February 9, 2022 4:04 am
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – Nearly a year after 10 people were shot and killed at a supermarket in Colorado, the redesigned store in the college town of Boulder is reopening Wednesday. The move is triggering mixed emotions. The mother of a longtime employee who was killed says having the store back open sends a message that evil doesn’t win. But the uncle of another slain worker thinks it may have been better to tear it down. A company spokesperson says the overwhelming majority of customers and employees wanted the store to reopen and it heeded their recommendations for changes, including making it lighter and brighter inside.
February 9, 2022 4:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the powerful Food and Drug Administration has stalled in the narrowly divided Senate. It’s an unexpected setback that could delay long-awaited decisions on everything from electronic cigarettes to prescription opioids. Biden nominated Dr. Robert Califf for the job in November after months of vetting candidates. Califf was viewed as a safe choice because he’d previously headed the FDA under President Barack Obama and had cleared the Senate by an overwhelming vote. But Califf’s latest bid has been embroiled in disparate political controversies that threaten to sink his nomination and leave the FDA in limbo for months.
February 9, 2022 4:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is criticizing the Republican National Committee for censuring two House GOP lawmakers investigating the “violent insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, saying it’s not the party’s job to decide whom to support. As former President Donald Trump has downplayed the attack, the RNC last week took a voice vote to approve censuring Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. The RNC resolution censuring the Cheney and Kinzinger assailed the House panel for leading a “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” Those words that have prompted a firm pushback from several GOP senators.
February 9, 2022 3:58 am
North Franklin Township Supervisors have approved a measure to expand sewer facilities and tackle other projects in the township. The bond will include $6.7 million in new debt for the sewer project and the township’s new municipal building. It will also roll in $2.8 million of existing debt to take advantage of low interest rates. The sewer project will expand sewer lines along Park Avenue to the township line and upgrade the pumping station. Supervisors also heard from concerned citizens regarding the proposed Gnagey Jean well pad site in Buffalo Township. Concerned residents from both North Franklin Township and Buffalo Township spoke about the location of the well in a residential district. They also are concerned because the pad will be on top of the abandoned Lincoln #1 coal mine. Research states that there is a fault line through the mine and it is being monitored for the release of unknown regulated substances. North Franklin Township Supervisors will be requesting that Range Resources, the developer of the site, appear at a future meeting to describe their drilling practices and address resident’s concerns.
February 9, 2022 2:59 am
Roughly 60 people turned out to a special meeting held by South Strabane Township Supervisors to voice their concerns regarding a fire hydrant assessment fee. That fee would be charged to any property owner within 780 feet of a fire hydrant. Anyone beyond that measurement would not be assessed the fee. Residents were clear with their opposition to the assessment calling it arbitrary, unfair and unjust. People were angry that some homeowners would not have to pay the fee even though they may benefit from the service of a fire hydrant. One resident likened it to her paying a street light and sidewalk fee every year even though she has no sidewalks or street lights. The fee would be based on assessed value of a property. Twenty four hours before the meeting, no millage rate or estimated cost for the tax was provided for resident review. That was rectified late in the day and was announced at the meeting. A .0597 mil assessment would have created an $11.94 fee based on a house valued at $200,000. Regardless of the untimely information, the board voted unanimously to defeat the measure. Also angering residents was the meeting’s time. The meeting held at 10:00 AM had residents thinking that the board was trying to slip the ordinance past them. The issue will be revisited but not for calendar year 2022.
February 9, 2022 2:16 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf is hitting the road to begin selling his proposal for what would be the largest-ever increase in aid for public schools, several times over. Wolf appeared in Erie on Wednesday to tout the plan, just over $1.5 billion for instruction and operations, almost a quarter of what the state sends now. Districts that would see the biggest increases include smaller cities with an increasingly poorer tax base and growing suburbs where changing demographics are not fully taken into account by how the state funds schools. Meanwhile, 20 districts – primarily cities with the lowest household incomes – would get more than half of the $1.55 billion.
February 8, 2022 12:19 pm
Washington County Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis will likely be facing a contempt of court hearing in the near future, after Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court rejected her appeals to block various court orders issued by Washington County President Judge John DiSalle. Davis also sought an emergency stay of a contempt hearing on the heels of an incident in November in which she attempted to try and stop sheriff’s deputies from transferring juvenile court files from her office to another office. Judge DiSalle says he plans to reschedule Davis’s contempt hearing. Davis, since her election to the office, has been at odds with county commmissioners and Judge DiSalle over several issues, including staffing changes in her office.
February 8, 2022 10:30 am
DETROIT (AP) – Hyundai and Kia are telling the owners of nearly 485,000 vehicles in the U.S. to park them outdoors because they can catch fire even if the engines are off. The recalls from the two Korean automakers are another in a long string of fire and engine problems that have dogged the companies for the past six years. This time the problem is contamination in the antilock brake control module that can cause an electrical short. Affected are certain Kia Sportage SUVs from 2014 through 2016, and the 2016 through 2018 K900 sedan. Recalled Hyundais include certain 2016 through 2018 Santa Fe SUVs, 2017 and 2018 Santa Fe Sports, the 2019 Santa Fe XL and 2014 and 2015 Tucson SUVs. Dealers will replace a fuse. In addition, Hyundai dealers will inspect the control modules and replace them if needed.
February 8, 2022 10:22 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Jane Campion’s gothic western “The Power of the Dog” led nominations to the 94th Academy Awards, where streaming services more than ever before swept over Hollywood’s top honors. In nominations announced Tuesday, Campion’s film landed a leading 12 nominations, including nods for best picture, best director and all of its top actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. “Dune” followed closely behind with 10. The other nominees for best picture are: “Belfast”; “CODA”; “Don’t Look Up”; “Drive My Car”; “Dune”; “King Richard”; “Licorice Pizza”; “Nightmare Alley” “West Side Story.” The Oscars will be held March 27.
February 8, 2022 4:47 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Diplomatic efforts to defuse the tensions around Ukraine continued on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron expected in Kyiv. On Monday, Macron met with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The two talked for over five hours, but no apparent breakthroughs were announced. Also on Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington. The high-level diplomacy comes as fears of a Russian invasion mount. Moscow has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders and demanded guarantees from the West that NATO will not accept Ukraine and other former Soviet nations as members, halt weapon deployments there and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe. The U.S. and NATO reject the demands.
