December 21, 2022 4:13 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia county elections board voted Tuesday to certify its November results, a development Pennsylvania officials had said was required before they can issue a statewide certification. Bucks County government spokesman Jim O’Malley said its Board of Elections wrapped up certification, although litigation over recount requests has not ended. “The challenges brought by the parties were withdrawn,” O’Malley said in an email. “The recount petition litigation is ongoing, but the court in the case ruled the county could proceed with certifying.” Pennsylvania Department of State communications director Amy Gulli confirmed Tuesday the elections agency received Bucks’ certified results and said in an email they are “working to finalize the secretary’s certification of the remaining offices.” Recount petitions in at least 27 of the state’s 67 counties, covering 172 voting precincts, have delayed certification for some legislative districts as well as statewide election results for governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. Senate.
December 21, 2022 4:11 am
UNIONTOWN, Pa. — (WPXI) – The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office filed charges against the elected treasurer of the city of Uniontown for allegedly stealing $106,000 in taxpayer money while she was in office. According to the attorney general’s office, the Uniontown City Council launched an investigation in early 2021 after more than a dozen taxpayers received delinquency notices despite having already paid their taxes. Officials said a grand jury investigation determined that Antoinette Hodge, who was elected treasurer in 2019, had taken the money for her own personal gain. Officials also said that staff at the city’s treasurer’s office testified that multiple changes were made under Hodge’s leadership, including Hodge taking over filling out deposit slips, taking over as the sole person reviewing tax account information and eliminating other checks and balances within the treasurer’s office. The investigation further determined that, during this time period, Hodge took numerous costly vacations and spent tens of thousands of dollars each year on gambling. Hodge has been charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, misapplication of entrusted property, obstructing administration of law or other governmental function and perjury.
December 21, 2022 4:07 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors quickly moved through a packed agenda on Tuesday evening. Supervisors adopted the 2023 budget without a tax increase. The nearly $34 million spending plan include the construction of the new Public Safety Building on Route 19. According to Township Manager Andrew Walz they hope to move into the building at the end of 2023. The township also agreed to a contract with the police department. The new agreement is for the next five years. Additionally in the police department, new duties were designated for two lieutenants in the department. One lieutenant will be assigned to investigations and the other lieutenant will be assigned patrol duties. The position of detective was also adopted for the department. The fire department was also involved with reorganization, John Storey was appointed Deputy Chief. The township will hold their reorganization meeting on January 3.
December 21, 2022 2:51 am
SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — (WPXI) – An arrest has been made in the 2013 shooting death of Vincent Kelley, the man who was killed while trying to stop a bank robber at the Giant Eagle in South Strabane Township. According to Washington County officials, DNA linked the suspect, identified as Keith Wilk, to the case. Kelley ran after a bank robber who was fleeing the Citizens Bank inside the store. Vincent tackled the robber, which caused the bank dye to explode, before the robber shot and killed him. The cold case caught the attention of the FBI who said the suspect got away in a white car that likely had red dye in it from a dye pack. There was a major break in the unsolved case when police connected it to another robbery. A Bridgeville jewelry store had been robbed just two days earlier. In both cases, the suspect wore a straw hat and carried an open black umbrella. The FBI nicknamed the suspect the “Straw Hat Bandit.” He was on their most wanted list. Wilk is facing several charges, including criminal homicide, robbery, multiple aggravated assault charges, firearms not to be carried without license and multiple recklessly endangering another person charges. He is scheduled for a January 3 preliminary hearing. He is in the Washington County Jail. Bail has been denied.
December 20, 2022 9:48 am
FERNDALE, Calif. (AP) – Officials say a strong earthquake in Northern California has cut off power to thousands and damaged roads and homes. No injuries have been reported in the magnitude 6.4 earthquake early Tuesday near Ferndale. That’s a small community over 200 miles northwest of San Francisco and close to the Pacific Coast. Authorities say no tsunami is expected. But the Humboldt County emergency management agency says there is widespread damage to roads and homes. KRCR-TV reports that authorities closed an important bridge in Ferndale that is showing damage. Some gas leaks have also been reported. More than 70,000 customers are without power in the county.
December 20, 2022 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional leaders have unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending and roughly $40 billon to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Lawmakers are working to stuff in as many priorities as they can into what is likely to be the last major bill of the current Congress. They are racing to complete passage of the bill before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday.
December 20, 2022 4:20 am
EL PASO, Texas (AP) – Suspense mounted at the U.S. border with Mexico about the future of restrictions on asylum seekers as the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower-court order to stop turning back migrants based rules set in place at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. Chief Justice John Roberts has granted a stay pending further order and asked the administration of President Joe Biden to respond Tuesday. Conservative-leaning states won a reprieve with Monday’s order as they push to keep limits on asylum seekers, warning of an “unprecedented calamity” at the southern border. El Paso is rushing to expand its ability accommodate more migrants with more shelters as the Red Cross brings in 10,000 cots.
December 20, 2022 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Jan. 6 committee is urging the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for the violent 2021 Capitol insurrection, calling for accountability for the former president and “a time of reflection and reckoning.” The panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans are recommending criminal charges against Trump and associates who helped him launch a multifaceted pressure campaign to try to overturn his 2020 election loss. The charges recommended by the committee are conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to make a false statement and aiding an insurrection.
December 20, 2022 4:14 am
Peters Township Council received bad news again on construction bids for an aquatic center that is proposed to be built at Rolling Hills Park. Bids received last week showed a low base bid of $17,355,000 from Hudson Group. According to Township Manager Paul Lauer, the original proposed budget for the pool was $10.8 million in 2019. Bids received in 2020 found the project to be estimated at more than $13 million dollars. Council rejected those bids and authorized staff in 2021 to rebid the project again on a smaller scale and allow the next council to make decisions since the face of council changed with three new members coming on board in 2022. Given those numbers Lauer anticipates that the bids will be rejected. He feels that for the time being the issue will be paused until a solution is found.
December 20, 2022 4:12 am
PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania’s former top law enforcement officer, who once served jail time for leaking secret investigative files and lying about it, has been acquitted of drunken driving. A Lackawanna County judge on Monday acquitted former Attorney General Kathleen Kane of drunken driving and careless driving after a one-day bench trial in Scranton. The 56-year—old former attorney general was charged by Scranton police after she got into a minor car crash on March 12. Kane denied that she was intoxicated. Kane, the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general, spent eight months behind bars for perjury and other counts.
