WJPA News

Heavy rains overnight have resulted in flooding issues in parts of Washington County.  911 dispatchers tell us Locust Avenue Extension in South Strabane is closed from Hudak Hill Road to the on-ramp to Interstate 79 because of a landslide.  We are also told that Georgetown Road near the purple bridge in Cecil Township is also closed because of flooding.    There have also been reports of basement flooding.  As for power outages, West Penn Power’s outage map is showing more than 120-customers without service.  Tune to 95.3FM/1450AM WJPA for the very latest.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota will be the flagship of the “No Kings” protest movement Saturday when Bruce Springsteen performs “Streets of Minneapolis” in a state where emotions are still raw over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the deaths of two residents who were shot by federal officers. The rally is part of a nationwide series of more than 3,100 planned events in communities large and small in all 50 states that are expected to draw millions of people. Organizers have designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul as Saturday’s flagship event. Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries and countless communities, including here in Washington.  The protest, which is scheduled from noon till one in front of the Washington County Courthouse in downtown Washington, is expected to draw hundreds of people.  This will be the third such protest and the first since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.  These rallies, according to the No Kings website, are peaceful and non-confrontational.  A section of the website reads:  “A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to deescalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

The Washington County Board of Elections is seeking to consolidate and close 24 voting precincts throughout the county. In testimony during a hearing where a petition was filed to accomplish that, Director of Elections Melanie Ostrander pointed to 10 locations that are not ADA compliant. One building in Fallowfield township was in dilapidated condition with missing or boarded up windows and a gravel driveway. Six municipalities asked for certain venues to be closed. Voters in 8 venues that would be closed would still vote in the same location as they did before. She also pointed to difficulties in finding people to work the polls during elections. During the hearing, no one from those precincts testified. Peters Township is adjusting voting district boundaries due to changes in population. No precincts are closing. They objected to the petition based on what they perceive as a timeline too short to supply ample notice to affected voters. Six individuals protested the changes, three of them from Peters Township. Barb Trahern summed up the feelings for the Peters Township residents. She is an elected judge of elections in her district. She, and the two other objectors present, are elected precinct committee people. Their complaint is that if the precinct boundaries are moved now, they will not be eligible to run for PCP. They would not have minded the move if the motion to alter boundaries would have been filed before election petitions were due. They also object to the compressed timeline fearing for disenfranchised voters due to the tight timeline in front of the May 19 primary election. Ostrander said it is her duty to provide election venues that are safe and adequately staffed. She feels that there will be ample time to provide notice of voting precinct changes. Judge Michael Lucas will render an opinion on the matter through an order in the coming days.

As the first quarter of the year comes to an end, the annual Municipal Leaders Breakfast was held by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Municipal leaders from Chartiers Township, Charleroi, East Washington Borough and Peters Township gathered to discuss topics such as infrastructure, zoning, resources and how to attract that next generation of leaders. Alyssa Curry-Broderick is the Office Administrator for East Washington. She says that the $25,000 American Spirit Grant offered by the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency will go a long way to make improvements to their municipal park.  They hope to build a gazebo, install electricity and lighting for their flagpole and add sidewalks. Jodi Noble, Township Manager from Chartiers Township says that infrastructure improvements in her area will include a sanitary sewer extension on Western Avenue into Mt. Pleasant Township. She says the sewer line will take care of failed sewers along the line. Zoning challenges were addressed by Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning. He said Gerry Raymond Automotive is coming to town to build a prototype Ford Dealership. Charleroi needed to accommodate their need to expand their footprint by abandoning a little used borough street and deed it over to the corporation. Peters Township Assistant Manager Kyle Thauvette spoke about recruiting the next generation of municipal leaders. He said Peters Township tries to do that by employing interns that have an interest in administration, parks and recreation and the library. The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency said that the American Spirit Grant program is still open for applicants. Information and the application may be found on the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency webpage.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says the state cannot automatically give life without parole for felony murder without weighing each defendant’s culpability in the killing. The high court on Thursday ordered a new sentencing hearing for Derek Lee over a second-degree conviction, but paused it for four months to give state lawmakers time to consider legislation in response. Pennsylvania law has made people liable for second-degree murder if they participated in an eligible felony that led to death. Life with no possibility of parole has been the only possible sentence. The court says the current rule treats a lookout the same as the person who kills.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate early Friday approved Homeland Security funds for Transportation Security Administration and most other agencies, but not the immigration operations at the heart of the budget impasse. The deal, which was approved without a roll-call vote, goes next to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday. It’s a potential endgame to the 42-day shutdown has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. President Donald Trump said he will sign an order instructing the Homeland Security secretary to immediately pay TSA workers, but if the bill becomes law that won’t be needed. Democrats have been demanding changes to rein in Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.

VAUX-DE-CERNEY, France (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in France to meet his Group of Seven counterparts after President Donald Trump attacked NATO over a reluctance or refusal to take part in the Iran war. Some of America’s closest and oldest allies have met the conflict with deep skepticism. Rubio will have a tough time Friday trying to sell the other top diplomats from G7 countries on the U.S. strategy for the Iran conflict, to which almost all nations have raised objections. Trump’s vitriolic comments about NATO during a Cabinet meeting Thursday will likely make the task even tougher. Most of those in the G7 are also members of the trans-Atlantic military alliance.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel has launched a wave of strikes on Iran ahead of a planned U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure. Iran and the United States appeared stuck in a diplomatic impasse, setting the stage for more potential escalation as the first month of the Middle East war neared its end. Air raid sirens sounded in Israel early Friday as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles. Iran kept up its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors, with incoming drones and missiles reported in both Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. After Wall Street’s worst day since the war began, Asian shares mostly fell over growing doubts about the chances for de-escalation.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Iran is cementing its hold over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding vessels give up detailed information and detour into Iranian waters before being vetted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. In some cases, vessels have paid for passage. Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90% since the start of the war, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and creating alarming shortages in the Asian nations that get their oil from producers in the Persian Gulf. Yet ships with connections to Iran and its chief energy customer, China, continue to transit the strait.

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks have traded mostly lower after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of the Iran war over growing doubts about a de-escalation. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 has closed 0.4% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi has also dropped 0.4%. On Friday, oil prices gained around 1%, and U.S. futures edged up. President Donald Trump said he was postponing a threatened attack on Iran’s energy facilities shortly after U.S. stocks closed with sharp falls on Thursday. The S&P 500 slumped 1.7% for its worst day since January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.4%, after Iran rejected a U.S. offer for a ceasefire.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department plans to print President Donald Trump’s signature on every new U.S. paper bill. Treasury announced the idea Thursday. Treasury says it would mark the first time a sitting president’s signature appears on new currency. The announcement is part of a broader push to put Trump’s name and image on public symbols. Treasury also backs a separate effort for a Trump coin. Earlier this month, a federal arts commission approves a design for a gold commemorative coin with his face.