PA Headlines | Aug. 14 | Violent crime rates are falling – but there’s one uptick in Pa.

Violent crime rates are falling, but there's one uptick in Pennsylvania. And Dauphin County Commissioners approve another year of free evening parking in Harrisburg. Plus, stay tuned for the bright spot. Welcome to the Morning Agenda, WITF's Daily News Podcast, where the only agenda is you. Good morning and happy Friday. It's Friday, August 14th. I'm Karen Hendricks, and I'm honored to be your host. Thanks for listening to the Morning Agenda's fact-based journalism. It's been one year. since public media's federal funding was revoked. Thanks to our community, we're still here for you and looking toward the future. Join the thousands of members who are building a stronger WITF. Go to WITF.org slash give now and thank you. Now for our daily trip around the region's top stories, let's get started. Violent crime in the Commonwealth has fallen to pre-COVID-19 pandemic rates. almost across the board. State Attorney General Dave Sunday says there's some good news in those numbers, but he warned about upticks in drug trafficking. As Whitney Downard from our friends at the Pennsylvania Capitol Star reports, advocates are urging the state to prioritize funding for victims, especially following federal funding cuts. Homicides and assaults are at near record lows and appear to be on track to fall further this year. That's in the Commonwealth. and nationwide. Overdose deaths in the state have also dropped 42% during the last decade. Last year, the state seized more than 56 million doses of fentanyl, which Sunday says is enough to kill four times the population of Pennsylvania. One Hazleton official says he's seeing an uptick in people using methamphetamine, which is less deadly. Sunday's office is also monitoring large-scale retail thefts coordinated by larger criminal enterprises that are linked to human and drug trafficking. With more than 100 investigations across 52 counties, he says those crimes aren't limited to big cities. That was Whitney Downard of the Pennsylvania Capitol Star. Doffin County commissioners have approved another year of free evening parking in downtown Harrisburg from 5 to 7 p.m. But they say they want feedback. and data on whether it's helping businesses. My colleague Katie Knoll reports, businesses say it is. $146,000 from the county's unrestricted gaming funds will go to Park Harrisburg to help finance free parking for two hours downtown. The initiative started in 2018 to bring customers. With parking costing $4 an hour plus processing fees, it kept some patrons away. Hope McKenzie is the public relations manager for Gamut Theater Group on North 4th Street. She says it can be a hassle for families to drop their kids off for classes because some have to pay to use a spot for just a few minutes.

The five to seven free helps so much because most of our rehearsals here start at six. So it's perfect. Our rehearsal schedule has been great. Our actors are able to get free parking. The only issues we ever run into are just on our Saturday morning classes. Paying to park could discourage people from attending a show during the day, McKenzie says. She thinks businesses being able to validate parking could increase foot traffic. That was Katie Knoll. Gamut Theater Group is a financial supporter of WITF. Now, Joanna Martin with Jojo's barbershop on Harrisburg's South Third Street, says parking is a major barrier. It means that people are, I think, so much less inclined. to want to park downtown for more unlimited swaths of time where they would be inclined to kind of explore. She says parking has become less accessible over time. There are no kiosks where people can pay to park and drivers can only pay on their phones. The app accepts payments at any time, so it's up to drivers to know the enforcement hours. Martin says increased transparency and accessibility along with low- lowering prices could bring more foot traffic to downtown businesses. Norfolk Southern says federal investigators will look into the cause of Tuesday's train derailment at the Horseshoe Curve in Altoona as Sidney Roach from our friends at WPSU reports 12 cars went off the track earlier this week. The moment of the derailment was captured on a virtual railfan live stream.

Crews worked overnight to get the rail cars back on track. A Norfolk Southern spokesperson says no hazardous materials were released. Still, officials with the Railroaders Memorial Museum, which owns and operates the property at the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark, closed the area on Wednesday. This is the third time this year a train has derailed near the horseshoe curve. Norfolk Southern says there were no injuries reported in any of the derailments. Norfolk Southern says federal investigators are looking into the cause, per the normal procedure. The Federal Railroad Administration investigated the last two derailments and said one happened because of a mechanical error, while the other was a problem with the track. That was Sydney Roach. And now a few more stories to put on your radar. A former PennDOT employee is charged with embezzling more than $33,000 by overcharging her department-issued credit card. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday says 55-year-old Tracy Tuzelin of Dingman's Ferry Pike County was charged Wednesday with theft by deception and three related felonies. She was arraigned. Wednesday and released. Sunday says Tuzalin was entrusted with taxpayer dollars and betrayed that trust and the public she was hired to serve. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is adding a forest in Skookle County to the National Old Growth Forest Network. Tuscarora State Park is the 46th Pennsylvania Forest to be added and the first in Skookle County. It is 1,618 acres and has a wooded area, a picnic area, and a lake for visitors to enjoy. Tuscarora has recovered. well from when early settlers cleared the trees for agriculture and lumber. Now over 80% of the park is forested and there are second and third growth hardwoods. The Old Growth Forest Network now includes over 346 forests across 40 states. Kyle Robinson, a waterways conservation officer covering Mifflin and northern Huntington counties, is receiving statewide recognition. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission gives the top gun award to an officer who displays outstanding effort in the detection and apprehension of impaired boaters. In 2025, Robinson participated in 30 days of onboard boat patrols, 760. for boardings and nine arrests for boating under the influence. This is the fourth consecutive year he has received the Top Gun Award.

And a memorial service this Sunday will honor the life of Dick Knoble. The former president of Knoble's amusement resort passed away on July 16th at the age of 87. Sunday morning's service is set for nine in the amusement park's Phoenix Courtyard, and it will be streamed on the park's Facebook page as well. Park officials also point out Sunday's service fittingly falls on national roller coaster. Day. And now it's time for our weekly segment called The Bright Spot. Every Friday, I'll share a positive news story that may have gotten lost amid this week's news cycle. And today's bright spot is this. Minifon's from across Pennsylvania and neighboring states raised more than $6.4 million during the 2025 and 26 school year to support four diamonds. Minnithon is a smaller, Kate. version of Penn State University's Thon, a 46-hour dance marathon with no sitting or sleeping. The fundraisers can last a couple of hours or they can go overnight. Like Thon, the money will help support pediatric cancer research and provide financial assistance and comprehensive care to eligible children receiving cancer treatment. Minnie Thon has raised more than $83 million since its start in 1990. 93. Hope you're enjoying the bright spot. And I look forward to bringing you more bright spots every Friday. And that does it for the morning agenda, a daily news podcast from WITF, where the only agenda is you. And since it's Friday, I'm going to ask for two favors. First, if you don't already subscribe, please hit subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. The morning agenda is available anywhere you find your favorite podcasts. Secondly, if your podcast. podcast platform allows, please leave us a rating and a review. We genuinely appreciate your feedback. I'm your host, Karen Hendricks. Thanks so much for listening. Have a great weekend ahead. Be well, and we will talk again on Monday.