Covering the Pa. Capitol -- and the special interests trying to influence policy -- for @SpotlightPA. Mom. Dog mom. Grumpy Greek. There are no dumb questions.

Harrisburg, PA
Joined April 2009
Angela Couloumbis retweeted
In honor of legendary journalist John Baer, the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association has renamed its summer journalism internship program. It's now the John Baer Legislative Reporting Internship, where student journalists get to work for 12 weeks every summer in the Capitol alongside the professional reporting corps that covers it daily. It's a paid internship, supported by donations and volunteerism. You can support future interns in honor of John, who spent many years helping to fundraise for the program one former intern called "an experience you can brag about, and I certainly have." Here is where you can donate: pacapitolreporters.org/how-t…
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"PA law does little to impede the close relationship between lawmaking and lobbying. Lawmakers only have to wait a year before they can lobby the chamber or office where they once served." Good read in @SpotlightPA by @Jaxon__White and @StephenJ_Caruso: spotlightpa.org/news/2026/09…
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“As Democratic voters nationwide get to know him in the months and years ahead, it’s worth understanding not just where he has succeeded as governor but also where he has arguably fallen short.” With @StephenJ_Caruso for @washingtonsun and @SpotlightPA notus.org/perspectives/is-jo…
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From my hardworking colleagues at @SpotlightPA: @StephenJ_Caruso and @Jaxon__White: "The budget does not change the state’s fiscal reality — that it spends more money than it brings in. It also does not include any new revenue-generating policy changes." spotlightpa.org/news/2026/07…
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Gov. Josh Shapiro's office has long dodged questions about an Inspector General's report into Pa's oversight of abuse and neglect investigations involving older adults. Turns out, the gov got the report more than two years ago -- and has kept it secret. spotlightpa.org/news/2026/06…
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That 2018 report exposed problems with the quality of older adult abuse and neglect investigations, and resulted in legislative hearings and changes at the Dept. of Aging.
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This all raises the question: how much of the Pa. Inspector General's work -- especially when it exposes serious problems with state agencies and/or programs -- does the public deserve to see?
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Update: In a letter to legislative leaders, Pa. State Police take blame for the breakdown in timely communicating that 20 lawmakers were targets of politically violent online threats, w/@Jaxon__White for @SpotlightPA: spotlightpa.org/news/2026/05…
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Updated story on the threats of violence against 20 PA lawmakers — and the apparent communication breakdown by law enforcement to notify them about a man being arrested in the case, w/@Jaxon__White: spotlightpa.org/news/2026/05…
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Angela Couloumbis retweeted
HARRISBURG, Pa. (@AP) _ Pennsylvania has sued an artificial intelligence chatbot maker, saying its chatbots illegally hold themselves out as doctors and are deceiving the system's users into thinking they are getting medical advice from a licensed professional.
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