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.

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.

WASHINGTON, Pa. — City of Washington Police say two missing teenage girls have been located.   Kimea Lowry,13, and Alia Matthews, 14 were reported missing Monday and had not been seen since Friday morning.  Police announced early Tuesday morning that Lowry had been found.   Matthews was located Monday evening in Canonsburg.  No other information was released.

CANONSBURG, Pa. — Canonsburg Police are asking for the public’s help to identify two suspects who threw items at moving vehicles on Sunday evening. It between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. as the suspects were driving through town. Investigators believe the individuals are likely juveniles who wore hoodies and covered their faces to hide their identities.  The department postd on Facebook that “We received multiple police reports of these two driving through town throwing items at moving cars that potentially could have caused a serious accident”. Chief Alexander Coghill told our news partners at WPXI that police believe the two teenage boys are between the ages of 14 and 16, so there’s a very strong possibility they don’t even have their driver’s licenses and are riding this type of e-bike illegally in more ways than one.  Coghill said the teens threw eggs, cans, iced tea containers, and more at passing cars. He said at least one of those cars reported damage.  Neighbors who live on several streets, including West College, North Jefferson, Arlington Drive, and East Pitt, reported seeing the pair.  “We know these same two individuals, at least by their clothing and the type of bike, are responsible for a lot of antagonizing,” Coghill said. “They’ve gone to different festivals, they’ve been on Interstate 79, they’ve been wreaking havoc throughout our area.”  Police are encouraging anyone with information to call the Canonsburg Police Department.

In what may be considered a surprise action, Peters Township Council firmly defeated adoption of their comprehensive plan. Township officials and HRG Engineering, serving as consultants for the plan, spent nearly 18 months crafting the document that is meant to guide township officials on the development of Peters Township for the next 10 years. The vote was 5-2 to deny adoption. Council members Frank Arcuri and Robert Lewis voted for adoption. Council members John Binsse, Frank Kosir, Allison Shanafelt, Gary Stiegel and Jonathan Waldinger all voted against the plan. The main issue driving the defeat was how a parcel of land referred to as Venetia Hills could be developed. The plan identifies the property as a special land use area that council needs to study to accurately determine what should be built there. The land has several terrain issues. Currently, it is zoned mixed residential with a strip of it zoned small community commercial. Mixed residential allows for high density housing, something that community feedback about the comprehensive plan state that the community is vehemently against. Council Chairman Frank Kosir says that until the issue of high density housing is eliminated, he could not vote for the plan. Councilman Frank Arcuri says that he voted to adopt the plan so that council could take action to close that high density housing issue more rapidly. Township Manager Paul Lauer says that now they will meet with the consultants to make that alteration in the plan. The Planning Commission will need to hold a public hearing before adoption. Council will need 45 days to advertise the change before it could hold its public hearing before adoption. No final timetable is available for final adoption.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy sank to the lowest level in more than a decade this month as prices remain elevated and wages stagnate amid the ongoing Iran war. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index tumbled 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in August. That’s the lowest reading in the board’s survey since April 2014 and below the lowest level reached during the pandemic. Respondents’ views of their present situation fell by 7.9 points to 109.3. Their short-term outlook also slid, falling 5.9 points to 63.6.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles. The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of a two-way annual trade between the two northern neighbors. But it marks another escalation in President Donald Trump’s second-term trade war with America’s longtime ally and trading partner.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has disputed that he asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping if he wanted to buy weapons from the United States. That contradicts an account from the U.S. ambassador to China. Trump on Monday acted confused when a reporter asked him about Ambassador David Perdue’s remarks over the weekend. Trump suggested that his ambassador was confusing China with Taiwan but then said “maybe it’s a good idea” to make such an offer to China. The whiplash over the prospect of arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival underlines the Trump administration’s uncoordinated and contradictory approach to China.

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican hopes of winning Senate races in Georgia and North Carolina have been fading, and the GOP is increasingly focused on playing defense elsewhere with five weeks until the midterm elections. Republicans haven’t abandoned the Southern battlegrounds, which President Donald Trump carried narrowly in 2024, though they are shifting greater resources to states they see as more competitive. The party now is spending heavily to defend GOP-heavy Texas, and Trump is planning to campaign for the Republican incumbent in Ohio, both places the president won easily in 2024. The shift comes as Republicans are becoming more vocal in their public criticism that Trump has squandered an opportunity to more comfortably hold off Democrats this fall.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities are looking into the possibility of a new ransom note related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The news Monday came nearly eight months after she went missing from her home outside Tucson. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Monday and the FBI Guthrie Task Force had been recently made aware of the possible ransom note as well as social media comments related to it. Investigators are working to determine its credibility. Officials did not immediately release details on how they found the note or what was in it. In July, authorities released two ransom notes after the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1.

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Leo XIV says concerns about artificial intelligence going rogue are not “fake news” and should be taken seriously. He is insisting that safety issues raised by AI experts should be discussed and acted on.Leo dedicated his first encyclical to AI and protecting humanity in its wake. He was asked during a press conference about what the United States and China especially should be doing to prevent AI from posing catastrophic risks to humanity. President Donald Trump has called concerns about AI going rogue a “hoax.” “This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about,” Leo told reporters returning home from France. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen.”

PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Polo has made landfall in Baja California, Mexico, with powerful winds and flash flooding. The Category 2 hurricane struck early Tuesday near Las Barrancas, bringing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center reports Polo is crossing the Gulf of California and could bring heavy rain to parts of the U.S. Southwest later this week. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Rachel is moving parallel to Mexico’s coast. The Pacific storm activity is above average this season, consistent with El Niño patterns. Hurricane Nolo, still a Category 3, is moving away from Hawaii, where it caused flooding over the weekend.