[naviga:h3]Wagner says he’d fight urban poverty[/naviga:h3]

HARRISBURG — Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner on Tuesday accused public officials, and Democrats in particular, of failing to combat urban poverty.

Wagner told a Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia event at the downtown Pyramid Club that he would establish a low-interest loan fund through community banks for people wanting to start a business and partner with firms like Uber and Lyft if necessary to make mass transportation more accessible.

Wagner also said he would look to retool public-assistance programs and overhaul sentencing, probation and parole systems that are unduly punitive.

Wagner, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in November’s election, pointed out that Philadelphia is ranked by Census figures as the nation’s poorest major city, and questioned what Philadelphians and other urban dwellers have to lose by supporting him.

The Wolf campaign accused Wagner of doing “everything in his power” to hold back cities while he served in the state Senate for four years, resigning in June. Wagner fought Wolf’s push to increase state aid to public schools and is a threat to roll back the state’s Medicaid expansion, the Wolf campaign said.

[naviga:h3]Man charged after putting wife on leash[/naviga:h3]

YORK — A Maryland man is facing a simple assault charge after using a dog leash to lead his wife around a Pennsylvania fair because she has late-stage dementia.

West Manchester police say Walter Wolford yanked the 8-inch long red nylon leash, causing his wife’s head to jerk back and leave red marks around her throat. But the 66-year-old Hagerstown man says he only gently tugged on the leash, which he uses to keep his wife from getting lost.

Authorities say the officer called to the York Fair on Saturday tried to speak to the woman. But she didn’t know where she was, didn’t know her name and couldn’t form words.

Wolford says that he attached the leash to his wife’s waist, but that it moved up around her neck.

[naviga:h3]2 raccoons test positive for rabies[/naviga:h3]

PITTSBURGH — Health officials are warning Western Pennsylvania residents that two raccoons brought to a facility earlier this week have tested positive for rabies.

The Allegheny County health department says the first raccoon was found in Pittsburgh on the edge of the Morningside/Stanton Heights areas. The second was found in Mount Lebanon.

Rabies is transmitted by an animal bite or scratch, and such exposures are almost always fatal when left untreated. Residents are being warned to avoid stray animals and wildlife, even if the animals appear healthy.

Officials say this is the 19th rabid animal reported in the county this year: there have been eight raccoons, seven bats, two cats, a groundhog and a fox.