Lehigh Valley Health Network has scheduled its first mass vaccination clinic in Northampton County. The drive-thru clinic is set for Saturday at Northampton Community College. LVHN plans to administer 3,000 first doses of the Moderna vaccine to people in Phase 1A of the distribution plan. All appointments are already filled for the event.
The Wind Gap Community Pharmacy will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic this weekend. The pharmacy will hold a drive-thru vaccination clinic this weekend. The first one is Saturday from 9am to 2pm at the Wind Gap Social Hall on North Broadway. The second is Sunday from noon to 5pm at Hope UCC on Cherry Street. Vaccines will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis. If you'd like more information on the clinic, contact the pharmacy either via phone or email.
The Eyer Middle School will remain closed until Monday after three people with the coronavirus were in the building over the past two weeks. The East Penn School District says students in the hybrid learning mode can return Monday morning.
Pennsylvania's historic sites and museums are reopening to the public next month. Face masks and social distancing will be required when those state-owned historic sites and museums reopen to the public on April 30th. All locations will have limited capacity and hours of operation will be reduced. No events, gatherings or rentals will be allowed at locations for the time being.
New Jersey schools will have to return to in-person learning next academic year. Gov. Phil Murphy says by next year, districts will not be allowed to offer online learning, saying officials are expecting full-time in-perceont classes. He says he's fully expecting schools across the state to get back into the swing of thing safely and responsibly.
New Jersey officials say they're keeping an eye on plans to hold a protest at Freehold Raceway Mall this Saturday. Social media posts and fliers state plans to enter the mall and shop without a mask on. This caught Gov. Phil Murphy's attention, with him saying he's "extremely unhappy" about the flyer going around. It's not clear where the plans originated from.
In a 52-48 vote, ex-Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine has been confirmed as the next U.S. Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary. Pennsylvnaia Democratic Sen. Bob Casey voted to confirm Levine, saying "Dr. Levine is the kind of crisis-tested leader our nation needs during this ongoing difficult time." Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey voted against Levine's confirmation, saying the pandemic hit Pennsylvania's nursing homes especially hard, in part, because of Levine's poor decisions.
Last November, ex-Lehigh University student Yukai Yang pleaded guilty to trying to kill his college roommate. Wednesday, Yang learned how much time he'll spend in prison. Yang will serve seven to 20 years behind bars for putting thallium in Juwan Royal's food and mouthwash to slowly poison his roommate. Royal still suffers debilitating effects of the poisoning, causing Yang to say in court "I cannot undo the damage to your body. I cannot erase the pain I caused your family." Investigators say Yang got angry when Royal told him he was moving off campus to continue his studies at Lehigh. Yang, who's not a U.S. citizen, will be deported back to China when he's released from prison.
Somebody wants to buy the Morning Call. Today's Morning Call reports an unidentified bidder has offered $30-to-$40 million to buy the newspaper, which is currently owned by Tribune Publishing. Morning Call union employees hope the mystery offer comes from a local bidder. The Morning Call once employed more than 1000 people, but that number has now dwindled down to fewer than 100.
A Bethlehem man admits starting a fire last October in an apartment building on the city's South Side. Joseph Matacavage pleaded guilty Wednesday to setting the fire in the 100 block of East Third Street. Matacavage told authorities when they arrested him that his obsessive-compulsive disorder led to the arson. He could face up to 12 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
State lawmakers are calling for anti-hate legislation. It comes after this month's mass shooting in Atlanta, that left people dead, including six women of Asian descent. Lawmakers say they want several bills passed this year by the Legislature to discourage racist or hateful acts. Two bill currently being worked on would increase penalties for those convicted of ethnic intimidation and require them to complete diversity education as part of their release. They also want to make it easier to report hate crimes.
State representatives are working on a bill that would allow virtual raffles to help Pennsylvania fire departments raise funds. The virtual raffles would follow the same rules as their regular in-person events.
New Jersey is protecting stimulus payments set to go to residents. Gov. Phil Murphy says the American Rescue Plan is for the people, not banks and creditors. He says at least 50 institutions have signed an agreement, essentially saying residents should be able to use their payments as they deem necessary. Residents have started receiving their stimulus checks, which are either being mailed or directly deposited into bank accounts.