A classic convertible (STOCK PHOTO)
(The Center Square) – A June legal dispute between the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the organizers of a Carlisle auto show became a topic of debate again this week when media outlets obtained the confidential agreement that resolved the dispute.
The Spring Carlisle, an auto show that annually brings about 100,000 people to the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Cumberland County, was postponed to June this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers ultimately decided to move forward with the show from June 17 to 20 despite the fact that state Department of Health guidelines still limited attendance at outdoor gatherings to 250 people at a time.
According to Philly Voice, the department warned organizers in advance not to proceed in defiance of those orders. But the show started June 17 with what Cumberlink.com described as “crowds of clearly more than 250.”
The Department of Health sued in an attempt to force Spring Carlisle to comply with its orders, drawing protestations from local lawmakers.
“Common sense would suggest that–like outdoor recreation–outdoor sales and other events should be held to a different safety standard,” Republican state Sens. Mike Regan and Judy Ward and Rep. Barb Gleim said in a joint statement. “The Governor sent a clear message about the ability to ignore his orders and safety precautions when he marched through the streets of Harrisburg. Instead of working with an employer to further implement precautions and allow for this event to move forward in a county that is in the ‘green phase,’ the Wolf administration instead turns to the court to shut this employer down.”
Gleim told Cumberlink.com that the Department of Health’s rules applied to social gatherings, not business events, and that shopping malls frequently had more than 250 people on their premises.
“This is a business. This is not a social gathering,” Gleim told Cumberlink.com. “I feel this event is being targeted.”
Ultimately, the department settled with the Spring Carlisle organizers on June 19, allowing the final day of the event to go forward without any further threat of legal action.
The details of the confidential settlement were revealed this week to at least two Pennsylvania news media outlets. They reported that the Department of Health agreed to allow Spring Carlisle to go forward as long as no more than 20,000 people were on the premises at any one time.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, when asked this week about the settlement, a spokesperson for the department said rules for flea-market type events “where individuals do not congregate for discrete events or shows” have “always been different than the guidance offered on large gatherings for an event or show.”
Word of the settlement’s details angered some lawmakers this week.
“I don’t think it’s truly fair throughout the state,” state Rep. Chris Sainato, D-New Castle, told WPXI, which also received a copy of the confidential settlement. “You have to play by the same rules for everywhere no matter where you are in the state.”
State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-Butler, was similarly incensed.
“I think somebody needs to explain why this agreement was allowed or even offered,” she told WPXI. “So yes, it’s outrageous to even think this.”
Dave Lemery is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of experience. He was the editor of Suburban Life Media when its flagship newspaper was named best weekly in Illinois, and he has worked at papers in South Carolina, Indiana, Idaho and New York.
The Center Square
The Center Square fulfills a need for high-quality, publicly available statehouse and statewide news across the United States. Staffed by professional journalists who engage readers with essential news, data and analysis, The Center Square-Pennsylvania was previously known as Pennsylvania Watchdog and PA Independent.
