A former police chief in Northampton County has been found not guilty of charges stemming from a crash earlier this year. District Judge Douglas Schlegel found Scott Miller not guilty of failing to report the crash or driving at an unsafe speed. Back in January, Miller, who was the Washington Township police chief at the time, crashed near a house in Plainfield Township. Slate Belt Regional police responded to the scene after being called by a tow truck company, and not by Miller. An officer noticed Miller had slurred speech, but never performed a field sobriety test. A lengthy investigation determined Miller sat in a bar for eight hours before the crash and led to him being charged with the two summary offenses. Tuesday, the judge found him not guilty of both. Two months after the crash, Miller was suspended from his part-time job on the Roseto Borough police force and he ultimately stepped down as chief of Washington Township.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is blaming other states for Pennsylvania's latest surge in coronavirus cases. "We did a really good job in Pennsylvania flattening the curve. But as we've seen, the virus doesn't respect state boundaries. So we're paying the price for what's not happening in Arizona, California, Texas or Florida," Wolf says. The state Department of Health reported 1027 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, pushing the state's total to 102,765. Another 20 COVID-related deaths were reported as well, including two in Northampton County and one in Lehigh County. Pennsylvania's toll now stands at 7038.
Bethlehem city employees are going to be visiting businesses to ensure they're following social distancing, capacity and mask guidelines. Mayor Bob Donchez says the point of these visits is to ultimately prevent businesses from having to close again and save lives. Business owners may see firefighters, police and health department members walking in soon.
Delaware has been added back to the list of quarantine states from where travelers must self-quarantine for two weeks before returning to normal activities. There are now 31 states that New Jersey officials say qualify as COVID-19 hotspots. Minnesota was taken off the list after its coronavirus case numbers improved. The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and fatalities from COVID-19 in the Garden State have stabilized in recent weeks.
New Jersey health officials say New Jersey has recorded another 424 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as the transmission rate stays steady. The total number of cases in the state since the pandemic began stands at 177,256. There have been 13,763 deaths blamed on the virus in the Garden State.
The annual Redneck Festival is another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. Weissport's mayor says the festival has been canceled because of Gov. Tom Wolf's order prohibiting outdoor gatherings of 250 or more.
Our heat wave continues today with another day expected to see a high temperature of 90 degrees or above. Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says the heat and humidity probably won't be the only weather issue we'll have to deal with today. "When we get to 5 o'clock or later, I think there will be a line of thunderstorms that'll come through and they could be severe," Lundberg says. Today's expected high temperature is 92, but the heat wave may end today. Lundberg's forecast for tomorrow calls for a high of 88.
Pennsylvnaia Gov. Tom Wolf is denouncing President Trump's use of federal officers in Portland, Oregon. Wolf says they would be unwelcome in the state as they have been in Portland. Earlier this week, President Trump mentioned Philadelphia as one of the cities he would consider sending federal agents to. Wolf says he would definitely voice his opposition to it.
Several hearings are set for today in the state Capitol regarding police reform. The House Democratic Policy Committee and the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus say stakeholders will testify virtually and will focus the hearings on specific regions of the state.
Former St. Sen. Mike Folmer is headed to prison after being sentenced on child pornography charges. The 64-year-old Republican will serve one to two years after pleading guilty back in February. Folmer will also register as a sex offender for 15 years. Folmer used his Tumblr account to upload images of naked children engaged in an indecent act.
It will soon cost more to travel along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Turnpike Commission approved a six-percent toll hike Tuesday with a 45-percent surcharge slapped onto Toll-by-Plate fees. Officials say the new rates will take effect on January 3rd.
Jeffrey Fields faces multiple charges of sexual assault and rape from four incidents that occurred near Penn State between 2010 and 2017. State College police say DNA samples connected Fields to all four cases, which involved four female victims who were either 19 or 20 at the time of the crimes.
Bloomsburg Fair officials are responding to criticisms that stemmed from a photo on their Facebook page of a man dressed up as Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine being dunked in a tank. The Fair president says the dunk tank was a part of the fireman's carnival and the situation turned into where people thought they were offending Levine and none of that was their intention and he apologized. Officials added the man dressed as a woman was not intended to be Levine, but people started making the connection to her and then the fair decided to roll with it on social media. They added that they reached out to Levine and things are okay and they are open to working with LGBTQ organizations to understand why similar posts can be offensive.
Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins says he's starting to get settled in even with a very different atmosphere at the ballpark. "After ten days to two weeks in, it feels kind of normal, honestly," Hoskins says. The Phillies open the season Friday against Miami.