U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, whose 9th Congressional District includes Schuylkill County, has thrown his support to former President Donald Trump for president in 2024. In an op-ed piece sent to area news outlets, Meuser announced his intentions and in the process condemned President Joe Biden and his administration for “damaging our nation’s national security, economic strength and public safety.” Meuser is one of five Pennsylvania GOP representatives who have endorsed Trump. Meuser, 59, was Secretary of Revenue in the Gov. Tom Corbett administration, and has been a fierce Trump supporter since the former president announced his candidacy in 2015.

This is doggone alarming: The U.S. Postal Service reports that there were 313 dog bites of its mail carriers in Pennsylvania last year, or 32 more than the previous year. This ranks the Keystone State fourth in the nation in this category. Twenty-eight of the cases were in Philadelphia, according to USPS statistics, placing the City of Brotherly Love 11th most in postal dog-bite incidents among the nation’s largest cities. More than 5,300 postal service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering mail last year, the report said. According to the report, California had the most recorded dog bites in 2022 with 675; Texas was second with 404, while New York was third with 321. The report was issued last month in conjunction with National Dog Bite Awareness Week.

High rents: Three southern universities which did a comprehensive study of rents in 100 metropolitan areas of the country, including the one that includes Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, showed that a renting household needs to earn at least $70,000 a year to be able to afford the average monthly rent, which is $1,729. Conducting the study were the University of Alabama, Florida Atlantic University and Florida Gulf Coast University.

Can we speak frankly: I mean isn’t it about time? Nathan’s, the iconic hot dog that made Coney Island famous, opened its first area location on June 22 at the corner of Linden Street and American Parkway in Allentown. Its location is a temporary trailer that ultimately will give way to a full-blown restaurant once the permitting processes are approved. There are several reasons why the popular brand has not had a footprint in our area, including the presence of Yocco’s, the 101-year-old well-known local company that has six locations dotting the Lehigh Valley.

Rides ... and food: Anyone who has spent time at Knoebels amusement park in Elysburg, Columbia County, would not be overly surprised to learn that it has won the Golden Ticket Award for the 19th time since 2000 because of its outstanding offering of food. A Knoebels chicken and waffle dinner at the Alamo Restaurant at the park, for example, is to die for. Once I made the 65-mile trip just to satisfy my craving for this specialty. The Golden Ticket Award is given annually by Amusement Today, a trade industry publication, to the amusement park with the best food.

Expensive race: The numbers are in confirming that the amount of money spent on the Northampton County district attorney’s Democratic primary in May set a record. Former county judge, Stephen Baratta, defeated incumbent Terry Houck, 12,998-10,841 to win the nomination, but since Houck had the most Republican write-in votes (1,468), he will be listed on the November General Election slate of Republicans. Between them, the two candidates spent more than $400,000 in the primary, but it left both candidates with a minimal amount of cash for the November rematch. Many county Democratic leaders are shaking their heads at Houck’s decision to be on the GOP ballot, especially since Republican County Chairman Glenn Geissinger said Houck should not expect any official Republican support in the Nov. 7 General Election.

Historic inn razed: Some Pocono residents are reacting negatively to the information that the historic Tannersville Inn in Pocono Township, Monroe County, is being demolished to make way for a Wawa convenience store. “Just what we need – another convenience store,” one township resident said sarcastically. How pervasive are convenience stores? With the population of the United States at about 334 million, there is, on average, one convenience store for every 2,225 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Using this metric, this means there are about 30 of them in Carbon County, 65 in Schuylkill, 76 in Monroe, 140 in Northampton and 170 in Lehigh. And more are on the way, including one that got preliminary approval in Rush Township last week.

Acting tag lifted: Former state Sen. Pat Browne of Lehigh County is now officially state Revenue Secretary. Browne, a Republican, has been in an acting capacity since Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro took office and nominated him to be the state’s top fiscal officer. The interesting part of all of this is that Browne never received a state Senate vote. According to Pennsylvania’s Constitution, if the Senate does not take action on a nominee within 25 legislative sessions, he or she will take office, just as if the Senate had given its approval. In one of the shocking results of the 2022 election, Browne was defeated in the Republican primary by political newcomer Jarrett Coleman, who went on to win the general election. The fact that the Senate did not vote prevented Coleman from an awkward situation where he would have had to cast an up-or-down vote for a former opponent.

By BRUCE FRASSINELLI| tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.