A Concurrent resolution was passed in the GOP-controlled General Assembly this week that directing Governor Wolf to end the COVID-19 disaster emergency order issued on March 6 and renewed on June 3. The governor has vowed to veto the move,Wolf said ending the disaster emergency prematurely takes away services from people and places affected by COVID-19, the ability to waive job search requirements for residents to receive unemployment benefits, the presence of the National Guard in nursing homes, and deploying materials and resources.
Shots were fired and Williamsport police are searching for suspects after an incident in the 2100 block of Newberry Street Wednesday afternoon. According to the Sun Gazette, witnesses said gun shots were heard and 2 men ran across a church parking lot fleeing the scene in a white four-door Chrysler 200 sedan along Diamond Street just after 4pm. Police blocked off the area for about an hour and investigated the scene finding ballistics evidence, but no reports that anyone was injured in the shooting.
Governor Wolf announced new preliminary guidance for high school and recreational sports teams to begin in-person activities like voluntary workouts, in the state’s yellow and green phases. The guidance includes college and professional sports. Public and private K-12 schools in yellow and green can resume if they develop an athletic health and safety plan that is approved by the local board of directors and posted on the school’s website. Recreational and amateur sports teams in the green phase that are not affiliated with a K-12 school can hold in-person activities, following CDC guidelines. Parents and other spectators should practice social distancing, wear face coverings and not enter the field or bench areas.
The Lycoming County commissioners are expected to make decisions on an amendment today restricting hunting preserves to areas zoned resource protection. The commissioners and the county planning commission previously discussed the issue including the pros and cons of allowing such activities. According to the Sun Gazette, a petition opposing the hunting preserve on land owned by Stacy Fry in Muncy Township was opposed by 50 people. The commissioners noted concerns but Commissioner Scott Metgzer said that the different government bodies, and supervisors, have done their due diligence considering the matter and it’s time to vote on it.
According to State troopers in Milton, there is a death investigation going on in Turbot Township. Police say two deaths occurred at a home on Phillips Road in Northumberland County. Troopers say the call came in Wednesday afternoon around 1pm with reports of a deceased male and female on the property northeast of Milton as a result of traumatic injuries. they were called this afternoon and that they deaths were because of traumatic injuries. Northumberland County Chief Deputy Coroner James R. Gotlob, said the coroner’s office is not releasing any information at this time due to the pending state police investigation.
Williamsport City Council will meet online tonight via Zoom technology and is expected to amend Mayor Derek Slaughter’s proclamation on outside gatherings no larger than 250 which are now following Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendations for preventing spread of COVID-19. According to the Sun Gazette, they will also review a subrecipient agreement between River Valley Transit and Lycoming County for the Unified Planning Work Program for 2020 through 2022.concerning planning of the Williamsport Area Transportation Study. There has also been a change in the city recreation commission meeting time to noon Mondaychanging from previously at 4pm.
Sunbury revitalization has announced that The Lake Augusta Wine and Beer Festival will still be held this year, just later. The festival scheduled for September 19 has been postponed to Saturday, December 12 at the Albright Center in multiple sessions in order to not exceed the 250 person limit Details can be found on the event page for the festival. The Sandwich Stroll in Sunbury originally scheduled for June 27 has also been postponed to a later date.
SPORTS
NASCAR
Martin Truex Jr won his first NASCAR series Cup Race of the year at Martinsville Virginia yesterday in its’ first race under the lights and his first race with new crew chief Jason Small. Ryan Blaney, Brad Keslowski and Joey Logano on Team Penske followed in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Two days after Bubba Wallace, the lone black driver in NASCAR’s three national series, called for the sanctioning body to ban all Confederate flags at racetracks, the organization made an announcement Wednesday that the display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties. NASCAR did not address how it would enforce the policy or indicate any penalties for fans who violate it by bringing the Confederate flag to a track.
NBA
LA Lakers LeBron James and other black athletes and entertainers are teaming together in a new group geared toward energizing black voters and thwarting voter suppression in cities around the country that could prove critical in the upcoming presidential election. The nonprofit organization, named More Than a Vote, encourages African Americans to register and vote in November and also expose voter suppression tactics, such as misinformation spread through social media.
Harry Glickman, the founder of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the franchise’s only NBA title-winning team in 1977, died Wednesday. He was 96. The team announced Glickman’s death. No cause was given. Under Glickman, the Trail Blazers set an American sports record with 814 consecutive home sellouts, a feat later surpassed by the Boston Red Sox.
MLB
Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson made history when the Detroit Tigers selected him with the first pick in the 2020 MLB draft on Wednesday, making him the first college first baseman and the first right-handed-hitting first baseman ever selected with the first overall pick. Torkelson played first base at Arizona State, but the Tigers announced him as a third baseman.
