Health Department asks court to shut down Carlisle auto show
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Health Department is asking a state court to shut down an auto show set to begin Wednesday that typically draws about 100,000 people due to coronavirus concerns. The agency filed a request for an injunction against Carlisle Events to stop the Spring Carlisle event that runs through Saturday from being held. The lawsuit calls the show dangerous and says it needs to be stopped. A spokesman for Carlisle Events says the legal filing is under review and is declining to comment about it. But he says the organizer has put in place COVID-19 prevention measures and doesn’t expect its typical crowd this year.

Aunt Jemima brand retired by Quaker due to racial stereotype
NEW YORK (AP) — Quaker Oats is retiring the 131-year-old Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the character’s origins are “based on a racial stereotype.” Quaker said it’s overhauled pancake mix and syrup will hit shelves by the fourth quarter of 2020. The company will announce the new name at a later date.  Kristin Kroepfl of Quaker Foods North America said Wednesday that the company has worked over the years to update the brand, but realizes that it hasn’t been enough. Earlier this year, Land O’Lakes said it would removed images of a Native American woman from its packaging.

Gov. Wolf: $157.5 Million Now Available for School Health and Safety Grants to Address COVID-19

Harrisburg, PA — Governor Tom Wolf announced today that The School Safety and Security Committee (SSSC) within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) has approved the opening of two funding announcements totaling $157.5 million that school entities are immediately eligible to apply for to address COVID-19-related health and safety needs for the 2020-2021 school year. Information about the grants and the application process can be found on PCCD’s School Safety and Security webpage.

“Schools have had to bear a significant operational and financial burden in responding to COVID-19,” Gov. Wolf said. “With the safety and well-being of students at the forefront of their response, this funding is intended to ease some of that burden.”

With the recent passage of Act 30 of 2020 on June 5, a total of $150 million in federal CARES Act funding was transferred to PCCD to be distributed to school districts, area career and technical centers, intermediate units, charter schools, regional charter schools and cyber charter schools to support COVID-19 Disaster Emergency School Health and Safety Grants.  Awards are to be made to over 770 eligible school entities per the formula distribution included in Act 30.

Another $7.5 million was allocated to PCCD to support COVID-19 Disaster Emergency Targeted School Health and Safety Grants for the 2020-2021 school year. Funding will be awarded by the SSSC to intermediate units applying on behalf of nonpublic schools for targeted grants to address COVID-19-related health and safety needs.

Eligible uses for the funding include the purchase of cleaning and sanitizing products; training and professional development of staff on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases; equipment purchases; modifying existing areas to support appropriate social distancing of students and staff; providing mental health services and supports; purchasing educational technology for distance learning; and other health and safety programs, items or services necessary to address the COVID-19 disaster emergency.

Per Act 30, school entities are required to apply with PCCD no later than June 30, 2020, to be eligible to receive their funding by July 15, 2020.  Intermediate units must apply on behalf of nonpublic schools in their area no later than July 8, 2020, in order to be eligible to receive awards no later than August 1, 2020.

More information about the Committee, its work, these solicitations and other grant opportunities can be found on PCCD’s School Safety and Security webpage.

How to participate

A livestream for people with smart devices or computer access will be online at https://access.live/PAlabor. Those without internet access can listen by calling 1-833-380-0719, however access is limited so we ask that they be reserved for individuals who need them.

Participants will be able to ask questions live during the town hall. At the beginning of the event, the moderator will explain how to submit questions. To protect participants’ personal confidential information, questions about individual claims cannot be answered during the town hall.

Pennsylvania has implemented all of the new programs under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – for self-employed, gig workers, contractors and others not normally eligible for UC.
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – additional 13 weeks of benefits to people who exhaust their regular UC.
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – extra $600 per week for anyone receiving unemployment benefits.

• $8.4 billion from regular UC
• $6.9 billion from FPUC
• $1.2 billion from PUA
• $94 million from PEUC

Improving Customer Service

• L&I UC staff has worked more than 147,000 overtime hours since mid-March.
• UC service center staffing levels have also increased 80 percent since March 15:
  • We’ve added 312 new employees, bringing the total of UC service center staff to 1,491.
  • We’ve added 358 additional state employees who have been reassigned from other offices/agencies to assist in UC.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Regular UC
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)

Recordings of prior public town halls are available here. Additional unemployment benefits information is available on L&I’s website, Facebook or Twitter.

Harmony Road Drainage Improvements Begin Wednesday in Daugherty Township

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing drainage improvement work on Harmony Road in Daugherty Township, Beaver County, will begin Wednesday, June 17 weather permitting.

Drainage improvements including cross pipe installation in various locations will begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning on Harmony Road between Blockhouse Run Road and Dogwood Drive. To allow the work to occur, the roadway will close to traffic weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the construction area through late July.  Traffic will be detoured.

Posted Detour

West of the closure

• From Harmony Road, take Blockhouse Run Road (Route 1031) north
• Turn right onto Wises Grove Road (Route 1014)
• Turn right onto Dogwood Drive (Route 1029)
• Follow Dogwood Drive back to Harmony Road
• End detour

East of the closure

• Same detour in the opposite direction

Crews from PennDOT will conduct the roadway improvement work.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 950 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Tw

         An Ohio BBQ Restaurant has named Pa. Gov Tom Wolf their            employee of the month.

          Breakwall BBQ in Conneaut Ohio broke sales records for the Ohio resteraunt and they attribute it to Gov Tom Wolf’s Closure orders in Pa. and the fact that Pennsylvanians are traveling across the boarder to eat in their Ohio facility where the restrictions are not in place. Breakwall made the Tongue and Cheek Comment on their Facebook page saying “Also want to give a shout out to our employee of the month, Pennsylvania’s very own Governor Wolf .. you the man sir!”

Black reporter sues paper over ban on her protest coverage
By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter prohibited from covering the city’s Black Lives Matter protests because of a tweet sued the paper on Tuesday. Alexis Johnson, who is black, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania alleging the Post-Gazette was engaging in racial discrimination and retaliation. Johnson was not allowed to pursue planned stories related to the protests after sending a tweet that mocked the different treatment of property damage done by black and white people. The suit says the move illegally discourages black employees from speaking out against racial discrimination. An email seeking comment on the lawsuit was sent to Johnson’s editors.

Liberal groups warn Biden could lose over policing policies
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than four dozen progressive groups have signed a letter to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign criticizing his policing proposals. They warn if the presumptive Democratic nominee doesn’t adopt more progressive policies he risks losing black voters — and the election. In the letter, the groups criticized Biden’s proposal to add $300 million to community policing programs. They called on him to support defunding the police, a proposal pushed by progressives that Biden has resisted. The letter also calls on Biden to support reparations for black Americans, another proposal he has resisted. Biden has called on Congress to pass a law banning the use of chokeholds, to stop giving police military weapons, among other measures.