It a bit of a surprise, Allentown City Council turned down a request from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for $1.5 million of the city's share of the American Rescue Plan Act money. The decision puts the future of the IronPigs in doubt and City Councilman Joshua Siegel says that makes the vote a bad choice. "We're going to be looking back in a year-and-half from now and the IronPigs are going to be closing up shop as the Phillies won a World Series and we're going to be the council and the administration that lost the IronPigs. That's going to be our legacy," Siegel said. Candida Affa was among four council members who approved zeroing out the IronPigs allocation. "This is a business owned by Major League Baseball, one of the richest organizations, probably in the world, and you come hand in hand asking us for $1 million," Affa said. The IronPigs are actually owned by Craig Stein and Joe Finley and not Major League Baseball, which has mandated many minor league franchises upgrade their home ballparks, which at Coca-Cola Park would cost about $10 million. The state, Lehigh County and Northampton County already approved financing. While Allentown City Council turned down the IronPigs, it approved $1 million for the DaVinci Science Center under construction in the city.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a shooting in Whitehall Township. It happened on the eastbound side of Route 22 near the MacArthur Road exit just after 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon, between two vehicles in motion. Police say someone traveling in the right lane shot at another vehicle in the left lane. The driver of a white Dodge Charger was shot. That driver was able to drive to MacArthur Road North and pull over. The driver was taken to the hospital with injuries. That driver's condition is not known. The incident had officials shutting down the ramp at MacArthur Road and detouring traffic onto 15th Street for nearly three hours. Investigators say they don't yet know if the incident was a case of road rage or a targeted shooting. If you saw anything leading up to the shooting, you're asked to call Pennsylvania State Police at 610-861-2026.
According to AAA East Central's weekly Gas Price Report, the pain at the pump got just a bit less painful over the past week. AAA reports the average price of a gallon of unleaded across the state dropped by three cents to $3.92 as of Tuesday. That remains 36 cents higher than one year earlier. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price also dropped by three cents to $3.85 a gallon, or 41 cents more than October 25, 2021.
Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman says Tuesday's debate with Mehmet Oz didn't hurt him in at least one aspect. "Something remarkable happened after that debate. We raised over $2 million after that debate," Fetterman said to a cheering crowd of supporters at a Pittsburgh rally. Fetterman said he knew going into the debate it would not be easy after suffering a stroke five months earlier.
Pennsylvania's two senators have very different takes on U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman's debate performance Tuesday night. Bob Casey says Fetterman's struggles don't disqualify him from being a senator. "This idea that the speed of your response is somehow indicative of the way you would do your job is really faulty," Casey says. He says Fetterman is prepared today to carry out the duties of senator. Pat Toomey disagrees. "It was sad to see John Fetterman struggling in such rough shape. Honestly, this is a guy who should be focused on recovering from what was obviously a horrific stroke. It was a painful and difficult thing to watch," Toomey says. He says a senator needs to be able to communicate in several different ways and Fetterman, thanks to a stroke in May, simply cannot do that.
A new CBS News Poll shows 54 percent of likely Pennsylvania voters favor Josh Shapiro over Doug Mastriano to be the next governor. Democrat Shapiro is ahead by nine points over Republican Mastriano, although Shapiro had led by 11 points last month. Survey respondents say they believe Shapiro is more mainstream in his views than his opponent. Also, about one in ten Republicans say they'll cross party lines to vote for Shapiro.
The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court is taking a case under advisement that would overturn a ban on the state paying Medicaid for abortion procedures. Pennsylvania allows abortions up to 24 weeks but prohibits using Medicaid funds for the procedure except to save a mother's life. Supporters say the ban harms poor women but proponents say the issue was already decided when the ban became law in 1982. The state supreme court also upheld the law in 1985.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has lowered the age requirement for teens to access their birth certificates. Residents as young as 16 can now request a copy, which they often need when applying for a driver's license or college admission. State officials say fees can also be waived for people are between 16 and 24 who are in foster care or the juvenile justice system. A separate application process additionally has been set up for people who are homeless.
A state Senate panel is considering legislation that would make Pennsylvania high schoolers take economics and personal finance courses. They'd have to be completed before a student could graduate from high school. The measure was introduced by Chris Gebhard, who serves Lebanon County and parts of York and Dauphin Counties.
Clorox is recalling several types of Pine-Sol cleaners. The company announced this week that over 37-million bottles of Pine-Sol may be contaminated with a bacteria that can cause serious infections in humans. The bacteria can enter the body if inhaled, through the eyes, or through openings on the skin. Recalled products will have a date code on the top of the bottle that begins with the prefix 'A4' followed by a five digit number less than "2-2-2-4-9." A detailed list of which cleaners are affected can be found online.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is being sued by a large labor union over both gender and racial discrimination. Yesterday, representatives from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees made the filing in Mercer County Superior Court. They claim that Murphy put into place policies that further the wage gap for women and people of color by increasing salaries for correctional police officers, but not offering the same raises to state workers from AFSCME who experience the same working conditions.
New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is admitting there is a federal investigation into him once again. A Menendez spokesperson says the Democrat is aware the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan is looking into him but he's unsure the scope of the investigation. Back in 2015, Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges related to allegations of accepting bribes from a Florida doctor in exchange for political favors. Menendez denied the allegations and the case ended in a mistrial.
Proposed legislation is seeking to add more outdoor areas to the Garden State's smoking ban. While parks and beaches are already smoke-free, if the bill passes, boardwalks, racetracks, amusement parks would be added, along with historical and burial sites. At this point, there is some bipartisan support.
The Philadelphia Eagles are continuing to make moves to improve the roster. Philly traded a fourth-round draft pick to the Bears for veteran pass rusher Robert Quinn on Wednesday. He just signed a five-year extension with Chicago a few years ago. Quinn has been to the Pro Bowl three-times during his career.