March 16, 2022 4:12 am
A heavily-used intersection in Peters Township is set for a rehabilitation project in the near future. PennDOT held a virtual project overview on the District 12 website Tuesday to give a preview of the upcoming construction that will take place at the intersection of East McMurray, Bebout, and Thompsonville Roads as well as Bittersweet Circle. East McMurray road will be widened on both sides of the intersection to include left turn lanes for both directions of traffic. Bebout Road will also be widened to include a right turn lane. New ADA-compliant crosswalks will be installed, and the entire intersection entrance to Bittersweet Lane will be realigned more to the east when the project is complete. All of this work is to improve mobility and identified congestion in the area. PennDOT says work on this project will not take place until the 2024 construction season. Residents will have a chance to see the project overview on the District 12 website until March 29th.
March 16, 2022 3:42 am
The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency (WCTPA) announced Wednesday, $191,000 in new tourism investments. Jeff Kotula, President of the WCTPA says the grants will be awarded to public and private organizations for capital and marketing projects in the 2022 tourism season. Historical and entertainment organizations such as the Bradford House Historical Association, Washington Symphony Orchestra, Washington Wild Things and McDonald Volunteer Fire Department will be receiving grants to promote their events. The agency will also invest in capital projects with the Burgettstown Area Community Development Corporation, Little Lake Theatre Company, Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, and Washington County Historical Society. Kotula says Washington County is a leader in business and leisure travel in the Greater Pittsburgh Region and the investments by the agency will continue that standing. “Washington County ranks second-behind Allegheny County-in our area for tourism and we are making these funds available to strengthen that position as well as invest in long-term tourism development,” Kotula stated.
March 15, 2022 2:37 pm
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A new law enforcement report says fractures around Bob Saget’s eye sockets and bleeding around his brain were possibly caused by the comedian hitting “something hard, covered by something soft,” such as a carpeted floor. The report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was released Tuesday. It includes a description of the medical examiner’s conclusions after performing an autopsy on Sagat’s body in January. The comedian was found by a hotel security officer on his hotel bed at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando on Jan. 9. His death has been ruled accidental.
March 15, 2022 12:44 pm
(WPXI) – The Three Rivers Arts Festival is moving to the Cultural District after decades of having been held in Point State Park. The announcement about the free festival, which will be held this year from June 3-12, was made Tuesday by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “Due to new usage rules and regulations issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for Point State Park, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is no longer able to utilize the site for its ten-day celebration of the arts. The festival will move entirely to the Cultural District in 2022, centered around a pop-up park and stage at Eighth and Penn,” a news release from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust said. This year’s festival will feature more than 400 local, regional and national artists. (Photo courtesy of visitpittsburgh.com)
March 15, 2022 12:38 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Labrador retrievers are still tugging hardest on U.S. dog lovers’ heartstrings, but poodles just strutted back into the American Kennel Club’s top five most popular dog breeds for the first time since 1997. The club’s annual popularity rankings come out Tuesday. They’re drawn from more than 800,000 purebred puppies and older pooches that joined the nation’s oldest canine registry last year. Labs have been No. 1 for an unprecedented 31 straight years. Rounding out the top five are French bulldogs, golden retrievers, German shepherds and poodles. After that come bulldogs, beagles, Rottweilers, German shorthaired pointers and dachshunds. (Photo: ABC News)
March 15, 2022 4:35 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A live evening news program on Russia’s state television was interrupted Monday by a person who walked into the studio holding a poster protesting the war in Ukraine. An anchor was speaking during the newscast when a woman appeared on camera behind her holding a sign with the headline “no war” scrawled in English across the top. A message in Russian below calls on people not to believe Russian propaganda. The protester was identified as an employee of the station and spoke out against the war in a video posted by a group that monitors political arrests. The group said the woman was taken into police custody.
March 15, 2022 4:34 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week for face-to-face talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Tuesday. Biden will meet with NATO and European leaders in Brussels on March 24. The trip follows on Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to eastern flank NATO countries of Poland and Romania last week to discuss the growing refugee crisis in eastern Europe sparked by the Russian invasion and underscore the Biden administration’s support for NATO allies. Poland’s foreign minister says a visit by Biden to Poland was “very probable” when he comes to Europe. But Psaki said she had no details on whether that would happen.
March 15, 2022 4:32 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea had its deadliest day yet of the pandemic on Tuesday, with 293 deaths reported in the latest 24 hours. The country is grappling with a record surge in coronavirus infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. The 1,196 virus patients in serious or critical conditions were also a new high. Health officials said the country’s medical response remains stable with more than 30% of intensive care units designated for COVID-19 treatment still available. But the strain on the hospital system is expected to increase in coming weeks. The country’s caseload is now over 7.2 million, with 6.4 million added since February.
March 15, 2022 4:31 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has reported a more than doubling of new COVID-19 cases as it faces by far its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. The National Health Commission said Tuesday that 3,507 new locally spread cases had been identified in the latest 24-hour period, up from 1,337 a day earlier. A fast-spreading variant known as “stealth omicron” is testing China’s zero-tolerance strategy, which has largely kept the virus at bay after a deadly initial outbreak in early 2020. Most of the new cases were in northeast China’s Jilin province, where 2,601 were reported. Smaller outbreaks have broken out around the country.
March 15, 2022 4:31 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine says Russia seemed to adopt a more constructive tone in the latest round of talks aimed at halting fighting. However, Russian troops continued to bombard Kyiv on Tuesday with long range fire. Ukrainian presidential aide Ihor Zhovkva said the talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives over video have become more constructive, and Russia has stopped airing its previous demands for Ukraine to surrender. Zhovkva said that Ukrainian representatives feel “moderately optimistic” after the talks. The conversations came as the leaders of three European Union countries – including Poland, a NATO member on Ukraine’s doorstep – visited the embattled capital in a bold show of support.
