Groceries await at the Salvation Army Harrisburg pickup area.
Our locked-down life hit a month this past week, with few signs that the quarantine would end anytime soon. The state reported fewer new COVID-19 cases for much of the week before another spike on Friday. Meanwhile, the Harrisburg area said good-bye to two prominent local figures felled by the disease. If you missed any of our coverage, we have it all listed and linked below.
COVID-19 pandemic took two prominent Harrisburg-area residents last week: Gerald Welch and Joe O’Connor. We featured an online news story about Welch, a city school board director, and a blog post about O’Connor, written by our arts writer, who was also his fan and friend.
Federal stimulus checks began arriving in bank accounts this week. Many Harrisburg-area residents need the funds to pay for basic necessities. But, in a blog post, our editor asked the lucky ones who don’t need the money to spread it around generously.
Food banks and providers are under stress as demand has skyrocketed over the past month. Our online feature story examines how several local organizations are handling the demand, especially during a time of social distancing.
Gov. Tom Wolf gave a speech offering general guidelines on reopening the economy in Pennsylvania. He didn’t provide a timeframe, but said that more information would be coming next week. We covered the speech in an online story.
Grub for Scrubs is a new initiative with a twofold benefit. By making a donation, you can support local restaurants and buy a meal for frontline healthcare workers. Our online feature gives all the details of this win-win.
Harrisburg City Council conducted its first virtual meeting last week, holding a short legislative session. Among other matters, it approved funding to complete a road design for a slimmed-down State Street on Allison Hill. We had the story.
Harrisburg’s “Community Conversations” continued, with the city’s mayor interviewing school and nonprofit leaders. In our online story, you can learn more about support for businesses and for school students.
Home sales and prices in the Harrisburg area were relatively stable in March. We wrote up our monthly online update as we anxiously await next month’s report, which may be much more challenging.
Open Stage is going virtual, live-streaming its production of “Angels in America.” Sign up and log on for the most unique theater experience of your life. Our reviewer offers her thoughts on this virtual play.
PA Department of Health continued issuing daily updates on the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread in the commonwealth. We wrote up the data each day, and you can see the latest facts and figures by clicking here.
PennDOT deserves praise for reversing its stance on State Street, allowing a pedestrian safety project to proceed, according to our editorial. Over the years, our editor has been serially critical of PennDOT, but he compliments this change of heart and hopes it’s the start of more changes to Harrisburg’s many state-owned streets.
Sara Bozich is, yes, still at home. But, just like she has for a month now, she has suggestions for some great virtual events that you can attend, as well as links to places where you can buy something fun or yummy to help keep local businesses operating.
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