Articles by Michael Rubinkam

Vendor That Mishandled Pennsylvania Virus Data to Pay $2.7M in Whistleblower Case

A large staffing firm that performed COVID-19 contact tracing for Pennsylvania and exposed the private medical information of about 72,000 residents will pay $2.7 million in a settlement with the Justice Department and a company whistleblower, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. …

Judge Orders Pennsylvania Utility Board to Produce Chocolate Factory Blast Records

Pennsylvania utility regulators must turn over inspection records to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the federal agency’s probe into a fatal explosion at a chocolate factory last year, a federal judge ruled this week. U.S. District Judge …

Pennsylvania County Suing Oil Industry Over Climate Change

A large suburban Philadelphia county has joined dozens of other local governments around the country in suing the oil industry, asserting that major oil producers systematically deceived the public about their role in accelerating global warming. Bucks County’s lawsuit against …

Banned for 12 Years, Fracking Poised to Make a Comeback in Pennsylvania’s ‘Gasland’

A year after pleading no contest to criminal charges, one of Pennsylvania’s leading natural gas companies is poised to drill and frack in the rural community where it was banned for a dozen years for polluting the water supply. Coterra …

Gas Leak From Bad Fitting Cited in Chocolate Factory Explosion Where 7 Died

Natural gas leaked from a defective fitting at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory where a powerful explosion leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people, federal safety investigators said Tuesday, while noting they have yet to determine the cause …

Court Allows Philly Cops Fired Over Facebook Posts to Pursue 1st Amendment Claims

A dozen Philadelphia police officers who were fired or suspended for racist and violent social media posts can pursue a lawsuit against the city claiming their First Amendment rights were violated, a federal appeals court ruled. The officers’ social media …

Workers Recall ‘Rotten Egg’ Smell Before Chocolate Factory Blast

Workers at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory smelled “rotten eggs” before a powerful natural gas explosion that leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people, federal safety officials said Tuesday in a preliminary report. The National Transportation Safety Board’s …

Wrongful Death Suit Claims Chocolate Factory Ignored Warning Before Deadly Blast

A Pennsylvania candy-maker ignored warnings of a gas leak at its chocolate factory and bears responsibility for a subsequent explosion that killed seven workers and injured several others, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The family of Judith “Judy” Lopez-Moran, …

Chocolate Factory Blast a Deadly Reminder of Combustion Risks

Last week’s fatal blast at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory highlighted the combustibility of food plants in general and chocolate making in particular. The powerful explosion at 75-year-old R.M. Palmer Co. – which makes chocolate eggs, bunnies, bars, coins and other …

Wreckage Complicates Job of Investigators of Chocolate Factory Deadly Blast

Investigators looking for the cause of a deadly explosion that leveled part of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory faced an even more difficult task Monday as they combed through wreckage that was extensively picked apart and moved around during the intensive …