December 10, 2021 4:06 am
It was not business as usual for Washington City Council on Thursday night. The voting meeting of council was held virtually once again because of the Covid-19 pandemic. City Hall has been closed for more than a week because of a recent outbreak of Covid-19 that followed the outbreak at the police department. None the less, council did approve a $15,032,714 balanced budget. That budget will not include any tax increase to city residents. Mayor Scott Putnam credited belt tightening throughout all city departments in being able to deliver this spending plan. As far as reopening City Hall, Putnam is looking at the end of next week as a possible reopening date. In other council business, parking has been eliminated on South College Street from Railroad Street to South Street. Putnam says that parked cars made turning difficult at that intersection and removing parked cars would eliminate that problem. City Hall will be closed on December 24 for Christmas and December 31 for New Years. Council will reorganize on January 3 at noon in Council Chambers.
December 10, 2021 2:29 am
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The number of antlered white-tailed deer killed in West Virginia during the two-week firearms season went up 10% compared with a year ago. Preliminary data from the Division of Natural Resources shows hunters killed nearly 42,700 deer from Nov. 22 through Dec. 5. During the 2020 period there were nearly 38,800 deer killed. The most deer were killed in Greenbrier, Hampshire, Randolph and Jackson counties. Wildlife resources chief Paul Johansen says deer kills increased 31% in the southeastern corner of the state and 20% in the southwest. The archery and crossbow deer hunting seasons continue through Dec. 31, while muzzleloader deer season runs from Dec. 13 to 19.
December 9, 2021 5:51 pm
The NHL’s Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Penguins to Fenway Sports Group. It was announced earlier this month that FSG has entered into an agreement to acquire controlling interest in the Penguins. Now that the NHL Board of Governors has given its okay, the deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Under the deal, both Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle will remain part of the team’s ownership group. “As the Penguins enter a new chapter, I will continue to be as active and engaged with the team as I always have been and look forward to continuing to build on our success with our incoming partners at FSG,” Lemieux said in a statement. “They have an organizational philosophy that mirrors the approach that worked so well for Ron and me over the past 22 years.” In a news release, the Penguins said Lemieux will “continue his role guiding hockey operations for the organization. In addition, continuity of leadership will be maintained among the club’s senior management team of CEO David Morehouse, COO Kevin Acklin, President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, General Manager Ron Hextall, and Head Coach Mike Sullivan.” Lemieux and Burkle purchased the team in 1999.
December 9, 2021 12:35 pm
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – A federal jury in Arkansas has convicted former reality TV star Josh Duggar of downloading and possessing child pornography. Jurors on Thursday found Duggar guilty of the charges, and Duggar was immediately taken into custody. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each of the two counts when he’s sentenced at a later date. A federal agent testified in May that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned. Duggar and his large family starred on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” until the network canceled the show in 2015 following revelations that he had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter. (Photo: AP)
December 9, 2021 9:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – Two lawsuits seeking $100 million each have been filed against a Michigan school district, its superintendent and others after four students were fatally shot and others wounded at Oxford High School. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger says the lawsuits were filed in Detroit federal by Jeffrey and Brandi Franz on behalf of their daughters, Riley, a 17-year-old senior who was shot in the neck Nov. 30, and her sister Bella, a 14-year-old ninth grader who was next to her. Named in the suits are the Oxford Community School District, Superintendent Timothy Throne, Oxford High’s principal and others. The Associated Press sent an email seeking comment from the district. Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old sophomore, was arrested and is charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes.
December 9, 2021 4:17 am
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) – A U.S. Coast Guard diver was lowered from a hovering helicopter to pull a body from a partly submerged vehicle stuck in the frigid rapids above Niagara Falls. Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrian Duryea, a Detroit-based rescue swimmer, spent about two minutes recovering the body from the car, as water surged past, then over the falls about 50 yards downstream. Authorities said Wednesday the lone occupant was a woman in her 60s who lived in the area. It was unclear how the car got into the river. New York’s State Park Police said rescuers have never been called to a vehicle so close to the edge.
December 9, 2021 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has ruled against an effort by former President Donald Trump to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The three-judge panel said Thursday there was a “unique legislative need” for documents that the committee has requested but whose release Trump has sought to block through executive privilege. The appeals court ruled that the injunction that has prevented the National Archives from turning over the documents will expire in two weeks, or when the Supreme Court rules on an expected appeal from Trump, whichever is later.
December 9, 2021 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has narrowly approved a resolution to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take it up, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote has given senators a chance to come out against a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents worried about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect.
December 9, 2021 4:10 am
A growing effort to unionize Starbucks stores is facing its first major test. The National Labor Relations Board is scheduled to count ballots Thursday from union elections held at three separate Starbucks stores in the Buffalo, New York, area. Around 111 Starbucks workers from the three stores were eligible to vote. Starbucks has never had unionized U.S. stores in its 50-year history, and has fought off previous unionization attempts. The company says its stores function best when it works directly with employees. But union backers say they want more input in store operations and pay.
December 9, 2021 2:51 am
The Peters Township Police Department is investigating the death of a Pittsburgh man Thursday afternoon. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 68-year-old Larry Haney of Pittsburgh was traveling west on Waterdam Road in McMurray shortly before two o’clock, when he lost control of his vehicle and plowed into a utility pole. He was taken to Canonsburg Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy is pending.
