AP PA Headlines 7/24/19
KINGSTON (AP) – The president of a Pennsylvania school board whose district had warned parents behind on lunch bills that their children could end up in foster care has rejected a CEO’s offer to cover the cost, the businessman said Tuesday. Todd Carmichael, chief executive and co-founder of Philadelphia-based La Colombe Coffee, said he offered to give Wyoming Valley West School District $22,000 to wipe out bills that generated the recent warning letter to parents.
But school board President Joseph Mazur rejected the offer during a phone conversation Monday, Carmichael spokesman Aren Platt said Tuesday. Mazur argued that money is owed by parents who can afford to pay, Platt said. “The position of Mr. Carmichael is, irrespective of affluence, irrespective of need, he just wants to wipe away this debt,” Platt said. Mazur did not return a phone message left at his home. Wyoming Valley West’s solicitor, Charles Coslett, said he did not know what the school board plans to do.
“I don’t know what my client’s intention is at this point,” Coslett said. “That’s the end of the line.” In a letter sent to papers in the Wilkes-Barre area on Monday, Carmichael said his offer was motivated in part because he received free meals as a child growing up near Spokane, Washington. “I know what it means to be hungry,” Carmichael wrote. “I know what it means to feel shame for not being able to afford food.” Carmichael said Tuesday in a phone interview that his offer stands.
“I’m just going to hold on and I’m going to continue to be optimistic and see if we can’t do something,” armichael said. “Even if you’re a difficult person, we’re in. What can we do?” The letters from the school district warned parents that they “can be sent to dependency court for neglecting your child’s right to food,” and that the children could be removed and placed in foster care.
Child welfare authorities have told the district that Luzerne County does not run its foster system that way. Luzerne County’s manager and child welfare agency director wrote to Superintendent Irvin DeRemer, demanding the district stop making what it called false claims. DeRemer has not returned messages in recent days.
In an editorial Tuesday, the Times-Tribune of Scranton called the threats shameful and an act of hubris. The paper urged lawmakers and the state Department of Education to “outlaw such outlandish conduct by law and regulation covering lunch debt collection.” Carmichael said he was struggling to understand why district officials would not welcome his help. “Why prevent it?” he said.
School officials considered serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to students with overdue accounts but received legal advice warning against it, the district’s federal programs director, Joseph Muth, has said.
School district officials have said they planned other ways to get the lunch money, such as filing a district court complaint or placing liens on properties. In the coming school year, Wyoming Valley West will qualify for funding to provide free lunches to all students.
RIEGELSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania utility regulators investigating the death of a man electrocuted by a downed power line are recommending that Metropolitan Edison pay a fine of more than $4.5 million. The recommendation to the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission board by commission investigators said the wrong clamp was used to secure the 34,500-volt wire that fell in a Williams Township backyard in July 2016.
Investigators also said the system meant to cut power to the fallen line had failed. Officials say Thomas Poynton Jr. didn’t touch the wire but was electrocuted by the charged ground, and his dog was also killed and the house set afire. Met-Ed said in a statement that it will file a response soon and doesn’t comment on pending litigation but is dedicated to providing safe, reliable service.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Features
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An affiliate of the National Rifle Association in California is asking a federal judge to block a new law requiring background checks for people buying ammunition. The California Rifle & Pistol Association on Monday asked U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego to halt the checks and related restrictions on ammo sales.
Voters approved tightening California’s already strict firearms laws in 2016. The restrictions took effect July 1.
The gun owners’ association challenged the background checks in a lawsuit filed last year and is now seeking an injunction. Benitez previously rejected the state’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Earlier this year, he struck down California’s nearly two-decade-old ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. That triggered a week-long buying frenzy before he stopped sales while the state appeals his ruling.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Virginia judge has dismissed a lawsuit by activists which sought to force the city of Norfolk to move its 112-year-old Confederate monument. The Virginian-Pilot reports Chief Judge Mary Jane Hall said in an 11-page order entered yesterday that the plaintiffs failed to prove that their constitutional rights were being violated by the continued placement of the Confederate monument.
The plaintiffs, Roy Perry-Bey and Ronald Green, sought to have the 80-foot monument moved as the Norfolk City Council promised in a resolution passed in 2017. Perry-Bey called Hall’s ruling “improper.” After Perry-Bey and Green had filed their lawsuit, Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko said in April that the city would challenge a state law which makes it illegal to move war monuments, including those dedicated to the Confederacy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the most part, America didn’t read “the book.” Today, we’ll find out how many are willing to catch the radio and TV version of Robert Mueller’s 448-page report. The former special counsel is to give testimony before two congressional panels today. And what he does _ or doesn’t say _ is expected to have a major effect on President Donald Trump’s future in the White House. Or not. You can hear his morning testimony on WKOK andWKOK.com.
The long-term effect of the hearings will hinge on how much Mueller expounds on his two-year probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election _ and what, if any, role Trump or those close to him played in that interference. Mueller is known for being terse in his remarks _ and it’s unclear whether lawmakers will be able to get him to elaborate. Meanwhile, President Trump has already said he won’t watch much. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he won’t either.
NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the day’s most pointed media criticism lets its subjects do the talking. The news outlet NowThis has attracted attention with videos that illustrate inconsistencies by Fox News personalities, like one posted Tuesday that contrasts the news network’s treatment of Michelle Obama with her successor as first lady, Melania Trump. Clips show Fox commentators criticizing Michelle Obama’s wardrobe, saying she needed to drop a few pounds and calling her the “merchant of death.” Meanwhile, Melania Trump is called stunning, spectacular and “a woman of strength who should be revered.”
Back-to-back clips show Fox’s Dana Perino suggesting that Michelle Obama gets a pass from criticism and, at another point, saying “she’s carrying a bag that costs $1,200 and nobody said a thing.” “You can’t dispute video when you see the hypocrisy very directly,” said Athan Stephanopoulos, NowThis’ president. Fox, for its part, pointed out that NowThis was founded by two men who worked on the Huffington Post, which the network regards as a liberal publication that opposes it. The network also questioned the fairness of some videos because they featured people who no longer work at Fox.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director Riley Stearns says he didn’t realize he was making a perfect movie for 2019 when he started writing “The Art of Self-Defense ” four years ago. But his darkly comedic riff on toxic masculinity starring Jesse Eisenberg as a timid and “weak” man who takes up karate just kept becoming more relevant. The Harvey Weinstein allegations broke during the shoot in 2017 and the #MeToo movement became a phenomenon.
“It was kind of weird that this idea that I had been feeling was very personal to me was really starting to spread into a direct discussion,” Stearns said. “More and more people are relating to the film in ways that I originally wouldn’t have intended, which is hugely humbling and very interesting to see.” “The Art of Self-Defense” is currently in 540 theaters nationwide, where it’s finding a healthy audience amid all the flashier blockbusters and superhero films in the multiplex.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift are the top contenders at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, each scoring 10 nominations. Grande and Swift will compete in eight of the same categories, including video of the year. Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” and Grande’s “thank u, next” are nominated for the top prize alongside Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” 21 Savage and J. Cole’s “A Lot,” and Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker.”
Eilish came in second with nine nominations, while Lil Nas X earned eight nominations. The 2019 VMAs will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Aug. 26. Post Malone was surprisingly snubbed, despite dominating on streaming services, radio and the Billboard charts.
NEW YORK (AP) — An MSNBC contributor says she didn’t mean what she said online literally _ and says she’s sorry to anyone who thought otherwise. Joyce Vance posted on Twitter Sunday that Fox won’t air special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s testimony to Congress tomorrow _ because President Donald Trump is afraid of what his supporters will think if they heard from Mueller. Turns out Fox will, indeed, air Mueller’s testimony _ along with ABC, CBS, NBC and major cable news outlets. Vance says her tweet was meant to be ironic. Some fans apparently thought otherwise; the original message was re-tweeted nearly 10,000 times.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
PA Sports, Scores & Skeds
DETROIT (AP) — Scott Kingery tripled to lead off the 15th inning and scored on a single by Rhys Hoskins as the Philadelphia Phillies outlasted the Detroit Tigers 3-2. Left fielder Brad Miller threw Detroit’s Nicholas Castellanos out at the plate in the bottom of the 14th to keep the game tied.
The Phillies play on 1070AM WKOK, while our normal programming continues at WKOK.com and on the Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation app. The Phils play at the Tigers today 12:30pm on 1070AM WKOK, while the last half hour of the Dan Patrick Show, Dave Ramsey, and an encore Dan Patrick show, continue on WKOK.com and on the SBC app.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered for the second straight night, José Martínez added his 10th home run of the season and Dakota Hudson rebounded from a shaky start to lead the St. Louis Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3. Goldschmidt delivered a two-run blast to the left-field seats in the third inning off Chris Archer (3-7). Martínez put St. Louis in front with a solo shot leading off the fifth and Hudson and two relievers shut the Pirates down after spotting Pittsburgh an early 3-0 lead.
Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
INTERLEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 3 Detroit 2, 15 Innings
Final Kansas City 5 Atlanta 4
Final Miami 5 Chi White Sox 1
Final Baltimore 7 Arizona 2
Final L-A Angels 5 L-A Dodgers 4
———
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Toronto 2 Cleveland 1, 10 Innings
Final Boston 5 Tampa Bay 4
Final Oakland 4 Houston 3, 11 Innings
Final N-Y Yankees 14 Minnesota 12, 10 Innings
Final Texas 7 Seattle 2
———
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final St. Louis 4 Pittsburgh 3
Final Washington 11 Colorado 1
Final N-Y Mets 5 San Diego 2
Final Cincinnati 14 Milwaukee 6
Final San Francisco 5 Chi Cubs 4, 13 Innings
———
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final L.A. Sparks 78 Atlanta 66
Final Phoenix 95 Indiana 77
Final Las Vegas 79 Seattle 62
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
INTERLEAGUE
Philadelphia at Detroit 1:10 p.m.
Baltimore at Arizona 3:40 p.m.
Kansas City at Atlanta 7:20 p.m.
Miami at Chi White Sox 8:10 p.m.
L-A Angels at L-A Dodgers 10:10 p.m.
———
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston at Tampa Bay 12:10 p.m.
Oakland at Houston 2:10 p.m.
Texas at Seattle 3:40 p.m.
Cleveland at Toronto 7:07 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Minnesota 8:10 p.m.
———
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Colorado at Washington 1:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Milwaukee 2:10 p.m.
Chi Cubs at San Francisco 3:45 p.m.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh 7:05 p.m.
Colorado at Washington 7:05 p.m.
San Diego at N-Y Mets 7:10 p.m.
———
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
N-Y Liberty at Connecticut 11:30 a.m.
Washington at Minnesota 1:00 p.m.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
