According to Governor Tom Wolf, yesterday marked 100 days since the first case of COVID-19 struck the commonwealth. He says Pennsylvania is one of a few states to see a downward trend in the virus and efforts here have been cited as an example for reopening safely according to the CDC. This week, more than 2.1 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with 37 states and jurisdictions reporting more than 10,000. Pennsylvania has 77, 543 cases of COVID-19. Lycoming County, just 172.
A grey fox attacked a woman in her driveway Wednesday afternoon in Loyalsock Township, biting her foot and ankle before her husband killed it with a blunt object. According to the Sun Gazette, the state game warden was notified after the unidentified woman was attacked in the 1000 block of Northway road and sought treatment at UPMC Williamsport for the bites and scratches. The dead fox will be tested for rabies and other diseases in a state Department of Health lab.
The state Senate Judiciary and Justice Committees heard statements from lawmakers and special interest groups including representatives from the NAACP Wednesday about accountability reforms involving criminal justice and police matters. There was a call from State District Attorney Josh Shapiro to end the practice of hiring police officers with a history of using excessive force by using a database that a state House bill passed this week helps establish. State Sen. Gene Yaw of Loyalsock Township, said the hearings will evaluate the need to strengthen laws and make reforms ACLU Pennsylvania Legislative Director Elizabeth Randol called for the decriminalization of victimless crimes.
A Biologist who was consulted through the Pennsylvania Game Commission by Backyard Broadcasting after learning the Williamsport Fireworks could have potentially impacted a nearby Bald Eagle nest, has said the Fourth of July Fireworks celebration is unlikely to impact any nesting eaglets that some in the community were concerned about. According to the Sun Gazette, wildlife biologist Mark Ternet, says the zone designated for pyrotechnics for the Set the Night to Music fireworks extravaganza is outside of the parameters for worry. Ternet says this bald eagles nest is the noisiest in the state, often hearing traffic and construction while coping with it and thriving.
Route 45 reopened just after noon yesterday after being closed in both directions for several hours between Fairground Road and 14th street in East Buffalo Township due to a fire that spread to two homes from a garage that was attached. According to the Daily Item, fire crews from two counties responded to the blaze that was first called just before 9am yesterday for a garage fire between 15th and 16th streets which, quickly spread to the adjacent home when a second alarm was called. PennDOT had local detour in place for fire crews who were on the scene for over 4 hours Fire crews from Lewisburg, Mifflinburg, Milton, White Deer Township, Union Township, and Shamokin Dam fire departments were on the scene. No injuries were reported.
PennDOT will be on the roadway Interstate 80 eastbound in West Buffalo Township today for a Soil re-mediation project. Following a tractor trailer crash in Union County around mile marker 198, a contractor will be blocking the left lane of I-80 East from about 7am til 5pm today. Watch for crews on the shoulder and follow posted speed limits.
Four Williamsport Area School District teams performed well in a virtual Odyssey of the Mind virtual World Finals recently, Out of two groups from Curtin Intermediate School, one earned a historic second-place ranking. The team from Williamsport Area High School earned an eighth-place win, while another took 15th. One other team from Curtin Intermediate took 20th. The World Finals were originally scheduled to take place at Iowa State University last month. With the cancelation of the in-person event due to the pandemic, each team competed virtually by sending in a performance video of them solving their respective problem.
SPORTS
MLB
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and union executive director Tony Clark met face-to-face for four hours in Phoenix yesterday, as requested by Manfred, to continue discussions about a return-to-play plan for the 2020 baseball season. The sides remained split, as a 60-games schedule, which would start July 19th, was deemed to short by the player’s union. Leaving the 2020 MLB season in question.
NFL
Arizona Cardinals Quarterback, Kyler Murray, added his name to the list of players that plan to kneel during the National Anthem when the NFL returns this fall. According to NFL.com, Murray told reporters, “Yeah, I’ll be kneeling. I stand for what’s right. That’s the bottom line,” Murray joins J.J. Watt, Baker Mayfield, Adrian Peterson and others that have publicly stated their plan to kneel.
NBA
The NBA’s return to play policy has raised concern from the National Basketball Coaches Association according to ESPN. The NBCA fears new league standards and guidelines that could bar team staffers in high-risk categories for the coronavirus from attending the NBA season’s restart in Orlando, Florida, could “severely jeopardize” their future employment opportunities. Head Coaches, Mike D’Antoni, Alvin Gentry and Greg Popovich could be restricted from coaching their respective teams once the season resumes in Orlando.
