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COVID-19

Wolf wants additional money for hazard pay

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday asked the Republican General Assembly to allocate $225 million from the state’s CARES Act reserve to extend his tapped-out hazard pay program for workers on the “front lines” of the COVID-19 pandemic — a request that exasperated state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair. “This governor makes unilateral decisions, then expects the General Assembly to pick up and jump on board,” said Ward, a Republican. “The working relationship between the governor’s office and the General Assembly has become very strained.” The previous $50 million hazard ...

Penn State football season back on

Penn State football is back for the 2020 season. The Big Ten Conference confirmed Wednesday morning that its season will start on Oct. 23-24. After announcing the postponement of all sports on Aug. 11 due to the coronavirus, conference presidents and chancellors met over the weekend and voted unanimously to green-light football. Schedules are expected to be finalized as soon as today or by the end of this week, said Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez. The presidents changed their position due to the emergence of daily, rapid-response COVID-19 testing. The Big Ten said it will ...

City gets $300K to assist renters

Altoona has received $305,000 in Community Development Block Grant money from the federal government to help people at risk of eviction because of COVID-19. The allocation is part of Pennsylvania’s $1.98 billion share of a total of $2 billion in CDBG funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that was distributed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Sept. 11, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., and city CDBG Manager Mary Johnson. The $2 billion is the third and final round of CDBG funding from the CARES Act, ...

State asks judge to retain crowd size limits

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top lawyer asked a federal judge Wednesday to retain Gov. Tom Wolf’s limits on crowd size, at least for now, warning that allowing large groups to congregate during a legal battle over Wolf’s public health orders “will result in people’s deaths” from the coronavirus. The office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro asked the judge, an appointee of President Donald Trump, to delay enforcement of his ruling that many of the Democratic governor’s pandemic shutdown orders were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV in Pittsburgh ...

Borough seeks OK for sidewalk

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Hollidaysburg Borough Council will ask to use more than $16,000 in CARES Act funds for a sidewalk connecting the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library area to Legion Park. Last Thursday, Borough Council approved allocating $16,116 of new CARES Act funds through the Community Development Block Grant to partially fund the sidewalk project. The borough also allocated $27,310 of its regular annual CDBG funding toward the project. The borough will fund any remaining expenses. The sidewalk would run from North Montgomery Street, along Belair Road and end at North ...

Fort Roberdeau receives CARES grant

Fort Roberdeau will receive a $25,000 grant to offset lost operating revenue at the historical site in Tyrone Township, according to state Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg. The funding, approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, comes from the federal CARES Act. Fort Roberdeau protected the lead miners and settlers of Sinking Valley during the Revolutionary War. The garrison there housed cannons, rifles, ammunition and other supplies. Typically, the site is open every day for the public to explore interpretative panels, buildings, an 18th-century garden and an outdoor ...