Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said Monday that a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. The 3-2 decision both overturns a lower court decision to dismiss the case and puts aside a 1985 state Supreme Court court decision that upheld a law banning the use of state Medicaid dollars for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The lawsuit, brought by Planned Parenthood and other operators of abortion clinics, said the 1982 law unconstitutionally discriminates against poor women. The new ruling does not necessarily find a constitutional right to an abortion in Pennsylvania, where abortion is legal under state law through 23 weeks of pregnancy. Rather, it turns on the question of whether the state Medicaid law unconstitutionally differentiated between women who want to carry to term and women who want to get an abortion.
A lengthy, jam-packed meeting in Bethlehem City Hall Monday night focused on the issue of replacing the Walnut Street parking garage. Two plans for smaller parking garages are favored by the Bethlehem Parking Authority and Mayor William Reynolds, who says another proposal, for a larger garage would be a big burden on his city's residents. "All 75,000 people should have the daylights scared out of them thinking about guaranteeing debt that there is no demand to pay for," Reynolds says. The smaller proposals call for 527 or 590 parking spaces and would cost $24.1 million and $27 million, respectively. The larger garage would include 770 spaces and cost $35 million, but opponents, including the mayor, say it would cost much more in debt that would cripple the city.
The trial for a Monroe County native accused of killing four University of Idaho students is unlikely to happen for at least another year. Bryan Kohberger had another pre-trial court appearance in Idaho and the judge denied the defense's request that he reconsider his previous ruling to uphold the grand jury indictment and emphasized his goal of moving the case to trial. However, Judge John Judge said, “I’d really like to do this sooner than later. I’m not going to just let it hang for too long, but it’s really hard for me right now to set something in 2025, even though that might be the reality." Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty for the DeSales University grad if a jury finds him guilty.
A maintenance building at the Easton Cemetery has been destroyed by a weekend fire. It happened early Sunday morning just after 1 o'clock. While no injuries are being reported, fire officials say the entire building and everything inside of it was destroyed. The garage mostly stored lawn care equipment and paving supplies. The cause of Sunday’s fire remains under investigation.
Opening night of the Great Allentown Fair will bring one act that hasn't been on the Grandstand since 1993 and another that has 'never' been there. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick will be the opening act on the night of August 28th, the first time that band will perform at the fair since 1993. Following them will be fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Heart making their first-ever fair appearance. August 29th remains the only night without an announced Grandstand show yet.
A lottery ticket worth $860,000 was sold over the weekend at a store in Northampton County. The Pennsylvania Lottery says a Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket sold Saturday at the Weis Markets on Sullivan Trail in Forks Township. The ticket matched all five balls drawn to win the money. The Weis that sold the ticket will get a $5,000 bonus for selling it.
Overall enrollment at Penn State's campuses - including four in central Pennsylvania - has dropped almost 30 percent. The figures come from the past ten years. The administration did not release many more specifics and says Governor Shapiro will give more details in his February 6th budget address. The governor assembled a working group of college and university presidents last year to hear about their ideas as he prepared his budget for 2024.
Former Red Sox manager Jimy Williams has died. He was 80. Williams spent 12 seasons managing in the major leagues. He went 910-and-790 while with Toronto, Boston and Houston. He led the Red Sox to a pair of postseason appearances in 1998 and 1999, the year he also was named American League Manager of the Year. Williams won two World Series as a coach, in 1995 as third base coach of the Atlanta Braves and in 2008 as bench coach of the Philadelphia Phillies.