Pennsylvania
Millions of federal dollars sent to Pennsylvania to tackle lead paint
More than 70% of Pennsylvania homes were built before the 1978 national ban on lead paint. In 2021, nearly 5,000 children in the state tested positive for high levels of lead in their blood. Lead paint is the lead source of exposure in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Several cities, including Philadelphia, require landlords to certify their properties are lead-free.
Dr. Robb Bassett, associate medical director of the Philadelphia Poison Control Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said physicians continue to see patients who have been exposed to lead. He said preventing exposure by identifying lead paint is crucial.
“Unfortunately, when lead poisoning affects the body, particularly in small children, the impacts and health consequences can be extensive and devastating, including permanent neurologic damage, permanent cognitive impairment, and in the most extreme cases, can be fatal,” Bassett said. “Unfortunately, our ability to screen children for lead exposure only captures kids who have already been exposed, and we know there’s no safe lead level. If we’re only identifying children who have been exposed we are already behind the curve.”
To participate in the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction program, families must meet certain income requirements and have a child in the home. If eligible, a contractor will assess the home for lead and eventually work to remove any hazards, which would typically cost thousands of dollars if paying out of pocket.
The new funding will help prevent kids from getting sick, said Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, executive director of the Pennsylvania nonprofit Women for a Healthy Environment.
“This funding, once we identify properties that have lead in them, is a way to identify that property and mitigate that lead exposure to make sure that families are protected,” she said. “Unfortunately, we see children who have that exposure and then the harm has happened. And so our goal is to do this from a primary prevention perspective where we can mitigate that before the exposure happens.”
Naccarati-Chapkis and Dr. Bassett said there are several steps families can take to protect themselves.
They recommend children wash their hands before mealtime, and though the presence of lead isn’t inherently dangerous, parents should consider getting their kids tested for lead levels in their blood.
Pennsylvania
1 killed in crash involving horse and buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania State Police say
One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash involving a horse and buggy in Lancaster County on Wednesday afternoon, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 4000 block of Strasburg Road in Salisbury Township, state police said.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police.
Strasburg Road, or Rt. 741, near Hoover Road, is closed in both directions, PennDOT says.
PSP said the Lancaster Patrol Unit, Troop J Forensic Services Unit and Troop J Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialists Unit are on scene investigating the crash.
Pennsylvania police are searching for at least two masked suspects believed to have looted a Lululemon store overnight.
At least two masked men broke into a Lululemon in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police told NBC 10 Philadelphia. Ardmore, a suburb of Philadelphia, is home to about 14,000 people.
The suspected thieves used a sledgehammer to break the glass on the store’s front door, according to police.
Once they gained access, the masked individuals grabbed handfuls of merchandise, security footage shows. The men went in and out of the store several times, grabbing handfuls of items that included coats, vests and shirts from the men’s section, police told local outlet WPVI.
“This is taking it to another level,” Lower Merion Police Superintendent Andy Block told WPVI.
The suspects then loaded the merchandise into a U-Haul truck. Their truck was last seen at the intersection of Bryn Mawr Avenue and Woodbine Avenue, just a few miles from the store, police said.
The entire incident lasted about five minutes, which Block said is longer than usual for this type of burglary.
“Usually, it is because in a smash-and-grab situation they want to get in and get out before they’re identified or anybody’s notified on it,” Block told CBS Philadelphia.
Block told WPVI the store is a popular target for robbers, given that many of its items cost more than $100. Now, he expects the alleged thieves have sold or exchanged the items.
“They’re using it on the market, maybe they’re exchanging it for drugs, or they’re selling it on the black market. It’s a highly sought-after item,” he told WPVI.
Even though police say Lululemon is a popular target, Lt. Michael Keenan of the Lower Merion Police Department still called the incident “out of character.”
“This is an out of character, out of type incident where we don’t normally see people smashing windows in the middle of the night. But, certainly this is something that is distinct,” Keenan told NBC 10 Philadelphia.
The store still opened Tuesday, with a banner covering the smashed glass on the door, according to Fox 29. Gina Picciano, a general manager at a restaurant across the street, said it was a frightening incident.
“I walked out here with my bartender and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Picciano told Fox 29.
The same store was previously robbed in May 2024. Thieves stole more than $10,000 worth of merchandise during that incident, NBC 10 Philadelphia reports.
The Independent has contacted the Lower Merion Police Department and Lululemon for comment.
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