[naviga:h3]Ex-Republican state lawmaker to run for lt. governor[/naviga:h3]

HARRISBURG — A second Republican is getting into the race for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

Ex-state Rep. Gordon Denlinger of Lancaster County said Tuesday that he’ll seek the party’s nomination in next year’s election.

The 54-year-old accountant served 12 years in the House. Already seeking the nomination is suburban Philadelphia real estate investor Jeffrey Bartos, who dropped his candidacy for U.S. Senate.

March 6 is the deadline for major party candidates to file paperwork for the May 15 primary election ballot.

Five Democrats have lined up to contest the re-election bid of the party’s sitting lieutenant governor, Mike Stack.

Stack is a former Philadelphia state senator. He has little working relationship with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who stripped Stack of police protection after receiving complaints about Stack’s treatment of state employees.

[naviga:h3]Legislature agrees to nearly $250K to settle case[/naviga:h3]

HARRISBURG — Two newspapers are reporting that Pennsylvania House Democrats paid nearly a quarter-million in taxpayer dollars to settle a sex harassment claim against a long-time state representative.

Newspapers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh reported a 2015 payment settled an employee’s complaint against Rep. Thomas Caltagirone of Berks County. He’s been in the Legislature for 40 years.

The newspapers cited a document prepared by the state’s Bureau of Risk and Insurance Management. It said House Democrats authorized paying $165,500 to the unidentified woman and $82,500 to her lawyer.

The woman and her lawyer declined comment. The 75-year-old lawmaker didn’t return calls.

House Democrats confirmed last month they paid $30,000 in 2013 to end a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former employee against former Rep. Jewell Williams, now Philadelphia’s sheriff.