The Medical Marijuana Advisory Board is suggesting adding dry leaf marijuana as a form of medicine, saying it could lower costs. Officials on the board say it takes more marijuana and more time to make the concentrated oil, driving costs higher. They say the dry leaf would have to be vaporized to be utilized properly. Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has up to a year to approve the board's suggestions.
A topless New Jersey woman is being charged with disorderly conduct after she jumped a barricade and got within a few feet of Bill Cosby Monday. The 80-year-old comedian was on his way into the Montgomery County Courthouse for the beginning of his retrial on sexual assault charges when Nicolle Rochelle sprung in front of the camera and in the direction of Cosby before being taken into custody. The 38-year-old Rochelle is an actor and as a child actually appeared on "The Cosby Show" four times between 1990 and 1992. Cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, in 2004.
Whitehall Township has its new mayor. The Whitehall Board of Commissioners has selected Michael Harakal as the new mayor, replacing Ed Hozza, who became the Director of Administration for Lehigh County in February. Harakal had already served as township executive from 1984 to 1992. He'll serve as mayor through the end of 2019.
A Bethlehem man faces charges of physically threatening family members. Bruce Kovacs was charged Monday for two incidents during which he allegedly menaced relatives, including his father on March 30th and his girlfriend on April 1st. He is accused of using a machete to threaten his dad and smashing his girlfriend's trailer with a hammer. Charges against Kovacs include harassment, assault and making terroristic threats.
The president of the East Penn School Board is leaving. Alan Earnshaw says his final school board meeting will be June 11th. The board will have 30 days after Earnshaw leaves to fill the vacancy.
For the fourth time in six weeks, vandals have targeted the shelves at Pet Smart in Lower Macungie Township. State police say somebody poked holes in bags of pet food sometime between 3:30pm April 2 and 9am April 3, damaging more than $838 worth of cat and dog food. In one incident in late February, more than $2800 worth of pet food was damaged in a similar fashion.
The Sands Bethlehem Event Center has booked two very different shows. Jerry Seinfeld brings laughs to the Sands on the night of November 30th. Nearly five months earlier another legend will be in town. Barry Manilow is at the Sands on July 5th, nine months after playing to a near sell out crowd at PPL Center. Tickets for each show go on sale Friday morning.
Several hearings are being held over the next two weeks on several bills aiming to change Pennsylvania's gun laws. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Ron Marsico says he wants to hear from more of his colleagues on how to prevent gun violence in Pennsylvania during two hearings today and tomorrow. Officials say two more hearings are set for next week as well.
Allergy sufferers are being warned to brace themselves for a harsh allergy season. Dr. Donald Harper says our late winter had prevented trees from forming pollen, but that will change when temperatures finally rise. Harper expects pollen counts to go from a trace to really high in short order. Harper also suggests sufferers start their allergy medication early to lessen the severity of symptoms.
Sen. Bob Casey continues to distance himself from the pack when it comes to what's in his campaign coffers. According to campaign finance reports filed March 31st, Casey raised about $2.2 million over the last quarter of the year, leaving him with more than $10 million total in reserve. Casey's closest competition, Congressman Lou Barletta, was able to raise $1.3 million during the first quarter of 2018, giving him a total of $1.6 million in reserve.