With some recent meetings running beyond midnight, Bethlehem City Council is considering restricting public comment at those meetings to residents who live in Bethlehem. "I have never witnessed such disrespect for rules as I did at the March 19th meeting," one woman said. A woman opposed to restricting speech at the meeting said, "Any attempt to limit speech, especially from the youth, would only hinder progress and move us in the wrong direction." Last night's meeting ran nearly three hours. A March 5 meeting ran beyond five hours, mainly due to people speaking for and against a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel conflict. The length of that meeting meant other city-related items on the agenda had to be scrapped. During last night's meeting, City Council voted 4-3 to table a measure restricting public comment.
All this rain is preventing crews from repairing a big sinkhole that opened up last Tuesday night in Palmer Township. PennDOT says the 50-foot-deep sinkhole was filled Friday, but crews still have to pave Main Street before all lanes in that area can be reopened. Weather-permitting, PennDOT hopes for that to happen either Thursday or Friday of this week. Initially, crews had hoped to finish the work by last Friday but poor weather has pushed that back twice now.
Drivers have gotten a bit of a break at the gas pump over the past seven days. According to AAA East Central, the average price of a gallon of gas across Pennsylvania dropped three cents to $3.62 on Tuesday. That's a nickel more than one year earlier. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price is $3.48, down five cents from a week earlier and three cents more than last April 2nd.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry's 'Coolest Thing Made in PA' bracket has been whittled down to 16. Among those 16 is Crayola Crayons, Martin Guitars, Mrs. T's pierogies and Yuengling Beer. Others making the Sweet Sixteen are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Penn State Creamery Ice Cream and Harley Davidson motorcycles. If you'd like to vote, go to www.pachamber.org/coolestthing.
A package of bills designed to keep startup businesses in Pennsylvania has been introduced in the state House. The eight measures are sponsored by various Republican lawmakers who say they want to make the most of new, unusual businesses in the Commonwealth before entrepreneurs head to Silicon Valley, New York or other startup-friendly areas with their ideas. One bill would establish "Commonwealth Startup Week." Another would establish a task force on startup venture opportunities and a third would create a Venture Capital Ecosystem Development Program. That plan would provide grants and technical assistance to universities, local governments and non-profit organizations. It would also provide seed money to help startups hone efforts to get additional funding.