WJPA News

North Strabane Township residents will need to wait a little bit longer for a hearing on a proposed data center ordinance. Supervisors voted to cancel a public hearing scheduled for November 24. Township Manager Patrick Karnash said details in the new ordinance were not complete and that the Planning Commission would need time to review the ordinance before it could be presented to the public. Karnash said that the ordinance is near completion. He anticipates that the public hearing will be scheduled in the first quarter of 2027. In other township business, supervisors approved a measure to use general fund budget monies to make emergency repairs along Blue Jay Drive, Dicio Street and Meadowlands Boulevard. Those repairs are for sink holes created from extensive rainfall last summer.

The South Strabane Township Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for Tuesday night was cancelled earlier in the day. According to the township’s website, there would not be enough supervisors present to legally vote on agenda items. Some of those agenda items included an ordinance regarding the use of fossil fuels for power generation and grant application submissions for the Storm Sewer Improvements Project. The meeting has not yet been rescheduled.

A key part of the Washington County business community will no longer be here after October 31^st.    After more than 130 years, Sprowls City Appliance on West Chestnut Street in Washington is closing its doors.  Owner Nick Sprowls says it wasn’t an easy decision, but he says he is just worn out.    Early in 1891, George B. Sprowls gave up his job as a country school teacher and with the sum of $50 entered into the sale of buggies, wagons, harnesses, cook stoves and general merchandise for farm and home in a small back alley store in Claysville, Pa. As business grew, he expanded into the sale of automobiles in Claysville and another retail store in Washington, PA, which included home appliances.

ARC Human Services reached out to the disability community and the aging population by sponsoring an Assistive Technology Fair. The event was designed to alert citizens about the array of services available and the specialized mechanical and electronic devices that can be used to make a person’s life easier. Michael Brownlee is the Director of Communications and Development for ARC Human Services. He wants to remind people that they are available not just for people diagnosed with disabilities, but for all people. He says they are able to help senior citizens that wish to age in place in their homes. They offer simple device solutions  that can help with opening cans, turning on lights and magnifiers. They also have electronic solutions like medication dispensers, speech to text programs and programs for wearable devices that monitor health vital signs and geofence a property that can protect it from damage if a door is left unlocked and you leave the area.  Organizations such as TRIPL provided information on their access to mechanical and electronic technology. Empowerment programs led by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, Pennsylvania Training and Assistance Network and Duquesne University’s Institute for Disability Empowerment and Advocacy were there to help the developmentally disabled. For information on these and other programs available go to archumanservices.org.

The Main Street Farmers Market in downtown Washington is giving the community one more chance to shop before the end of the season. The president, Tracee Malik, explains that shopping at the market is a great way to support local farmers. Despite some bad weather, Malik says it was still a very successful season. The market’s last day is Thursday, October 29 and there will be trick-or-treat for children. The market will be open from 3:00-6:00 PM and parking is free.

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has decried a “corruption crisis” he says is plaguing the U.S. political system. Talarico on Tuesday was competing for the spotlight with President Donald Trump in deeply conservative West Texas. Trump was in Texas for the third time in a month in a last-minute push to back Republican Ken Paxton and block Democrats from notching their first statewide election victory in more than three decades. Talarico took the stage in Lubbock an hour after Trump wrapped up his own speech across town. He cast himself as an underdog against powerful forces including Trump and Elon Musk, who is bankrolling attack ads against Talarico on Paxton’s behalf. Trump leaned into cultural issues to portray Talarico as too liberal for Texas.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israelis are closely awaiting final election results after their voting delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. Exit polls suggest no clear winner, leading to potential weeks of negotiations. Netanyahu’s opponents appear to have a majority but may struggle to form a coalition. Netanyahu remains defiant, dismissing partnerships with Arab parties. His main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, is open to such alliances. Still, the polls indicate Netanyahu’s Likud party has lost seats but remains the largest. Arab-led parties could play a crucial role in coalition-building. Final results were expected sometime on Wednesday, with potential for another election if no government is formed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior State Department official says Brazilian opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will be granted U.S. visas after his weekend loss to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a hotly contested race that bucked a trend of conservative electoral results in Latin America. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to visa privacy laws, said U.S. visas would be granted to Bolsonaro and his family “to allow them entry into the United States.” Bolsonaro, who had President Donald Trump’s tacit support, had been under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil and had been ordered to surrender his passport.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is expected to stand pat on interest rates Wednesday even though inflation has accelerated in the past couple of months as the Iran war has caused spikes in oil and gas prices. The Fed’s latest policy meeting concludes less than a week before the midterm elections, which have focused heavily on concerns about the cost of living and affordability. Consumers have generally soured on an economy weighed down by more expensive gas, groceries, and clothing, among other items. The Fed wants to return inflation to the Fed’s 2% target, which it typically does by raising its short-term interest rate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal law enforcement agents have searched a Beverly Hills home as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter. Agents searched the home of wealthy developer and Swalwell donor Stephen Cloobeck, where the ex-Congressman spent time before resigning from office in April, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. Swalwell, D-Calif., has denied criminal wrongdoing. Cloobeck, the founder of the Diamond Resorts International timeshare company, told the New York Post in April that he cut ties with Swalwell as accusations against him mounted.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Susan Saint James, known for her roles in “McMillan & Wife” and “Kate & Allie,” has died at 80. People magazine reports she passed away Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Los Angeles, she started modeling in Paris as a teenager and later signed with Universal Studios. She gained fame in the 1970s and 1980s, earning multiple Emmy nominations. Saint James retired to focus on family but occasionally appeared on TV. She was a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics and leaves behind her husband, children, and extended family.  (Photo:  AP)