July 7, 2021 11:51 am
Washington County President Judge John DiSalle has filed an administrative order threatening Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis with contempt regarding orders issued concerning the county’s Adult Probation Office. DiSalle said that if Davis’s office does not follow recent orders to “cooperate fully and in good faith to ensure a successful transition of collection functions,” with Adult Probation, he would hold her in contempt. As of June first, the collections staff in Davis’s office were moved to Adult Probation. In May, the Washington County Commissioners voted to transfer the collections workers from the Clerk of Courts Office to Adult Probation. Davis appeared before the commissioners to voice her disapproval to the move.
July 7, 2021 7:24 am
(AP) – The assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse has drawn shock and condemnation from leaders around the world, along with calls for calm and unity in Haiti. Haiti’s interim prime minister says Moïse was killed in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday. First lady Martine Moïse is hospitalized after she was shot in the attack. It isn’t yet clear who was behind the assassination in the troubled Caribbean nation. U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned what he called a “heinous act.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging all Haitians “to preserve the constitutional order, remain united in the face of this abhorrent act and reject all violence.”
July 7, 2021 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon says it’s canceled a cloud-computing contract with Microsoft that could eventually have been worth $10 billion. It will instead pursue a deal with both Microsoft and Amazon and possibly other cloud service providers. The Pentagon says that with the shifting technology environment, the long-delayed JEDI Cloud contract doesn’t meet what’s now needed. The statement Tuesday did not directly mention that the Pentagon faced extended legal challenges by Amazon. Amazon argued that the Microsoft award was tainted by politics, particularly then-President Donald Trump’s antagonism toward Amazon’s chief executive officer, Jeff Bezos.
July 7, 2021 4:14 am
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s death toll from last weekend’s record-smashing Pacific Northwest heat wave has risen to 116. The state medical examiner on Wednesday released an updated list of fatalities from the heat wave that added nine deaths. Of the 116 deaths recorded, the youngest victim was 37 and the oldest was 97. In Portland’s Multnomah County, where most of the deaths occurred, officials said many victims had no air conditioners or fans and died alone. Gov. Kate Brown directed agencies to study how Oregon can improve its response to heat emergencies and enacted emergency rules to protect workers from extreme heat.
July 7, 2021 4:12 am
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – Emergency workers are giving up on any hope of finding survivors in a collapsed Florida condo building. Authorities told sobbing families Wednesday that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble. They planned to shift their efforts to recovering more remains. The announcement followed increasingly somber reports from emergency officials, who said they sought to prepare families for the worst. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah says crews will stop using rescue dogs and listening devices but continue to search for people who are still missing. The death toll stands at 46, with 94 people unaccounted for.
July 7, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says he plans to deliver a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the latest ransomware attacks targeting American businesses. It’s a conversation that could test Biden’s ability to follow through on a promise to answer such attacks with a tough response while also trying to avoid escalating tensions with Russia. The administration faces few easy options for a threat that in just a few months has emerged as a major national security challenge, with attacks from Russia-based gangs that have targeted vital infrastructure and extorted multimillion-dollar payments from victims. Biden was opaque when asked Wednesday what exactly he planned to convey to Putin in light of the latest ransomware attacks.
July 7, 2021 4:04 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will soon rise by another 5%. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday for higher rates that will apply as of Jan. 2. The most common E-ZPass fare for a passenger vehicle will rise by a dime, from $1.60 to $1.70. Those being charged through a scan of their license plate will see the most common fare go from $3.90 to $4.10. Officials say 2022 will be the first time in six years that fares will have jumped by less than 6%. The turnpike has pumped more than $7 billion in funding from tolls to the state Transportation Department since 2007.
July 7, 2021 4:02 am
Cecil Township Supervisors are considering a restoration project for their historic French Club building. For the past ten years, the building, once used for private occasions, has debilitated into abandonment. A judge ordered the municipality to demolish the building and place a lien on its remaining property. Approximately $45,000 will go towards its demolition, but that amount can be recuperated if someone decides to buy the property thereafter. Board members expressed doubt and uncertainty over recuperation, noting that it would take one to two years for the amount to be earned back because of the increasing standard interest rate. However, a business partner of SA Harris Construction company proposed that his firm would instead acquire the property and renovate it into a multi-storied apartment unit. A neighboring property is also on contract with the firm, where they plan to build a parking lot there. Supervisors agreed to discuss the project’s terms with the solicitor, who will then propose a halt to Judge Katherine Emery’s demolition orders. Emery’s order is vital to how the firm handles its sales agreements, according to board member Thomas Casciola. “They’ll buy it, but their sales agreement with the current owner is contingent upon the judge lifting the demolition order, nobody’s going to buy a house that’s under a demolition order”, said Casciola. Updates about the renovation project will be announced and discussed at Cecil Township’s next public meeting on August 7th.
July 6, 2021 6:02 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Carla Sands, former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Denmark, says she’ll join the crowded Republican primary field for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat. Sands’ announcement Tuesday comes after months of making the rounds of the state Republican Party’s circuit of dinners, meet-and-greets and fundraisers. The race for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive in 2022. The 60-year-old Sands grew up in Cumberland County, outside Harrisburg, and spent much of her adult life living in California. There, she took over as CEO of Vintage Capital Group, the real estate investment firm founded by her late husband, Fred Sands, who died in 2015.
July 6, 2021 9:36 am
MOSCOW (AP) – A plane carrying 28 people has apparently crashed as it came in for a landing in bad weather in Russia’s Far East. Everyone aboard was feared dead. Officials said the Antonov An-26 plane was on approach Tuesday for a landing in fog and clouds when it missed a scheduled communication and disappeared from radar. It was heading to the airport in the town of Palana. Russia’s state aviation agency said that parts of the plane were found about 3 miles from the airport’s runway, near the coast line. Russia’s Pacific Fleet told news agencies that part of the fuselage was found on the side of a mountain and another part was floating in the Okhotsk Sea.
