise, Pennsylvania’s participation in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which would allow Pennsylvania-licensed physicians to work in other states, has been in limbo since legislation authorizing Pennsylvania to join became law in 2016.
State Rep. Kristin Marcell (R-Bucks) said the partial implementation of the compact, combined with other licensing challenges, has hurt Pennsylvania nurses and nursing school graduates.
“The only thing worse than your department’s inability to get these licensure compacts implemented is partially implementing the compact to give all of the benefits to out-of-state nurses while leaving our Pennsylvania nurses at a disadvantage,” Marcell said.
Rep. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) said he wants to pass legislation that would provide recognition of dental and dental hygienist licenses across state lines, but that, like the other licensure compacts, would be held up by the impasse with the FBI.
The Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact is an agreement between 41 states and U.S. territories to recognize the licenses of nurses from other states.
In September, Pennsylvania partially implemented the compact to allow out-of-state nurses to work here in an effort to address a workforce shortage. But Schmidt said Tuesday that the FBI has not granted the Department of State access to its background check fingerprint database, which is necessary for Pennsylvania to fully implement the compact.
Schmidt said the partial implementation of the nursing compact was something that the National Council of State Boards of Nursing allowed Pennsylvania to do, but is not an alternative to fully implementing the compact.
When that could happen is up to the U.S. Department of Justice , Schmidt said
“Our ability to contact the people who are making the ultimate decision of whether we can implement the nursing compact or not is limited,” Schmidt said, adding that the department is required to go through the state police to contact the FBI regarding background checks.
Schmidt said the Department of State last heard from the FBI in November and has also asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to contact the DOJ to hurry the process.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s office has been in touch with the FBI and the agency has not provided a timeline for approval, a spokesperson said. Casey’s office is looking into other solutions, the spokesperson added, without elaborating.
Noting that Schmidt had given a similarly uncertain assessment on implementing the interstate compacts during his first appearance before the Appropriations Committee in 2023, Marcell asked Schmidt whether she would be asking the same questions next year.
“I hope for your sake, ours, Pennsylvania’s, and its nurses that that will not be the case,” Schmidt said. “But I want to assure you the Department of State has done everything it can to possibly move that along. It has been, again, an acute frustration.”
Christmas decorations bring holiday vibes to the Beaver Valley Mall
Christmas trees and holiday displays bring a splash of color to the halls of the Beaver Valley Mall.
The Christmas holiday weekend is now just days away, and you’ll need to know what will be open and closed in Pennsylvania so you can properly navigate the holidays.
Here’s your Christmas roundup.
Christmas Day 2024 is on Wednesday and considered a federal holiday, so most regular business will be impacted.
Major banks will be closed on Christmas
The major banks — Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, PNC, Wells Fargo and Truist — consider Christmas to be a bank holiday, and will be closed.
Will federal courts be open on Christmas?
All federal and Pennsylvania state courts and non-essential services will be closed on December 25.
Mail, packages won’t be delivered on Christmas Day
FedEx will be closed on Christmas Day, and will not deliver any packages.
All United States Postal Service locations will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Regular post office hours and mail delivery will resume on the Thursday following each holiday.
UPS will be closed on Christmas as well, and will not deliver any packages.
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
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Rachel McDevitt
Courtesy: Pa. Department of Environmental Protection
Eastern hellbenders are indicators of good water quality.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing new protections for the eastern hellbender five years after denying endangered status for the state’s official amphibian.
“This is definitely a massive win for the species, for the habitats and the areas in which they thrive,” said Ted Evgeniadis, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper.
Evgeniadis’s organization, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and others, sued in 2021 over Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2019 determination that the eastern hellbender did not warrant protection. Last year a federal judge vacated the 2019 decision and ordered a new finding.
The eastern hellbender – which can grow to be 29 inches long and live up to 30 years – breathes through its skin, and needs cool, clean water to thrive. Its population has been shrinking, due to stream sedimentation, poor water quality, disease, habitat loss and collection for use as a pet, according to FWS.
The Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association said extreme storms due to climate change are also devastating hellbender populations. In a statement on the proposed listing, it said, “Hurricane Helene destroyed the healthiest part of their range in North Carolina, and forest damage and contamination from the storm will continue to pollute these areas.”
Less than 60% of documented hellbender populations still exist. Of those, only 12% are stable and 59% are in decline, according to FWS. Eastern hellbenders historically were found across Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Ozark hellbender, a separate subspecies that’s found in Missouri and Arkansas, was listed as an endangered species in 2011.
The federal Endangered Species Act prohibits harming, harassing or killing a species listed as endangered.
That creates restrictions for developers who want to build in an area where the hellbender lives.
Whether it’s a gas station, a shopping center, or a housing development, Evgeniadis said, “it makes it much more difficult [to get permits], because earth disturbing activities are going to affect critical water resource areas.”
Evgeniadis noted there are risks for environmental protections under incoming president Donald Trump. In his first administration, Trump rolled back 125 environmental safeguards, according to tracking by the Washington Post.
“It’s yet to be seen what could potentially happen,” Evgeniadis said. “Some of the rollbacks that we saw were pretty much unprecedented rollbacks.”
Evgeniadis said he hopes the proposal leads to more federal and state resources going to help protect and restore the hellbender population and habitat in Pennsylvania.
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed listing is subject to a 60-day public comment period, which closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Feb. 11, 2025. To comment on the proposed listing, people can go to regulations.gov, search for docket number FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152, then click “comment.”
Written comments can also be mailed to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
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Retail theft is still increasing in Pennsylvania. By the way, here’s an update on those “murder hornets.” Winter officially starts this weekend. Finally, if you’re looking for love in all the wrong places, try one of these “right” ones.
Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of “Today in Pa.,” a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. “Today in Pa.” is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, what’s happening today in Pa.
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