Saturday, May 9, 2026 (Season 1 | Episode 8)

This week on Centre Access: A look at what could come next for the SCI Rockview land after the prison's March closure. Months after a burst pipe at The Maxxen, residents are still displaced and frustrated. A local developer lays out his vision to remake the Nittany Mall. The Pennsylvania House passes a bill that would let PIAA split public and private school playoffs. Centre Gives raises more than $3 million in community impact across 36 hours. And contra dancing returns to State College. Plus, "Documenters on the Bus" continues. This week, how on-time performance shifts township by township.

🔗 LINKS TO THIS WEEK'S STORIES

• A Centre County Developer Wants to Buy and Revitalize the Nittany Mall. Here’s His Vision for It, reporting by Geoff Rushton, StateCollege.com
• State College high-rise pipe burst led to long hotel stays, financial stress, residents say, reporting by Halie Kines, Centre Daily Times
• Pa. House Passes Bill allowing PIAA to Split Public, Private High School Playoffs, reporting by Geoff Rushton, StateCollege.com
• Pa. House Passes bill allowing PIAA to Split Public, Private Playoffs, reporting by Austin Hertzon, PennLive
• Pa Lawmakers Advance legislation for Potential Overhaul of state's High School Sports Playoff Format, reporting by Tyann Bell, WJAC-TV
• Centre County DA reviewing dozens of cases after police officer admits to false reports, reporting by Bret Pallotto and Josh Moyer, Centre Daily Times
• How Centre Foundation Helps Turn Local Generosity Into Lasting Impact, reporting by Elton Hayes, StateCollege.com
• Swing Your Partner Again: State College’s Contra Dance Scene Is Back, Welcoming Beginners, Families and Musicians, reporting by Karen Dabney, StateCollege.com

📋 CENTRE DOCUMENTERS

• This week's roundup is a continuation of "Documenters on the Bus," the joint report from Centre Documenters and the News Lab assessing CATA. Read the full report.
• If this week's story on the PIAA bill sounded familiar, you'd be right. You're likely recalling two Documenters roundups from earlier in the season when the Penns Valley Area School Board first weighed House Bill 41, with discussion centered on wrestling and basketball and player safety in contact sports, and later approved a formal resolution in support. Centre Access has followed this story from the local level to the state House. Listen back: [February 21, 2026] | [March 20, 2026]

🎁 OTHER RECOMMENDED READING

• Centre Gives
• Pennsylvania House Bill 41, an act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in interscholastic athletics accountability, providing for playoffs and championships. Read the full text of the bill.

Saturday, May 2, 2026 (Season 1 | Episode 7)

This week on Centre Access, News Lab reporters share their months-long investigation into rising vaccination exemption rates across rural Pennsylvania — and what's behind the return of measles. We also cover Centre County's mixed grades in the American Lung Association's annual air quality report, a $300,000 state grant boosting youth mental health programming at the Jana Marie Foundation, Penn State's plan to cut 49 of its 403 undergraduate programs, a Spring Township police officer's resignation over falsified reports, and a local theatre company staging its first-ever musical in Bellefonte.

🔗 LINKS TO THIS WEEK'S STORIES

• Almost Half of America’s Kids Are Breathing Toxic Air , reporting by Keerti Gopal, Inside Climate News
• Takac: $300K boost for Jana Marie Foundation to serve 500 Centre County youth, a press release by Rep. Paul Takac, PA House Democrats
• Jana Marie Foundation to bolster summer programs, after-school clubs with $300K grant, reporting by Jacob Michael, Centre Daily Times
• Penn State defends hiring of McKinsey & Company as consultant, reporting by Anne Danahy, WPSU
• Centre County DA reviewing dozens of cases after police officer admits to false reports, reporting by Bret Pallotto and Josh Moyer, Centre Daily Times
• American Lung Association's annual 'State of the Air' report shows mixed results for central Pennsylvania, reporting by Anne Danahy, WPSU
• Dauphin County 1 of only 20 counties in the U.S. to fail air quality study, Tom Lehman, WGAL-8
• Pa. Commission on Crime and Delinquency grants $300K to Jana Marie Foundation, reporting by NCPA Staff, NorthcentralPA.com
• Penn State leaders weigh cutting 12% of academic programs this fall, reporting by Maddie Aiken, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Tribune Content Agency, Centre Daily Times
• DA: Centre County police officer resigns after allegedly adding false info into reports, reporting by Courtney Raynor, WTAJ
• Centre County Theater Company to Stage Its First Musical, reporting by SC.com Staff, Statecollege.com

📋 CENTRE DOCUMENTERS

Documenters didn't cover any meetings this week, but we discuss Documenters on the Bus and CATA's response to the full report.

🎁 OTHER RECOMMENDED READING

3 Pa. counties rank among nation’s worst for air pollution, study finds, reporting by Keerti Gopal, SpotlightPA

Saturday, April 25, 2025 (Season 1 | Episode 6)

This week on Centre Access: a News Lab team examines how America's official homelessness count falls short, especially in rural communities. Detainees at Pennsylvania's largest immigration detention facility launched a hunger strike over conditions inside. A look at the automated license plate reader cameras quietly rolling out on and around University Park. Happy Valley Casino soft-launches with a public preview over Blue and White weekend, even as community members raise concerns. Fans heading to Beaver Stadium will navigate the major renovation in progress. And hundreds of volunteers turned out for ClearWater Conservancy's Annual Watershed Cleanup Day.

🔗 LINKS TO THIS WEEK'S STORIES

• ‘Something is fundamentally wrong:’ Detainees start hunger strike at Pa. ICE facility, reporting by Vida Lashgari and Joy Donald, for PennLive
• After ICE detainees in Pa. went on a hunger strike, officials put them in solitary confinement, reporting by Vida Lashgari, for PennLive
• Flock cameras on campus raise privacy, transparency concerns, reporting by Jonathon Chiu, Daily Collegian
• Penn State Piloting License Plate Readers: What to Know About ALPR Cameras on Campus, reporting by Evan Halfen, statecollege.com
• Happy Valley Casino offering public ‘first look’, while supporting local nonprofits, reporting by Cortney Raynor, WTAJ
• Letters: ‘Informed Awareness’ About Gambling; Casino’s Compelled Test Day Donations; GT vs. Planned Parenthood, op-eds published on statecollege.com
• Opinion: There’s Plenty That’s Not ‘Happy’ About Our Valley’s New Casino, op-ed by Bill Horlacher, statecollege.com
• What to expect in Beaver Stadium for Blue-White practice as construction continues, reporting by Jon Sauber, Centre Daily Times
• More than 800 volunteers took part in Centre County’s Watershed Cleanup Day. Take a look, reporting by Esteban Marenco, for the Centre Daily Times

📋 CENTRE DOCUMENTERS

Full notes from this week's public meetings are at centredocumenters.org.

This week's meetings:

• MEETING — State College Area School District Board of Directors

🎁 OTHER RECOMMENDED READING

DeFlock map showing Flock’s automated license plate reader cameras in University Park, PA

Documenters on the Bus, a Centre Documenters special project report