Monday was a virtual learning day and Tuesday will be as well after a small fire at Bethlehem Catholic High School. Firefighters were called just after 6 Monday morning after smoke was reported inside the building. School officials say the fire began in a science classroom and was related to the high school's HVAC system.
The East Penn School District Board trimmed its proposed tax increase at Monday night's meeting. Back in April, the board gave initial approval of a budget that would have raised property taxes by five percent. Monday night, the board cut that tax increase down to 4.2 percent. A final vote on the 2024-25 budget, which is $197.8 million, is scheduled June 10.
Last May, the Pennridge School Board approved a restroom policy stating that students were required to use the bathroom that aligned with their biological sex. Monday night, the board voted 5-4 to suspend that policy. Before the vote, the board heard from students and parents on both sides of the issue. "If you review the current policy, you are catering the far left, small minority in the community. This will be the tip of the iceberg," one man said. A proponent of changing the policy said, "I don't understand the hysteria from the community. Many of us are not scared of trans kids. We don't give into the fear-mongering." The board members who voted in favor of retiring the policy said they needed to do so to keep the school district in compliance with the federal government's Title IX, which now prohibits blanket policies that bar transgender students from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
A new poll says about 57-percent of Pennsylvanians strongly or somewhat approve of Governor Josh Shapiro's leadership. The survey from the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Times, and Siena College says Shapiro even has a much higher favorability than either President Biden or former President Trump across every racial and education line. The poll also shows he has a positive rating from over a third of Pennsylvanians who plan to vote for Trump in November. The same is also true for a majority of voters who said they'll cast ballots for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if he gets on the ballot in the Commonwealth.
Lawmakers who have received gifts from outside interests have begun filing their reports to the state. They show trips to political conferences and other events bankrolled by campaign groups, organizations pushing alternatives to public education and other organizations. Spotlight PA reports lawmakers went to Arizona on a trip funded by Kooth, a U.K.-based mental health provider that has a state contract worth millions. Two state senators also attended the Super Bowl as guests of a millionaire insurance executive.
The world now knows the names of Punxsutawney Phil's off spring; the two kits' names were revealed on Mother's Day. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Vice President Dan McGinley announced the names of Sunny and Shadow on Sunday. McGinley says Phil, and his wife, Phyllis welcomed the two kits in late March. On a social media post, the club thanked everyone for their input and support with name suggestions. Groundhogs usually give birth to around three to six pups in a litter.
Jury selection enters its second day today in a New York courtroom in the federal corruption trial of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez. In the first day of the trial yesterday, 38 jurors were excused. Menendez faces charges of accepting bribes in cash, gold bars and gifts from three businessmen in exchange for using his position to help them. The senator's wife is also charged in the case but she will go to trial at a later date. It's the second corruption trial of Senator Menendez in the past decade. The first trial seven years ago ended in a hung jury.
Owners of businesses in Wildwood say they experienced a significant bump in sales and interest because of the rally former President Trump held over the weekend. Officials with the Great Wildwood Hotel and Motel Association say the publicity from the rally drew attention to the city from across the globe. They report receiving calls from as far away as Germany and Australia. Meanwhile, officials in Wildwood are defending their estimate of the size of the crowd that turned out for the Trump rally. Both Wildwood officials and the Trump campaign estimated the crowd at upwards of 100-thousand people, although the capacity for the beach where the rally was held is 20-thousand. Wildwood officials say the estimate included everyone who came to Wildwood for the rally but did not actually attend the event.