Pennsylvania

We must do more to protect Pennsylvania’s natural resources | Opinion

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2024

We must do more to protect Pennsylvania’s natural resources | Opinion

By Imani Jackson

Pennsylvania is losing habitat and natural resources for wildlife in Pennsylvania due to the development of housing, agriculture, energy and infrastructure. On top of that, climate change is doing even more damage.

Pennsylvania hosts a broad diversity of habitats, from deep forests, wetlands, beaches, and natural lakes, to shale and serpentine barrens. What is now the Philadelphia metropolitan area was once home to thousands of acres of freshwater tidal marsh.

You can get information about these issues here: https://waterlandlife.org/wildlife-pnhp/species-at-risk-in-pennsylvania/.

We complain about not having enough natural resources, but are we really doing anything to help preserve them? Expanding cities and development is impacting sea life by contaminating waters, creating unhealthy conditions for fish and sea animals to survive.

The nearly 17 million acres of forest within Pennsylvania provide a wide range including clean air, water, recreational opportunities, wood products, and habitat for thousands of plant and animal species. Forests are homes for animals and different plant species. That is why we need to do everything we can to help keep them clean, safe, and healthy.

Loss of habitat and natural resources is occurring due to development in both cities and rural areas.

Over 3,000 miles of streams and rivers now are polluted with acid mine drainage from coal mining–ruining aquatic ecosystems, impacting drinking water, and leaving many waterways colored orange, according to state authorties.

The public owns 30% of PA’s forest land. But with the development of shale gas, the state government quickly moved to capitalize by leasing out hundreds of thousands of acres of mineral rights beneath our state forest and game lands, further hurting the environment.

There is genuine need to improve infrastructure in many areas. It’s been over 50 years since some of our infrastructure was built. Many communities are dealing with corrosion of pipes and overflowing sewers that can lead to lead, mercury, bacteria and other toxins leaching into our drinking water.

In addition, climate change is impacting Pennsylvania and the world. Climate change is creating a warmer and wetter Pennsylvania with more extreme and variable weather. Like most of the world, Pennsylvania has already seen an increase in average annual temperature. Climate models predict that the temperatures will increase again by between 4-8 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050.

Recreation shifts due to climate change is a major issue. Overall warming and changes in the seasonal characteristics of precipitation are likely to have substantial impacts on recreation in the Northeast, including reduced winter recreation and increased warm season activities.

This likely will worsen ground-level ozone pollution problems in urban areas. Increased summer heat may increase insect populations. Warming fall temperatures may result in muted fall foliage colors. Summer recreational activities involving beaches or freshwater reservoirs will have extended seasons and more demand as havens from increasing summer heat.

The increased intensity and frequency of floods and droughts also may put water-related recreation activities at risk. Climate change is likely to have many consequences for Pennsylvania’s forests, indirectly affecting the recreational opportunities they provide.

According to state authorities, forest types in Pennsylvania already have begun to shift in many areas, from maple-beech-birch to oak-hickory-pine, resulting in major socioeconomic impacts on the hardwood industry and other forest-based industries in Pennsylvania.

Climate change threatens Pennsylvania’s cold water fisheries, many of which will be converted to warm water fisheries. Climate change is also likely to affect forest productivity and the frequency of natural disturbances (fire and drought), and reduce biodiversity.

Warm-weather invasive species are expanding into Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan. This will create even more challenges for native species to survive.

As humans, we need to be more involved in helping make our environment clean for ourselves and wildlife. We need the natural resources just as much as the wildlife does, so we must do everything we can to restore a healthy environment.

Imani Jackson is a student at Dauphin County Technical School.

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Pennsylvania

Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico

A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter’s best friend over a three-year span before fleeing with the teen to Mexico.

On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, was convicted on all counts of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children.

Esterly shook his head as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Esterly’s trial began on Tuesday, March 3, after a judge denied his pretrial motion for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the Lehigh County District Attorney to be removed as a prosecutor in the case.

Both Esterly and his victim testified on Wednesday, March 4.

The victim — who is now 24-years-old — told the courtroom that she met Esterly and his family while attending church as a child and became best friends with one of his daughters. Esterly was a youth leader and elder at the church at the time. The victim said Esterly also coached her soccer team.

The victim said she became so close to Esterly’s family that she called his wife “mom” and eventually spent almost every weekend at their home in Lowhill Township, Pennsylvania. She also said she vacationed with them in New York state and Ocean City, Maryland.

The victim said Esterly first sexually assaulted her in August 2015 when she was 13-years-old after he gave her alcohol during a family birthday party.

“I was scared. Frozen in fear,” the woman told the courtroom on Wednesday. “I pretended I was sleeping.”

The woman accused Esterly of sexually assaulting her almost every time she slept over at his home. She told the courtroom she eventually became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which Esterly gave her in exchange for sex. According to the woman, Esterly gave her cocaine and methamphetamine to keep her awake during school because she “would be up with him all night.”

The woman said Esterly continued to sexually assault her until he was confronted by his wife in 2017. Esterly’s wife then threw him out of the house, according to the victim. She said Esterly continued to sexually assault her over the next year.

Esterly was later arrested and then sentenced to prison after federal agents found him with the victim in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2018. She was 16-years-old at the time.

The woman said she moved on and went to college after Esterly’s sentencing though she still struggled with drug addiction. She said she sought counseling in February 2025. She told the courtroom she received a message from Esterly on LinkedIn that same month in which he apologized for “failing you as a person I was supposed to be for you.” At that point Esterly had been released from prison.

The woman said she had not told anyone about her relationship with Esterly up to that point and replied to him, “I live with our secret every day as I promised. I would appreciate an apology.”

The woman told the courtroom that Esterly responded by writing, “I hope one day you can forgive me. Nobody knows I reached out to you. That is the best for both of us.”

On Feb. 21, 2025, Allentown Police received a report of Esterly’s sexual assaults which led to the new charges being filed against him. He was arrested in West Virginia in June 2025 after two police pursuits. He was then extradited to Pennsylvania.

The victim told the courtroom on Wednesday that she kept quiet about Esterly’s abuse for years because she “was afraid to speak,” and felt “dirty and ashamed.”

“I wasn’t ready to tell anyone,” she said. “He was a father figure in my life. I loved him.”

The woman also said she didn’t want to hurt Esterly’s daughter who was her best friend.

When the District Attorney asked her why she was “here today,” she replied by saying, “I want to tell the truth. I want to be set free.”

The woman ended her testimony by saying, “I don’t want to live with this secret anymore.”

After her testimony, Esterly took the stand for 45 minutes, denied all of the accusations against him and accused the woman of lying.

Closing arguments then took place Thursday morning. It then took an hour for the jury of seven women and five men to reach their verdict.

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Pennsylvania

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Published

15 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Madeline Bartos,

Jennifer Borrasso

Updated on: March 5, 2026 / 2:16 AM EST
/ CBS Pittsburgh

Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Map shows distance from Hillside, Illinois, to Zelienople, Pennsylvania

KDKA

Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.

Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.

Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.

“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.

“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.

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Pennsylvania

Top Pennsylvania 2027 quarterback enrolls into Coatesville (Pa.)

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Top Pennsylvania 2027 quarterback enrolls into Coatesville (Pa.)

One of the top 2027 Pennsylvania high school quarterbacks from the 2025 season has announced that he’s leaving for a new home.

Per an announcement by Class of 2027 signal caller Mikal Shank Jr., the quarterback has left Harrisburg (Pa.) and is now at Coatesville (Pa.) for his senior season. Shank Jr. last season started 14 games for the Cougars and is arguably one of the state’s top returning players behind center heading into the 2026 campaign.