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Winning hand

PHILADELPHIA — Bill Mason started selling baseball cards 25 years ago by carving a small space in his father’s convenience store, hoping to grab the attention of customers as they bought lottery tickets or paid their utility bill. He had become enamored with collecting after scoring autographs at Veterans Stadium, and hawking packs of cards after he turned 18 in 1996 was a chance to turn that passion into profit. The business grew, eventually moved to its own building next door, and Bill’s Sports Cards and Memorabilia became a mainstay in Northeast Philly. But the outlook of ...

Tamaqua rejects face coverings

LEHIGHTON — Tamaqua Area School District students didn’t have to wear masks during their return to school. That won’t change after Labor Day weekend. Despite the state Department of Health’s latest K-12 mask mandate, the Tamaqua Area School District determined that optional masking was in the best interest of its students. A special meeting was held on Thursday, where a 5-2 vote was passed by the board in favor of keeping the district’s health and safety plan the same — with masks being optional. “We’ve decided to continue with the optional masking through next ...

Wolf mandates masks in schools

Masks will be required starting Tuesday in all Pennsylvania public and private schools, as well as child care facilities, Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered. The mask mandate is a reversal for Wolf who earlier said he would let the issue up to school districts. The order, which takes effect Sept. 7 was welcomed by Altoona Area School Board member Rick Hoover, although he thinks it comes a little late as the district has begun reporting cases. “I’m thrilled that the governor made the decision to require masks, but the mandate is two weeks too late for the district,” Hoover said. ...

AASD keeps masks optional

The Altoona Area School Board voted 5-4 Wednesday to leave the district’s health and safety plan as is, meaning masks are still optional except for unvaccinated employees. The board reviewed the health and safety plan at a special meeting and debated whether masks should be mandated for ...

Wolf: Legislature should require masks in schools

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania schools need a statewide requirement that students in classrooms wear masks as protection against the coronavirus, the Democratic governor wrote in a letter Wednesday to legislative leaders. The message was a turnaround for Gov. Tom Wolf, who had maintained that a mask mandate was an issue for school boards to decide and questioned why Pennsylvania should mandate something that wasn’t mandated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In his letter, Wolf asked Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, and House Speaker Bryan ...

FDA fully approves vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration Monday gave full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19, an action that could nudge some hesitant people to get their shots, experts said. The testing that preceded the FDA’s emergency use authorization for Pfizer and the performance of its vaccine since then has shown the drug to be safe and effective, according to Don Yealy, UPMC chief medical officer, in a news conference Monday. The lack of full FDA approval seemed to be “one of the reasons people were holding off,” said Mark Taylor, Blair County’s emergency management director. Now, ...