As Pennsylvania slowly begins the process of reopening in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will be getting back to work Friday.

The owner of the family-operated Chaar, a Lehigh Valley-based chain of pet supply stores, said his company was thriving in the opening months of 2020. Then, the COVID-19 crisis hit. Chaar disagrees with the state's handling of the crisis and says that "the way things were done created a disaster for our economy."

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors is throwing its support behind House Bill 2412, sponsored by Todd Polinchock, R-Chalfont, that would reopen the real estate industry as a life-sustaining business.

Pennsylvania’s construction industry will return to work May 1, one week earlier than previously announced, but will do so under safety guidelines issued by Gov. Tom Wolf.

The Pennsylvania Associated Builders and Contractors, which says the construction industry is ready to get back to work, has created a COVID-19 Construction Safety Task Force to provide guidance and best practices to its members can incorporate into their required safety plans.

Pennsylvania State Police are giving written warnings to Pennsylvanians who don’t comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to wear a mask, but state officials are mostly relying on Pennsylvanians to “self enforcing” the directive.

“Smart home features will be in every home at some point, builders are going to be using them, the choice is do you want to be in the forefront or do you want to play catch up? We like to give the customer a base system that they can grow as they get used to the automation.”

After extending the state’s stay-at-home order through May 8, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced his first steps towards reopening Pennsylvania businesses.

As the state looks towards the process of reopening post COVID-19, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce will be working with business leaders across the state to help map out that return.

The City of Allentown has awarded a $126,750 contract to Joao & Bradley Construction Co. of Bethlehem to make emergency repairs to the Lehigh Canal in Allentown, which includes replacing a 17-foot deep manhole.