November 1, 2022 2:15 am
Washington City Council is working on the 2023 budget and in its agenda meeting on Monday, Finance Director Ken Westcott stated that his staff is sharpening its pencils to get the city’s budget balanced. Westcott stated that currently the budget is showing a deficit of less than $100,000 but anticipated revenues and further spending cuts have Westcott confident that the city will have a balanced budget and will not need tax increase in 2023. During department reports, Fire Chief Chris Richer announced that the department entered into another partnership, this time with AAA. A recent bicycle accident with a car and several other bike accidents throughout the year caused him to reach out to the organization and they have donated 150 brand new bicycle helmets with the commitment of 100 more in the spring. The fire department just wrapped up Fire Prevention Month with 46 visits to schools impressing on students the importance of fire safety. Council will meet for their voting meeting on Thursday afternoon at 1PM.
October 31, 2022 9:36 am
MORBI, India (AP) – Military teams are searching for people missing after a 143-year-old pedestrian bridge collapsed into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Sunday evening, killing at least 133 people. As families mourned the dead, attention was turning Monday to the reasons for the colonial era bridge’s collapse, which plunged more than 100 people into the Machchu river. Live video reports showed hundreds of people clinging to the broken structure and trying to make their way to safety. The suspension bridge had reopened four days earlier after six months of repairs. Officials said it was overloaded with tourists drawn to the attraction during the Hindu festival season.
October 31, 2022 6:25 am
A Carroll Township man was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday night in Union Township. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 54 year old Frank Eckels was pronounced dead at the scene. He was traveling south on State Route 88 when he crossed into the northbound lane and struck an oncoming vehicle near the intersection of Patterson Road just after 6:30 p.m. He was not wearing a helmet. No other details are currently available. Monongahela City Police continue to investigate.
October 31, 2022 4:35 am
The Washington Country Transportation Authority has taken a first step towards construction of its first bus maintenance and storage facility. Freedom Transit says it has closed on a 12-acre property in South Strabane Township. The property is currently the site of Tower Golf and the Amish Touch store just across Berry Road from Strabane Square. According to Executive Director Sheila Gombita, the property was purchased for $3.2 million and will be developed into an 88,000 square foot facility to include; bus storage, maintenance bays, a mechanical bus wash, outdoor CNG and gasoline fueling stations, and office space for dispatch and operations staff. Federal and state dollars were used to purchase the property. Gombita says the total project carries a price tag of some $48 million. Federal Transit Administration , PennDOT and a small percentage of local match dollars will be used to fund construction. The tentative timeline for the project to be completed is Fall of 2025. Gombita says the facility will help the agency efficiently maintain buses, improve service and meet safety requirements.
October 31, 2022 4:21 am
SAO PAULO (AP) – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has done it again: Twenty years after first winning the Brazilian presidency, the leftist defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro Sunday in an extremely tight election that marks an about-face for the country after four years of far-right politics. With more than 99% of the votes tallied in the runoff vote, da Silva had 50.9% and Bolsonaro 49.1%, and the election authority said da Silva’s victory was a mathematical certainty. It is a stunning reversal for da Silva, 77, whose 2018 imprisonment over a corruption scandal sidelined him from the 2018 election that brought Bolsonaro, a defender of conservative social values, to power.
October 31, 2022 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home carried zip ties with him when he broke in. That word comes from a person briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition to anonymity to The Associated Press. It’s the latest parallel to the U.S. Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Police say the suspect confronted 82-year-old Paul Pelosi early Friday and, according to AP reporting, demanded to know, “Where is Nancy? Rioters who swarmed the Capitol trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump roamed the halls and shouted menacingly, demanding “Where’s Nancy?” Some in the siege were seen inside the Capitol carrying zip ties.
October 31, 2022 4:18 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean police are investigating what caused a crowd surge that killed more than 150 people during Halloween festivities in Seoul last weekend. It was the country’s worst disasters in years. The Interior Ministry said Monday that police launched a 561-member task force to delve into details of the crush. Police say officers are analyzing footage taken by security cameras placed in the Itaewon area at the time of the crash and related video clips posted on social media. They were also interviewing witnesses to find exactly when and where the crowd surge started and how it developed.
October 31, 2022 4:07 am
It’s trick-or-treating time for Powerball players. For the second time in its history, the Powerball jackpot stands at $1 billion. There were no winning tickets for the grand prize in Saturday night’s drawing for $825 million, meaning that Monday’s drawing on Halloween night will be the second largest amount in the promotion’s 30-year history. According to lottery officials, Monday’s drawing trails only the world-record $1.586 billion won six years ago and will be the fifth-largest lottery in U.S. history. That jackpot was won on Jan. 13, 2016, and was split by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee. Powerball jackpot winning numbers for Saturday’s drawing revealed it has been nearly three months since someone won a Powerball jackpot, and Saturday night was the 37th consecutive drawing without a winner. The last Powerball jackpot was won on Aug. 3, when a ticket in Pennsylvania was worth $206.9 million, lottery officials said. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET.
October 31, 2022 4:05 am
BELLE VERNON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A car was destroyed after it caught fire in Belle Vernon on Sunday morning. A member of the Rostraver Central Fire Department said the fire happened on the 1300 block of Rostraver Road in Belle Vernon. Firefighters say the vehicle caught fire after it crashed. Rostraver Township Police are investigating the cause of that crash. The department said there were no injuries at the scene. Rostraver Road was closed for around 2 hours as crews responded. (PHOTO: Rostraver Central Fire Department)
October 31, 2022 2:53 am
PennDot is reminding motorists of ongoing single lane restrictions on Jefferson Avenue (Rt. 18) between the intersections of Oakland Avenue and Rt. 844 in the City of Washington. These restrictions will occur as needed through late November. Beginning Monday, October 31, crews will begin milling and paving on Jefferson Avenue and East Wylie and West Wylie Avenues. Flaggers will be in place throughout the project area during the single lane restrictions
