Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania state police, pension agency lost some online records, officials say
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania State Police is working to recover access to online records of how it handled evidence, state officials said, blaming the loss of the records on a mistake during routine server maintenance
The same mistake also affected the State Employees Retirement System, which said online users temporarily lost access to a member services system this month.
State officials downplayed the effect on the agencies.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Office of Administration blamed “human error” by a state employee who was performing routine server maintenance on Jan. 3. It did not elaborate, but said it was reviewing and updating internal information technology processes to prevent it from happening again.
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg/Pennlive.com first reported the matter.
Lost were records contained in a pair of applications that the state police use to manage evidence submissions and log evidence into police labs for testing, officials said.
The Office of Administration said the physical evidence remains secure and was never endangered. The state police said the agency has recovered some of the records and is operating on a temporary system to track and receive evidence.
County prosecutors became aware of the missing records nearly two weeks ago after the Pennsylvania State Police informed the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
The association’s executive director, Kelly Callihan, said her organization told district attorneys that the impact on cases should be minimal because state police labs have policies for internally tracking evidence and documenting forensic testing.
Callihan said she thus far had not received any reports that district attorneys were having problems as a result of the lost records.
Dauphin County’s district attorney, Fran Chardo, told The Patriot-News of Harrisburg/Pennlive.com that his office keeps paper records of the data it stores on the state’s server. Cumberland County’s district attorney, Sean McCormack, said the county has its own forensic lab.
The retirement system said no pension data has been lost, although the agency earlier this month notified account users that it could not provide access to an online system that provides members with an up-to-date, albeit unofficial, snapshot of their benefit data.
Agency staff brought that service back online Jan. 16, although users had to verify their identity and create a new four-digit personal identification number, the agency said.
Users also lost pension calculations they had saved in their online member services account while some smaller agencies were told to re-enter any partially entered or unposted batches of personnel and payroll data, the agency said.
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE/WKRC) — Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed.
Neighbors along Adams Drive in Rostraver Township say they have trapped and killed dozens of rats in recent weeks but continue to see large numbers of rodents around their homes.
Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE)
“The smell’s better, but the rats are worse,” resident Erin McCay told KDKA.
Earlier this month, authorities and animal rescue groups removed dogs, cats and more than 100 pigs from the property. Investigators described conditions at the site as deplorable.
According to Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue, 105 pigs were removed from the property, and several later died due to alleged neglect.
The property, which operated as an animal sanctuary, has since been condemned and listed for sale.
Township officials said they have contracted with a pest control company in an effort to eliminate the infestation. The one-year agreement is valued at approximately $12,000 and includes placing traps throughout the affected neighborhood.
Residents say the infestation has become a public safety concern, especially after dark.
“It’s definitely a public safety issue,” McCay said. “I want to feel safe being able to go in our yard and walk into the house.”
Township officials said they hope the rat population will begin to decline in the coming weeks.
Police said the investigation into conditions at the property remains active.
Pennsylvania
6abc Loves the Arts: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Presents “Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” through Sept. 18
PHLADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is celebrating the semi-quincentennial with a new exhibition that shows off some very rare documents that date to the founding of our nation.
“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” documents America’s origin story in two parts.
“The exhibition looks at the decade of controversies and conflicts leading up to the Declaration of Independence,” says David Brigham, Librarian & CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Why did we feel as American colonies that we needed to separate from Great Britain?”
And then the 11 years between the signing of the Declaration and the adoption of the Constitution.
“The colonies have a lot of work to do,” says Brigham.
There are 141 pieces on view.
“They include original letters, journals, newspapers, broadsides,” he says. “And an incredible oil painting of a tea protest event that happened in Annapolis, Maryland in October of 1774.”
The artwork depicts the burning of the tea ship, Peggy Stewart.
“It’s been in a private home for generations,” he says. “This painting has not been seen in public possibly for 170 years.”
Items are on display in seven cases.
“This case focuses on the Stamp Act, which is passed in the spring of 1765 by Parliament,” he says.
There’s a section on rising tensions in the 1770s, which includes the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Boston Tea Party.
You can see what’s known as the Dunlap Broadside.
“This is an original printing of the Declaration of Independence,” he says.
Just 200 were printed and only 26 survive.
Brigham says the one on display at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is unique.
“We think it was Jefferson’s proof copy,” he says. “He would mark his speeches out with quotation marks where he intended to emphasize a phrase.”
Another case includes a first draft of the Articles of Confederation, which Brigham says is “the first attempt by Congress to write a Constitution of the United States.”
There is also a first newspaper printing of the Constitution of the United States. It was someone’s personal copy, complete with notes in the margin of the newspaper.
Brigham says people of different social statuses and religions found their way to independence “for different reasons.”
“Sometimes the story’s flattened out into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys.’ That’s way too simple,” he says. “There was a lot of complexity and even in that 20-year period a lot of attitudes changed.”
“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” is on view through September 18 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. This exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours, but visitors must check in at the front desk.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s library hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Closed Saturday – Monday
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP)
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
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Pennsylvania
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