TalkWilliamsport.com has confirmed the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has issued search warrants in the Williamsport Area School District “Criminal Sexual Misconduct” case.

The case was referred by Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner to Shapiro earlier this year.

On background, the referral stemmed from an incident on the WAHS baseball team trip to Myrtle Beach in 2018.

The search warrants have been filed and signed by Lycoming County President Judge Nancy Butts.

A number of parties involved in the case have been named in the search warrants which are under seal due to the sensitive nature of the case.

According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute,

“A search warrant is a warrant issued by the competent authority authorizing a police officer to search a specified place for evidence even without the occupant’s consent. A search warrant is generally required for a Fourth Amendment search, subject to a few exceptions. In Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967), the Supreme Court held that searches conducted outside the judicial process, without prior approval are prohibited under the Fourth Amendment, with a few detailed exceptions.”

On the issue of Obtaining a Search Warrant:

“Only judges and magistrates may issue search warrants. In Coolidge v. Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443 (1971), the Supreme Court held that a warrant must be issued by a “neutral and detached” judge capable of determining whether probable cause exists. To obtain a warrant, law enforcement officers must show that there is probable cause to believe a search is justified. Officers must support this showing with sworn statements (affidavits), and must describe in particularity the place they will search and the items they will seize. In Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551 (2004), the Court held that a warrant that lacks accurate information as to what will be searched is improper, and that a search which happens pursuant to that warrant is unlawful and violates the Fourth Amendment.

In Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983), the Supreme Court held that when deciding whether to issue the warrant, a judge must must consider the totality of the circumstances, including an informant’s veracity, reliability, and basis of knowledge.

When issuing a search warrant, the judge may restrict how and when the police conduct the search. In Zurcher v. Stanford Daily, 436 U.S. 547 (1978), the Supreme Court allowed the police to search a student newspaper. The newspaper was not implicated in any criminal activity, but police suspected it had photographic evidence of the identities of demonstrators who assaulted police officers. However, some jurisdictions responded by passing laws restricting or forbidding these kinds of searches, such as when California’s legislature created CA Penal Code § 1524.”

Regarding Warrants for Electronic Data:

“Police officers may obtain warrants to seize and search electronic storage media or electronically stored information. Since December 1, 2009, Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs these searches. The rules allow officers to copy seized material for later review. The new version of Rule 41 governing these searches also allows police officers to plant tracking devices on persons or property.”

TalkWilliamsport.com will have more on this developing story as events unfold.

Harrisburg, PA – The Department of Agriculture today released data related to COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions from September 21 through September 27, 2020. The information is specific to COVID-19 mitigation requirements for restaurants including social distancing, masking, and occupancy limits.

These numbers include actions taken during routine food safety inspections and inspections prompted by consumer complaints.

From September 21 through September 27, the Bureau of Food Safety performed 637 total inspections, 14 of which were complaint-driven; four were COVID-19 specific complaints. The bureau distributed 47 COVID-19 complaint-driven educational letters. Eleven COVID-19 related complaints were referred to local and county health jurisdictions. Three formal Warning Letters were issued.

A county by county breakdown of COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions can be found on the Department of Agriculture’s website. The data will be updated weekly, with data from the previous week.

Among other requirements, all businesses in the restaurant and retail food service industry authorized to conduct in-person activities are mandated to:

• Require all customers to wear a mask while entering, exiting, or otherwise traveling through the restaurant or retail food service business (mask may be removed while seated).
• Employees are required to wear masks at all times.
• Provide at least six feet between parties at tables or physical barriers between customers where booths are arranged back to back.
• Ensure maximum occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor areas are posted and enforced.

The Bureau of Food Safety has always operated with an education-first model, and always works to educate and correct on-site before taking official action. Businesses unwilling to correct on-site will first receive a warning letter, followed by monetary citations ranging from $25 to $300 per offense. Following an initial warning, food safety inspectors will follow up with unannounced inspections to ensure compliance or issue citations as necessary.

Consumers with general food safety complaints or concerns about non-compliance for COVID-19 mitigation can file a report online. COVID-19 mitigation restaurant enforcement actions will be released on a weekly basis.

For more information about the Department of Agriculture’s COVID-19 response, visit agriculture.pa.gov/covid.

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced the approval of new funding for three apprenticeship programs at New Century Careers (NCC) in Allegheny County through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s (DCED) Apprenticeship Grant Program. This funding will support the governor’s commitment to expanding job training-related opportunities throughout Pennsylvania.

“With three programs available—one being a newly-launched robotics course—New Century Careers will provide training to 120 apprentices,” said Gov. Wolf. “Funding programs like this through the administration’s PAsmart initiative positions apprentices for successful careers by connecting them with participating companies that critically need high-quality trained employees.”

New Century Careers, of Pittsburgh City, received $249,900 to provide training through its Manufacturing 2000 (M2K) Pre-Apprenticeship Machinist Training Program, Group Non-Joint (GNJ) Machinist Apprenticeship Program, and Group Non-Joint Robotics Technician Apprenticeship (RTA) Program. The M2K Pre-Apprenticeship program will provide up to 600 hours of hands-on machining competency development, online coursework, instructor-led classroom training, industry credentialing, and career development. The GNJ Machinist Apprenticeship Program will provide related classroom instruction for the four-year National tooling & Machining Association Apprenticeship Program, providing 144 hours of classroom instruction per year. For the RTA program apprentices will receive related technical instruction through the Community College of Allegheny County, Catalyst Connection, and Tooling-U/SME, for a total of 296.5 hours of related instruction in two years.

“New Century Careers will be able to continue to align our efforts in our registered pre-apprenticeship program, MANUFACTURING 2000 (M2K) and help to increase future numbers of individuals seeking entry into our PA registered 4-year machinists program,” said NCC President and CEO Neil Ashbaugh. “Additionally, this funding will help us engage employers and employees working in the automation and robotics industry to implement our registered 2-year program for robotic technicians.”

By the end of the grant period, a total of 90 M2K Pre-Apprentices, 15 Group Non-Joint Machining Apprentices, and 15 Group Non-Joint Robotics Technician Apprentices will have enrolled.

These programs will have a great impact on companies participating with the programs, which are facing an urgent need for a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce. The funding will allow for an increase in the region’s pool of skilled workers during the grant period and beyond; fill a gap for manufacturing employers with a continuous source of skilled workers and a larger pool of well-trained potential employees to interview and hire for entry-level positions. This will help the region remain competitive through an enhanced workforce development system, new apprenticeship programs like RTA, and coordinated efforts from NCC for the Apprenticeship and Pre-Apprenticeship programs.

Apprenticeship programs provide critical access to career pathways and enable apprentices to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to compete in today’s economy. Classroom training is a required component of registered apprenticeship programs across Pennsylvania and complements traditional on-the-job training. The technical material taught in a classroom environment enables apprentices to learn fundamental concepts, terminology, procedures, safety requirements, and basic tools and instruments.

Apprenticeships are a key component of Governor Wolf’s PAsmart initiative, an innovative way to improve coordination between state agencies, cut red tape, and invest in people and businesses to expand innovative job training in apprenticeships and other programs so workers get the skills they need to compete in the global economy.

The Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship Grant Program is a statewide program that offers assistance to registered apprenticeship programs. The program’s goal is to increase apprenticeship availability to Pennsylvania employers to assist them with their talent recruitment and development.

For more information about the Wolf Administration’s commitment to workforce training, visit DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf answering questions from the press. Governor Tom Wolf today announced a $225 million statewide grant program to support small businesses that were impacted by the COVID-19 public health crisis and subsequent business closure order. Harrisburg, PA — June 8, 2020

Doylestown, PA – Governor Tom Wolf was joined by Bucks County state legislators Rep. Wendy Ullman and Sen. Steven Santarsiero today to discuss the importance of preserving the Affordable Care Act (ACA) so it can continue to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvanians.

“COVID-19 has demonstrated that when one person is unable to access necessary health care, that puts all of us at risk,” Gov. Wolf said. “During a pandemic when our nation is facing a highly contagious, airborne virus that spreads rapidly when people gather together, it is even more concerning that not all Pennsylvanians have access to health care coverage, especially for the most vulnerable, including those with pre-existing conditions who are most at risk of contracting COVID-19.”

While President Trump has publicly said that he would not remove health care for those with pre-existing conditions, his actions belie those statements. More than 5 million Pennsylvanians with pre-existing health conditions could lose coverage if Trump-backed lawsuits repeal the ACA.

For some Pennsylvanians, known as long-haulers, COVID is already having long-term, adverse effects on their health as they continue to experience symptoms and side effects from COVID weeks and months after their initial illness.

COVID-19 threatens to be the epitome of a pre-existing condition. It affects, at the least, the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, the brain, the immune system, and the limbs. And if pre-existing condition protections under the ACA are stripped away, coverage for health care associated with any of these organs and systems could be excluded from our neighbors, friends and families who have already had to fight the virus.

If a robust, accessible and affordable health care system is necessary in non-pandemic times, its importance cannot be overstated during a pandemic.

House and Senate Democrats in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly are also working to safeguard access to affordable health care coverage in Pennsylvania and have introduced a series of bills to preserve essential health benefits, to require coverage for pre-existing conditions, to guarantee continued coverage for adult children, and to end lifetime and annual caps on coverage – all protections currently guaranteed by the affordable care act.

“In the midst of uncertainty over whether the upcoming Supreme Court decision will remove a key component of the Affordable Care Act, we are also faced with a grim certainty,” Rep. Ullman said. “If the current Washington administration continues for four more years, the entire protective structure of the Affordable Care Act will be dismantled.

“The ACA has offered protections to whole populations who previously hadn’t been able to get insurance due to pre-existing conditions. COVID-19 has taught us that many people with preexisting conditions are those who are most vulnerable to complications, hospitalizations and fatal outcomes if they become infected with the virus. They are our parents, our grandparents, our friends, our children, and ourselves. We must preserve the protections of the ACA for the citizens of Pennsylvania.”

“The Affordable Care Act is currently under threat at the federal level, putting access to health care at risk for millions of Pennsylvanians,” said Sen. Santarsiero. “It will be up to us on the state level to protect Pennsylvanians and ensure they continue with the coverage they have basic and critical coverage. The Pennsylvania Senate Democrats have been promoting four key bills that would do just that. It is time to put the health of all Pennsylvanians first, and pass this important legislation.”

The governor was also joined by Anna Payne, 32, who works for Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia, and has battled cystic fibrosis every day of her life. She is worried that if the ACA is repealed, she will spend the rest of her life battling insurance companies to get covered because she has a pre-existing condition.

“My administration has steadfastly opposed any efforts to undermine the ACA, which provides needed health care coverage to more than one million Pennsylvanians who otherwise could not afford health insurance,” Gov. Wolf said. “I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvanians, as well as their right to affordable and accessible health care coverage that does not penalize or discriminate against those who have pre-existing conditions.”

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) has been awarded $246,500 in federal funds from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to design, produce and deliver new digital learning resources to support individuals and groups affected by COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

IMLS awarded $13.8 million in IMLS CARES Act Grants nationwide to support the role of museums and libraries in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The 68 funded projects were selected from 1,701 applications requesting $409,251,399, and institutions receiving awards are matching them with $1.7 million in nonfederal funds. PHMC is one of only three organizations in Pennsylvania to receive an IMLS CARES Act Grant.

Through the “Pennsylvania History to Go” initiative, PHMC will film, edit, and produce virtual tours of museums on the Pennsylvania Trails of History and create infrastructure to produce live digital programs.

As part of the project, PHMC will engage with community organizations to promote and distribute these virtual tours to underserved audiences. An internal steering committee will manage production, and an external advisory panel consisting of school educators, library staff, multicultural representatives, agents for people experiencing barriers to access, Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs staff, and other partners will coordinate content, access and distribution.

“Since the pandemic shut down PHMC sites and museums in March, staff has shifted focus on delivering programs virtually and on making our collections increasingly accessible online to people who can’t visit our sites and museums right now,” said PHMC Executive Director Andrea Lowery. “These funds will help support that endeavor, creating content that will be useful through the pandemic and beyond.”

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. IMLS advances, supports, and empowers America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research and policy development. Their vision is a nation in which museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Through the Pennsylvania Trails of History, comprising 24 historic sites and museums along several special-interest trails, PHMC provides unique opportunities to explore Pennsylvania’s – and the nation’s – heritage. Learn more by visiting PHMC online and following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Harrisburg, PA –The University of Pittsburgh Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) today announced the receipt of a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement and evaluate a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention, focusing especially on service members, veterans, and their families.

“We all share the responsibility to prevent suicide, which is why we are proud to work with PERU, the CDC, and our other partners to develop programs and practices that will address suicide and offer support and resources to individuals who think about it, plan for it or attempt it,” said DHS Secretary Teresa Miller. “We know that veterans carry a greater risk for suicide than the general population, and that’s why the work we are doing is so critical. The work that this cooperative agreement funds will help save lives across Pennsylvania.”

“Our veterans and their families endure added stress in their lives because of the incredible sacrifices they made while serving our nation,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the DMVA. “As a result, veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than Americans who never served in the military. Our goal is to reduce veteran suicide to zero and we will need the support of community partners like DHS and PERU to achieve that goal. We look forward to the positive impact this grant will have on the lives of our veterans and their families.”

The CDC, through this cooperative agreement, awarded PERU $700,000 in funding each year over the next five years for suicide prevention by creating the Northwest Pennsylvania Veteran Suicide Prevention Program. The primary long-term outcome of the program is to reduce the average rate of suicide in 15 counties – Erie, Warren, McKean, Crawford, Forest, Elk, Clearfield, Jefferson, Armstrong, Clarion, Butler, Venango, Mercer, Lawrence, and Beaver – by at least 10 percent by the conclusion of the five-year project period.

The program will consist of an assessment of active county, state, and national suicide prevention initiatives to identify gaps in services and programming. Following the assessment, PERU will develop and implement additional risk assessment programs, community-based trainings, and healthcare-related initiatives across the 15-county target region. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected throughout the program to identify best practices and develop future policy.

“PERU is honored to work with the Commonwealth on this important initiative, which will provide Pennsylvania’s northwestern counties with the opportunity to implement data-driven strategies to prevent veteran suicides in their communities,” said Janice Pringle, PhD, PERU executive director and the project’s principal investigator. “It is our hope that this program will become a model for other parts of the state and the nation.”

PERU has partnered with the Pennsylvania departments of Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the CDC, and the mental health administrators in each of the counties to implement and evaluate a comprehensive approach to prevent suicide in the northwest Pennsylvania veteran population. This work will also supplement Pennsylvania’s Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan and the Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans and Their Families.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal ideation or have in past, know that help is always available:

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.
• The Spanish-language National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-888-628-9454
• For the Mental Health Crisis Text Line: Text PA to 741741
• Support and Referral Helpline: 1-855-284-2494. For TTY, dial 724-631-5600.

These free resources are available 24/7. If you are concerned about someone else’s well-being, these resources can help you be a life-saving assistance. No matter what you are going through, help is available.

Find more information on the Wolf Administration’s efforts to prevent suicide here.