Allentown police are investigating an overnight stabbing. Police were called to a building at the corner of North 7th and Green streets just after 3:00 this morning. Police arrested 28-year old Cristian Rodriguez Pacheco in connection with the stabbing. The victim is expected to survive.
The Hanover Township Board of Supervisors has voted down the proposed 150-unit Willowcrest Farms apartment development. Twelve two-story garden apartment buildings were proposed on farmland south of Route 22, west of Route 512 and north of Blair Road. Neighbors believe Blair Road could not safely accommodate the additional traffic from 150 apartments.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported nearly 5500 additional coronavirus cases as of Wednesday. The average daily number of cases over the past seven days equates to a 50.2-percent decrease and a decrease of nearly 83-percent over the last 30 days. To date, there have been 2.71 million infections statewide since the pandemic began.
Another local school district is making mask wearing optional, while another may be heading in that direction. The Parkland Area School District will switch from mandatory to optional masking effective Monday. Superintendent Mark Madson says COVID-19 metrics are trending in a positive direction, leading to the change. In the Bethlehem School District, superintendent Joseph Roy says dwindling case numbers allow the district to consider a similar move. He says the issue will be discussed further at Monday night's school board meeting.
A bill that would allow Pennsylvania doctors to prescribe unproven treatments for COVID-19 without repercussions is being advanced by Republican lawmakers. However, a UPMC infectious disease specialist cautions there are good reasons to stick with proven therapies. "One, we know that they work. Two, we know that they don't cause harm," says Dr. John Goldman.
Gov. Tom Wolf is poised to sign into law a measure that creates a $25 million grant program to help EMS agencies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to send to the governor the bill called the 'Emergency Medical Services COVID-19 Recovery Grant Program.' It will be funded with money the state received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The House passed the measure on Tuesday by a 200-to nothing vote. A spokeswoman for Gov. Eolf says he will sign the bill into law.
Coronavirus cases across New Jersey remain low compared to daily figures during the latest surge. The Garden State reported 1784 additional cases yesterday. 102 deaths related to the virus were also confirmed.
Although New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is dropping the requirement that kids wear masks in schools as of March 7, the federal government will still require masks to be worn on all school buses, as it does on public transport. A spokeswoman for Murphy's office says school buses are subject to federal masking regulations.
Father Richard Jendras is pastor at St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Allentown and says a Wednesday night prayer service was the first in a series to pray for peace at the Ukraine/Russia border. "We got together and said we need to do something. What can we do for Ukraine right now? We're clergy and what can we do? We can pray," Jendras says. Next week a similar service will be held at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church in West Easton.
The Giant Company has put out an alert to other beekeepers after the recent theft of three beehives and their colonies from their corporate headquarters. The hives contained colonies of approximately 60,000 bees, and were taken from the company’s headquarters in Carlisle some time between Jan. 28 and Jan. 30.