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Travelers in Berks County are encountering some traffic challenges Wednesday morning after a tractor trailer rolled over on a busy highway.
The accident happened around 7:35 a.m. on Route 222 South just past the State Hill Road ramp in Wyomissing.
Officials have closed Rt. 222 South/Rt. 422 West at the Warren Street Bypass/Rt. 12. Motorists should avoid the area.
The tractor trailer was hauling hay.
The driver is apparently okay, according to officials.
There's no word on what caused the crash.
Bethlehem officials and residents paid tribute during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to City Controller David DiGiacinto, who died early last week.
DiGiacinto, 61, was a member of City Council until being elected controller in 2013.
He died on Jan. 25.
“All of us were very stunned and shocked last week when we received word of the passing of David DiGiacinto,” said Mayor Robert Donchez.
The mayor said he knew DiGiacinto for years, not just as a fellow member of city council, but as a friend.
“He served the city with integrity and distinction and professionalism,” said Donchez. “He really will be missed.
“His love for the city was unquestionable. His love for his family was also unquestionable.
“It’s not just a loss personally for many of us, but it’s a big loss for the citizens of Bethlehem.”
“The city of Bethlehem will be hard pressed to find a gentleman of his character and ability to be able to become another public servant,” said resident Stephen Antalics.
“His absence on the scene will be felt for a good number of years.”
Resident Thomas Carroll said DiGiacinto’s passing was “amazingly sad.”
Carroll told council he was blessed to be DiGiacinto’s friend.
“Words cannot express how much contribution he did give to our city for so many years in so many roles. He will be missed by so many people.”
Even after he became city controller, DiGiacinto still attended council meetings — sort of.
No longer able to sit at the dais as a council member, he routinely would stand or sit at an open door right outside council’s circular meeting room in Town Hall to observe the meetings.
He apparently preferred that to sitting in the audience with other members of the city administration.
“He’s probably still standing back there,” joked Donchez during Tuesday’s meeting. “He used to like to stand and watch us.”
From his seat at the dais, council member Bryan Callahan said he could always see DiGiacinto pacing back and forth right outside the door during meetings.
“I could always see that shadow cross the door, cross the door,” said Callahan. “And when something sparked him, the shadow stopped. He would peek in.
“I’m going to miss that shadow walking back and forth. Tonight, I was looking over there for it and, unfortunately, it wasn’t there.”
“Dave was one of the smartest people that I ever met,” said council president William Reynolds.
Said council member Adam Waldron: “He was always willing to give you his opinion in a positive and beneficial way.”
Waldron remembers he was painting a house when running for City Council. DiGiacinto, who lived nearby, stopped by, saying he wanted to talk to Waldron for a second.
“He gave me some advice and we talked about city issues. I spent so much time talking to him and listening to him that, by the time I got back to work, my paint brush had completely dried out and I had to throw it away.”
“Conversations with Dave were rarely brief,” said council member Michael Recchiuti.
“It was not uncommon to get a text message from him about 5 in the morning.” He said he’d call DiGiacinto at 7:30 or 8 a.m. and get off the phone at 9 a.m.
Recchiuti said he will greatly miss DiGiacinto’s opinions and his expertise on financial matters.
“Nothing got by the man,” said council member Eric Evans.
“He could quote you every line of the budget book,” said Callahan. “It was amazing.”
Evans said the controller position was perfect for DiGiacinto —“for his personality, the experience he brought and the unique perspective he delivered. I hoped he would be in that position quite a long time, serving the city. Tragically, that’s not the case.”
Evans noted another of DiGiacinto’s attributes: “He didn’t care who you were or what your role was; he was going to deliver his opinion and have his say and make it clear where he stood.
“Being as intelligent as he was, it was a good idea to listen to that advice. He was always worth listening to, because he had a unique perspective in the way he came at a lot of things.”
Reynolds said one of the things he always respected about DiGiacinto was that, if he disagreed with you, it wasn’t personal.
Callahan said DiGiacinto was a very serious individual— “dead serious talking about issues” — but also had a great sense of humor that not many people got to see.
“The persona that we saw from Dave wasn’t really who he was,” said Reynolds, explaining some mistakenly thought he had some kind of animosity toward people.
As they became friends on City Council, said Reynolds, they would sit down together to have a beer or two.
“The first beer was always, always, always about how big an idiot I was last week. But the second or third beer would be about how much he loved his son Luke and how much he loved the city and even how much he loved all of us.
“As the years went on, Dave wondered what his legacy was going to be in the city and what his legacy was going to be in City Hall.
“After I heard the news, all I kept thinking about was that love of his son, that love of his family, that love of his city is a legacy we all can only hope that we can achieve. I hope Dave realized he had that legacy.’
live. >>> jaciel cordoba: With the changing face of health care, we all have a lot more choices, which include new types of doctor's offices.>> eve tannery: It can sometimes be confusing to know exactly where to go when. WFMZ's Nancy Werteen has some tips about where to go for everything from pink eye to poisoning. >>Nancy: These days there are urgent care facilities, express care, emergency rooms...how do you sort it all out?experts say real emergencies like heart attacks and broken bones are surely for the er, but some health issues are a bit harder to call. >> nat sound (ambulance siren) (:02) >>nancy: for absolute emergencies requiring immediate care, always know the location of your nearest hospital for injuries such as: major head trauma, coughing up/ vomiting blood, severe burns, unexpected paralysis, suspected poisoning,
City Council will be asked to raise Bethlehem’s parking fines to $20, rather than $25 as originally proposed, and to give violators five days to pay a discounted fine of only $15.
Those suggestions for council unanimously were made by its three-member public safety committee, after it discussed the issue for nearly an hour Tuesday night.
Perhaps significantly, the committee did not vote to make a recommendation in favor or against the proposed increase in fines — only to move it on to full council with its suggestions.
While not part of their suggestion to council, some committee members also favor escalating fines for repeat offenders of the city’s parking laws.
They also discussed giving people a “grace period” of up to 10 minutes after the time on their parking meters expires.
Council president William Reynolds was not sure when the parking fines proposal will go before full council for discussion and a vote.
Mayor Robert Donchez was not at the committee meeting but later confirmed he still feels $20 should be the maximum increase.
The current fine for being parked at an expired meter, and for other parking violations, is only $10.
The increase to $25 for the most prevalent parking violations was recommended to City Council by Kevin Livingston, executive director of Bethlehem Parking Authority.
But during the committee meeting, Livingston acknowledged: “I think the consensus is $20. I could agree with $20.”
The parking authority director said 33,000 tickets were issued in 2013 for violations at 1,300 meters in the city, which makes it clear “that people are not following the ordinance. That’s why I’m here today.”
He believes the higher fine will encourage more people to obey city parking rules.
But resident Dana Grubb told the committee someone who gets one parking ticket should not be “hammered” with a $25 fine.
If out-of-town visitors go to Bethlehem and get a $25 parking ticket, “they’re never going to come back,” warned Grubb. “It’s going to have a negative impact on business owners.”
“You want it to sting a little,” said council member Eric Evans, chairman of the committee. “But you don’t want to hit them so hard that you chase them away.”
“If we raise this too high, they’re going to say; ‘Well screw this, I’m never going to downtown Bethlehem again’,” said council member Michael Recchuiti, who serves on the committee.
Recchiuti predicted making people pay a $25 fine because they were 10 minutes late getting to their parking meter “is going to turn away business. And that’s what I don’t want to do.”
“There’s a difference between the willful violator — the person who is purposefully violating our ordinance — and the person who get caught in line at a store and misses their meter by a few minutes,” said Recchiuti.
“It seems like the goal of this is to go after the habitual violators,” said council member Adam Waldron, who also serves on the pubic safety committee.
“I would be hesitant to go after everyone, including people who want to spend their money and time downtown.”
Calling a $25 fine “pretty stiff,” Recchuiti initially suggested making it only $15. Waldron suggested $20.
Both Waldron and Recchiuti recommended the discount for people who promptly pay the fine.
Why $25 fine proposed
In addition to increasing compliance with city parking laws, Livingston of the parking authority maintained the $25 fine would increase turnover of parking spaces with meters, which would benefit city merchants, and increase available parking for holders of residential parking permits.
Livingston argued that the $25 fine would reduce the number of repeat offenders, rather than having to issue them ticket after ticket.
He said the goal is send them a message that they must obey the parking laws “the first time and don’t have them offend again” rather than “repeatedly having to penalize them to get the message across.”
Livingston initially proposed to the committee the fine be increased to $25 for the top five parking violations and that all other $10 fines would increase to $15.
The committee did not offer an opinion on the proposed increase in those lesser fines.
In addition to parking meter violations, which is number one, those top violations include parking in designated no parking zones, parking on private property, parking too long in zones with time limits, and parking vehicles that are inoperable or don’t have current registration or inspection stickers.
The request for an increase in city parking fines unanimously had been approved by the parking authority board.
Livingston said the fines were increased from $5 to $10 five years ago.
Resident Bruce Haines, who is managing partner at Hotel Bethlehem, said the request for increased parking fines was initiated by the Downtown Bethlehem Association because of parking problems faced by businesses on Main Street in the city’s historic district.
Repeat offenders
When the issue of increasing parking fines was raised several months ago, the primary emphasis was on repeat offenders — people living or working in center-city Bethlehem who ignore parking meter fees and run the risk of getting a $10 ticket rather than paying to park in a city garage
Haines told the council committee that continues to be the concern.
“It just doesn’t make sense to say all fines should be $20 or $25 because of a few people who are abusing the privilege,” resident Peter Crownfield told the committee.
Rather than increasing fines, Crownfield said the solution should be to increase enforcement.
“Let those all-day parkers get two or three tickets in one day,” said Crownfield. “Then they’ll pay $30 and you’ll get your deterrent effect.”
Crownfield said Bethlehem merchants have expressed concerns that “excessive fines would unduly penalize people who merely overstay by 10 or 15 minutes because they were busy shopping in their stores or getting a cup of coffee.”
Escalating fines
By raising the $10 fine, argued Recchiuti, “you’re not hitting the targeted people. If it’s truly a plan to go after the people who are abusing the system, you have to penalize the second, third, fourth and subsequent offenses.”
Instead of increasing the $10 fine, Grubb suggested doubling the fine to $20 for the next violation, and doubling that to $40 for a third violation.
“I guarantee you, not only will people learn the lesson, [but] you’ll hit them where it really hurts, you’ll drive them into the parking garages and you’ll get the turnover,” said Grubb.
Both Recchiuti and Waldron expressed interest in some kind of tiered system of increasing fines for repeat offenders.
“It’s probably a solution we should explore,” said Recchiuti.
If a vehicle remains at an expired meter for more than three hours, Livingston said the parking authority can issue a second $10 ticket.
When Evans asked about escalating fines, Livingston said parking authority personnel currently do not have the ability to find out if the same vehicle previously has been ticketed in the last several months.
“I know the technology is out there, that it is possible, but it’s not something the authority currently has,” said Livingston.
A grace period built into meters
Livingston said a three-minute grace period is built into Bethlehem’s parking meters, meaning people are not fined if they are less three minutes late after their meter expires.
He said some businesses suggest making it a 10-minute grace period, but he thinks 10 minutes is too long.
Livingston indicated he would be receptive to a seven or eight-minute grace period on meters. “That will allow you to be running a little late and not get a ticket.”
But Recchiuti later said ten minutes might be appropriate.
After three minutes, Livingston said the parking authority’s enforcement personnel cannot tell how long a meter has been expired.
Other council members
Three members of council who are not on the public safety committee but attended its meeting also weighed in on the issue.
“I think I can speak for the senior citizens and say that $25 is way too high,” said council member Louis Stellato.
“That will scare people away; it will scare them [seniors] away especially. They won’t come back.
“I’m even thinking maybe even $20 is too high. Maybe $15 is more palatable.”
Getting a ticket is a choice, responded Livingston. “If you come to Bethlehem and you don’t pay the meters or you don’t pay attention to the signs, you’re going to get a fine.”
Council member Bryan Callahan noted parking ticket revenue in Bethlehem dropped $204,000 in 2014 —a 20 percent decrease compared to 2013.
Livingston said that decrease was due to understaffing.
“In 2013, we had seven enforcement officers. In 2014, we had five. We had multiple occurrences of on-the-job injuries that put us down to three at times.”
He added the staff now is back up to seven, “which is the adequate amount I believe is needed.”
Livingston became the parking authority’s director last year.
Said Reynolds: “You probably realized early on that the people in charge of parking in the city of Bethlehem are never very popular people.”
“Whatever is decided,” predicted Reynolds, “it’s never going to be something that everybody agrees on.
“One thing we all can agree on is that people’s theories on what we should do with parking downtown differ. And sometimes they differ from business to business.”
Livingston said the proposed increase in fines will not increase revenue to the parking authority because more people will comply with the law to avoid being fined.
Grubb disagreed, saying: “It’s always about the revenue.”
Livingston said he has met with businesses both north and south of the Lehigh River abut the increasing fines, since south Bethlehem also has a business district and parking meters.
He said businesses on the north side of the river are in agreement —“they think there should be a $20 fine.”
He said most business people he heard from on the south side of town were opposed to increasing the fines, later adding he had a difficult time getting feedback from most south Bethlehem business owners.
The south Bethlehem business district does not have a parking garage, but Livingston said it does have more 10-hour and 13-hour meters for long-term parking.
Main Street businesses support an increase
Callahan said he lives along Main Street and talks to many business owners on that street.
“If you ask them all what their preference is, it’s to have a lot of turnover on the parking spaces. They all think that’s a critical element to the success of their businesses.”
Haines of Hotel Bethlehem said he also would support $20 fines rather than $25 fines. “I support it and I think most of the businesses on Main Street support it.”
Haines said if there would be a way to have free parking on parts of Main Street, “that would be even better. But short of that, we support the concept of increasing the parking fines for somebody that extends beyond a three-hour limit.”
Haines said businesses would prefer to have no parking fees on Main Street for up to three hours “and then fine them big time if they go beyond three hours.”
He said that would encourage more people to shop in center-city.
Haines said the businesses on Main Street are very fragile.
“Everybody thinks it’s great because they saw all the people there during Christmas. But one or two months a year and a couple of festivals and things like that don’t carry the day 12 months out of the year for most of the shops on Main Street.”
A massive apartment building fire has killed one and injured three others in Motngomery County, according to our media partner WPVI.
The four alarm fire broke out at an apartment complex at 611 Swede Street in Norristown early Wednesday.
It broke out just before 1 a.m.
Crews responded to reports of a fire in the basement, but when they arrived, flames were in the second and third floors of the building.
At one point, firefighters were told to evacuate the building.
People living in the complex were immediately evacuated, and the Red Cross is assisting.
At least 21 people are displaced and one of the injured is a firefighter.
Crews remain at the scene.
A few snow showers and flurries will continue to affect parts of the area this morning as a disturbance passes by the region.
Most of the activity should push out of here pretty quickly, leaving us mostly cloudy skies for the rest of the day.
Temperatures are expected to rebound into the middle and upper 30s this afternoon out ahead of our next frontal boundary, which is finally back to seasonable for early February.
LINK: HOUR BY HOUR FORECAST
The cold front will bring us a bit of snow late tonight into Thursday before passing off to the east.
For now, look for the snow to wrap up by midday with minor accumulations around a coating to an inch or two for most locations.
The clouds should break for some sunshine behind the front late in the day on Thursday as drier air filters into the region.
Highs on Thursday will be in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees, but temperatures are expected to slowly drop through the afternoon and evening hours following the frontal passage.
Heart attacks, serious burns, and broken bones are very serious emergencies, but some health issues are a bit harder to call.
From pink eye to poisoning, here is where to go to get the best care for your ailments.
For absolute emergencies requiring immediate care, always know the location of your nearest hospital for injuries such as: major head trauma, coughing up/vomiting blood, severe burns, unexpected paralysis, suspected poisoning, or even emotional distress including suicidal or homicidal feelings.
An urgent care center can treat an illness or condition within 24 hours to avoid further disability or death.
Conditions that should be treated here include: rising temperatures, stomach flu's, sprains/strains, earache, and sore throats.
An express care center typically treats teens and adults. They are usually available after hours and on weekends as well, treating common problems such as: seasonal allergies, minor cold and flu symptoms, pink eye, sinus infections, and urinary tract infections.
Go to your doctor’s office for routine checkups.
Also, all of these should be preceded by preventative care measures with your primary care doctor.
They will have your medical files and history and can usually meet you in an urgent care or emergency situation.
 | At least seven people have been killed in a rush-hour collision involving one of the nation's busiest commuter railroads. A Metro-North commuter train that left New York City's Grand Central... | From: ABC News Views: 2 0 ratings |
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