At the start of last night's Quakertown School Board meeting, board president David O'Donnell told a jam-packed crowd last Friday's planned anti-ICE student walkout was initially okayed, but cancelled the night before when the district learned of a possible threat. While most of the public who spoke last night didn't buy it, but this man did. "The threat that was given was that a gun was going to be present at the walkout. I want that cancelled. I want that walkout not to happen because I want safety in the district," the man said. Those claims haven't been confirmed by the district or Quakertown police. The majority of speakers said the district and police handled the issue poorly, including one student. "How can I sit here knowing that 35 students are fighting for my rights and their rights. I cannot stand here and pretend that nothing is happening," the girl said. When about 35 students held the walkout despite being told it wasn't allowed, police were called and an incident ensued in which five students and an adult were arrested and at least one policeman was hurt.
Gov. Josh Shapiro continues to rail against two planned ICE detention facilities in Schuylkill and Berks counties. The centers are planned for Upper Bern Township in Berks County and Tremont, Schuylkill County. Shapiro says those small towns cannot handle the stress the facilities will place on the infrastructure there. "For example, in Tremont, if this is built, they will literally run out of water in 24 hours. That means they won't be able to turn on the water in the kitchen and fill a pot with water. They won't be able to flush the toilet," the governor says. The Department of Homeland Security has released a statement saying, "These sites have undergone community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase."
Bill Nye the Science Guy is coming to a local college campus. Nye will be the speaker at Lafayette College's Founders Day on March 8th. He'll appear at the campus's Colton Chapel. Attendance will be limited to current Lafayette faculty, staff, and students.
Governor Josh Shapiro is joining a lawsuit against the federal government over changes to vaccine recommendations for children. The lawsuit challenges a CDC memo in January that took the "universally recommended status" away from seven childhood vaccines - rotavirus, meningitis, hepatitis A and B, influenza, COVID and RSV. The changes, put in place by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have raised concerns that the new rules could lower vaccination rates. The lawsuit challenges new CDC guidelines that no longer recommend vaccines for everyone for certain diseases, instead leaving decisions up to parents and doctors.