WJPA News

In its tenth year of existence, the Mon Valley Alliance held its fourth annual Economic Symposium. Jamie Colecchi is the CEO of the MVA. He steered the focus of the meeting to one of looking to the future. Colecchi celebrated the near buildout of the Alta Vista Business Park. He then told of how the area is embarking on a new business park. Feasibility studies are finishing up on the development of 542 acres of an old mining site located along Route 136 and the Mon Fayette expressway. Colecchi says that the proposed site could hold anywhere from 17-20 building pads for light industrial uses. An adjacent 100 acre parcel is under consideration for residential use. He also said that there is interest nearby for a sports related complex. County Commissioners from the four counties that make up the MVA also took part by offering what they are doing to plan for the future. Jared Edgreen from Greene County joined in with all other commissioners in trying to prevent “brain drain” from county students. He says that the Greene County Career and Technology Center is bursting at the seams with talent and they are working diligently to identify current and emerging businesses to funnel that talent. Sean Kertes from Westmoreland County says his county is seeing a big influx of manufacturing opportunities, especially coming from Allegheny County. His county too, is investing in educational opportunities for the trades to keep kids home. Nick Sherman from Washington County said that they have had great success in trying to provide first time home buying opportunities for young people by clearing blight. He said a large portion of 8 million dollars in blight mitigation funds were spent along the Monongahela River towns removing blighted properties to allow those young people to feel comfortable moving into affordable existing homes. Scott Dunn from Fayette County is proud of a 13 billion dollar investment from Next Era Resources in their construction of a gas powered power generation plant that he hopes will spur more manufacturing in the region. Rick Siger, Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development was the keynote speaker. He touted the success of Pennsylvania being the third leading state for adding jobs and the ninth leading state for manufacturing development.

EPHRATA, Pa. (AP) — Lancaster County in Pennsylvania has been the epicenter of the nation’s worst measles outbreak in 35 years. It’s also home to the largest Amish population in the U.S. Some Amish and related Mennonite groups, with historically lower rates of vaccination, have been hit hard. Vaccination rates also declined in the general population amid the resurgence of a contagious virus considered “eliminated” from the U.S. since 2000. Pennsylvania leads the U.S. this year with over 1,350 cases, more than a third in Lancaster County, according to official figures. Many Amish and Mennonites are showing a new openness to vaccines, while members of the general public are also taking extra precautions.

A ribbon cutting was held at Franklin Crossroads Park Thursday morning to commemorate the opening of the retail phase. Franklin Crossroads Park is taking the place of the former Washington Crown Center Mall and offers a mixed-use business and commercial campus. PREP Funds and IRG are behind the redevelopment. The retailers now have exterior entrances and their own parking field. Chris Salata, a partner with PREP Funds, says this is a huge milestone, and there can now be a larger focus on the business park at the back of the property. Jeff Kotula, the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency, explains that there are a lot of different businesses, and they are ready just in time for the holiday season. Bob Sabot, the chairman of the board of supervisors in North Franklin Township, says this was a long time coming, but the township is back in business.  (Pictured:  PREP Funds Chris Salata)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Get ready to fall back. The Senate is unlikely to act on a House-passed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and Americans who don’t like having to change their clocks twice a year. Daylight saving time ends early Sunday, requiring much of the U.S. to move clocks back one hour. Several senators are holding up legislation that would eliminate that longtime U.S. tradition. Supporters argue that ending the time change would provide more daylight during the times Americans are most active. Opponents say commuters in some states wouldn’t see the sun until after 9 a.m.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Leo XIV has become the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election, casting a mail-in ballot in Chicago. The Vatican confirmed Friday that Leo, born Robert Prevost, exercised his right as a U.S. citizen, emphasizing his belief in civic participation. Leo holds U.S. and Peruvian citizenship and has voted whenever eligible. U.S. law allows citizens abroad to vote via absentee ballot. Leo’s vote was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. The pope has been vocal about U.S. politics, often clashing with former President Donald Trump on issues like immigration and war.  (Photo:  AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has rescheduled campaign rallies in a pair of critical Midwestern states that he had previously canceled. That’s according to a person familiar with the plans. The person says the Republican president will now visit Iowa and Kansas for back-to-back campaign rallies on Sunday. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss Trump’s schedule. The Republican National Committee initially said in canceling the rallies that Trump would do telerallies instead to reach more voters. But the person familiar with the latest plans says the Iowa and Kansas rallies have been rearranged to accommodate the new telerallies added to Trump’s schedule.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola denies that she knew anything about an effort to put another candidate on the Alaska ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent. Peltola told voters in Juneau Thursday night that she “knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.” Peltola is running against Sen. Dan Sullivan. A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that subpoenas seeking grand jury testimony or documents, along with records preservation demands, were issued after The New York Times reported that Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan Jr. as part of an alleged effort to confuse voters.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s final election results show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost its majority in parliament. It won 53 seats in Tuesday’s voting, while the main opposition secured 48. Arab-led parties achieved a historic 19 seats. Parties must now negotiate to see if they can form a coalition with at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu remains in charge, but coalition talks are expected to be challenging. The president will assign someone to form a government next week. If no one can do so, a new election could be held early next year. Netanyahu’s party has made unsubstantiated claims about election interference by Arab-led parties.