July 2, 2022 9:12 am
Food Helpers and the Washington County Food Bank are announcing a cooperative effort with the CNX Foundation to fight hunger in school children. George Omiros, CEO of Food Helpers announced that the CNX Foundation will be donating $100,000 to the 471 Kids Food Challenge. They will also fund a $135,000 matching challenge gift. The 471 Kids Food Challenge is named for a statistic that states that on any given night, 471 kids in Washington County go to bed hungry every night. The challenge will be in effect from now through December. The challenge will also go hand in hand with a nutrition program that the group will sponsor. Food Helpers has partnered with Carnegie Mellon University to help students learn about nutrition using the Little Moochi app. Students take a picture of their food and an animated character will help them make good decisions about the foods they eat. Donations for the program may be made on line at FoodHelpers.org. Volunteer opportunities are available to help pack the Moochi Packs that students may obtain at their schools. Other opportunities are available at their retail outlet and warehouse on Rt. 40 in Centerville.
July 2, 2022 8:18 am
The Washington County Democratic Committee sponsored a rally Friday afternoon to rally citizens for the right for women to have choice over their bodies. The event held on the courthouse steps was estimated to be roughly 500 people. Abortion rights supporters lined Main Street from Cherry Street to West Beau Street on both sides. The vocal crowd heard several speeches harkening back to the days before the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision became law. The crowd spanned multiple generations and was not made up solely of women. A large contingent of men also rallied for women’s rights. Ultimately, all of the speakers made it a point to make sure all participants get out and vote and encourage all of their friends and family to get out and vote.
July 2, 2022 6:11 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Last July, a federal judge in West Virginia heard closing arguments in the first lawsuit to go to trial over the U.S. opioid addiction epidemic. With an avalanche of documents that included transcripts of testimony and exhibits, Judge David Faber didn’t indicate when he would make a ruling, and his decision wasn’t expected right away. Nearly a year later, a community is still waiting. The lawsuit by Cabell County and the city of Huntington accused distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson of creating a public nuisance. Some 81 million pills were sent to the community of about 93,000 along the Ohio River from 2006 to 2014.
July 2, 2022 6:00 am
(WPXI) – A third monkeypox case in Allegheny County has been confirmed. The Allegheny County Health Department confirmed that three residents have now been diagnosed with monkeypox. Health officials say that all victims of the virus are males in their 20s and 30s. None of the patients have required hospitalization at the time and are isolating at their homes. The county has begun contact tracing protocols. “The ACHD has a highly honed case investigation process and is ready to help contain any possible community spread of the monkeypox virus in Allegheny County,” remarked ACHD Chief Epidemiologist LuAnn Brink. “To contain the virus effectively and efficiently we need residents to work with our nurse case investigators to determine the source of the infection and if it has spread to others. We appreciate any and all assistance.” As of 3:00 p.m. on Friday there were 13 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Pennsylvania.
July 1, 2022 12:35 pm
ALLEN, Ky. (AP) – Two officers were killed when a man opened fire on police attempting to serve a warrant at a home in eastern Kentucky Thursday night. Several officers were shot at the scene in Floyd County. Police took 49-year-old Lance Storz into custody late Thursday night. An arrest citation says two officers were killed at the scene, and five officers were injured. An emergency management official was also injured and a police K9 dog was killed. Storz was arraigned Friday morning in Pike County and jailed on a $10 million bond.
July 1, 2022 2:23 am
PennDOT announced on Thursday that they have reopened a portion of northbound Route 18 (Jefferson Avenue) between East Wylie Avenue and the eastbound Interstate 70 ramps in Washington. They say the roadway was reopened on June 27th. But the construction headaches aren’t all gone just yet. They say the remaining traffic impacts will include single-lane restrictions, as needed, in both directions between East Wylie Avenue and Oakland Avenue through mid-July, weather dependent. Traffic will be maintained in both directions while crews perform driveway adjustments following completion of full depth reconstruction of that section of Route 18. In addition, they say phases of construction are anticipated to occur between East Wylie Avenue and the Henderson Avenue and Route 844 split. Additional details will be provided at a later date. Crews from Plum Contracting LLC will be conducting the work.
July 1, 2022 2:31 am
HARRISBURG (AP) – A state court is permanently blocking Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to toll as many as nine major bridges on interstates in Pennsylvania, siding with three Pittsburgh-area municipalities that argued that his administration had violated procedures in getting to the advanced stage of considering the idea. A panel of Commonwealth Court judges on Thursday granted the municipalities’ request to effectively declare the plan dead because Wolf’s Department of Transportation hadn’t followed the law. Wolf’s push for tolling comes as states increasingly look to user fees to make up for declining gas tax revenue that is not keeping up with the demands of fixing highways and bridges.
July 1, 2022 4:09 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — (WPXI) – A series of car break-ins has neighbors in one Charleroi neighborhood rattled. Neighbors on Oakland Avenue say they feel uneasy on their normally quiet street. “It just doesn’t happen up here,” one neighbor said. “I’ve lived here for 10 years. It’s just not a typical thing here.” The first incident happened in the early morning hours of June 25. A gun was stolen out of a white pick-up truck. “I was going to put my daughter’s car seat in the car, and when I opened the door, all my pap’s stuff was spread out everywhere. I was like ‘oh my God, something happened,’” Marsaidez Newman-Sethman said. “It’s scary because it’s supposed to protect us, and now we know they have a weapon.” A few houses away, would-be thieves rummaged through two more cars, leaving behind valuable items like tools and camera equipment. “Each time, things were just lying out on the seat. Everything was pulled out of the glovebox. Change was taken,” one neighbor said. Charleroi Police say they are looking for up to six people in connection with these break-ins and break-ins in nearby Fallowfield Township. If you have any information, you should contact police.
July 1, 2022 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A new poll finds a growing percentage of Americans calling out abortion or women’s rights as priorities for the government in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, especially among Democrats and those who support abortion access. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll finds 22% of U.S. adults name abortion or women’s rights in an open-ended question as one of five problems they want the government to work on. That’s nearly tripled since December. The new poll, which included interviews conducted before and after the Supreme Court’s ruling, finds prioritization of the issues grew sharply following the decision. With midterm elections looming, President Joe Biden and Democrats will seek to capitalize on that shift.
July 1, 2022 4:15 am
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion is causing anxiety for people in same-sex marriages, particularly those with children. The decision last week overturning Roe v. Wade didn’t directly affect the 2015 ruling that paved the way for gay marriage. But lawyers say now they’re getting questions from same-sex couples worried about the legal status of their marriages and keeping their children. Alabama lawyer Sydney Duncan has received dozens of emails and calls in just a few days. Justice Clarence Thomas has called on colleagues to reconsider cases that allowed same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception.
