Lawmaker seeks to make Pennsylvania rye whiskey the official spirit of the Commonwealth
GOOD MORNING. IT IS 430 ON THIS HALLOWEEN MORNING. HAPPY HALLOWEEN. I’M MATT BARCARO AND I’M MEREDITH JORGENSEN SO EXCITED TO BE HERE ON THIS HALLOWEEN MORNING. HAPPY HALLOWEEN. WONDERFUL. HOW ARE YOU? IT IS GOING TO BE A BLUSTERY DAY. IT’S GOING TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR WITCH HAT ON. YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO HOLD ON TO THAT FOR SURE. AND YOUR DECORATIONS. SO LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT WE HAVE OUTSIDE ON OUR STORM TEAM LIVE RADAR NETWORK. THERE MAY BE A SHOWER OR SPRINKLE IN NORTHWESTERN COUNTIES TODAY, BUT THE REST OF THE AREA SHOULD BE DRY. THAT SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT US ALL OF THE RAIN YESTERDAY IS WELL BEHIND US RIGHT NOW. TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 40S TO NEAR 50 DEGREES, AND WE DO HAVE A WIND ADVISORY, WHICH GOES INTO EFFECT AT 8 A.M. AND CONTINUES ALL DAY LONG UNTIL MIDNIGHT. SO RIGHT NOW, WINDS HAVE STARTED TO PICK UP JUST A LITTLE BIT. WE’RE SEEING SOME SPOTS WITH DOUBLE DIGIT WIND SPEEDS, INCLUDING HARRISBURG AT 21MPH. SO IT IS GOING TO BE A BLUSTERY DAY, EVEN WINDIER THAN YESTERDAY WITH SUSTAINED WINDS 15 TO 25 AND SOME GUSTS 40 TO 45MPH. THERE’S A LOOK AT YOUR 12 HOUR FORECAST. WE GET UP TO A HIGH OF 58 DEGREES TODAY WITH CLEARING SKIES. AS THE DAY GOES ON. BUT THE WIND, THAT’S THE BIG STORY. BACK TO YOU. THANK YOU. CHRISTINE. WELL, HARRIS IN HARRISBURG, LEGISLATIVE LEADERS MET BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IN GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO’S OFFICE AS THE BUDGET IMPASSE CONTINUES. SCHOOL LEADERS SAY BIG CONSEQUENCES ARE ON THE HORIZON. THEY SAY SOME $5 BILLION WORTH OF STATE FUNDING IS BEING HELD UP RIGHT NOW. AND IF YOUR KIDS EDUCATION ISN’T AFFECTED YET, IT WILL BE SOON. THAT INCLUDES THE HARRISBURG SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH IS WEIGHING TOUGH CHOICES THAT WILL COST TAXPAYERS AND STUDENTS. WE ARE APPROACHING DIRE STRAITS. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MOTION ON OUR BOARD AGENDA IN NOVEMBER TO ISSUE DEBT, TO ISSUE A LOAN, TO BE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE PAYROLL AND PAY THE BILLS. THE DISTRICT SAYS IT MAY HAVE TO TAKE UP TO A $50 MILLION LOAN THAT TAXPAYERS WOULD HAVE TO PAY. AND WITH SNAP BENEFITS SET TO EXPIRE TOMORROW, A YORK COUNTY GROCERY STORE OFFERING A WAY TO HELP PEOPLE WHO RELY ON THOSE BENEFITS TO STILL BE ABLE TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES. LEG UP FARMERS MARKET IN YORK IS LAUNCHING TWO PROGRAMS TO HELP. CUSTOMERS CAN CHOOSE TO ROUND UP THEIR PURCHASE COSTS AND PASS THAT MONEY TO SNAP RECIPIENTS. OR YOU CAN DONATE ONLINE BY SCANNING THE QR CODE YOU SEE THERE ON THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN IN THE RIGHT HAND CORNER. THE STORE IS ALSO HOSTING A FOOD COLLECTION THROUGH THANKSGIVING. WHAT’S REALLY COOL ABOUT THE WAY WE DO IT IS ONE YOU GET TO REALLY EXPERIENCE HOW MUCH FOOD YOU’RE GOING TO BE GIVING TO THAT FOOD BANK, AND TWO, AFTER WE DO THE COLLECTION, WE GET TO ASK THEM, HEY, WHAT’S GOING TO HELP YOU THE MOST? WHAT CAN YOU MOST BENEFIT FROM? SOME YEARS THEY JUST WANT $1,000 OF RICE, AND SOME YEARS THEY NEED 20 CASES OF JAM BECAUSE THEY HAVE A TON OF PEANUT BUTTER. BUT THE WAY WE DO IT LETS US HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM AND DIRECTLY HELP THEM WHERE THEY NEED IT. FOOD THEN, WILL BE DONATED TO THE HARVEST OF BLESSINGS FOOD BANK IN YORK. ALSO IN YORK COUNTY, THE COUNTY’S FOOD BANK IS STEPPING UP TO HELP OLDER ADULTS GET FOOD. MANY PEOPLE THAT THE FOOD BANK SERVES LIVE ALONE AND RELY ON SNAP BENEFITS AS PART OF THEIR FIXED INCOMES. SO THE SENIOR FOOD BANK BOX PROGRAM IS PROVIDING MONTHLY BOXES FILLED WITH MILK, CANNED MEATS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES. RICE. PASTA. BEANS. TO REGISTER FOR A FOOD BOX, YOU CAN CALL THE YORK COUNTY FOOD BANK AT THE NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN. BOXES CAN BE DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO HOMES OR SCHEDULED FOR PICKUP. LANCASTER COUNTY’S WILLOW VALLEY COMMUNITIES IS PROVIDING MORE DETAILS ON WHAT’S EXPECTED TO EVENTUALLY BE THE TALLEST BUILDING IN LANCASTER COUNTY. A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR 55 AND UP COMMUNITY 146 UNITS WILL BE PART OF A 20 STORY TOWER PLANNED FOR DOWNTOWN LANCASTER ON SOUTH QUEEN AND WEST VINE STREETS, RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE SOUTHERN MARKET CENTER. 63 OF THOSE UNITS HAVE BEEN RESERVED SO FAR. YESTERDAY, WILLOW VALLEY OFFICIALS HELD A TOWN MEETING WITH CURRENT WILLOW VALLEY RESIDENTS TO SHARE PROGRESS ON THEIR PLANS AND A TIMELINE FOR CONSTRUCTION. IT’S GOING TO BRING AN INCREDIBLE LIFESTYLE OPTION FOR 55 AND OLDER INDIVIDUALS WHO. DESIRE AN URBAN EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO VALUE THE PEACE OF MIND THAT THEY CAN GET FROM TAIPEI LIFE CARE. THE $150 MILLION PROJECT IS, AS OF NOW, EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED FOR MOVE INS BY EARLY 2029, WITH CONSTRUCTION WORK BEGINNING IN THE SPRING IN HARRISBURG. EMERGENCY RESPONDERS FROM ALL OVER THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY HAD A FULL SCALE SEARCH AND RESCUE DRILL. FIRST RESPONDERS FROM HARRISBURG AND LANCASTER, BUREAUS OF FIRE MANHEIM TOWNSHIP FIRE RESCUE, NEW CUMBERLAND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY. THEY WERE ALL PART OF THIS. IT WAS CALLED THE REAL LIFE TRAINING EXERCISE THAT THEY COULD UNDERTAKE. THIS WAS THE LARGEST ONE THEY’VE EVER DONE AS WELL. THEY DID SEARCH AND RESCUE TRAINING MISSIONS IN THE RAIN YESTERDAY IN A BUILDING THAT WAS COLLAPSED FOR THEM. THE WEATHER CAN DEFINITELY ADD TO THE COMPLEXITY OF AN INCIDENT, ESPECIALLY SNOW. YOU KNOW, YOU’RE ADDING A LOT MORE WEIGHT TO THE STRUCTURE, WHICH CAN CAUSE EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. LET’S NOT FORGET THE, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS, LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF TRAINING. EACH ONE OF THESE MEMBERS HAS PUT IN TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE’RE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCT THESE DRILLS. SO THEY’RE PUTTING ALL THAT, ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES TO ACTUAL WORK TODAY. CALLED HOMELAND CENTER, PARTNERED WITH THE URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM TO DONATE THE BUILDINGS FOR THE TRAINING. WELL, IT IS HALLOWEEN, AND SOME COMMUNITIES IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY HAVE MOVED. TRICK OR TREAT TO TONIGHT. AFTER YESTERDAY’S RAIN. COMMUNITIES YOU SEE ON YOUR SCREEN IN YORK AND CUMBERLAND COUNTIES WILL NOW HAVE TRICK OR TREAT TONIGHT FROM 6 TO 8. ROYALTON IN DAUPHIN COUNTY ALSO CHANGED ITS TRICK OR TREAT PLANS TO START AT 6:00 TONIGHT, AND EAST PENNSBORO TOWNSHIP, LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP AND WORMLEYSBURG IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY ARE MOVING THEIR TRICK OR TREAT TIMES TO TOMORROW. I LOVE THE PICTURES OF THOSE KIDS IN THAT PICTURE ALL DRESSED UP IN THEIR COSTUME. AND SO SINCE IT IS HALLOWEEN, WE ARE GETTING YOU INTO THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT. EARLIER THIS MONTH, THE NEWS 8, A NEWS 8 CREW OF FOUR. THAT’S MEAN MATTHEWS, MICHAEL FULLER, THEIR PRODUCER LUCY, AND TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS, LOGAN AND FRED TOOK A TRIP TO JASON’S WOODS FROM NEWS 8 TO 4. THEY WANTED TO JUST SEE WHAT ALL OF THAT BUZZ IS ABOUT. OH, MY. WELL, IF YOU’RE NOT AWAKE THIS MORNING YET, THAT CERTAINLY WILL WAKE YOU UP. ALL RIGHT. DON’T MISS ALL THE SCREAMS, THE SCARES, THE TERROR. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE EXPERIENCE THERE. AND WHAT’S CALLED THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE HAUNTED HOUSE. THEY DID THAT VOLUNTARILY. YOU CAN WAT
Lawmaker seeks to make Pennsylvania rye whiskey the official spirit of the Commonwealth
Updated: 7:45 AM EDT Oct 31, 2025
A Pennsylvania lawmaker is seeking to make rye whiskey the official spirit of the Commonwealth, according to the memo. Sen. Camera Bartolotta of Senate District 46 announced plans to introduce legislation to designate Pennsylvania rye whiskey as the state’s official spirit, emphasizing its historical roots and local production methods. Bartolotta explained that rye whiskey has deep roots in Pennsylvania’s history, with local distillers defining the American whiskey tradition through bold, spicy Monongahela-style Rye. Bartolotta noted that the legacy of rye whiskey endures today, as craft distillers produce it using local grains and traditional methods. To be considered Pennsylvania rye whiskey, it must contain at least 60% rye grain, with 75% of all grains used grown by Pennsylvania farmers, the memo stated. The whiskey must be sweet-mashed, reflecting historic Pennsylvania production techniques, and entered into the barrel at no higher than 110 proof to preserve the full-bodied character traditional to Pennsylvania rye. Additionally, it must be mashed, fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled entirely within the boundaries of the Commonwealth, according to the memo.Bartolotta said these parameters honor both the heritage of Pennsylvania distilling, including support for local agriculture and small businesses, and the strengthening of the state’s reputation for craftsmanship.
A Pennsylvania lawmaker is seeking to make rye whiskey the official spirit of the Commonwealth, according to the memo.
Sen. Camera Bartolotta of Senate District 46 announced plans to introduce legislation to designate Pennsylvania rye whiskey as the state’s official spirit, emphasizing its historical roots and local production methods.
Bartolotta explained that rye whiskey has deep roots in Pennsylvania’s history, with local distillers defining the American whiskey tradition through bold, spicy Monongahela-style Rye. Bartolotta noted that the legacy of rye whiskey endures today, as craft distillers produce it using local grains and traditional methods.
To be considered Pennsylvania rye whiskey, it must contain at least 60% rye grain, with 75% of all grains used grown by Pennsylvania farmers, the memo stated. The whiskey must be sweet-mashed, reflecting historic Pennsylvania production techniques, and entered into the barrel at no higher than 110 proof to preserve the full-bodied character traditional to Pennsylvania rye. Additionally, it must be mashed, fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled entirely within the boundaries of the Commonwealth, according to the memo.
Bartolotta said these parameters honor both the heritage of Pennsylvania distilling, including support for local agriculture and small businesses, and the strengthening of the state’s reputation for craftsmanship.