Pennsylvania

House budget bill would slash Pa. schools’ savings from planned solar projects

Published

7 months ago

June 5, 2025

House budget bill would slash Pa. schools’ savings from planned solar projects

‘Less savings’ without federal tax credits

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allowed tax-exempt entities, like local governments and schools, to utilize clean energy tax credits for the first time. These credits offer reimbursement payments to schools that cover 30% or more of the costs of a solar project.

The Upper Darby School District expected these federal tax credits to cover over $2 million of the total $9 million cost of its six solar projects.

But the timelines set out in the House bill would likely be difficult, if not impossible for the district to meet, because the district needs to vet and choose contractors, get approval from the school board, acquire supplies through the contractors and wait until schools are closed during the summer to begin construction, officials said. Districts also need approval from utilities to connect the projects to the local grid.

The soonest the Upper Darby School District could start to build its solar projects would be next summer, officials said.

Without the federal tax credits, the solar projects would eat up most of the district’s yearly capital budget at a time when federal funding for operational costs is uncertain, McGarry said. This could mean sacrificing crucial facilities projects, such as replacing windows, renovating old bathrooms and upgrading security systems, he said.

“We can’t afford to do that,” McGarry said.

The Upper Darby School District is not alone. The William Penn School District would not be able to complete a Solar for Schools project planned for Park Lane Elementary School without the federal tax credit, said district Chief of Operations Darnell Deans.

“As our district is under-resourced and we are still advocating for our appropriate level of funding, our district will not be able to proceed with this project without the tax credit,” Deans wrote in an email.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, who sponsored the Solar for Schools legislation, said she’s confident the projects will still save schools money, even if the schools are not able to use the federal tax credits.

“Obviously, if the federal IRA incentives for renewable energy are cut, that would mean less savings for schools,” she wrote in a statement.

When awarding the state grants, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development believed the schools could complete the projects without the federal tax credits, said spokesperson Justin Backover.

Still, Shannon Crooker, Pennsylvania director at the nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization Generation180, worries these slimmer savings would force many districts to abandon the projects.

“We’re at risk of losing a lot of great investment,” she said.

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Pennsylvania

Bill would create alert when children with autism go missing in Pennsylvania

Published

10 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Bill would create alert when children with autism go missing in Pennsylvania

(WHTM) — Legislation is in the works for a statewide warning system to locate missing children with autism.

State Rep. Robert Leadbeter (R-Columbia County) announced the formal introduction of a bill to create a “Purple Alert” system. It would quickly notify police and community members when a child with autism, or other cognitive issues, is missing.

His bill is called “Aiden’s Law,” named for a young boy in Columbia County, who disappeared earlier this year and drowned in the Susquehanna River. Leadbeter said a “Purple Alert” system would fill a gap in Pennsylvania.

“So, individuals with cognitive disabilities are able to then, if they go missing, have an alert go out to law enforcement organizations that work directly with them and that’ll save time expand resources, and ideally result in a safe return home for the missing individual,” Leadbeter said.

In this bill, the system would mirror others like Amber Alerts for missing children in danger and Silver Alerts for missing seniors.

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Pennsylvania

Bethlehem man sentenced under Pennsylvania’s new AI child porn law

Published

22 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Bethlehem man sentenced under Pennsylvania’s new AI child porn law

A Bethlehem man is among the first to be sentenced under a Pennsylvania law passed last year, making it a crime to possess AI-generated child sex abuse material.

On Monday, Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kristie M. Marks sentenced 35-year-old Adam Erdman to two years, four months to 10 years.

Erdman in September pleaded guilty to felony possessing child sex abuse material. He faced a possible sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced the sentencing in a news conference Monday afternoon. The DA credited U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who introduced the new legislation and state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, who championed the final version of the law last year.

“Before this law was passed, the use of AI to generate child sexual abuse materials went unpunished,” Holihan said. “Prosecutors like me need legislation like this to arrest and convict the criminals who use evolving technology to victimize others.”

Macungie-based attorney Michael Ira Stump, representing Erdman, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

Bethlehem police on March 31 were called by Erdman’s estranged wife, who reported finding three AI-generated nude images of juvenile girls on his personal computer.

Prosecutors said Erdman downloaded photos of the children on vacation from their parent’s social media account, and then used artificial intelligence photo-editing software to make the children appear naked.

Erdman was charged on April 17.

The case was investigated by Bethlehem Police Det. Stephen Ewald and was prosecuted by Lehigh County Senior Deputy District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach.

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Pennsylvania

Central Pennsylvania awarded over $1M for Chesapeake Bay Watershed conservation

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Pennsylvania awarded over M for Chesapeake Bay Watershed conservation

PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — Over $17 million has been awarded to county teams across the Commonwealth for projects in reducing nutrient and sediment pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Grants were awarded to counties with projects taking place over the next 12 to 24 months. Many different human activities cause nutrient pollution and eroded sediment to enter streams, rivers, and lakes. This pollution can come from fertilizer, plowing and tilling farm fields and can cause stripping away of trees and vegetation, and increasing paved surfaces.

Here are the grants awarded in our area:

Blair County Conservation District: $308,095
Cambria County Conservation District: $200,000
Centre County Government: $566,399
Clearfield County Conservation District: $368,209
Huntingdon County Conservation District: $409,134

“Pennsylvania’s clean water successes are rooted in collaboration—state, local, federal, legislative, and non-governmental partners, and of course landowners,” Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley said. “The work will continue to evolve, and our focus will remain on setting our collaborative partnerships up for success well beyond 2025. The momentum is real, and you can see it in our improved water quality.”

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In total, 222 projects were approved, and it’s estimated to reduce nitrogen by 113,493 pounds/year, phosphorus by 28,816 pounds/year, and sediment delivered to the Chesapeake Bay by 1.8 million pounds/year.

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