>>Pennsylvania State Senate Approves Of New Bill On Limiting Disaster Declarations
(Harrisburg, PA) -- A proposed constitutional amendment is earning another victory after it was approved by the Pennsylvania State Senate. The state Senate voted in favor of Senate Bill Two yesterday 28-to-20. The proposed bill would limit the amount of time future disaster declarations have as well as needing the general assembly's approval to go into effect. Emergency declarations called for by the Governor currently last up to 90 days, while the new bill would limit it to about 21 days. The bill must be approved by the general assembly in two sessions before it can move onto the ballot for residents to vote on.
>>Rise Of Positive COVID-19 Cases In Pennsylvania
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Positive COVID-19 cases are increasing in Pennsylvania. The state's Department of Health announced over 4,600 new cases yesterday. There have now been over 812,000 confirmed positive cases in the state since the beginning of the pandemic. 219 more people also passed away due to complications of the coronavirus.
>>Free Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Site In Carlisle
(Carlisle, PA) -- Free COVID-19 testing is going to be available for residents at a site in Cumberland County. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced yesterday that a site will be opening at the Army Heritage Education Center located at nine-50 Soldiers Drive in Carlisle. Free COVID-19 testing will be available from nine-in-the-morning until six-in-the-afternoon starting tomorrow. The site is expected to remain open until at least this coming Monday. Patients are being encouraged to bring a photo I-D or insurance card, and testing will be done on a first-come, first-served basis.
>>York Township Crash Kills One Man
(York Township, PA) -- One man is dead after a single-car crash in York Township. The accident happened along Queenswood Drive near Maplewood Drive and Bristol Drive yesterday morning. Authorities say an 87-year-old man lost control of his vehicle and went off-road before hitting a metal fence and flipping over. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
>>Teenager Arrested In Connection To Fatal Robbery In Harrisburg
(Harrisburg, PA) -- A teenager is being charged in connection to a fatal robbery in Harrisburg. Harrisburg Police arrested 15-year-old Azmere Green yesterday for allegedly being involved in a November robbery in Allison Hill that left a 57-year-old man dead. Green is facing multiple charges including second-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. A 17-year-old co-defendant involved in the same crime has also been arrested and is being charged with homicide and robbery.
>>Mechanicsburg Woman Accused Of Endangering The Welfare Of Her Child
(Fairview Twp., PA) -- A 26-year-old from Mechanicsburg is accused of endangering the welfare of her child. Brittany Simpson’s four-year-old son was treated at York Hospital after she disciplined him. The boy allegedly wrapped a jump rope around another child’s neck, with Simpson then putting the rope around the boy’s neck and tightening it. She also admitted to slapping her son in the face.
>>Penn Manor Shifts High School To Full Remote Learning
(Penn Manor, PA) --Penn Manor High School is shifting to full remote learning. School officials are making the move due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the school. Some students will return for their Keystone exams on February 1st.
>>Reading Mayor Eddie Moran To Hold State Of The City Address Friday
(Reading, PA) -- Reading Mayor Eddie Moran is preparing to address the city soon. Mayor Moran announced yesterday that he will be holding his State of the City address this Friday at three-in-the-afternoon. The address will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel on Penn Street. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only invited guests will be able to attend in-person, but the address will be streamed live for the public on Mayor Moran's official Facebook page.
>>Boyertown Area School District Appoints New Leadership
(Boyertown, PA) -- Boyertown Area School District is welcoming a new leader this year. The school board voted to appoint new district superintendent Marybeth Torchia yesterday. While Torchia has been serving as the district's acting superintendent since the last one resigned this past July, her five-year contract will be made effective this summer. In her first order of business, Torchia says she will be extending in-person instruction at the high school to four days a week starting this coming Monday.
>>House Fire In Kutztown
(Kutztown, PA) -- Authorities are investigating the cause of a house fire in Kutztown that left two residents displaced. The fire happened yesterday afternoon at a split-level home in the 600-block of Luella Drive. Officials say two residents were able to escape safely and are currently being assisted by the American Red Cross.
>>Spring Township To Add LED Streetlights At Shiloh Hills Park
(Spring Township, PA) -- Spring Township is trying to make Shiloh Hills Park a little brighter this year. Spring Township supervisors approved of purchasing about 43-thousand-dollars' worth of LED lights from Fromm Electric Supply in Reading. The supervisors say PPL Electric Utilities will be replacing 480 streetlights this year for no cost. The project is expected to take up to three months to complete.
>>Two People Accused Of Running Meth Lab In Lancaster County Hotel Room
(East Lampeter Township, PA) -- Two people are being accused of running a meth lab out of a hotel room in Lancaster County. A 35-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were charged yesterday with felony counts of operating a meth lab, risking a catastrophe, and manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Police say the couple was running a meth lab from a second-floor room at the Econo Lodge located in the 2,100-block of Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township. Both of their preliminary hearings will be held later today.
>>Pennsylvanians, Governor Frustrated Over COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
(Williamsport, PA) -- Pennsylvanians, including Governor Tom Wolf, are frustrated with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and short supply. Wolf says they assumed the state was going to have an expanded supply, but that didn't materialize as he wanted to expand vaccine eligibility last week to people over 65 and people between 16 and 64 with chronic medical conditions. So far, the state is only receiving about 143-thousand doses of the vaccine from the federal government per week and is lagging behind 35 other states in rate of doses administered. Despite the current flow, the governor is confident the Biden Administration will soon speed up the vaccine rollout, which will improve the distribution rate in Pennsylvania.
>>Woman Accused Of Stealing Pelosi's Laptop Must Remain Offline
(Harrisburg, PA) -- The Harrisburg woman accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop during the riot at the nation's capital on January 6th is being ordered to stay off the internet. Yesterday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui ordered Riley June Williams to stay off the internet, saying she is too much of a cyber risk to be allowed free access. Williams can only use the internet to contact her lawyer, and her mother has to monitor her as part of her release conditions. Her next court hearing is slated for March.
>>Scranton Fire Leaves Over A Dozen People Displaced
(Scranton, PA) -- Over a dozen people are displaced after a fire tore through an apartment building in Scranton yesterday evening. Officials say they were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. yesterday after reports of a fire at a double block home on East Gibson Street. The flames ripped through the roof of the building, burned through walls and shot out through the windows. Crews eventually put out the flames with no one was injured, but between 13 to 15 residents were displaced. The Red Cross is working with those impacted by the fire, and the cause is still being investigated.