The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

May 15, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

One of the more colorful outfits at Friday’s ReOpen PA rally

The pandemic news had some new twists and turns this week, in addition to the same old, plodding story. As usual, we covered it all as it unfolded. If you missed any of our coverage, we have it all listed and linked below.

Allison Hill is slated for a major redevelopment project, as Harrisburg City Council this past week approved a building plan for a centrally located area around N. 15^th Street. The developer hopes to break ground later this year. Click here for the details.

April home sales held their own in the Harrisburg area, despite the pandemic. Sales were down a bit, but prices actually rose during the month. Find out the details in our monthly update.

COVID-19 cases continue to drop, ever so slowly, around the commonwealth, though the fatality count has risen sharply. We covered the state’s daily briefings, including the latest story here.

Cumberland, Adams, York and Perry counties will move into the “yellow” category next week, Gov. Wolf said. This leaves the Harrisburg area split, with about half the area still under the most restrictive red phase. Get the details in our online news story.

Gov. Tom Wolf came out swinging this past week, warning counties that they risk losing aid if they unilaterally relax business and stay-at-home restrictions. He didn’t mince words, much like the strong language of several critical county commissioners. Find out what happened from our online story.

Grieving and funerals have changed greatly due to the coronavirus pandemic. Our online feature story explains how people are adapting in a time of social distancing and limits on public gatherings.

Harrisburg-based small businesses received some rare good news this week, as they learned they would receive $5,000 checks under a joint program by Impact Harrisburg and the city. We had the story details, including interviews with a few recipients.

Harrisburg school district has a large, unexpected budget deficit due to lower tax revenue and lower-than-expected aid, in light of the pandemic. However, they still don’t expect to raise taxes. Our online story explains why.

ReOpen PA held another protest of Gov. Tom Wolf’s “stay at home” and business closure orders. The crowd was smaller than last month’s, but remained passionate, with lots of colorful posters, flags and pro-Trump paraphernalia. Our online feature story captures the action.

ReOpen PA is back, exercising their Constitutional right of assembly. That’s perfectly fine, says our editor, as long as they also exercise respect for the capital city and its people. His editorial created a lively online conversation after its publication.

Sara Bozich is still staring at her computer screen, that is, when she’s not staring out the window. But, lucky for us, she’s found some terrific online activities and takeout options, which she shares in her weekly blog post.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School had to cancel its annual “Race for Education,” but that didn’t stop the fundraiser from moving forward. Like many other things in our lives, the race went online. Find out how you can contribute in our online feature story.

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Cumberland, Perry, York counties to enter “yellow” phase next week, says governor

May 15, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

PA Gov. Tom Wolf (right) today said that several central PA counties will enter the yellow phase next week.

Much of the Harrisburg area—but not Harrisburg itself—soon will move into the “yellow” phase, meaning that the state will lift some coronavirus-related restrictions.

On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf said that 12 more counties will move to the less-restrictive yellow category on May 22.

Locally, they are Cumberland, York, Perry and Adams counties. In addition, several counties from outside the area will go to the yellow phase at that time: Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Juniata, Mifflin, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming.

“To Pennsylvanians in one of the 49 counties in the yellow phase, I cannot emphasize enough that you should continue to implement social distancing,” Wolf said, adding that people should continue to keep six feet away from others, wear a mask in public, telework and vigilantly wash their hands. “This virus has not been eradicated from these counties, and we are continuing to closely monitor new case counts.”

On Friday, 13 counties in the southwest portion of the state moved from red to yellow, joining 24 others in the northwest and north-central parts of the state.

Eighteen counties, including Dauphin, Lebanon and Lancaster counties, will remain in the “red” zone, which has the most restrictive “stay at home” and business closure mandates.

Wolf declined to say when these counties might move into the yellow category. Last week, he extended his “stay at home” order for all red-zone counties until June 4.

In response, Dauphin County’s two Republican commissioners, Jeff Haste and Mike Pries, issued a statement decrying Wolf’s decision to keep the county in the red zone.

“The governor’s decision today to keep Dauphin, Lebanon and Lancaster counties shut down while neighboring counties begin to reopen is nothing more than political payback,” said Haste, who chairs the board of commissioners. “Rather than listen to the people of Pennsylvania, he pits groups of people against each other and puts out misleading data to back up his cause. We’ve heard from hundreds of residents and business owners that the time to reopen is now.”

Haste cited data saying that Dauphin and Cumberland counties have shown similar infection rates, but that Dauphin County appears to have more cases because it has performed many more COVID-19 tests.

“Based on these figures, Dauphin County has performed 2½ times as many tests as Cumberland County and, it seems, is being punished for it,” said Haste.

As of Friday, the state reported 912 positive cases in Dauphin County and 492 in Cumberland County. Both counties have had the same number of deaths from the illness–41.

Pries cited other data showing that the pandemic has not overwhelmed the county’s health care system, citing low usage of ventilators. Of the county’s 140 ventilators, only three currently are being used for COVID-19 patients, and 84 remain fully available, he said.

“Looking at these numbers, it’s obvious that our healthcare system is not overwhelmed,” said Pries. “Why keep local businesses closed while thousands of people a day pack into the big-box stores? We have flattened the curve and want to reopen our county in a gradual and safe way that balances public health with the economy.”

Haste said that county District Attorney Fran Chardo and Sheriff Nick Chimienti will not enforce orders to keep non-essential businesses closed. Lebanon County also has said it will not enforce those orders.

For his part, Wolf said that he bases his decisions on where counties stand on the advice of scientific and medical professionals.

“It’s easy to look outside and see a beautiful spring day, and think, ‘Hey, there’s no danger,’” he said. “But the danger is real, and we need to take that seriously.”

ReOpen PA rally smaller, still passionate, the second time around

May 15, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A sign at today’s ReOpen PA rally

A smaller, yet still passionate, crowd gathered on Friday in front of the PA Capitol building, as ReOpen PA held a second rally in a month protesting the state’s coronavirus-related restrictions.

Like during the first rally, many protestors carried homemade signs or scrawled messages on their vehicles that said things like “Stop Virulent Government” and “Jesus Is My Vaccine”—and there was no shortage of “Trump 2020” signs or people selling them.

But, despite a full, professionally organized publicity blitz, the crowd was about half the size of the first rally in April, which attracted upwards of 1,000 people. The parade of honking vehicles circling the Capitol Complex also seemed to have lost much of its punch.

The smaller gathering didn’t stop Jeff Sternly from declaring the protest a “major success in sending a message to the governor.” Sternly ventured down from Lackawanna County and said he also had attended the April rally.

“See all this people here?” he said, gesturing to the crowd. “They want their freedom back.”

ReOpen PA alleges that Gov. Tom Wolf, through his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, “has unconstitutionally denied citizens their basic rights” and “threatened the livelihood of all Pennsylvanians.”

In March, Wolf issued a “stay-at-home” order and required that all “non life sustaining businesses” close their physical locations to fight spread of the virus. Since then, his administration developed a three-color system for gradually reopening.

Today, 13 counties in the southwest portion of the state switched from “red” to “yellow,” thereby loosening some of those restrictions. Last week, 24 counties also changed to the yellow category.

The Harrisburg area remains in the most restrictive “red” zone, though Wolf has said that he would announce today that more counties soon will enter the yellow phase.

Today’s rally lacked the hours-long cavalcade of honking vehicles through downtown and Midtown residential neighborhoods, which marked the first event. On Friday morning, the city placed barricades cordoning off most of the Capitol district’s residential areas and limiting access between downtown and Midtown.

Many vendors sold pro-Trump merchandise at the rally.

It did feature a number of speakers who oppose Wolf’s measures, including Republican state legislators Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) and Rep. Russ Diamond (R-102).

Diamond, for one, led the crowd in a chant decrying Wolf’s actions, repeatedly saying they were a “complete and utter failure.”

“Putting 2 million people out of work and not making the unemployment system [work], so they can handle it, that’s a complete and utter failure,” he said.

Like Sternly, Diana Jackson of Berks County said that this was her second “ReOpen PA” rally and that she was prepared to return to Harrisburg if necessary.

“We need to go back to work,” she said. “That’s the bottom line.”

COVID-19 cases top 60,000 in PA, as day-to-day trendline continues to flatten

May 15, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

An image from the PA Department of Health lab in Exton

Pennsylvania today exceeded 60,000 total COVID-19 infections, though the number of new daily cases continued to be below 1,000.

The state Department of Health today reported 986 newly diagnosed cases as of midnight.

New cases in PA peaked in early April at nearly 2,000 cases, but have shown a gradual, relatively steady decline since. The state has reported fewer than 1,000 new cases all week.

Of the new cases today, 260 are in residents of nursing and personal care homes.

With the additional cases, 60,622 Pennsylvanians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Locally, total diagnosed cases are as follows:

Adams County: 183 cases (yesterday, 174)
Cumberland County: 492 cases (yesterday, 477)
Dauphin County: 912 cases (yesterday, 895)
Franklin County: 580 cases (yesterday, 563)
Lancaster County: 2,428 cases (yesterday, 2,364)
Lebanon County: 863 cases (yesterday, 856)
Perry County: 36 cases (yesterday, 36)
York County: 828 cases (yesterday, 817)

Overall, 18.9 percent of PA residents tested have shown to be positive for the virus.

The health department also reported 124 fatalities, meaning that 4,342 Pennsylvanians have died from the disease over the past two months.

The majority of new fatalities—95—were residents of nursing or personal care homes.

According to the department, 35 of the deaths occurred within “the last few days,” while 89 resulted from “the reconciliation of data over the past several weeks.” The department often has had to update fatality counts due to inconsistent reporting to the state and data conflicts.

Around central PA, the COVID-19 fatality data now stands as follows:

Adams County: 6 deaths (yesterday, 5)
Cumberland County: 41 deaths (yesterday, 37)
Dauphin County: 41 deaths (yesterday, 40)
Franklin County: 17 deaths (yesterday, 15)
Lancaster County: 186 deaths (yesterday, 183)
Lebanon County: 19 deaths (yesterday, 19)
Perry County: 1 death (yesterday, 1)
York County: 16 deaths (yesterday, 15)

Statewide, Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 15,835 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 5,697 cases. The two counties also have reported the most deaths statewide from the disease: 1,004 and 608, respectively.

“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” heath Secretary Rachel Levine said.

Today, the state moved 13 counties in the southwest portion of the state into the less-restrictive yellow phase, joining 24 counties in the northwest and north-central parts of PA that moved to yellow last week.

Nursing homes and personal care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Out of total deaths, 2,991, or 68.9 percent, have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 12,937 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,039 cases among employees, for a total of 14,976 at 550 distinct facilities in 44 counties, according to the health department.

In addition, 4,349 of total cases in PA are in health care workers.

Statewide, 319,832 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 259,210 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 311,195 people had been tested for the virus.

Of the patients who have tested positive to date, the age breakdown is as follows, according to the health department:

Nearly 1 percent are aged 0-4
Nearly 1 percent are aged 5-12
Nearly 2 percent are aged 13-18
Nearly 6 percent are aged 19-24
Nearly 37 percent are aged 25-49
Nearly 26 percent are aged 50-64
28 percent are aged 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, as are most of the reported deaths, according to the state.

Levine continued to emphasize that Pennsylvanians should do the following:

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
Clean surfaces frequently.
Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.

“We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our healthcare workers and our first responders,” Levine said. “I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.”

For more information, visit the PA Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.

Harrisburg will mount barricades, limit neighborhood access for Friday’s “ReOpen PA” rally

May 14, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A map of Friday’s street barricades and the suggested protest route

Harrisburg plans to limit vehicular traffic tomorrow in and around the city’s Capitol district to prevent a planned protest from spilling into the residential neighborhoods.

The city will set up barricades at numerous intersections (see map with blue “x’s”) so that only local traffic will be able to enter the Capitol neighborhood and to limit the flow of traffic between the Capitol and Midtown neighborhoods.

“We respect the right of the protesters to make their voices heard,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We ask them in turn to respect the rights of our residents to be safe in their homes and not have to put up with excessive disruptions to their daily routines.”

ReOpen PA, a group that opposes the business restrictions and stay-at-home orders put in place by the Wolf administration because of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to rally at the Capitol steps on Friday starting at noon.

Barricades allowing “local traffic only” will be placed at the following intersections, as well as other locations as needed, for the duration of the scheduled protests, according to the city:

2nd and North
2nd and Briggs
Forster and Susquehanna
Forster and Green
3rd and North
Forster and Penn

Harrisburg will also temporarily close the intersections at 2nd and Forster streets and 3rd and Forster streets, and encourage protesters to follow the demarcated route of 2nd-to-Forster-to-3rd and the Capitol steps.

During the first ReOpen PA protest, on April 20, many downtown and Midtown residents were upset and complained to the city after protesters drove through their neighborhoods for hours, blaring horns, shouting from vehicles and gridlocking traffic.

According to the city, the barricades are intended to prevent a recurrence, “in an effort to protect the city’s residential neighborhoods from the impact of excessive traffic and noise.”

At St. Stephen’s, the run may be off, but the “Race for Education” continues

May 14, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

An image from last year’s Race for Education. This year, the race is going virtual.

These days, everything seems to be virtual, and it’s no different for running races.

Many annual races, which usually double as fundraisers, are going online, including the annual Race for Education, sponsored by St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Harrisburg. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Friday’s event will look a little different.

While the city is used to cheering on St. Stephen’s students and faculty running through Riverfront Park, they will have to do so this year through their screens. Only a small group of faculty will run a course around the school. Students and other staff can join the race from their own homes by running around their neighborhoods, yards or living rooms.

“The Race for Education is one of the happiest days at our school,” said Head of School Ellen Hartman. “It’s a celebration.”

The theme this year is “A Day at the Races.” Each faculty member running will wear a different color to represent every grade.

Typically, students are joined by local sports teams’ mascots and neighbors, which dole out high-fives and applause. The school recognizes that it won’t be the same event as usual, but wanted to keep it for morale.

“In 22 years, they’ve never not had it,” said Bernadette Kaiser, the event chair. “That’s made it such a huge part of who we are.”

St. Stephen’s values equitable education for students with a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Because it is a small private school that gives large amounts of financial aid to students, the race is crucial in raising funds to offset their tuition cost. Each year, students send letters to friends and family in hopes of getting sponsors for the race.

Hartman explained how, each year, their goal is to raise $16,000. This year, she expects funds to be much lower.

“I’m scared,” she said. “Along with small businesses not being able to survive, I’m worried about small private schools.”

Kaiser hopes the school will be able to hold additional fundraisers in the fall to make up for less money coming from the race.

While funds may decrease this year, Kaiser actually thinks the number of spectators may increase. Having the Race for Education streaming on Facebook Live will make watching it more accessible for sponsors who live out of state or couldn’t come before, she explained. If all goes well, St. Stephen’s may consider live streaming the race in the future, as well.

Students, faculty and the community can’t be physically together this year, but they can still be there for each other.

“This is the one thing that really brings everyone together every year,” Kaiser said.

To sponsor a St. Stephen’s student or donate to the Race for Education, visit https://www.sseschool.org/race-for-education.

PA again ups COVID-19 fatalities; new case data remains stable

May 14, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

PA Health Secretary Rachel Levine (right) at a recent press briefing

The commonwealth again increased the statewide fatality count from COVID-19, while newly diagnosed cases continued below 1,000.

The state Department of Health reported 275 more fatalities, meaning that 4,218 Pennsylvanians have died from the disease over the past two months.

The majority of new fatalities—191—were residents of nursing or personal care homes.

According to the department, 44 of the deaths occurred in the 24 hours ending at midnight, while 231 resulted from “the reconciliation of data over the past several weeks.” The department often has had to update fatality counts due to inconsistent reporting to the state and data conflicts.

Around central PA, the COVID-19 fatality data now stands as follows:

Adams County: 5 deaths (yesterday, 5)
Cumberland County: 37 deaths (yesterday, 35)
Dauphin County: 40 deaths (yesterday, 39)
Franklin County: 15 deaths (yesterday, 13)
Lancaster County: 183 deaths (yesterday, 172)
Lebanon County: 19 deaths (yesterday, 19)
Perry County: 1 death (yesterday, 1)
York County: 15 deaths (yesterday, 14)

The department today also reported that 938 new cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed as of midnight.

New cases in PA peaked in early April at nearly 2,000 cases, but have shown a gradual, relatively steady decline since. The state reported 707 new cases yesterday and 837 on Tuesday.

Of the new cases today, 269 are in residents of nursing and personal care homes.

With the additional cases, 59,636 Pennsylvanians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Locally, total diagnosed cases are as follows:

Adams County: 174 cases (yesterday, 169)
Cumberland County: 477 cases (yesterday, 463)
Dauphin County: 895 cases (yesterday, 871)
Franklin County: 563 cases (yesterday, 545)
Lancaster County: 2,364 cases (yesterday, 2,325)
Lebanon County: 856 cases (yesterday, 849)
Perry County: 36 cases (yesterday, 35)
York County: 817 cases (yesterday, 803)

Overall, 19.1 percent of PA residents tested have shown to be positive for the virus.

Statewide, Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 15,624 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 5,583 cases. The two counties also have reported the most deaths statewide from the disease: 1,000 and 587, respectively.

“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” health department Secretary Rachel Levine said.

On Friday, the state plans to move 13 counties in the southwest portion of the state into the yellow phase, joining 24 counties in the northwest and north-central parts of PA that moved to yellow last week.

Nursing homes and personal care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Out of total deaths, 2,896, or 68.6 percent, have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 12,677 resident cases of COVID-19, and 1,922 cases among employees, for a total of 14,599 at 549 distinct facilities in 44 counties, according to the health department.

In addition, 4,217 of total cases in PA are in health care workers.

Statewide, 311,195 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 251,559 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 302,869 people had been tested for the virus.

Of the patients who have tested positive to date, the age breakdown is as follows, according to the health department:

Nearly 1 percent are aged 0-4
Nearly 1 percent are aged 5-12
Nearly 2 percent are aged 13-18
Nearly 6 percent are aged 19-24
Nearly 37 percent are aged 25-49
Nearly 26 percent are aged 50-64
28 percent are aged 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, as are most of the reported deaths, according to the state.

Levine continued to emphasize that Pennsylvanians should do the following:

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
Clean surfaces frequently.
Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.

For more information, visit the PA Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.

Mourning in America: Pandemic has changed how we grieve, hold funerals

May 14, 2020 | by Susan Ryder

Wildflowers along the Susquehanna River

Funerals, once a time of gathering with family and friends, sharing memories and comforting, familiar foods, has become another way of life upended by COVID-19.

People are feeling this loss of community, with funerals now relegated to 10 in attendance in the Harrisburg area. The “yellow” phase, which allows for 25 attendees, still will create hard decisions for families.

“Rituals are built on community and holding each other up,” said Rev. Virginia Cover, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Camp Hill. “It’s a very difficult decision to make, who will be the 10 people.”

Susan Resavy, director of family services for Hospice of Central Pennsylvania, said people understand intellectually that this is needed, but it’s still emotionally heartbreaking.

“It’s not going to feel the same,” she said. “Acknowledge that this is really hard.”

Peter Stegman, general manager of Hetrick-Bitner Funeral Home of Harrisburg, said that, at times of stress, we look to be supported by others. When that’s taken away, “it’s confusing and overwhelming.” Gathering provides support through hugs and wiping away of tears, which is “not conducive to social distancing,” he said.

COVID-19 has also created a collective trauma. And this, accompanied by the death of a loved one, has exacerbated the anxiety that normally accompanies grief.

“A communal laying to rest is not happening, and full acknowledgement of grief is not happening,” Cover said.

Local funeral homes are working to assist families through this stunted process.

“In a world that is built on tradition, we are trying to encourage people to embrace new and creative traditions to help them connect to a greater network of relatives and friends,” said Stegman.

Those new and creative traditions include live-streaming funerals, allowing folks to virtually participate, and in Cover’s case, holding a home funeral.

Resavy said that, even with the ability to gather virtually, it’s healthy for people to plan a larger gathering for later.

“Whether it’s three months down the road or six months down the road, have the event,” she said.

Hetrick-Bitner Funeral Homes is permitting the delayed use of its facilities—letting family and friends hold larger gatherings when allowable.

“We don’t want them to feel as though they did what they did but regret it,” Stegman said.

Perhaps even worse is being told that a family can’t hold a funeral at all. A number of families have been told, erroneously, that they are not permitted to have a funeral right now, Stegman said.

Often, families arrive fearful over what they can and can’t do, Stegman said. So, he tries to focus families on what they can control.

“Who’s going to attend, how to include others, and where we are going to do it,” he said.

Cover pointed out that mourning is also put on hold for the extended family, friends and neighbors.

“People say, ‘I didn’t even get to bring a casserole,’” she said.

There are ways to support people in this harsh time of isolated grief. People can call and send cards or flowers.

The Hospice of Central Pennsylvania is “making a lot more contacts with families,” said Resavy. They are holding Zoom teleconferencing events and virtual support groups. Grieving people, she said, “should look for support in the community.”

Cover holds monthly caregiver and grief support group meetings on Zoom.

COVID-19 has altered the way that we live and has taken away milestone events for many, but traditional ways of mourning needn’t end completely.

“Plan something when you can,” Resavy said. “That’s what’s important. Then, at some point, do what you would normally do.”

For more information about Hospice of Central Pennsylvania, visit https://hospiceofcentralpa.org.

To contact Grace Lutheran Church about its Caregiver and Grief Support Group, email [email protected].

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

May 14, 2020 | by Sara Bozich

Hey hey, you might not know it, but IT’S THE WEEKEND (almost, I mean I guess it depends). For your Friday (TOMORROW), plan ahead and go get some of Tröegs new Perpetual Beer Cheese (find it at Tröegs, Giant, or Caputo Brothers Creamery). Then grab your fave beer, then logon to our Virtual Happy Hour at 5 p.m. (Friday) to hear from Tröegs and Caputo Brothers and Pennsylvania’s own Madam Fromage to taste and enjoy the cheese. Oh, I’ll be moderating! Mostly eating cheese and drinking beer, tho. Otherwise weekend includes: garden + plant things + burgers on the grill. THAT’S IT! Ya know, besides laundry, cooking, cleaning, work, and toddler wrangling. CHEERS!

Top Picks:

Virtual Perpetual Beer Cheese Tasting with Tröegs + Caputo Brothers Creamy (Friday)
Weekend Chicken Smoke Out at Appalachian Brewing Co. Mechanicsburg (Preorder Thursday; pick-up Saturday)
3 Crowlers for $15 at Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works (Thursday and Sunday)
Check out Midtown Cinema’s full list of on-demand films!
Open Stage Digital Content
- Storytime Theatre – 12 p.m. Thursday/Friday/Saturday
- Thank You, Ten – 7 p.m. Thursday/Friday

More ideas

Bikes & Beers Social Distancing Ride to support local breweries (ongoing)
Sitting at Home Staring Out the Window – from now til eternity
ZooAmerica is doing Virtual Zoo Visits daily with different animals (Thursday and Friday)
If you’re missing live music, Jason Carst is doing live stream performances daily. Follow him on Facebook for updates.
Wyndridge Farm Store Drive-Thru (Thursday/Friday/Saturday)
Ted’s Midtown Virtual Trivia (Thursday)
Three Little Birds Boutique Virtual Happy Hour (Thursday)
Virtual Happy Hour with Mount Gretna Craft Brewery (Friday)
Creative Outlet with HBG Flea (through May 17)
Socially Distant Self-Guided Mural Tour of Harrisburg with Sprocket Mural Works (Daily)
Live with Elizabeth Shackelford: The Dissent Channel with Midtown Scholar Bookstore (Thursday)
3rd Annual Joggin’ 4 the Noggin 5k Run/Walk – Virtual (Saturday)
Wine and BBQ To-Go w/Blazing Swine with Cassel Vineyards of Hershey (Saturday)
Cristiano Winery Wine Pick-up (Saturday)
- More way to get local wine
Stock’s on Second Facebook Live Cooking Demo at 6 p.m. (Saturday)
- Pre-order your ingredients by Thursday to follow along!
Dauphin County Virtual Wetlands Festival (Saturday, ongoing)

Top picks to-go/delivery

Need wine? Click here.
Need booze? Click here.
Need beer? Click here.
Need cocktail? Yeah, I got that too.
Brunch? For serious. Click here.
Wait, what about coffee, kombucha, tea, juice? Got you!
Find Carry-Out options here
Ways to give back

Boneshire Brew Works 4-packs and growler sales 4-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 12-4 p.m Saturday Order online Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works Food, to-go beer, spirits, canned cocktails – 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Order online Appalachian Brewing Co. – Mechanicsburg Food take-out only 4-8 p.m Monday-Thursday; 12-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday Beer + spirits take-out only – 12-8 p.m. Daily at the Mechanicsburg location Call 717-221-1080 to order View menu Ploughman Cider Take-out cider a the Taproom 12-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday Online cider sales now available. HOLLA Spirits Spirits available to order online 20% of all sales go to U.S. Bartenders’ Guild COVID-19 Relief Program and other virus relief funds – Read more MoMo BBQ Co. Open for take-out and limited delivery, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Family meals available. View menus on Facebook. Call 717-550-7995 R.G. Hummer Meats & Cheese OPEN during Broad Street Market Hours (See more below) Shop in-person or Call-ahead pre-orders 717-232-4150 Fresa Bistro Open for take-out and limited call-in delivery Call 717-216-8754 or use GrubHub Broad Street Market Open mostly normal hours; limited customer entry; some vendors closed – BUT – many offering online delivery

Raising the Bar Bakery – delivery available; order online
Sweet717 – delivery available; order online (local delivery is free!)
JB Kelly Seafood – open normal hours; delivery available
Radish & Rye – curbside pickup ONLY – Tuesday-Sunday
Full list of open vendors – Check individual stores/retailers for online/curbside/delivery options

Cornerstone Coffeehouse 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily for carryout Limited food menu available There are more and more restaurants doing pick-up/delivery — check-in with your favorites.

Culture + Chill

Check out our Culture Vulture series – ways to experience life outside while, ahem, inside.

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New COVID-19 cases continue below 1,000 in PA, fatalities again revised higher

May 13, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

An image from the cover of TheBurg’s May 2020 issue. Photo: Justin Ward

New coronavirus diagnoses continue to sink in number, though the state again adjusted up disease-related fatalities.

The state Department of Health today reported that 707 new cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed as of midnight.

New daily cases in PA peaked in early April at nearly 2,000 cases, but have shown a gradual, relatively steady decline since. The state reported 837 new cases yesterday and 543 on Monday.

Of the new cases today, 278 are in residents of nursing and personal care homes.

With the additional cases, 58,698 Pennsylvanians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Locally, total diagnosed cases are as follows:

Adams County: 169 cases (yesterday, 167)
Cumberland County: 463 cases (yesterday, 461)
Dauphin County: 871 cases (yesterday, 851)
Franklin County: 545 cases (yesterday, 522)
Lancaster County: 2,325 cases (yesterday, 2,295)
Lebanon County: 849 cases (yesterday, 825)
Perry County: 35 cases (yesterday, 35)
York County: 803 cases (yesterday, 793)

Overall, 19.3 percent of PA residents tested have shown to be positive for the virus.

The health department today also reported an additional 137 COVID-19-related fatalities, meaning that 3,943 Pennsylvanians now have died from the disease. The majority of new fatalities—94—were residents of nursing or personal care homes.

In addition, these deaths occurred over “the past several weeks,” according to the health department, not just the prior 24 hours. The department often has to update fatality counts due to inconsistent reporting to the state and data conflicts.

Around central PA, the COVID-19 fatality data now stands as follows:

Adams County: 5 deaths (yesterday, 5)
Cumberland County: 35 deaths (yesterday, 33)
Dauphin County: 39 deaths (yesterday, 38)
Franklin County: 13 deaths (yesterday, 12)
Lancaster County: 172 deaths (yesterday, 168)
Lebanon County: 19 deaths (yesterday, 17)
Perry County: 1 death (yesterday, 1)
York County: 14 deaths (yesterday, 14)

Statewide, Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 15,376 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 5,513 cases. The two counties also have reported the most deaths statewide from the disease: 904 and 556, respectively.

“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” Levine said.

This week, the state plans to move 13 counties in the southwest portion of the state into the yellow phase, joining 24 counties in the northwest and north-central parts of PA that moved to yellow last week.

Nursing homes and personal care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Out of total deaths, 2,705, or 68.6 percent, have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 12,408 resident cases of COVID-19, and 1,806 cases among employees, for a total of 14,214 at 543 distinct facilities in 44 counties, according to the health department.

In addition, 4,066 of total cases in PA are in health care workers.

Statewide, 302,869 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 244,171 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 295,980 people had been tested for the virus.

Of the patients who have tested positive to date, the age breakdown is as follows, according to the health department:

Nearly 1 percent are aged 0-4
Nearly 1 percent are aged 5-12
1 percent are aged 13-18
Nearly 6 percent are aged 19-24
Nearly 37 percent are aged 25-49
26 percent are aged 50-64
28 percent are aged 65 or older

Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, as are most of the reported deaths, according to the state.

Levine continued to emphasize that Pennsylvanians should do the following:

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
Clean surfaces frequently.
Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.

For more information, visit the PA Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.

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