January 23, 2024 4:48 am
Peters Township Council held a public hearing Monday centered on an ordinance that governs the Conservation Residential Overlay Zoning District. Council wished to take action to remove two land parcels from that district and redraw the zoning map. Parcels currently in that district are allowed cluster housing on parcels smaller than traditional half acre or larger parcels required throughout the township. The attorney for the developer of the proposed Frobe Farms development voiced opposition to the approval of any change on three issues. The first issue he pointed to was that the advertised ordinance was improper in its drafting. He pointed to missing information in the copy of the proposed changes. He indicated that the removal of the parcels do not align with the current comprehensive plan that the township adopted in 2013. Finally, council was informed that the issue will be challenged in court as an issue of spot zoning. Developments such as these have come under recent fire by long time residents because of the crowded nature of the developments. They indicate that the developments would overstress rural roads with traffic. They also state that property values of adjacent homes would be negatively affected. Council tabled the matter during its voting meeting. They will readvertise the ordinance change, conduct a new public hearing and then vote on the ordinance changes.
January 23, 2024 3:39 am
One person was flown by medical helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and two children were taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospital, following an accident Tuesday morning on Interstate 70 Westbound. South Strabane Fire Chief Jordan Cramer says the call came in around nine o’clock, for reports of an SUV that had slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer and the driver of the vehicle was trapped. Cramer says it took crews over twenty-minutes to free the driver. The two children were in the rear passenger seats and were removed without issue. The interstate was closed for a few hours but was re-opened around eleven o’clock.
January 23, 2024 2:28 am
A resident of Marianna Borough has been sentenced in federal court to two years of probation, including ninety days of home detention, on her conviction for mail fraud, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Monday. United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy imposed the sentence on Erica Pinkney, 39. A hearing to determine the amount of restitution owed by Pinkney will be held in April. According to information presented to the court, Pinkney previously served as the Secretary and Tax Collector for Marianna Borough. While employed in those roles, Pinkney used the borough’s credit cards to pay for personal purchases. Then, to pay toward the balance of those credit cards, Pinkney used money that had been collected from borough residents as payment for their tax, water, and garbage bills. Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hardy stated that Pinkney had committed a serious offense that had eroded public trust in the borough.
January 22, 2024 5:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials are recommending that airlines inspect the door plugs on more Boeing 737s after one of the panel blew off a Boeing jet in midflight. The Federal Aviation Administration says airlines should also inspect the panels on an older model, the 737-900ER. Those planes have door plugs that are identical in design to the one that flew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 9 jetliner this month. Boeing said Monday that it supports the FAA action. The plugs are panels that seal holes left for extra doors when the extra doors aren’t needed to meet emergency-evacuation standards.
January 22, 2024 5:20 pm
(AP) – Macy’s rejected a $5.8 billion takeover offer from investment firms Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management, saying they didn’t provide a viable financing plan. Arkhouse and Brigade offered $21 per share for the stock they don’t already own. The department store chain also said there was a lack of compelling value in the non-binding proposal. The move comes a week after Macy’s announced job cuts and store closures.
January 22, 2024 2:58 pm
ATLANTA (AP) — Dexter Scott King, the younger son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, has died after battling prostate cancer. The King Center in Atlanta says the 62-year-old son of the civil rights leader died in his sleep on Monday at his home in Malibu, California. Named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father once served as pastor, he was just 7 years old when his father was assassinated in 1968. He became chairman of the King Center, where he shepherded his parents’ legacy and focused on protecting the King family’s intellectual property. (Photo: AP)
January 22, 2024 5:10 am
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Subfreezing conditions and treacherous roadways have contributed to dozens of deaths this month across the U.S., where states as far south as Texas and Florida remain gripped by deadly arctic weather Sunday. But the numbing cold is expected to ease up in the coming days. Memphis’ major utility provider says crews are making progress toward restoring water service over the next 24 hours to most of the 700,000 people the utility services. The utility says it has repaired 41 broken water mains and located more than 4,000 leaks at homes and businesses. Nationally, winter storms this month have claimed at least 72 lives around the U.S., many involving hypothermia or road accidents.
January 22, 2024 5:08 am
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended his Republican presidential campaign just before the New Hampshire primary and endorsed Donald Trump. He ended his White House bid Sunday after failing to meet lofty expectations that he would seriously challenge the former president and after finishing a distant second in the leadoff Iowa caucuses. Early primary polls had suggested DeSantis was in a strong position to challenge Trump. He and his allies amassed a political fortune well in excess of $100 million. But his campaign was hamstrung by missteps. He now turns to completing his second and final term as Florida governor, ending in 2027.
January 22, 2024 5:02 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities say five firefighters were injured, two by falling through a roof, while battling a blaze at three buildings in a Pittsburgh neighborhood over the weekend. Fire crews were called just before 9:30 a.m. Saturday to the Homewood neighborhood where the blaze started in one home and spread to two adjacent buildings that contained apartments. Authorities said two firefighters fell through the roof of one of the homes while battling the fire. The roofs of at least two of the houses collapsed. All five injured firefighters were taken to hospitals with injuries said not to be life-threatening, officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
January 22, 2024 5:01 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Republican running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania is escalating criticism of Democrats over the Israel-Hamas war and has traveled to the Israel-Gaza border to make the case that the Biden administration hasn’t backed Israel strongly enough. The criticism by GOP candidate David McCormick reflects the delicate political challenge facing both President Joe Biden and incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in the battleground state. Biden has been criticized from the left for being too pro-Israel. Now, McCormick hopes to peel off both swing voters and Jewish voters. Still, Casey is well-regarded by Pennsylvania’s Jewish community and has been a reliable ally for Israel and its fight against Hamas.
