WJPA News

During their agenda setting meeting, Washington County Commissioners added an item that, if approved, will direct the County Treasurer to withhold county hotel tax revenues and deposit them into a special holding account instead of directing those funds to the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency as mandated by law. Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman says that they sent a letter to Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency President Jeff Kotula, asking them to provide information, that Kotula says, is beyond the limits of a financial audit. Commissioners are looking for information on transaction journals, consulting agreements and leases, employment agreements between third parties and the agency or a summary of employee salaries and benefits and other items. Kotula says that they have provided a clean audit again this year. Any tax information is public knowledge and available as public record. The county lost several legal decisions in the Office of Open Records, and Common Pleas Court in search of that information. An appeal to Commonwealth Court is pending. The county says that they are now seeking the information as provided for under county code. Sherman says that commissioners are trying to be good stewards of taxpayer money. Kotula says that Sherman is well aware of how the money is spent as he had been seated on the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce that is a partner with the WCTPA and has never had an issue with any funds being spent. Commissioners will vote on the measure on Thursday, October 1 at 10:00 am.

Talk of data centers in Hanover Township will continue tonight and throughout October. During Tuesday night’s hearing, a witness for Prime Data Centers, LLC spoke about the geology of Starpointe Business Park and the readiness of the site for a data center and power generation facility. Although the hearings have been ongoing for months, Prime says there are still four witnesses who will testify. Solicitor Dennis Makel says they are trying to move the hearings along, but there needs to be due process. Residents who have party status are concerned that they have not been able to cross-examine every witness. Daniel Bentrem says that the hearings are being wrapped up too fast, which limits each person’s time to speak. Another resident, Katie Weber, says she only cares that the process is thorough, and that health and safety concerns are considered. The hearing will continue tonight and October 7, 22, and 29 at 6:00 PM at the Hanover Township Fire Department Hall.

Harrisburg, PA – Following an annual adjustment to account for food costs and inflation, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) has announced increases to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) income limits and maximum benefit amounts starting October 1st.  These changes will benefit all SNAP recipients and no one will experience a decrease in benefits because of these updates.   The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) made the changes as part of an annual re-evaluation of SNAP’s income eligibility standards, the maximum benefit amount, and the minimum benefit amount. This adjustment is a routine, annual process.  “SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. I strongly encourage anyone who may need food assistance to apply for SNAP,” said PA DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh. “SNAP helps more than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians afford food for themselves and their families, and PA DHS will always help Pennsylvanians facing food insecurity keep food on their tables.”  The average increase for most SNAP recipients will be $18.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is accepting construction and maintenance services feedback through an online survey. The public can take the survey through October 20 by visiting 2026 PennDOT Construction/Maintenance Customer Satisfaction Survey. Under the Shapiro Administration, more than 21,800 miles have been improved statewide, and work has advanced on nearly 2,000 state and local bridges. PennDOT has been hard at work on Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges throughout the year, improving more than 2,600 road miles and advancing work on 373 state and local bridges from January through August of this year. Governor Shapiro also recently announced additional, accelerated work – 79 “Rapid Deployment Projects” that are the first round of a $775 million investment from the Motor License Fund over 18 months. “The PennDOT team is committed to serving every county, every community, every time, and this annual survey helps the department see successes and opportunities,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said. “The survey also helps us find areas where we can educate the public while learning about how the public receives road information.” The 17-question survey asks participants how they receive PennDOT roadway information and how often PennDOT meets or exceeds expectations in construction and maintenance activities. Respondents are also asked about experiences reporting concerns to the department, and whether or how they use the state’s 511PA traveler information services. Those interested can take the survey at www.pa.gov/DOTprojects.

Carnegie Mellon University announced Wednesday that hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin is donating $3 billion, with the bulk of the money to be used to start a new campus in Miami that will focus on societal challenges. The Pittsburgh-based private research university said the contribution is the largest ever to any education institution in the U.S. In addition to spending $2 billion for a new 35-acre campus in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, some of the rest of the money will go to the Pittsburgh campus’ computer science program.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says that he and a large group of leaders of artificial intelligence companies had signed a voluntary accord that will include internal and external reviews of the technology during a meeting at the White House. Trump is promising that his government wouldn’t limit the development of artificial intelligence, even as top executives of AI firms that have called for delays convened in Washington. The AI executives had lunch with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. Trump’s confidence in AI is in sharp contrast to the alarms sounded by AI executives in recent days. On Friday, OpenAI said it would pause the training of its latest model as reports multiply of AI agents going rogue.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will let President Donald Trump’s administration resume deporting people to countries other than their own for now, while the justices consider whether the policy is legal. The high court said Tuesday it will hear arguments in the case. The order lifts for now an appeals court decision that found migrants must have a chance to object. Federal attorneys said the lower court’s decision forced the cancellation of a deportation flight carrying about 70 people. Under a series of often-secret agreements, Trump’s Republican administration has deported some 25,000 people to more than two dozen countries. The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former special counsel Jack Smith has forcefully defended his prosecutions of President Donald Trump and his investigative tactics. He pushed back against repeated Republican efforts to paint him and his team as partisan political operators during a Senate hearing Tuesday that featured a senator’s bungled attempt to accuse him of lying about a basketball game. The hearing came as Republicans have pushed for Smith to be prosecuted and offered a forum for them to assail him for what they contend were politicized prosecutions that unfolded at the height of the 2024 presidential race. Democrats rallied in defense of Smith, eliciting testimony on the legal and factual basis for the criminal cases against then-candidate Trump.

HUDSON, N.H. (AP) — Five weeks before Election Day, Democratic optimism is soaring. But glaring vulnerabilities threaten to undermine the unstoppable blue wave that Democrats believe is coming. Look no further than New Hampshire, where Democratic leaders are sounding the alarm about political challenges that could jeopardize the party’s ability to win in November. More than anything, they are concerned about the Republican Party’s overwhelming financial advantage that will allow its candidates to dominate the airwaves in the closing days of the campaign. Some Democrats also note that their party’s brand remains deeply unpopular, and they have virtually no margin for error in elections that are playing out largely in Republican-leaning states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in August, but the American labor market remains resilient in the face of higher energy costs caused by the fighting with Iran. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that U.S. job openings slid to 7.08 million from a revised 7.34 million in July. Openings came in below the 7.2 million that forecasters had expected. The department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that layoffs fell and the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — was little changed in August.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. owner of steelmaker Stelco of betraying Canadian workers after it announced layoffs it attributed in part to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs — tariffs Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief executive has publicly championed. Carney also threatened legal action against Cleveland-Cliffs, saying the Ohio-based company has binding employment obligations stemming from its C$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion) takeover of Stelco in 2024. Stelco says up to 500 workers could be affected as it indefinitely idles cold-rolled and coated operations at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant and shifts production to its Lake Erie facility in Nanticoke.