iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Activists worry Trump will send ICE to disrupt 2026 midterms. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta has a bill to ban federal agents at Pa. polls. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/mi…

000

Carlos Moreno says Cambria County Prison ignored his requests for his hearing aids and cane. At home in Schuylkill County, his growing family suffered. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

000

ICE detained a disabled dad after a noise complaint. A county jail let him languish, he says. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

000

Pennsylvania voting advocates are preparing for ICE to disrupt the 2026 election www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/mi…

000

Meta settlement could spark battle over who controls the money, how it’s spent www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

010

Su guía de voto por correo para las elecciones generales 2026 en Pensilvania: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

000

Here’s everything you need to know about voting by mail in Pennsylvania: www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

000

Pensilvania tiene voto por correo universal. Aprenda todo lo que necesita saber sobre el proceso antes de las elecciones generales del 3 de noviembre. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

000

Pennsylvania has universal no-excuse mail voting. Here’s everything you need to know about the process ahead of the Nov. 3 election. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

063

Pa. is getting at least $516M from a Meta settlement. It could spark a political fight. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/pe…

111

Last panel Ideas Fest :"From Scroll to Follow: How to Build an Audience on Social Media" Alexa Freyman, of Berksiana (formerly Berks Nostalgia) www.facebook.com/Berksiana Anthony Matz, Berks County Views www.facebook.com/BerksCountyViews

000

From the Spotlight PA Ideas Fest panel on "Green Space for All: Lessons from Pennsylvania Communities:" In a city that experiences flooding like Reading, urban gardens are "first and foremost" water management infrastructure, city sustainability manager Bethany Ayers Fisher.

021

“There is no end game right now. It is how do we manage it together in the best way possible,” Dan Cody says, because there are an estimated 30-40 million community cats, and only about 2% are spayed or neutered. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Unlike other states, PA does not have government operated animal shelters, Steven Martinez says. Municipalities do not have to sign contracts with the nonprofit shelters, which can impact their income and ability to operate, he adds. #BerksIdeasFest

010

“Cats are going to be in the community, whether we like it or not,” Steven Martinez says. But, he says it’s important to decide how communities will approach them and limit harm. #BerksIdeasFest

000

The Titus Development data center is planned to take up about 50 acres, but the setbacks are “meaningless” in its case because the closest residential neighbors are about a mile away, Joe D’Ascenzo says, so it will be in compliance. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Thousands of people will be employed to build the data center, but there will be fewer employees when it’s built, D’Ascenzo says of the Titus Development center. He tells attendees he cannot discuss who will be the final user of the center if it is completed. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Muth says there aren’t many state resources for how to handle data centers, but Showers says Berks County has advice planning documents that can help municipalities plan. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Ashley Showers, of the Berks County Planning Commission, says that vacant warehouses could be redeveloped to data centers — but they have to go through the permitting process. #BerksIdeasFest

000

“It’s not about (data) storage. It’s about processing,” says Joe D’Ascenzo. He adds that the Amazon purchases we make, the searches we do, all go through data centers. The technology varies. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Technology is continually changing which affects how big data centers need to be related to the amount of energy they use. Panel experts say that makes it hard to conceptualize how much space a data center may take up. #BerksIdeasFest

001

Set back requirements (distance from other buildings) mean that only smaller data centers could be possible in Reading, Wayne Jonas Bealer says. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Wayne Jonas Bealer, with the Reading Planning Commission, kicks us off by talking about the City Council’s 180-day moratorium on data center development to allow for time to enact a zoning ordinance. He says they expect a tight deadline because of how complicated the issue is. #BerksIdeasFest

000

Data Centers: What’s coming, what’s at stake. Live at the Goggleworks Boscov Theater right now and available later on BCTV and our YouTube page.

011

#BerksIdeasFest Tammy White, president of the United Way of Berks County, says the honorees "remind us that service is not a one-way transaction .... we learn, we grow we understand our community a little bit better."

012

Monica Reyes, Berks County Community Foundation vice president, says about the Spotlight Community honorees: "They remind us that leadership doesn't have to come with a title."

011