News Roundup (05/19/2016)

Items I came across recently in the news which interested me and thought maybe you too.

Lehigh Valley Live: BB&T closing two branches, cutting 87 jobs in Lehigh Valley-- "The company also announced Tuesday 241 job losses, including 87 in Allentown, where National Penn's headquarters is located at Two City Center, 645 Hamilton St. Another 154 jobs being eliminated are in Boyertown, where National Penn had its headquarters until 2014."

WFMZ-TV: Bank deals another blow to Boyertown-- "National Penn Bank was based in Boyertown for 130 years before the company relocated its corporate headquarters to Allentown in 2014."

The Morning Call: Allentown train ride to New York derailed-- "Norfolk Southern Corp. has made no plans to allow the one-time passenger trip on its tracks... a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks and uses them to carry freight. "As of now, we have no plans for any excursion and we have no intention of doing one."

Lehigh Valley Live: Bethlehem district wants answers on charter's missed payment-- "The Bethlehem school district wants to know why its state aid has been docked after a city charter failed to make a state-mandated pension payment... Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy said ... "Under the law, it defaults to the school district when a charter fails to meet their obligation,"

WFMZ-TV: Easton Area School District wants voting locations moved out of schools-- "The board meeting also dealt with an emotional issue for some parents who fear for the safety of their children on election day when schools that are designated voting locations open their doors to the public..."

Lehigh Valley Live: 'Emotion' could lead to Election Day shutdown of Easton schools this fall-- "Several parents complained security measures are too lax when schools are open to voters."

ABC News: New York Could Become 1st State to Ban Declawing of Cats-- "New York would be the first state to ban the declawing of cats under a legislative proposal that has divided veterinarians." The New York Senate bill S5084 current status

New York Post: One of Broadway’s most important homes must be saved -- "In 1942, Oscar Hammerstein II stood on the porch of his farmhouse in Doylestown, Pa., looking at a herd of cows on the side of a hill. He was working on a new show with Richard Rodgers about the American frontier when a phrase occurred to him: “The cows on the hill/Are as still as the grass.”... And that’s how he wrote “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” the opening number of “Oklahoma!”

New York Post: Why US companies have started fleeing China -- "The Chinese government just shut down two of Apple’s key service products, the iBooks Store and iTunes Movies. It has also denied Apple the right to trademark the name “iPhone,” allowing other companies to use the name for their own, non-Apple-related products... Not long after multinationals showed up in China, they were made to hand over much of their technology to native competitors (almost all of which are directly or indirectly owned by the Chinese government)."