HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Capital Star is reporting… Elected county committee members in the Democratic and Republican parties can start circulating petitions, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday afternoon. In a three-page order, the court said it would allow the hundreds of insiders who run county political parties, deciding on policy and making local endorsements, to immediately start collecting signatures to get on the May 17 primary ballot. These officials will have until March 15 to get their signatures, aligning with congressional and statewide candidates. State party committee members, however, will have to wait until the court decides on the legislative lines. In both parties, these committee members are sometimes elected by legislative districts. The deadline to challenge the state legislative maps is Sunday, March 6.
HARRISBURG – PennLive is reporting… Pennsylvania has a Widener Law Commonwealth campus. Penn State has its commonwealth campuses. But the one thing a state with more than 160 colleges and universities does not have is a commonwealth university. Now it does. The Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education board on Wednesday unanimously voted to approve that name for the combined Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities as the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. The merger of this trio of schools into one university that preserves all three campuses is contingent on it receiving the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s blessing. Middle States is expected to consider the application for this newly formed university’s accreditation at its meeting on March 10.
Further, President Bashar Hanna, who is the schools’ leader, said each location will retain its logo, colors, mascot, and athletic representation. They also will continue to use their respective location names – Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University and Mansfield University – that will continue to be prominently displayed on diplomas. The new name will remain in the background but allow the consolidated university to “legally and compliantly become one entity,” Hanna said. The name was developed through research and input from students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, the community and prospective students and their families, according to a spokesman for the universities.
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(WFRV) – In an attempt to stop using a name deemed derogatory, the “gypsy moth” is no more and officials have determined a new name for the insect. The Entomological Society of America (ESA) announced that the new name, “spongy moth,” has been selected for the species Lymantria dispar. It was voted unanimously to approve the addition of spongy moth to ESA’s common names of insects and related organisms list. This completes a process that reportedly started back in July 2021. “Gypsy moth” was removed from the list at the time because of its use of the derogatory term for the Romani people, the ESA explains. Now that spongy moth is added to the list, it will now be used in articles, scientific journals, presentations, posters, websites, social media and public policy documents.
“Lymantria dispar is a damaging pest in North American forests, and public awareness is critical in slowing its spread. ‘Spongy moth’ gives entomologists and foresters a name for this species that reinforces an important feature of the moth’s biology and moves away from the out-dated term that was previously used,” says ESA President Jessica Ware, Ph.D. The spongy moth name was recommended by a group that had over 50 scientists and professionals who work in research or forest management settings. The name refers to the moth’s sponge-like egg masses. According to the ESA, the spongy moth is an invasive species that can defoliate hundreds of trees and shrubs throughout the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.
