>>PA Remains Free of Avian Flu Pathogen
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Pennsylvania state officials say the commonwealth currently remains free of the avian influenza pathogen known as H-P-A-I. However, federal experts say other areas of the country, primarily in the western and midwestern states, have not been as fortunate. Since October 1st, 14 other states have reported H-P-A-I detections, but none of them share borders with Pennsylvania. However, State Department of Agriculture inspectors have encountered several instances of lax biosecurity.
>>UAW Employees At Mack Trucks Vote On New Contract Wednesday
(Lower Macungie, PA) -- United Auto Workers at Mack Trucks say they'll likely vote Wednesday on a proposed contract. The balloting will include the master agreement Mack previously offered, as well as the local agreement covering the roughly 23-hundred UAW workers at Mack's assembly plant in Lower Macungie Township. Company officials say the contract is its "last, best and final offer." Union members entered their sixth week of the strike Monday.
>>Bill Would Make State School Disclose What Material Contains Sexually-Explicit Content
((Harrisburg, PA)-- A state Senate-passed bill would compel schools to disclose what material is available to students that contains sexually-explicit content. Senate Republicans passed bills Tuesday that would require schools to disclose information about the publications or materials. It would also require schools to post curriculum online. Senate Bill 7 would only allow students to access those materials if their parents "opt-in" to allowing them to do so.
>>Woman Scammed Out of 90-Thousand-Dollars
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Pennsylvania State Police say a 49-year-old woman from Wernersville has been scammed out of 90-thousand-dollars. According to police, she was a former state hospital employee who said the suspect "defrauded" her in a deferred compensation plan. She says it happened over a period of time from July 2020 to December of last year. Police say the suspect left the company at that time and might now be residing somewhere else in Pennsylvania or Oklahoma.
>>New Christmas Movie Being Filmed in Bethlehem
(Bethlehem, PA) -- The film "St. Nick of Bethlehem" has begun shooting on location in Christmas City. Hollywood director actor Daniel Roebuck, who is from Bethlehem, also plays the title character. The first scenes started shooting Monday afternoon at the Snow Goose Gallery. Roebuck tells LehighValleyNews-dot-com that shooting will last about a week. Some city locations you might see in the movie include the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, Saint Luke's Children Hospital and the Kiffle Kitchen Bakery in Bath. Also, you can visit the Star of Bethlehem, Christkindlmarkt at SteelStacks and other businesses on Main Street to see how they were used in the movie. Producers say it will be released by Christmas of next year.
>>SERVPRO Signs on Sponsorship for Penn State Athletics, Football
(State College, PA) -- The cleanup and restoration company SERVPRO has signed on as a corporate sponsor for Penn State Athletics and Penn State Football. The school and its multimedia rightsholder, Penn State Sports Properties say the partnership will brand SERVPRO, a 56-year-old company, as the "Official Cleanup and Restoration Sponsor of both Penn State Athletics and Penn State Football." SERVPRO's business mostly offers fire and water cleanup and restoration services, but also involves construction, mold mitigation and biohazard remediation.