Media Mentions

(RNS) — A native Pennsylvanian, I remember what it was like for my family to celebrate Diwali (or Deepavali, as it is also known for people of South Indian descent) at a time when Hinduism and other dharmic faiths were considered foreign and exotic religions. In the...

HARRISBURG, PA — On Monday, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 402 into law, officially designating Diwali as a state holiday in Pennsylvania. This significant legislative act acknowledges the cultural contributions of Pennsylvanians and the over one billion...

A new “portal” art installation in Philadelphia’s LOVE Park will use livestreaming technology to connect the city to three international cities in real time, providing a live look at people in Dublin, Ireland; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland. The portal could...

Harrisburg, PA — On Oct. 21, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 402 into law — officially recognizing Diwali as a state holiday in Pennsylvania. The governor signed the bill while attending a Diwali, Tihar, and Bandi Chhor Diwas celebration hosted by the...

Almost 13 million Americans in Pennsylvania will now have an extra holiday, after Governor Josh Shapiro signed a bill into law which recognizes Diwali as an official holiday. Diwali, also referred to as the festival of lights, is an Indian holiday which takes the form...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — Now that Governor Josh Shapiro signed the bill into law, Pennsylvania has a new holiday on the calendar. Formerly Senate Bill 402, introduced by Sen. Greg Rothman (R-Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry) and Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia), called for...

Harrisburg, PA – Yesterday, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 402(opens in a new tab) into law — officially recognizing Diwali as a state holiday in Pennsylvania while attending a Diwali, Tihar, and Bandi Chhor Diwas celebration hosted by the Governor’s...

Diwali — the religious festival and holiday celebrated by over a billion Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs worldwide — is a step closer to becoming an official state holiday in the Keystone State. The Pennsylvania Senate recently passed Senate Bill 402, which grants...

Philadelphia, PA – On September 26, the Philadelphia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression members joined the UNITE HERE Local 274 picket line as Philadelphia stadium workers struggled for healthcare and a living wage. The strikes were a culmination of...

A historic bank in Old City that has been empty for a decade will soon be the home of an 8,000-square-foot, six-story immersive art experience. On Tuesday, the nonprofit Ministry of Awe, the team behind the redesign, held a ceremonial wall-breaking, letting everyone...

Efforts to block Gov. Josh Shapiro’s revenue secretary from having to appear before the Pennsylvania Senate next week to explain his refusal to produce tax records for an Allentown revitalization program failed. The Commonwealth Court on Tuesday issued rulings in two...

On Oct. 9, the Pennsylvania House passed a bill that will recognize Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated in Hinduism and other Indian religions, as an official state holiday. The designation will not require closures of governments, schools, or businesses. 

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a bill that might add an official holiday for the Keystone State: Diwali. Senate Bill 402, headed by Sen. Greg Rothman and co-endorsed by Sen. Nikil Saval, was initially proposed in January 2023.

Four Pennsylvania Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block their Republican counterparts’ efforts to force Gov. Josh Shapiro’s revenue secretary to turn over tax records for the Allentown downtown revitalization program. Senate Democratic Leader Jay...

Legislation that would make Diwali an official holiday in Pennsylvania passed the state General Assembly. Senate Bill 402 was introduced by state Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry, co-sponsored by Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, and would not require...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Earlier today, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a bill that would create a new official holiday here in the Keystone State. Senate Bill 402, introduced by State Sen. Greg Rothman and co-sponsored by Sen. Nikil Saval, would make Diwali...

HARRISBURG, Oct. 9 – Legislation that would make Diwali an official holiday in Pennsylvania passed the General Assembly with a bipartisan majority today and will soon become law. Senate Bill 402 was introduced by state Sens. Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland/Dauphin/Perry,...

A state funding plan to close SEPTA’s budget deficit is swimming into view — but very, very slowly, legislators and transit advocates say. A complicated, contentious deal involving new gambling taxes is still being negotiated. Some lawmakers may not want to take a...

Homesickness led a group of teenagers to create a festival in a church parking lot. On Saturday, 28 years later, Chinatown celebrated another edition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and also with complicated feelings: the dismay, disappointment, and anger that greeted...

It’s not every day you see a baby chilling on its back in the middle of Walnut Street, and for very good reason — babies are squishy and generally well-liked. But during Open Streets: West Walnut on Sunday, I saw just that, a baby on an area rug in the center of the...

WILKES-BARRE — State Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks), chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, joined Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) and state Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D-Lancaster) to host a joint policy hearing on homelessness...

The University of the Arts has filed for bankruptcy after a plan to merge the shuttered school with Temple University fell through. UArts abruptly announced its closure in June, shocking students, faculty, city officials, higher education experts and the community....

Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a new priority for his administration Thursday when he signed an executive order directing officials under his purview to develop a statewide housing action plan to address housing shortages and homelessness across the commonwealth. Shapiro...

PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order that has created the state’s first housing action plan to increase affordable housing and address homelessness. Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2024-03 in Wynnefield Thursday.

Philadelphia, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2024-03(opens in a new tab), directing his Administration to create Pennsylvania’s first comprehensive Housing Action Plan to address the state's housing shortage, address homelessness, and expand...

The Camden 76ers? Has a nice ring to it, if you’re from New Jersey. In response to massive grassroots protests against plans by Gensler to build 76 Place—a speculative $1.3 billion basketball stadium in Philadelphia’s Chinatown—76 DevCo. is now eying sites in Camden,...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Save Chinatown Coalition held a rally and march in Philadelphia on Saturday against the proposed new 76ers arena, 76 Place. The Sixers, who currently play at Wells Fargo Center in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, have proposed building...

More than a month before the basketball season even begins, the Philadelphia 76ers – and their underdog adversary – continued to be the talk of the town on Saturday as opponents to the NBA team’s Center City arena proposal marched from City Hall through Chinatown...

Scores of demonstrators marched with members of the Save Chinatown Coalition through Center City and Chinatown Saturday to protest the Philadelphia 76ers’ arena proposal with songs, drumming, dancing, and speeches. Drenched by a sudden downpour, protesters shouted “No...

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After the University of the Arts suddenly shuttered its doors earlier this year, Pennsylvania Democrats are working to prevent other colleges from doing the same. “It is not normal for me at age 22 to blame myself for the mistakes of...

As president of University of the Arts Student Association, Alex McFadden routinely met with the school’s top officials. They sat on the selection committee that helped pick Kerry Walk as president. So when the school closed with just a week’s notice in June, shocking...

Despite news reports that New Jersey is trying to woo the 76ers to build a new arena in Camden, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday said he’s confident the team will remain in Philadelphia. “The mayor is the lead on this, together with city council. We’re in...

In a summer filled with explosive political news, even the most assiduous media consumer may have missed the Pennsylvania legislature increasing the value of the state’s historic tax credit. This policy is meant to provide resources to developers to renovate buildings...

Turmoil continues to surround the abrupt closure of the University of the Arts (UArts) in Philadelphia just over two months ago, at the end of the Spring semester. The shuttered school is now subject to a demand for immediate repayment of a more than $50 million debt,...

Visitors to the Springline complex in Menlo Park, Calif., are surrounded by a sense of comfort and luxury often found at high-end hotels: off-white walls with a Roman clay finish, a gray-and-white marble coffee table and a white leather bench beneath an 8-by-4 resin...

Sereyrath Van, known to many as “One,” has no memories outside U.S. soil. Now, the 44-year-old is fighting an order from Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) that would deport him to Cambodia — a country Van has never visited. Van had a check-in with ICE on...

Despite a month-long campaign coordinated by Southeast Asian community leaders and immigration advocates, federal authorities detained a man last week and appear to be preparing to deport him to a country he has never visited. Sereyrath “One” Van, 44, was born in a...

The Supreme Court’s momentous ruling last month in the Grants Pass v. Johnson case removed a key protection for unhoused people, allowing criminalization even when there is no available shelter. While some Democrats condemned the decision, several leaders on the West...