Associated Press Pennsylvania Headlines 7/26/20
PITTSBURGH (AP) –Whatever Pittsburgh did, it seemed to work: The city racked up a fraction of the coronavirus cases in the spring when the other side of Pennsylvania flared up into a hot spot. With a state-mandated masking order in place, Pittsburgh’s gyms, salons, bars and restaurants got permission to reopen in early June. Barely three weeks later, officials in Allegheny County — home to Pittsburgh and 1.2 million residents — raised the alarm over a spike in COVID-19 cases. The culprit? Primarily, officials say, people visiting bars and restaurants or working in them. Thus began a cascade of orders shutting down bars and restaurants in an effort to contain the outbreak.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The many Pennsylvania school districts that have not settled on how and when they will restart instruction this fall will be making decisions in the coming weeks, and the pandemic plans that have been produced so far are all over the map. That’s by design, the state education secretary said Friday, as he encouraged districts to customize state-issued guidelines for their particular conditions.
“We know that schools and school districts are interpreting that in different ways, because this is guidance,” Secretary Pedro Rivera said in a phone interview. “But I want to be really clear, when we look at best practice, when we look at this through the public health perspective, face coverings, 6 feet or greater social distancing is what we know to be the best practice in mitigating the transmission of this disease.”
School districts must have a board-approved plan posted online before they can resume in-person instruction for the first time since Rivera and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf shuttered schools for the year in March. “They are holding these meetings as we speak,” Annette Stevenson with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association said Friday. “ Some have voted, some have already publicly announced it. And there’s many meetings going on in the next two weeks.”
State guidelines call for 6 feet (1.8 meters) of social distancing “to the maximum extent possible,” a goal that may prove difficult. “Applying the guidance within the confines of various sized buildings is going to be a challenge, and in some instances not possible,” Stevenson said. “So that’s where the districts have to come in and make varied decisions.”
School officials who have been planning for months now face those hard decisions just as the state’s infection numbers are experiencing a sharp increase. Philadelphia’s plan to bring kids back for two days per week of in-person instruction or have them opt for online only led to an 8-hour virtual meltdown Thursday night, with testimony by more than 100 parents, teachers and administrators. Many of the concerns centered on students’ safety.
The community forum ended with the superintendent seeking to put the plan on hold for revisions, although the board may take it up again next week. An Associated Press review of dozens of public school plans, some approved by their boards, showed that school districts have generally hewed to the state-issued guidance, but there are differences.
To improve ventilation, the State College Area School District plans to have windows open whenever the temperature and pollen conditions allow, as well as flush the water system and make sure the heating and air conditioning is in working order. One plan encourages drivers to keep open school bus windows when they can.
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A former police officer in northeastern Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of two women by using his authority to pressure them into sex acts.
Thirty-one-year-old former Ashley officer Mark Icker earlier pleaded guilty in federal court to using his position to force himself on two women in 2018 during traffic stops. He apologized in court Friday, saying “That’s not my character. That’s not who I am.” A federal judge rejected a plea agreement’s 12-year term, calling it insufficient, and ordered Icker to register as a sex offender, something victims had sought.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The founder of an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak restaurant and one of his sons have been indicted on federal tax evasion and fraud charges for allegedly hiding nearly $8 million in sales over the course of a decade. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S.
Attorney’s office announced the charges Friday against 82-year-old Anthony Lucidonio Sr, and his son, 54-year-old Nicholas Lucidonio. They’re two owners of the well-known cheesesteak and sandwich shop Tony Luke’s. The indictment alleges the pair kept two sets of books to try to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. Court documents didn’t yet show attorneys for the pair.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
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