Pennsylvania
Pa. House gives this sweet treat its chef’s kiss of approval as the state candy
When you represent “the sweetest place on Earth,” you fight for the Kiss over its dreaded rival, the Peep.
Rep. Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County is making a second run to cement the iconic Hershey’s Kiss as the official state candy.
A bill sponsored by Mehaffie, who represents Derry Township, home to the Hershey Company, overwhelmingly passed the House on Tuesday.
But there’s competition.
It’s the same bill that was approved by the House last year, but ignored by the Senate, where it faces a competing measure to make Bethlehem-made Just Born Peeps Pennsylvania’s official treat.
“I had a lot of interest from quite a few senators,” Mehaffie said Tuesday about the prospect of his bill finally making it to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. “I think we’re getting more and more interest in the Senate.”
The designation of the Kiss as the state’s official candy is “based on their continued production in Pennsylvania,” Mehaffie said, noting that roughly 70 million kisses are produced each day with locally-sourced milk, helping to keep Pennsylvania’s dairy industry afloat.
The Kiss was first introduced by Hershey in 1907.
The final vote on Mehaffie’s bill was 150-to-53, a better margin of support than last year. And it passed with no debate – unlike a year ago, when some House members questioned the wisdom of giving official preference to one candy, and others pointed out Hershey’s history of labor disputes and off-shoring of some production.
But Mehaffie pointed out that the company just opened a new production facility in Derry Township, bringing more jobs into the commonwealth
“They’re spending a lot of capital in doing what they do, especially with the new expansion,” Mehaffie said. “The other thing that it does, that most people don’t know, is that it supports the Milton Hershey School.”
The Milton Hershey School, which serves disadvantaged children, is funded by a trust that holds the bulk of Hershey’s corporate stock.
The competitor to Mehaffie’s bill comes from Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh County, seeking the same state candy status for Peeps, a product of Bethlehem-based Just Born.
Pennsylvania might not yet have an official state candy, but it has a state flower (mountain laurel), beverage (milk) and dog (Great Dane).
Lawmakers spent years discussing the issue of an official state amphibian before finally moving on to legislation in 2019, giving the Eastern Hellbender that status.
Pennsylvania
New FDA analysis says US infant formula supply is safe after testing for potential contaminants
Pennsylvania saw a record low number of traffic deaths in 2025, according to PennDOT.
The department said 1,047 people were killed in traffic crashes last year, which is 80 fewer than last year and the lowest since record keeping began in 1928.
“Even one life lost is one too many, so while this decrease is good news, Pennsylvania remains committed to moving toward zero deaths on our roadways,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “PennDOT will continue to do our part to decrease fatalities through education and outreach, but we will only reach zero when we all work together.”
PennDOT said there were 109,515 total reportable crashes, which was the second lowest on record only to 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic kept drivers off the road. Of those total crashes, 979 were fatal, down from 1,060 last year.
The number of people killed in impaired driver crashes dropped from 342 to 258 last year, which was also the lowest on record. Fatalities in lane departure crashes and fatalities when someone wasn’t wearing a seatbelt declined as well. PennDOT attributes the decrease in deaths to infrastructure improvements and initiatives like enforcement and education campaigns.
Deaths involving a distracted driver were up from 49 to 54, but PennDOT says the long-term trend is decreasing, and a law that went into effect last June makes it illegal to use hand-held devices while driving, even while stopped because of traffic or a red light.
“Please drive safely,” Carroll said. “Put the phone down when you are behind the wheel. Always follow the speed limit and never drive impaired. And buckle up! Your seat belt can save your life in a crash.”
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania House passes bill to allow PIAA to create separate high school playoff system
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Pennsylvania lawmakers once again advanced legislation that would allow the PIAA to potentially overhaul the state’s playoff format for high school athletics.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 41 by a 178 to 23 vote, nearly one year after the legislation advanced out of the House Intergovernmental Affairs and Operations Committee.
The issue of “fairness” in Pennsylvania high school athletics has been a hot topic in recent years as both lawmakers and schools have debated whether or not the PIAA should create separate playoff brackets for public and private districts.
HB 41 was first introduced by Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre), who argues that the current competition structure in Pennsylvania high school “jeopardizes athletes’ health and safety.”
Student athletes and their parents recognize that contact sports pose certain physical risks, which schools try to minimize through protective equipment, training, and policies like concussion protocols,” Conklin said. “Unfortunately, our schools can’t protect against a playoff system that needlessly escalates those risks through unfair competitions.
PIAA’s existing playoff system forces athletes from public schools, which are limited to recruiting from within district boundaries, to compete against athletes from private schools, which can recruit from anywhere and amass larger, stronger teams. The result is unfair, lopsided competitions that leave public school students on a dangerously unlevel playing field, subjecting them to added physical risks and even depriving them of scholarship and recruitment opportunities. School sports are supposed to be about building confidence and teaching kids lessons in fair play, but the current system is teaching all the wrong lessons.
My bill would provide a way to end these increasingly dangerous competitions by allowing the PIAA to establish separate playoffs and championships for boundary and non-boundary schools.
House Bill 41 will now advance to the state Senate for a vote.
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Lawmakers note that if fully approved, the legislation would not mandate the PIAA to change the current format but would rather give them the option to do so.
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