Harrisburg Bishop Ronald Gainer says his diocese is filing for bankruptcy protection. He says it wasn't an easy decision to make. "This difficult decision was made after countless hours of prayer, consultation and careful deliberation with our financial experts, attorneys and with the unanimous approval of those bodies that is required," says Gainer. He says the Harrisburg diocese was already struggling financially before a grand jury report on sexual abuse across the state's Roman Catholic church. That report led the diocese to shell out $12 million to more than 100 victims, which in turn led to Wednesday's announcement.
The owner of the Maingate Night Club in Allentown has received some good news. Allentown City Council has voted unanimously to ask the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to exempt the club and other West End Theatre District establishments from state noise ordinances. Dominic Germano says if the LCB says no, he's finished. "The only way I could survive is if we get the nightclub up and running again," Germano. Maingate closed last December after various noise violations, which jeopardize the business's liquor license.
Several homes are damaged following a fire in Allentown Wednesday night. Crews responded to the multi-alarm fire on West Sycamore Street off of Front Street, where they tried to prevent it from spreading down a row of homes. There are no reports of injuries.
A 27-year-old Allentown man faces child pornography charges. Investigators say they found more than 1000 images of child porn, including nude girls ages 8 to 10 engaged in sexual acts with men, on devices owned by Tyler Dietrich of North 37th Street. Dietrich was sent to Lehigh County jail under $35,000 bail.
A Trans-Bridge bus went up in flames this morning on I-78 in New Jersey. The bus burned on the eastbound side of 78 in Union. The origin and destination of the bus is not unknown. There are no reports of any injuries.
There will be new turf at the Jim Thorpe Area High School field. The school board voted this week to approve a new turf field costing about $1.7 million. The current grass field often his drainage problems every time it rains. Board members expect the project to be completed without raising taxes or cutting education programs and final $500,000 will probably come from a sponsorship deal. They hope to have the field ready for the fall sports season.
The man who led the Jerry Sandusky investigation has been stripped of his law license. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended Frank Fina's law license for one year and one day. The justices agreed with a previous ruling that Fina's actions were improper in turning then-Penn State attorney Cynthia Baldwin into a witness against three Penn State officials. The court ruled Fina's actions violated rules prohibiting defense attorneys from testifying against their clients.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is unveiling a package of comprehensive ethics reforms intended for the Garden State's government. Murphy revealed the ethics proposals Wednesday, which are slated to reinforce restrictions on lobbying while enhancing financial disclosure rules and increasing transparency within the legislative process. Murphy claims the package will have bipartisan sponsors in both the Senate and the Assembly. He says this proposal will ensure elected officials are serving the public interest, not special interests.