February 10, 2022 4:06 am
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) – Nearly 60,000 bees have been stolen from a grocery store company’s field in Pennsylvania. Pennlive.com reports that the bees were said to have been stolen in Carlisle at the end of January. The Giant Company’s community impact manager said that the bees were an essential part of the local food chain that is suffering a declining bee population. The nationwide loss of bee populations is causing serious concerns with the agricultural industry and environmentalists. The newspaper reports that about one-third of the United States’ food supply relies on bees to pollinate plants.
February 9, 2022 1:24 pm
(AP) – Looks like the United States Postal Service is getting more money to work with. The House has passed a bill that would lift some of the budget restraints that helped push the Postal Service into debt. The measure will also let USPS keep a six-day delivery schedule. The Senate is working on similar legislation. The bill comes amid widespread complaints about slow mail service. The Postal Service is supposed to sustain itself with postage sales and other services, but has experienced 14 straight years of losses.
February 9, 2022 12:48 pm
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the state will end a COVID-19 mask mandate requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings, but will keep masking rules in place in schools for now. The broad rule requiring masks in places like shops and offices was put in place in mid-December as the omicron variant of the virus began infecting huge numbers of New Yorkers. It was set to expire Thursday. Hochul has been saying she wants to see vaccination rates for children increase before she gets rid of a state requirement for masks in schools. (Photo: AP)
February 9, 2022 4:06 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron says Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that Moscow would not further escalate the Ukraine crisis. Macron also said it would take time to find a diplomatic solution to the rising tensions. His remarks on a visit to Kyiv came after the Kremlin denied reports that he and Putin struck a deal during marathon talks Monday on de-escalating the crisis. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “in the current situation, Moscow and Paris can’t be reaching any deals.” Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid mounting fears of a Russian invasion. Moscow has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, but insists it has no plans to attack.
February 9, 2022 4:04 am
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – Nearly a year after 10 people were shot and killed at a supermarket in Colorado, the redesigned store in the college town of Boulder is reopening Wednesday. The move is triggering mixed emotions. The mother of a longtime employee who was killed says having the store back open sends a message that evil doesn’t win. But the uncle of another slain worker thinks it may have been better to tear it down. A company spokesperson says the overwhelming majority of customers and employees wanted the store to reopen and it heeded their recommendations for changes, including making it lighter and brighter inside.
February 9, 2022 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the powerful Food and Drug Administration has stalled in the narrowly divided Senate. It’s an unexpected setback that could delay long-awaited decisions on everything from electronic cigarettes to prescription opioids. Biden nominated Dr. Robert Califf for the job in November after months of vetting candidates. Califf was viewed as a safe choice because he’d previously headed the FDA under President Barack Obama and had cleared the Senate by an overwhelming vote. But Califf’s latest bid has been embroiled in disparate political controversies that threaten to sink his nomination and leave the FDA in limbo for months.
February 9, 2022 4:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is criticizing the Republican National Committee for censuring two House GOP lawmakers investigating the “violent insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, saying it’s not the party’s job to decide whom to support. As former President Donald Trump has downplayed the attack, the RNC last week took a voice vote to approve censuring Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. The RNC resolution censuring the Cheney and Kinzinger assailed the House panel for leading a “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” Those words that have prompted a firm pushback from several GOP senators.
February 9, 2022 3:58 am
North Franklin Township Supervisors have approved a measure to expand sewer facilities and tackle other projects in the township. The bond will include $6.7 million in new debt for the sewer project and the township’s new municipal building. It will also roll in $2.8 million of existing debt to take advantage of low interest rates. The sewer project will expand sewer lines along Park Avenue to the township line and upgrade the pumping station. Supervisors also heard from concerned citizens regarding the proposed Gnagey Jean well pad site in Buffalo Township. Concerned residents from both North Franklin Township and Buffalo Township spoke about the location of the well in a residential district. They also are concerned because the pad will be on top of the abandoned Lincoln #1 coal mine. Research states that there is a fault line through the mine and it is being monitored for the release of unknown regulated substances. North Franklin Township Supervisors will be requesting that Range Resources, the developer of the site, appear at a future meeting to describe their drilling practices and address resident’s concerns.
February 9, 2022 2:59 am
Roughly 60 people turned out to a special meeting held by South Strabane Township Supervisors to voice their concerns regarding a fire hydrant assessment fee. That fee would be charged to any property owner within 780 feet of a fire hydrant. Anyone beyond that measurement would not be assessed the fee. Residents were clear with their opposition to the assessment calling it arbitrary, unfair and unjust. People were angry that some homeowners would not have to pay the fee even though they may benefit from the service of a fire hydrant. One resident likened it to her paying a street light and sidewalk fee every year even though she has no sidewalks or street lights. The fee would be based on assessed value of a property. Twenty four hours before the meeting, no millage rate or estimated cost for the tax was provided for resident review. That was rectified late in the day and was announced at the meeting. A .0597 mil assessment would have created an $11.94 fee based on a house valued at $200,000. Regardless of the untimely information, the board voted unanimously to defeat the measure. Also angering residents was the meeting’s time. The meeting held at 10:00 AM had residents thinking that the board was trying to slip the ordinance past them. The issue will be revisited but not for calendar year 2022.
February 9, 2022 2:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf is hitting the road to begin selling his proposal for what would be the largest-ever increase in aid for public schools, several times over. Wolf appeared in Erie on Wednesday to tout the plan, just over $1.5 billion for instruction and operations, almost a quarter of what the state sends now. Districts that would see the biggest increases include smaller cities with an increasingly poorer tax base and growing suburbs where changing demographics are not fully taken into account by how the state funds schools. Meanwhile, 20 districts – primarily cities with the lowest household incomes – would get more than half of the $1.55 billion.
