MONROE UNFILTERED: THE DAILY BUZZ | August 6
Harrisburg Flunks the Group Project, and How to Measure How Much Lead is Okay in Our Schools
Thursday, August 6, 2026
HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT
Yesterday's weather was quite a bit better than we predicted; let's hope all our forecasts end up better than expected!
Today will be decidedly less comfortable, however. As the Merrymen sang in 1984, “Me feeling hot, hot, hot.” A Heat Advisory covers Monroe County starting 10 a.m. today through 8 p.m. Friday. Today clears out after overnight storms, staying mostly cloudy and humid through the morning with a stray shower or two possible before 9 a.m., then breaking into sun through the afternoon with a high near 87°F. Add the humidity in and it will feel hotter than the thermometer says. The usual advice applies — hydrate, check on elderly neighbors and pets, and take breaks if you're working outside. Scattered thunderstorms are possible during the evening, most likely between 8 and 9 p.m.
Friday holds the same pattern — mid-to-upper 80s, with that Heat Advisory running right through 8 p.m., and yet another round of scattered thunderstorms likely arriving in the evening. If you've got outdoor plans this week, mornings will likely be the safer bet.
SECOND-DEGREE MURDER SENTENCING FRAMEWORK: THE FAILURE AND THE FALLOUT
As we previously reported, the PA Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for second-degree (felony) murder violated the state constitution. The PA Supreme Court stayed its decision for 120 days, giving the General Assembly until July 24 to enact a replacement sentencing framework for second-degree murder. Well, that deadline came and passed without the House and Senate reconciling their two competing bills.
Like students asking a teacher for an extension on a group project, the Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for a 120-day stay of its ruling. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's answer was a resounding “No.” It reminds me of an old saying that I want to be buried by the people in my group projects, so they can let me down one last time. That clearly also applies to our legislature.
For those not following the action, the House and Senate passed two different bills to replace the old mandatory sentence and never reconciled them before the July 24 deadline the court had set. Lawmakers don't return to Harrisburg until September. I must say, I've never had a job where I could just leave for a long vacation without finishing my work but that seems to be the norm with our government.
With the stay expired and no extension granted, the door is open for roughly 1,100 people currently serving mandatory life on second-degree murder convictions to eventually challenge their sentences, though for now, only Derek Lee, the original appellant, is automatically eligible for resentencing. Everyone else will need to file their own appeal and work it through the courts, a process the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania estimates could take years and cost the state $34 to $36 million.
The legislature could still pass a fix when it returns this fall, but for now: no framework, no clock, and a lot of open questions for a Commonwealth that likes to let the big decisions simmer over the August recess.
STATE OF THE KEYSTONE STATE
In other Harrisburg headlines….
A Quiet Change to School Lead Reporting. In the final 48 hours of state budget negotiations last month, lawmakers inserted language raising the bar for what schools have to report about lead in drinking water — from any detectable trace to anything above 5 parts per billion. Pennsylvania schools were never required to test for lead in the first place; they only have to discuss the topic once a year at a public meeting. School boards' associations pushed for the change, arguing the old zero-tolerance standard was unworkable; critics call it a rollback dressed up as a technical fix.
A Bill to Share the Land Money: State Rep. Martin Causer (R- McKean/Potter/Cameron) has a bill sitting in the House Finance Committee that would send counties and municipalities a cut of the revenue Pennsylvania collects from timber sales, park fees, and leases on state-owned land, modeled on how the federal government shares national forest revenue with local governments. It's aimed squarely at rural counties that have significant state-owned real estate. Monroe County fits that description, though whether it would ultimately qualify for funding would depend on the bill's final eligibility rules. We will follow developments to see if any of that windfall hits our little corner of the State.
WHAT WERE YA THINKIN'?
The One That Got Away (In a U-Haul). Pocono Township Police say 35-year-old Jesse Koplin-Hayes of Bushkill rented a cargo van from Steele's ACE Hardware in Tannersville on July 25 and simply never brought it back. The van eventually turned up with help from PSP Lehighton. Koplin-Hayes was arrested on August 4 and charged with theft of leased property and criminal mischief. All charges are pending.
Sold It Twice, Charged Once. A skid steer deal in Pocono Township went sideways for 64-year-old Ronald Brown of East Stroudsburg. I had to look this one up; apparently a skid steer is a small, compact construction machine. Police say a buyer put down a $500 deposit, then backed out — and instead of returning the money, Brown kept it and sold the equipment to someone else. No refund, no contract saying the deposit was non-refundable, and now a theft charge.
Justice, Moving at the Speed of Snail. Back in August 2023, jewelry went missing from a Pocono Township home, and the trail led to a local gold buyer who had purchased it from Tia Myers, then 35. A warrant went out for her arrest that October.
Bail: $2,500.
Walking the Wrong Way (in More Ways Than One). A Pocono Township officer patrolling Route 715 near Ann Lane on August 1 came across 34-year-old Justin Weist of Scranton walking down the middle of the road, apparently under the influence. When police made contact, Weist gave a fake name, which didn't hold up since he had an active Scranton warrant waiting for him. Add drug paraphernalia and a pedestrian-on-the-highway citation to the pile.