WOLF ANNOUNCES PLANS TO OPEN THE PA ECONOMY
Governor Tom Wolf announced yesterday that May 8th will be the target date for a reopening of businesses in Pennsylvania. He said that the state has made sufficient progress against COVID-19 and in addition to allowing curb side liquor sales this week, he will allow more building construction which using social distancing guidelines as well as car sales online. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 950 new people testing positive for the virus, bringing the statewide total to more than 33,200. According to the Sun Gazette, this is the first time the new cases reported have been fewer than 1,000 since April 1st signifying that the pandemic may be easing. The death toll in the commonwealth went up yesterday by 92 for a total of 1,204. Lycoming County has reported it’s first death from the coronavirus with 40 cases reported.
SOME ELECTRICITY CUSTOMERS MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE
As a result of the economic difficulties many area utility customers face during the covid-19 pandemic, STEP Utilities Assistance will broaden eligibility requirements for PPL customers using different fuel sources for heat and increasing the maximum allowable household income for those who receive assistance. Customers can make up to 250% of the federal poverty rate to be eligible for Operation HELP: an annual income of up to $43,100 for a family of two, and $65,500 for a family of four. Your options are listed on the STEP website, in the Housing Options section of www.stepcorp.org. These programs are possible due to partnerships with PPL and UGI.
CABIN FIRE BURNS IN RURAL LOCATION, FIREFIGHTERS STRUGGLE TO GET TO THE SCENE
No information has been released about the owner of a cabin located just off Gamble Run Road that was damaged Saturday morning from a chimney fire that burned out of control for about 45 minutes. According to the Sun Gazette, volunteer firefighters were challenged with getting to the structure on Route 414 in bad road conditions after 6 inches of snow fell in the area Friday night. Volunteers from Brown Township, Black Forest, Wellsboro, Liberty and Waterville were on the scene. Fire officials say the two-story cabin was damaged but repairs can be made.
CAMP CADET 2020 SEASON CANCELLED
The Pennsylvania State police have announced they will be cancelling upcoming Camp Cadet youth camps traditionally held in the spring and summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Colonel Robert Evanchick, commissioner of the state police said the decision has been made with everyone’s safety in mind and look forward to the programs in 2021. Each year, state police volunteers coordinate youth camps for 27 weeks of sleep-away camps and day programs
MONTGOMERY BOROUGH IS 2ND AMENDMENT SANCTUARY
Montgomery Borough Council has adopted a unanimous resolution to support the Constitution and has approved Montgomery Borough as a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary. During a recent Zoom teleconference, the council agreed on an ordinance that the borough will not spend money to enforce laws determined to be illegal and it affirms the support of citizens’ Constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms. According to the Sun Gazette, the activist group Gun Owners of America is advocating ordinances and resolutions throughout Pennsylvania. Buffalo township has done the same in Union County and Bradford County has adopted a similar resolution at the county level .
MAP AVAILABLE OF COVID-19 CASES BY ZIP CODE
There’s a new color coded map put online by the Pennsylvania Department of Health showing the concentration of people who have tested positive for coronavirus cases in every ZIP code. Users can click on the map and see the latest number of positive test results from people in each region along with the number of who tested negative. The map shows areas from the lowest to highest concentrations of the virus. The link to the map on the health department website is here
WASD SCHOOL BOARD WILL MEET ONLINE
The Williamsport Area School Board will meet tonight at 6pm online and the public is welcome to watch the live feed. A district spokesperson told the Sun Gazette that information on how to connect to the meeting will be on the Williamsport Area School District website at wasd.org before the meeting. Williamsport School board meetings are usually the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.
SPORTS
MLB
Former NY Yankee Alex Rodriguez and fiancé Jennifer Lopez are working with a finance company to raise capital in an attempt to buy the NY Mets. Rodriguez and LopeZ have a combined worth of $700 million.
Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter will indefinitely forego his $5 million salary during the coronavirus outbreak. He also made an announcement that all members of his baseball ops will be paid through May 31st.
MLB Comissioner Rob Manfred said starting May 1st he will suspend uniform employee contracts which will allow teams to lay off or cut the pay of major and minor league coaches, managers, fullt-time scouts and trainers.
NBA
The first two episodes of the Michael Jordan documentary series “Last Dance” gave ESPN big ratings . The series chronicles Jordan and the Chicago Bulls when they went to their 6th NBA Championship in 8 years. 6.1 million viewers tuned in.
NFL
The New England Patriots will used their Thursday night “color rush” uniforms as their home uniform. It’s the first time in 20 years the team has changed the primary uniform.
The 51st World Series of Poker has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers are now targeting this fall to hold te World Series of Poker which was slated to begin May 26 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In March, Casinos in the state were to cease operations until at least April 30th.
