WJPA News

Demolition has resumed on the Courthouse Square building. Because of that demolition, the City of Washington will be closing West Beau Street in the construction zone for the next month, beginning April 6. After their meeting, Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman provided an update to the project. He says that according to ADAMO Demolition, the time-frame for construction of the new Public Safety building has not been altered due to the accident that saw a large backhoe fall into a hole in early March. Sherman says that ADAMO and OSHA are characterizing the incident as an accident. Sherman says there has been no change in how crews are attacking the demolition. Actual demolition of the building should occur in approximately three weeks. In other county business, commissioners approved a measure to join the WestCORE regional cooperative group. The group is comprised of several southwestern Pennsylvania counties. It will avail the Washington County Public Safety department to new technologies and products important to public safety and communications.

PennDOT has announced 31 projects that are expected to start during the 2026 construction season, and will continue in 2026 in the four-county region. Officials say they anticipate investing more than $200 million in the region, which encompasses Washington, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties. This investment includes rehabilitating, reconstructing, and resurfacing 99 miles of highways, as well as improving 48 bridges – 27 through preservation, three through rehabilitation, and 18 through replacement.   In Washington County, some of that work will include the Route 18 over Catfish Creek project which will replace the structure carrying Route 18/South Main Street, over a branch of Catfish Creek in the City of Washington.  That is expected to cost two-point-two-million dollars.  A second project involves the I-70 Bentleyville to Route 519 Preservation project.  Crews will mill and pave I-70 and the ramps at the Route 519/84 Interchange, Dunningsville Interchange, and Kammerer Interchange. The project will also include base repair, drainage upgrades, and raising the bridge that crosses Route 519, and will cost between twenty-million and twenty-five-million dollars.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT’s) Engineering District 12, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), invites the public to participate in a Virtual Plans Display to review and provide feedback on the 2026 Bridge Preservation Project in Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. The display is available at PennDOT’s website, and “Projects Near You” page. The projects involve construction activities that are vital to extending the life of the structures at eight separate locations across District 12. Safety improvements will also be made to bring guide-rail and drainage up to current standards. Construction activities vary at each location, but consist of concrete lining, repairs to the head-walls and wing-walls, asphalt overlays, and rock protection. Construction activities will include short-term single-lane closures or detours. Work at each site is expected to take two to three weeks. The purpose of this Virtual Plans Display is to provide information on the 2026 Bridge Preservation Project

The Monessen School District is asking parents and guardians to monitor their children for signs of chickenpox.  In a letter,  the district says a confirmed case of chickenpox was identified at the Elementary Center.  Officials say they are working closely  with the school nurse and following recommended health guidelines to monitor the situation and support the health and safety of students and staff.  Chickenpox is a contagious illness that typically begins with mild symptoms such as fever, fatigue and loss of appetite, followed by the development of an itchy rash.  The rash often begins as small red spots and progresses to blisters.  Symptoms usually appear 10-21 days after exposure.  The district is asking families to keep children home if they develop symptoms and contact their healthcare provider.  The district’s custodial team continues to maintain enhanced cleaning procedures at the school.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette is reporting that Walt Maddox has died. Maddox, who would become the leader of The Marcels, died Monday at the age of 88. Maddox was from the North Side neighborhood of Manchester. He started out as a street-corner singer in a group called The Blenders, who were managed by popular local deejay Barry Kaye. In the summer of 1961, The Marcels underwent a shakeup. As a group featuring both Black and white members, it faced hostility touring in the Deep South. When two white members departed, Maddox joined. By September, he was singing second tenor on the group’s second and final Top 40 hit, “Heartaches” (No. 7), a song associated with Guy Lombardo. The group made regular appearances at the annual Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll shows presented by Pittsburgh promoter Henry DeLuca. Over the past decade, Maddox managed the Marcels without performing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general. Bondi’s departure ends the contentious tenure of a Trump loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw firings of career employees and investigated the Republican president’s perceived enemies. Thursday’s news follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives. Trump has named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter say he has privately discussed Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin as a permanent pick.  (Photo:  AP) 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states, demonstrating Tehran’s continued ability to attack. That comes even as U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed the threat from the country has been nearly eliminated. Iran’s strikes on its neighbors along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world’s energy supplies with effects far beyond the Middle East. Britain held a call Thursday with nearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over. Iran responded defiantly to Trump’s speech to the American people a day earlier. A spokesman for Iran’s military insisted that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms, munitions and production facilities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’ll soon sign an order to pay all Department of Homeland Security employees who have gone without paychecks during the partial government shutdown that has reached 48 days. He announced the unilateral move in a social media post Thursday. He’s blaming Democrats for the impasse while thanking Republican leaders for their work this week in trying to end the standoff. The Republican president used a similar maneuver to resume pay for the Transportation Security Administration. Trump’s latest intervention is expected to apply to other non-law enforcement employees at the department, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard and support staff.

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remain sparse despite a softening labor market and rising energy costs due to the Iran war. The number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending March 28 fell by 9,000 to 202,000 from the previous week’s 211,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 212,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting and within the range of the past several years. Filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s moon-bound astronauts have reason to celebrate, and not just because their launch went so well. Their toilet is now working. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned as soon as they reached orbit Wednesday evening. Mission Control guided astronaut Christina Koch through some plumbing tricks and she finally got it going. The bad news is that it’s so cold inside the Orion capsule that the four astronauts are digging into suitcases for long-sleeved clothes. The three Americans and one Canadian are on track to bust out of orbit around Earth on Thursday night and zoom to the moon for a fly-around. To set the mood, Mission Control’s wakeup music for the crew was “Green Light” by John Legend featuring Andre 3000.