It was close, but no cigar for Pennsylvania's bar and restaurant industry Tuesday in Harrisburg. The bid to override Gov. Tom Wolf's veto of a bill to loosen coronavirus restrictions on bars and restaurants fell two votes short in the House. 135 votes were needed for the override effort to move over to the Senate, however only 133 voted in favor of it. A dozen Democrats who had voted for the bill originally flipped their vote and help kill the override. It's the second time in a month the House failed to override a Wolf veto of a coronavirus restriction-related bill.
There's good news on the Lehigh Valley jobs front. XPO Logistics says it's looking to hire more than 1000 people at three Lehigh Valley-area facilities. Some of those jobs will be permanent and full time while others will be seasonal and part time. XPO is hiring for its Milford Township, Bucks County facility and its two buildings in Palmer Township. To apply, go to www.jobs.xpo.com. XPO hopes to have all the hiring complete by November 15th.
Lafayette College will give all students the option for either in-person classes or fully remote learning for the spring 2021 semester. All faculty will also be given the option to teach in the classroom or remotely.
A longtime school superintendent will retire at the end of the current school year. Parkland School District superintendent Rich Sniscak announced during Tuesday night's school board meeting that he will retire next June. Sniscak was Parkland High School's football coach from 1994 to through 2000 before becoming Parkland High's principal in 2001. Eight years later Sniscak was appointed assistant superintendent and then in 2011 he was hired as superintendent.
You'll soon be able to fly nonstop from the Lehigh Valley to Washington, D.C. Lehigh Valley International Airport is adding nonstop service to Dulles International Airport, starting Dec. 17. The United Airlines flights will fly in and fly out twice daily. The flights will depart the Lehigh Valley at 8:15 a.m. and 3:15 p.m., and arrive at ABE at 12:11 p.m. and 6:50 p.m.
Easton Area High School officials are notifying parents of the school's first case of COVID-19. They did not disclose whether it was a student, staff member or teacher, but the individual has not been at the high school since October 13th. Officials determined no one else in the school community was in close contact with the infected individual and the school community was in close contact with the infected individual and the school has already undergone cleaning and disinfection. The school is in a hybrid model and will continue as one case doesn't warrant a shutdown, but the Department of Education recommends they should for five to seven days if another positive case turns up.
Pennsylvania is now on New York state's travel advisory list. Pennsylvania joins 42 other states on that list. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says there's no practical way to quarantine from Pennsylvania but if the travel between the two states isn't essential, he says it should be avoided.
The owners of Taste of Sicily, a Lebanon County restaurant, have won a lawsuit against Gov. Tom Wolf. They had been fined when they reopened ahead of the commonwealth's permission to do so back in the spring. Masks and social distancing were not required at the restaurant and they didn't have plexiglass barriers, but attorney Eric Winter says the court did not buy into the governor's right to enforce those rules. "The crux of the legal arguments is that the orders issued by the governor and the Department of Health are legally unenforceable. Judge Garber agreed with that argument," Winter says. As for Gov. Wolf's reaction? "We will probably be appealing that," Wolf says simply. The governor says one of the reasons for a coronavirus upsurge in Pennsylvania is the gradual reopening of Pennsylvania's bars and restaurants.
During a campaign visit to Erie, President Trump touted the progress made on his promised wall on our border with Mexico. "The wall is going to be completed very soon and we had radical opposition to the wall. We'll be at 500 miles very soon and we'll be completed with the wall," the President told supporters. While our current president visited Pennsylvania last night, our previous president will do likewise today. Barack Obama will be in Philadelphia for a drive-in rally event for the Biden-Kamala Harris ticket.
New Jersey officials are asking anyone who doesn't need to travel out of state to stay put. Gov. Phil Murphy says residents need to stay vigilant and follow safety protocols to curb the spread of COVID-19.
When Penn State finally opens its 2020 football season this Saturday in Indiana, they'll be doing it without running back Journey Brown, who will likely miss the entire season with some sort of medical condition. Head coach James Franklin says, right now, it's player first and football second. "First of all, we want to focus our energy and love and support on Journey through this," Franklin said. A statement from Penn State says, "Journey Brown is being treated for a medical condition discovered during this offseason and will potentially miss the 2020 football season."