January 20, 2021 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Beset by state-ordered closures during the pandemic, casinos and other gambling operators in Pennsylvania reported a drop in 2020’s revenues of more than one-fifth the previous year, even as their take from online gambling and sports betting skyrocketed. Pennsylvania’s 13 operating casinos, fantasy sports operators and truck stops took in $2.65 billion in gross revenue in 2020, compared to $3.4 billion taken in by 12 casinos in 2019, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said. That was a drop of 22%. Not including sports wagering, fantasy sports or truck stops, Pennsylvania’s casinos drew $2.4 billion, a drop of 26% from $3.3 billion.
January 20, 2021 4:10 am
Peters Township residents were able to attend a PennDot public hearing virtually for an upcoming road project. Rachel Duda, Assistant District Executive for Design and Brian Svesnik, Project Manager were on hand to educate residents about a roundabout that is scheduled for construction at the intersection of Valleybrook Road and Bebout Road. Those roads currently carry between 11,000 and 6,000 vehicles respectively on a daily basis. During peak travel times traffic suffers from heavy backups. The roundabout design was chosen because it is less expensive to maintain as compared to an intersection with turning lanes and a traffic light. Roundabouts carry about 30% more traffic than stop controlled intersections. Questions during the presentation were raised about accidents and officials stated that accident rates dropped by 21%, serious injury rates were reduced by 77% and fatalities by 100% when compared to traditional stop controlled intersections. Speed is controlled by the physical design of the roundabout. Cars cannot navigate the roundabout at a high rate of speed. Usually speed is 25 miles per hour through the roundabout. PennDot expects to start the project in October of 2022 and it will last one construction season. The public is invited to make comments to PennDot at their website.
January 20, 2021 4:08 am
North Strabane Township held a conditional use hearing for Key Development Partners, LLC to listen to their proposal to build a Starbucks Coffee outlet adjacent to the Doubletree Hotel on Racetrack Road. The property is described as a shopping center because it will not only house the Starbucks, Chase Bank wants to include a drive through ATM location on the site as well. The owners of the Starbucks describe their project as a prototypical Starbucks with retail, restaurant and a drive through lane. The Chase bank will be located away from the Starbucks at its own distant location. The store will be located on a one acre parcel adjacent to the Doubletree Hotel and access to the site will be through the Doubletree parking lot. The developers hope to break ground in the spring and begin operating in the fall of 2021. Supervisors will act on the approval at their legislative meeting next week.
January 20, 2021 2:52 am
(WPXI) – State Police are still trying to figure out if a police chase and a bizarre burglary in the Bentleyville area are connected. Cellphone video shows the immediate aftermath of a chase and crash that ended in Bentleyville. In the video, you can see an SUV at the bottom of a hill off Main Street. The chase started on I-70, then the suspect’s car crashed into a vehicle, which hit a utility pole near the Bentleyville exit, then hit a parked car, knocking it over the hill. Troopers want to know if that man is connected to a break-in earlier in the day, in which the individual was in a home for about two hours. They say he made himself at home, changing into the homeowner’s clothing, eating his food, using the restroom and spitting chewing tobacco in the sink. The individual fled when the homeowner returned and discovered his house had been broken into. Later that afternoon, police say, is when the chase and crash occurred.
January 19, 2021 3:52 pm
Middletown, PA – The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots now offer a combined total of almost $1.6 billion. This is the first time ever that Powerball and Mega Millions simultaneously have advertised jackpots above $700 million. This is the highest combined jackpot total for Mega Millions and Powerball, surpassing the all-time record of $1.537 billion set in October 2018 when the Mega Millions jackpot hit. Drawn Tuesday night, the Mega Millions jackpot offers an annuity value of $865 million, with an estimated cash value of $638.8 million. If won, it would be the second largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and the third largest in U.S. lottery history. The last Mega Millions jackpot of $120 million ($95.4 million cash) was won on September 15, 2020. If there is no Mega Millions jackpot winner in the January 19 drawing, the estimated jackpot for the Friday, January 22 drawing will be $970 million with an estimated cash value of $716.3 million. The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is an estimated $730 million, with an estimated cash value of $546 million. If won, this would be the fourth largest jackpot in Powerball game history and sixth largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. This is the highest the Powerball jackpot has been since March 2019.
January 19, 2021 6:44 am
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio police officer and a suspect are dead after an hours-long armed standoff ended in gunfire. Authorities say 24-year-old Toledo Police Officer Brandon Stalker was shot and killed Monday when 27-year-old Christopher Harris emerged from a home with “a firearm in both hands and fired shots in multiple directions.” Police say multiple officers returned fire and shot Harris. Both men were pronounced dead at a hospital. Police Chief George Kral says the standoff started about 4 p.m., when officers noticed a man with warrants out for his arrest in connection to cathedral vandalism smoking outside a home in a residential neighborhood. Officers approached the man, who fled brandishing a firearm and entered a nearby home.
January 19, 2021 6:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, making her one of the few transgender people serving in elected or appointed positions nationwide. She won past confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate and has emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. “Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.” A graduate of Harvard and of Tulane Medical School, Levine is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She’s written in the past on the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, adolescent medicine, eating disorders and LGBTQ medicine.
January 19, 2021 4:29 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – California has become the first state to record more than 3 million known coronavirus infections. That’s according to a tally Monday by Johns Hopkins University. The grim milestone wasn’t entirely unexpected in a state with 40 million residents but its speed was stunning. The state only reached 2 million reported cases on Dec. 24. Its count far outpaces other large states, such as Texas. California also has seen more than 33,600 deaths due to COVID-19. A caseload surge that began last fall has strained hospitals. Officials warn that a recent slight downward trend could reverse when the full impact of holiday gathering transmissions is felt.
January 19, 2021 4:26 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration. It would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the legislation. It’s a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise after four years of President Donald Trump’s restrictive policies. But it does not include beefed-up border security, which makes passage in Congress in doubt. It is set to be introduced after Biden takes the oath of office Wednesday.
January 19, 2021 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is calling on Congress to do more to fight a deep pandemic-induced recession. In testimony prepared for her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Yellen says the threats of a longer and even worse downturn are too great to cut back on support now. She says that without further action, the U.S. risks a longer, more painful recession now and long-term scarring of the economy later. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. She was the nation’s first female chair of the Federal Reserve.
