Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health added 4312 new COVID-19 cases to a statewide total that now stands at 1,552,953. Another 95 new deaths attribute to the virus were also reported, leaving the state's overall count at 31,292. Currently, there are 2838 people hospitalized with COVID-19. 663 of them are in the intensive care unit.
The Allentown School District now officially has a new superintendent. Dr. John Stanford was sworn in Thursday. His contract just through June of 2026. Stanford comes to Allentown after spending 15 years in the Columbus, Ohio school district. One of his jobs there included interim superintendent. Stanford was chosen from a field of 47 candidates.
The C.E.O. of the Bethlehem-based Just Born is planning to step down. Ross Born plans to retire from the company founded by his grandfather back in 1923. He has helped lead the company that makes Peeps, Mike and Ike and more for more than four decades. The 68-year-old Born says he'll help the Board of Directors find a new C.E.O..
LANTA has cut the ribbon at the Allentown Transportation Center at 6th and Linden Streets. What used to be a two-block transfer area has been condensed into a center-island platform. The bus stop also now has added protection from bad weather, on-site security, and real-time arrival and departure information, among other new features.
Christmas will be coming to the Christmas City before Thanksgiving this year. The city’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, one week ahead of its traditional Black Friday event. The move was in effort to help bring in more foot traffic to the city one week earlier.
Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says there will be a lot of soggy high school football fans tonight. "What comes this afternoon will be a bigger deal and I think when all is said and done from the weekend events we will probably be looking at three-quarters of an inch to one-and-a-quarter inch of rain, the vast majority of which will fall this afternoon and the first half of tonight," Lundberg says. He says there's a chance for a couple showers tomorrow and again Sunday morning before we dry out a bit.
A forecast for lousy weather Friday night has prompted Hanover Township, Northampton County to push back its Trick or Treat night to Sunday evening from 5-to-7. Likewise, Allentown's and Bethlehem's trick or treaters will have to wait a bit longer. Both city have delayed its Trick or Treat night until Sunday from 6-to-8.
Gov. Tom Wolf is issuing an executive order that he says will address what he calls environmental racism in low-income communities. "It strengthens the Department of Environmental Protection's infrastructure to do the work around environmental justice by formally establishing the Office of Environmental Justice. Second, it formalizes the Environmental Justice Advisory Board within the department. Third, it establishes a environmental justice interagency council," Wolf says. The governor says his administration is committed to ensuring environmental justice for all Pennsylvanians.
Pennsylvania's attorney general has reacted to a letter-to-the editor from former President Trump, published in the Wall Street Journal that claimed last year's Pennsylvania election was rigged. In the letter, the ex-President said, "the election was rigged, which you (the Wall Street Journal) unfortunately still haven't figured out." Josh Shapiro, via Twitter said, "We have won in court every time. He and his cronies have brought these baseless claims in front of a judge. We had a free and fair election. Case closed."
Waste Management, one of the country's leading waste collection and disposal companies, is looking to build a new renewable natural gas facility somewhere in Pennsylvania. The concept involves collecting gases from stored methane emitted from landfills that is then used to power large trucks and CNG vehicles. It can also be sent through pipelines to sell. A Waste Management company officer tells the Pittsburgh Business Times that the decision on where to build the new Pennsylvania plant will be based on proximity to pipelines and the quality of the gas.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders gave New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's re-election campaign a boost Thursday when he campaigned for Murphy at Rutgers University. "Your governor is one of the most progressive, if not the most progressive, governors in America," Sanders told a cheering crowd. The latest polling numbers have Murphy leading Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli by double digits with election day next Tuesday.