>Employment Picture Continues To Improve Across Pennsylvania
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Unemployment rates across Pennsylvania have continued to decline as shown in figures released for last month. Area data made public by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry on Tuesday shows the state's unemployment rate was down .3 percentage points over the month to 5.1% in February. It is Pennsylvania's lowest rate since just before the start of the pandemic in 2020 and marks the 22nd consecutive month without an unemployment rate increase.
>>Pennsylvania A.G. Part of Group Asking to Eliminate Overdraft Fees
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Pennsylvania's attorney general Josh Shapiro is part of a group of other A-Gs asking banks to eliminate overdraft fees. The 18 attorneys general from across the country want JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and US Bancorp to do away with the fees by summer. Shapiro says overdraft fees are harmful to the most vulnerable customers and eliminating them would provide immediate financial help.
>>Body Shop Bill Would Help ID Hit and Run Drivers
(Harrisburg, PA) -- A bill that will soon go to the floor of the state senate aims to help police identify drivers involved in hit and run crashes via notices in state body shops. It calls for the creation of an alert system to notify repair shops to be on the lookout for cars involved in crashes that had a serious injury or death. The Senate Law & Justice Committee approved the measure Tuesday; it next heads to the full Senate for consideration.
>>Woman Found Guilty Of Leaving Dead Grandma in Freezer, Collecting her Checks
(York, PA) -- A 63-year-old York County woman has been found guilty of leaving her dead grandmother in a freezer in order to collect her Social Security checks. Cynthia Black was found guilty of a misdemeanor count of abuse of a corpse and felony counts of receiving stolen property and theft by deception. Prosecutors say Black admitted to police she had been receiving the checks for her grandmother, Glenora Delahay for three years.
>>Young Father Charged In His Child's Death
(Harrisburg, PA) -- A 20-year-old man has been arraigned on charges that he tried to kill his two-month-old son. Police said Wednesday that Fonte Dupree Carrier had been charged last month with criminal homicide and child endangerment. No details about the infant's death have been released. Dauphin County prosecutors said at his arraignment Tuesday that Carrier was being denied bail because of the seriousness of his alleged offenses.
>> Family Tries To Raise Funds For Young Woman Accused Of Killing Pedestrian, Two Officers
(Harrisburg, PA) -- The family of the 21-year-old woman who is charged in a crash that killed two Pennsylvania state troopers and a pedestrian is trying to raise money online for her defense. Jayana Webb's relatives are reportedly trying to raise money through Cash App after a GoFundMe account was shut down. Prosecutors say Webb, who is from Eagleville, was driving under the influence at the time of the incident on I-95, just two weeks after bragging on Twitter about "being good at being a drunk driver."
>>York Haven Man Dies As Driver Loses Control Of Car
(York County, PA) -- A 31-year-old man from York Haven has died as a passenger in a car that went out of control. Devon Mansberger died at the scene just west of Granite Station Road late Tuesday afternoon. Police say it's not clear what caused driver Aiden Bower of Red Lion to veer off the roadway, strike a utility pole and then go over an embankment. The extent of Bower's injuries hasn't been released.
>>Stray Bullet From Two Blocks Away Hits Girl In Leg
( Harrisburg, PA) -- Police say it was stray gunfire from two blocks away that hit a 12-year-old girl in the leg. Her parents tell Pennlive.com their daughter had been returning home from a park early Saturday night when they heard her screaming outside their home near 5th and Woodbine Streets. Police say they've now been able to determine the gunfire came from 5th and Emerald streets, about two blocks away. The girl is expected to be okay.
>>Gas Prices Going Down A Little In Dauphin County
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Prices for gas in the capitol area are continuing to go down, if only by a little bit. Market watchers say the average price for a gallon of gas as of Thursday is $4.26. A week ago, the price of a gallon was $4.30. Nationally, gas sits at $4.16 cents on average.
>>Move To Make Hershey's Kiss PA's Official Candy Gains Ground In State Senate
(Hershey, PA) -- A state senate committee has advanced a three-page bill that would make the Hershey's Kiss Pennsylvania's official state candy. The Senate State Government Committee voted ten-to-one to send the idea to the full chamber for consideration. The group of Bucks County high school students who lobbied lawmakers for the legislation got to attend the hearing Wednesday in which the measure was advanced.
>>Lebanon City Police Start Card, Donation Campaign For Fallen Officer
(Lebanon City, PA) -- Officers with the Lebanon Police Department have created a drop box for the family of a fallen officer and his colleagues. Lieutenant William Lebo was responding to a domestic incident at a home on Forest Street last week when the suspect opened fire and shot him and two other officers. Lebo was set to retire on May 1st. The drop box is now available in the lobby of the police department for anyone who wants to send a card to his family or the families of the other officers, who are recovering.
>>Maryland Man Charged With DUI, Manslaughter After Crash In Lancaster County
(Lancaster County, PA) -- A Maryland man has been charged with homicide by vehicle after a deadly crash in Lancaster County Monday morning. State Police say Christofer Pineda-Gasca may also have been drunk when he was fleeing from a traffic stop. His car struck another vehicle at the Conestoga Christian School in Caernarvon Township, killing driver Alicia Whisler of Mohnton. A five-year-old passenger in her car was also hurt but is expected to be okay.
>>Reading Schools Get Visit by State Superintendent
(Reading, PA) - The state superintendent of schools has been pushing for education funding and environmental education in the Reading School District. Education Secretary Noe Ortega got to see how students at Amanda Stout Elementary use rain barrels and raised gardens to learn more about ecology and how things grow interdependently in his stop there Wednesday. Ortega says such projects are innovative uses of state funding.
>>County Farms Get More Than $1M In State Funding
(Lancaster County, PA) -- Two Lancaster County farms are receiving more than a million dollars in state funding. The $1.5 million in low-interest financing is part of the Next Generation Farmer Loan Program. Governor Tom Wolf says John and Sadie King, of East Drumore Township and Ashton and Lorielle Weaver of Fulton Township are the latest recipients of the program.
>>Reading Fire Chief Looks Forward To Retirement
(Reading, PA) -- Reading Fire Chief William Stoudt Junior says he's done a lot in his 40 years with the department. But he'll only have a few more weeks to gather more memories as his retirement is set to start at the end of this month. Stoudt tells WFMZ-TV he's always been close to the action on the job but will look forward to being away from the calls and scanners. Stoudt took over as chief in 2014. There's no word yet on the City's process to find his replacement.
>>COVID-19 Hospitalizations Starting to Creep Upward Again
(Harrisburg, PA) -- State health officials say even though area hospitalizations for COVID have been down in the past month, they're starting to creep back up again. The CDC says the new subvariant, labeled BA.2, is the dominant strain now for COVID infections. The state officials say even though the number of hospitalizations is down nearly 57% in the past month, they've increased nearly eight percent over the last week.
>>Fire Ruled Accidental in Hellertown Sisters' Deaths
(Hellertown, PA) -- Northampton County officials have ruled that the house fire that killed two Hellertown sisters was an accident. District Attorney Terry Houck said Wednesday that the exact cause of the fire has yet to be released because the investigation is continuing. Funeral services for 15-year-old Brianna Baer and 10-year-old Abigail Kaufman will be Sunday.