>>Positive COVID-19 Cases Increasing in Pennsylvania
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Positive COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise in Pennsylvania. The state's Department of Health reported over four-thousand new positive cases yesterday. The total number of cases has now surpassed 876,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. There were also 149 deaths reported yesterday linked to complications of the coronavirus.
>>Governor Wolf Calls for Minimum Wage Increase
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Governor Tom Wolf is showing his support to increase Pennsylvania's minimum wage. Governor Wolf announced yesterday that he is calling for the state to increase the minimum wage to 12-dollars per hour starting this July. Wolf's proposed plan would add fifty-cent increases to the minimum wage rate every year until 2027 when it reaches 15-dollars per hour. He also proposed an income tax cut that would affect almost three-million citizens in the state.
>>Governor Wolf Renews State's Opioid Disaster Declaration
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Governor Tom Wolf is renewing the state's opioid disaster declaration again. The governor's administration announced yesterday that he signed the 13th renewal of his 2018 opioid disaster declaration. The declaration helps Pennsylvania battle against its opioid and heroin epidemic by allowing the state to work outside of typical procedures to treat and prevent opioid use. Officials say the declaration is a critical tool in developing needs of treatment to save lives in the state.
>>Court of Judicial Discipline Suspends Harrisburg Judge Without Pay
(Harrisburg, PA) -- A magisterial district judge in Harrisburg is being suspended without pay due to her actions during her son's arrest by city police last year. The Court of Judicial Discipline suspended Judge Sonya McKnight yesterday. The decision to suspend the judge was requested by the state's Judicial Conduct Board earlier this week. The board is charging McKnight for allegedly violating rules of conduct by district judges after she intervened with her son's traffic stop about a year ago.
>>Wellspan Health to Allow One Family Member or Support Person to Visit Patients
(York, PA) -- Wellspan Health is going to allow one family member or support person to visit patients soon. The health system announced yesterday that it will allow limited visitation at inpatient, emergency department, clinic visits and outpatient locations beginning today. Officials say the change to the system's visitation policy was made after positive COVID-19 cases decreased in south-central Pennsylvania.
>>Carlisle Woman Accused In Death Of Husband Adds Social Security Fraud Charges
(Carlisle, PA) -- A woman from Carlisle already accused in the death of her husband is now facing social security fraud charges. A grand jury indicted 69-year-old Virginia Hayden after she didn’t tell the S-S-A her husband was missing, yet still collected over $113,000 in benefits. She was charged in April 2019 for the murder of her husband.
>>Work Begins On Lancaster County Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
(Lancaster, PA) -- Officials with Lancaster County Emergency Management and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health are working on a plan to set up a mass COVID-19 vaccination site in the county. While it’s unclear where the site would be, they are looking to vaccinate six-thousand people a day seven days a week starting March 15th. The plan is still dependent upon the vaccine supply.
>>Hanover Residents Warned Fake Cop Scam
(Hanover, PA) -- Residents in Hanover are being warned about a scammer identifying himself as a police officer. Cops say the man is calling victims to say they’ve missed a court appearance and a warrant is out for their arrest, but they can clear the issues with a wire transfer or gift card. Police say anyone who gets a similar call should hang up and call 911.
>>Newberry Township Cops Get Body Cameras
(Newberry Twp., PA) --Police in Newberry Township are now equipped with body cameras. Officials say the cameras help to increase transparency and build trust with the community. The cameras were bought thanks in part to a grant from the US Department of Justice, the Pennsylvania Chiefs’ of Police Association, and the PA Commissioner on Crime and Delinquency.
>>Free COVID-19 Testing Clinic to Be Set Up in Berks County
(Wyomissing, PA) -- A free COVID-19 testing clinic is going to be set up in Berks County soon. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced yesterday that it will be hosting a drive-thru testing clinic at Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom's Synagogue in Wyomissing. The clinic will be open starting this Saturday from nine-in-the-morning until six-in-the-afternoon. Officials say that testing will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is no appointment or doctor's order needed. Patients are being encouraged to bring a photo I-D or insurance card.
>>Reading Parking Authority Reduces City's Parking Meter Rate
(Reading, PA) -- Reading Parking Authority is going to temporarily reduce the rate of the city's parking meters. The authority announced yesterday that it will be cutting the hourly rates in half starting March First. The new rates will go from two-dollars to one-dollar and will be in place throughout the year until August. Mayor Eddie Moran says he made the request to reduce the rates due to the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.
>>Family of Seven Displaced After House Fire in Reading
(Reading, PA) -- The Red Cross is currently assisting a family of seven who was displaced by a house fire in Reading. The fire happened yesterday afternoon in the 800 block of North Eighth Street. While firefighters were able to defeat the blaze rather quickly, the home was deemed uninhabitable because of damage done to its electrical wiring. Nobody was reported injured.
>>Black Knight Tavern in Lancaster County Catches on Fire
(East Hempfield Township, PA) -- Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that heavily damaged the Black Knight Tavern in East Hempfield Township. The fire happened early yesterday morning at the building located in the 300 block of East Main Street in Landisville. While the residents were able to escape the blaze, one firefighter was taken to Lancaster General Hospital for a non-life threatening injury. Five people were displaced by the fire and are being assisted by the Red Cross.
>>Missing Teenager in Lancaster County
(Columbia, PA) -- Police are asking the public for help in finding a missing teenager in Lancaster County. Fifteen-year-old Kaelene Burgess was reported missing Saturday evening. Officials say she is known to hang out around the 800 block of Prangley Avenue in Lancaster, but she may be moving around to avoid being found. Anyone with any information on her whereabouts is being asked to contact the Columbia Borough Police Department.
>>Allentown Man Arrested For Allegedly Lighting Woman On Fire
(Allentown, PA) -- An Allentown man is in police custody for allegedly lighting a woman on fire Monday evening. Police say around 5 p.m. on Monday, they were dispatched to the one-hundred-block of North 7th Street and arrived to a woman running while on fire. An officer extinguished the flames, but the officer and the woman suffered burn-related injuries. After the flames were extinguished, officers located Michael Negron, who was in possession of a gas can and lighter, then apprehended him without further incident. The officer and woman were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital. Negron is facing charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.
>>Former Northampton Community College Staff Member Caught With Child Porn
(Allentown, PA) -- A former Northampton Community College staff member is admitting to being caught with child porn by two students. Officials say a year ago, two students spotted an image on Alan West's computer, which appeared to be an explicit photo of young girl. During the police investigation, West told officers he wasn't into child porn, but he later admitted to the college's public safety director that officers would find child pornography on his computer. He pleaded guilty yesterday in court to possession of child pornography and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5th.
>>Update: Autopsy Results For Body Found By I-80 Released
(White Deer, PA) -- Police are revealing the cause of death and more details in the case of the woman's body that was found along the off-ramp for Interstate-80 in White Deer Township on Sunday. Police say Rebecca Landrith was a former model and was shot multiple times before her body was found. She was shot in the neck, throat and head. Investigators are still trying to determine how she ended up in Pennsylvania, but it was revealed she appeared in over 50 fashion shows and modeled for many photographers for over a decade before her death.
>>Charges Not Being Filed Against Schuylkill County Commissioner
(Schuylkill County, PA) -- Despite two women accusing him of harassment, Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage is not facing any charges. The state attorney announced yesterday that he will not file any charges against him for his alleged harassment. The two women accusing him say he screamed at them and harassed them in 2014 and 2016, but Halcovage denied any wrongdoings. However, back in July, he stepped down as chairman of the Schuylkill County Commissioners.