Wilkes-Barre/Scranton knock Hershey Bears out of Calder Cup playoffs
NEWS EIGHT AT FIVE. C1 YOUR SCHOOL. I’M SARAH METZ, INVESTIGATING THE GROWING CONCERN OVER ACCESS AND WHAT LAWMAKERS ARE TRYING TO DO ABOUT IT. I HEARD A WOMAN YELLING, INVESTIGATORS ARE ON THE SCENE OF A DEADLY HOUSE FIRE IN MIFFLIN COUNTY. A NEIGHBOR TOLD US WHAT SHE HEARD AND SAW. AS THE WEATHER GETS WARMER, OUTDOOR DINING IS MAKING A COMEBACK HERE IN DOWNTOWN NEW YORK. WE’LL TELL YOU WHAT BUSINESSES HERE ON RESTAURANT ROW HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE NEW PRACTICES MUST WIN. WE’RE JUST MINUTES AWAY FROM PUCK DROP IN A PIVOTAL GAME FOR THE HERSHEY BEARS. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM WGAL NEWS EIGHT AT SIX STARTS NOW. NEWS 8 TEAM LIVE ACROSS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY, INCLUDING A DEADLY FIRE IN MIFFLIN COUNTY. BUT FIRST TONIGHT, AN EIGHT ON YOUR SIDE INVESTIGATION. DURING COVID, WE SAW A NUMBER OF STORE VACANCIES THAT POPPED UP WHEN THOSE VACANCIES OCCURRED, THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF SMOKE SHOPS THAT THAT BASICALLY ENTERED INTO THOSE THOSE VACANCIES, LIKE A VERY A LOT OF THEM SMOKE SHOPS CONTINUE TO POP UP ACROSS THE STATE, INCLUDING HERE IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. THE CONCERN ISN’T JUST ABOUT HOW MANY THERE ARE, BUT WHERE THEY’RE LOCATED. GOOD EVENING TO YOU. I’M LORI BURKHOLDER AND I’M JERE GISH TONIGHT, NEWS EIGHT’S SARAH METZ IS ON YOUR SIDE, DIGGING DEEPER INTO SHOPS. CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SCHOOLS AND THE PUSH FOR CHANGE. FLASHY LIGHTS, COLORFUL PACKAGING AND EASY ACCESS SMOKE SHOPS IN PENNSYLVANIA SELL E CIGARETTES, NICOTINE POUCHES AND CANNABINOIDS LIKE DELTA EIGHT GUMMIES. SOME STATE LAWMAKERS BELIEVE THEY TARGET CHILDREN, SAYING THE INVITING STOREFRONT AND THE FRIENDLY LOOKING PACKAGING SPARKED CURIOSITY. IT IS PERVASIVE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, AND IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO ESCAPE. YOU’RE BEING EXPOSED TO THE IDEA THAT YOU COULD GO IN THERE. I CAN GO IN AND GET THAT PRODUCT RIGHT NOW. I THINK THAT THAT WHY WE ALSO NEED TO REALLY BE LOOKING AT PHYSICAL SPACES. I TOOK A LOOK AT HOW CLOSE THESE SMOKE SHOPS ARE TO SCHOOLS ACROSS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. I FOUND EACH COUNTY HAD AT LEAST ONE HIGH SCHOOL WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE, AND ALL OF THEM UNDER A MILE. IN ADAMS COUNTY, NEW OXFORD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IS A LITTLE LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE. HIGH SCHOOLS IN YORK, LEBANON AND LANCASTER COUNTIES ARE LESS THAN A HALF MILE AWAY FROM A SMOKE SHOP, BUT THE CLOSEST IN PROXIMITY IS HERE IN CUMBERLAND AND DAUPHIN COUNTIES. THIS SHOP IS 3/10 OF A MILE FROM JOHN HARRIS HIGH. IT WAS THE SAME FOR CEDAR CLIFF HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE THIS SMOKE SHOP RECENTLY CLOSED DOWN. IN SOME CASES, LIKE RIGHT HERE IN MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, YOU CAN SEE THE SCHOOL FROM THE STORE’S PROPERTY. I THINK EVERYBODY CAN AGREE THAT THAT’S NOT THE RIGHT PLACE FOR THAT SORT OF BUSINESS. SEAN MCCORMICK IS THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AT LATINO CONNECTION. ARE THEY JUST ON BUSY STREETS WHERE THERE IS A HIGH POPULATION DENSITY THAT MAKES SENSE FOR ANY BUSINESS TO BE IN A HIGHLY DENSE, DENSE AREA AND A HIGH TRAFFIC AREA. BUT ARE THEY CLOSE TO SCHOOLS? YEAH, A LOT OF THEM ARE SHOCKINGLY CLOSE TO SCHOOLS. IT’S A HARD BALANCE. BUT MCCORMICK SAYS LOCATION MATTERS AND RESEARCH BACKS IT UP. WE DO KNOW THAT FROM PUBLIC HEALTH AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND MAPPING STUDIES, THAT FOLKS THAT LIVE CLOSER TO THESE LOCATIONS ARE MORE LIKELY TO START USING THESE PRODUCTS AND HAVE A TOUGHER TIME QUITTING. THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION SAYS IN 2024, MORE THAN 1.6 MILLION MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ADMITTED TO USING E-CIGARETTES. MANY OF THESE ACCESSIBLE VAPE PRODUCTS ARE NOT EVEN AUTHORIZED BY THE FDA AND ARE ILLEGALLY MARKETED, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. OUR FOCUS TURNS TO HOW DO YOU RESPONSIBLY REGULATE THE NUMBERS AND LOCATIONS WHERE THESE THINGS POP UP? LAWMAKERS ARE TRYING TO ANSWER THAT RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE TWO PIECES OF RELEVANT LEGISLATION IN THE STATE HOUSE. ONE WOULD PREVENT NEW SMOKE SHOPS FROM OPENING WITHIN 1000FT FROM A SCHOOL. ANOTHER, SPONSORED BY DEMOCRAT BEN WAXMAN OF PHILADELPHIA, GOES A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. WHAT WE DID WAS WE EXPANDED THAT TO APPLY TO JUST ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE YOUTH FOCUSED, WHETHER IT’S REC CENTERS, DAYCARES. IF PASSED, THE BILL WOULD BLOCK NEW SMOKE SHOPS FROM POPPING UP WITHIN 500FT. OF THOSE PLACES. IT WOULDN’T TOUCH EXISTING SHOPS. BUT TO PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, THE SCHOOLS IN DAUPHIN AND CUMBERLAND COUNTIES ARE 3/10 OF A MILE AWAY FROM A SHOP. THAT TRANSLATES TO 1584FT. SO EVEN OUR CLOSEST SCHOOLS WOULDN’T FALL UNDER THESE PARAMETERS. THERE WOULD BE MAYBE OTHER WAYS TO GO AFTER PEOPLE’S LICENSES, WHICH IS WHAT WE’RE ALSO LOOKING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. THE STATE IS ALREADY TAKING A STEP IN THAT DIRECTION. AS OF FEBRUARY 20TH, VAPE AND E-CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS ARE REQUIRED TO GET A CERTIFICATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE BEFORE SELLING CERTAIN PRODUCTS. I’M NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN CRIMINALIZING YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A TEENAGER AND BUYING CIGARETTES THAT THEY SHOULDN’T WITH A FAKE ID. YOU KNOW, I’M MORE INTERESTED IN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PREYING ON THAT SITUATION. TOBACCO AND VAPING. THESE THINGS ARE LEGAL. WE’RE NOT TRYING TO BAN THEM FROM THE ENTIRE STATE. BUT IS THERE A RESPONSIBLE AND COMMON SENSE LEGISLATION, REGULATION TO LIMIT THE PROXIMITY TO SCHOOLS SO THAT STUDENTS AREN’T WALKING OUT OF THEIR MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL AND SEEING TOBACCO VAPE CBD, KRATOM, NEON FLASHING LIGHTS THE INSTANT THEY WALK OUT TO SCHOOL. ON YOUR SIDE. SARAH METZ, WGAL NEWS 8. AND ONE LOCAL ORDINANCE AIMING AT BETTER REGULATING WHERE THESE TYPES OF SHOPS ARE OPENING IS ON THE TABLE IN YORK CITY. IT WAS INTRODUCED BY QUEEN OF WASHINGTON LAST MONTH. THE ORDINANCE SAYS YORK RESIDENTS USE TOBACCO PRODUCTS AT AN 8.5% HIGHER RATE THAN THE NATIONWIDE CITY AVERAGE. THE PROPOSAL IS TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC HEALTH
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton knock Hershey Bears out of Calder Cup playoffs
Updated: 10:32 PM EDT May 7, 2026
The Hershey Bears faced a must-win Game 4 on Thursday against Wilkes-Barre, but their Calder Cup hopes ended with a 4-1 loss.Video above: Headlines from WGAL News 8. Wilkes-Barre was the first to score, taking an early lead. Ivan Miroshnichenko tied the game with a goal, sending the teams into the first intermission tied at 1.The score remained unchanged in the second period. Andrew Cristall missed a wide-open Penguins net. Wilkes-Barre capitalized by going down the ice and scoring. The goal opened the scoring for the Penguins, who maintained their momentum and never looked back. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton eliminated the Hershey Bears from the playoffs with the 4-1 victory.
HERSHEY, Pa. —
The Hershey Bears faced a must-win Game 4 on Thursday against Wilkes-Barre, but their Calder Cup hopes ended with a 4-1 loss.
Video above: Headlines from WGAL News 8.
Wilkes-Barre was the first to score, taking an early lead. Ivan Miroshnichenko tied the game with a goal, sending the teams into the first intermission tied at 1.
The score remained unchanged in the second period. Andrew Cristall missed a wide-open Penguins net. Wilkes-Barre capitalized by going down the ice and scoring.
The goal opened the scoring for the Penguins, who maintained their momentum and never looked back. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton eliminated the Hershey Bears from the playoffs with the 4-1 victory.