Oscar winner and groundbreaking star Sidney Poitier dies
By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died. He was 94. Few movie stars had such an influence both on and off the screen. Before Poitier, the son of Bahaman tomato farmers, no Black actor had a sustained career as a lead performer or could get a film produced based on his own star power. Before Poitier, few Black actors were permitted a break from the stereotypes of bug-eyed servants and grinning entertainers.

HARRISBURG (Jan. 6, 2022) – Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47, chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, today applauded the fact that the Pennsylvania Farm Show, starting on Saturday, Jan. 8, is back as an in-person event.

“While COVID-19 forced the show to be virtual last year, the 2022 agricultural expo will draw plenty of visitors to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg between Jan. 8 and Jan. 15, and that’s a good thing for Pennsylvania and the state’s agricultural industry,” said Sen. Vogel, a fourth generation dairy farmer who operates his family’s farm in New Sewickley Township, Beaver County.

The annual celebration of the diversity and quality of Pennsylvania agriculture is the largest such event in the nation, featuring nearly 6,000 animals, 12,000 competitive events and exhibits, plus 300 commercial exhibits and hundreds of educational and entertaining events. The state’s agricultural industry supports 593,000 Pennsylvania jobs and annually contributes $132.5 billion to the state’s economy.

Each year, the show has a theme, and the theme for the 106^th Pennsylvania Farm Show is “Harvesting More,” with the event to showcase a harvested bounty of innovative projects, sustainable practices, empowered agricultural leaders across the career spectrum, engaged youth and inspiring stories of Pennsylvania’s bounty.

All the things we’ve come to love at the Farm Show will be back, including the many animal and food competitions, tractor square dancing, the sheep to shawl competition, the butter sculpture, and those tasty milkshakes and the rest of the Food Court smorgasbord.

There will also be new offerings during the 8-day event, including a demonstration of canine smarts, speed and agility; ducklings in the Waterfowl Habitat live in the Farm Show’s Poultry Hall (this was a live-streamed favorite last year during the virtual Farm Show); educational scavenger hunts; new virtual reality exhibits; a Cowboy Church (on Sunday, Jan. 9); urban gardening; the Frontier Finals Rodeo; a truck and tractor pull demonstration; a cornhole tournament; and a country line dance-along.

The show runs from Jan. 8 through Jan. 15, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, except on Sunday, Jan. 9, when it runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 15, when it opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. For those who love the food of the Farm Show, the Food Court in the Expo Hall will also be open from noon until 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 7.

Visitors will not be required to wear a mask, but the Department of Agriculture is encouraging people to wear masks and practice social distancing at the event. Masks will be made available to those that want them, and hand sanitizer stations are located throughout the complex. The state has invested $21 million in maintenance and improvements to the Farm Show complex, including updates to the HVAC system which are intended to improve the air quality inside the buildings.

Entrance to the show is free, but parking costs $15 per car at all Farm Show complex lots.

How do I know if I have a cold, the flu or COVID-19?
By VICTORIA MILKO AP Science Writer
Symptoms of common colds, the flu and COVID-19 can overlap, so experts say testing is the best way to determine what you have. The flu and COVID-19 can share symptoms including cough, fever and tiredness. Symptoms unique to COVID-19 include the loss of taste or smell. Colds tend to be milder with symptoms including a stuffy nose and sore throat. It is also possible to be infected with the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. With many similar symptoms caused by the three different viruses, testing remains the best option to determine which one you might have.

Stalemates, court battles could squeeze primary election
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More extreme time pressures could push the bounds of how Pennsylvania’s elections are run in 2022, with races for U.S. Senate and governor driving voter interest and partisan stalemates in the statehouse sowing uncertainty. With barely a month Friday before candidates can start gathering signatures to qualify for primary ballots, Pennsylvania still has no new map of boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts. A court battle looks inevitable, potentially squeezing the timeline for counties to finalize and mail out ballots. Meanwhile, counties remain unable to persuade the Republican-controlled Legislature to let them process mailed-in ballots before Election Day. That hang-up in 2020’s presidential election dragged out counting for days.

Winter storm tracks east, hitting during morning commute
By MARK PRATT Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A winter storm that has already left areas of the South with more than 6 inches of snow moved into the Northeast during the morning commute and prompted many school districts to close for the day. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker urged people to stay off the roads Friday and take public transportation if possible, as the storm was forecast to drop as much as a foot of snow in coastal areas of the state. Schools in Boston closed, and Providence, Rhode Island, public schools switched to distance learning, but New York City kept the nation’s largest public school system open.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a modest 199,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate fell sharply, at a time when businesses are struggling to fill jobs with many Americans remaining reluctant to return to the workforce. At the same time, Friday’s jobs report from the Labor Department showed that the nation’s unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to a healthy 3.9%, evidence that many more people found jobs last month. Indeed, despite the slight hiring gain, 651,000 more people reported that they were employed in December compared with November. Wages also rose sharply, a sign that companies are competing fiercely to fill their open jobs.

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Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT has lifted the speed limit restrictions that were in place on several roadways in the region.

(Coraopolis, Pa.)  40-year-old William Goring of Coraopolis was arrested by Allegheny County Police and charged after he reportedly grabbed a 9-year-old girl at her school bus stop in Coraopolis.
Police officers were dispatched to the intersection of School Street and McCabe Street at about 8:15 a.m. yesterday and upon arriving learned the the 9-year-old girl was grabbed from behind by a man who covered her mouth, grabbed her by the hair and led her away from the bus stop. Police said the girl fought with the man and was able to get away from him as the bus arrived.
Goring was a stranger to the girl. He was quickly found and detained by police.
He was charged with attempted kidnapping, aggravated assault and other charges.

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​Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing northbound lane restrictions at the I-79 Neville Island Bridge in Glenfield Borough and Robinson and Neville townships, Allegheny County, will occur Saturday, January 8 weather permitting.

Northbound Interstate 79 will be reduced to a single-lane of traffic from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday between the Route 51 Coraopolis/McKees Rocks (Exit 64) and Route 65 Emsworth/Sewickley (Exit 66) interchanges. Crews will conduct paint containment removal work. No restrictions will occur in the southbound direction.

Motorists should expect delays during peak travel times.

The $43 million I-79 Neville Island Bridge Rehabilitation Project includes structural steel repairs, full structure painting, bearing and deck joint replacements, deck repairs and overlays, bridge barrier repair, substructure concrete work and drainage improvements. The project also includes concrete roadway reconstruction, guide rail replacement and preservation work on four sign structures. Additionally, preservation work will occur on the I-79 bridge over Deer Run Road, north of the Neville Island Bridge. Motorists will see ramp closures and single-lane and shoulder closures in each direction on I-79 during daylight off-peak and overnight hours. Other traffic impacts include four southbound weekend closures in 2022. The overall project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023.

The Trumbull Corporation is the prime contractor.

To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for the I-79 Neville Island Bridge rehabilitation including traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – I-79” in the subject line.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 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 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

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Story published at 5:59 AM, Friday, january 7, 2022