October 22, 2021 5:28 am
Local State Representative Bud Cook (R-49) took Thursday afternoon to address constituents from the Washington County Courthouse steps. His concern, as it has been for the last five years, is the “fair, accurate and transparent” accounting of Local Share Account funds distributed annually from revenues generated from gambling at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows. Cook detailed his investigation into how grants are applied for and awarded and came away making claims that the process is fraught with lack of accountability and cronyism. He made the claim that roughly $10 million is unaccounted for. Cook states that local government leaders need to be more transparent with how grants are approved. In an interview with WJPA, Commissioner Diana Irey-Vaughn detailed the process from start to finish, making the statement that when the process for grant awards was established, then Governor Tom Corbett hailed the procedure calling it the best he had seen across the Commonwealth. Cook called out LSA Grant Committee Chairman Jeff Kotula for conflict of interest as Kotula is President of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and The Washington County Tourism and Promotion Agency. Those groups have received grants for marketing in 10 of the last 13 years. In an interview with WJPA Kotula used Cook’s words against him stating that Cook is working on a gut feeling and has no actual facts. Kotula went on to say that at no time did Cook ever contact him to discuss the process or even ask to attend a meeting. Cook states that he wants to stop being an investigator and get back to legislating. Cook promised more updates in early 2022.
October 22, 2021 4:21 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say remains found in a Florida wilderness park are those of Brian Laundrie, who was a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito. Petito was found slain at a Wyoming national park months while the pair was on a cross-country van trip chronicled on social media. The FBI’s Denver office said in a news release that a comparison of dental records confirmed that the remains were Laundrie. The remains were discovered Wednesday in a swampy nature preserve near North Port, Florida, after a massive search. That search began shortly after Laundrie disappeared Sept. 14, two weeks after the 23-year-old returned alone to his parents’ home in Florida.
October 22, 2021 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House and Democrats are hurriedly reworking key aspects of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion domestic policy plan. They’re trimming the social services and climate change programs and they’re reconsidering new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to pay for the package. The ideas include shelving a proposed big increase in corporate tax rates while adding a new tax on the investment gains of the very richest Americans. Biden acknowledges the challenge he still faces in wrangling the sharply divergent factions within the Democratic party to agree to the final contours of the bill.
October 22, 2021 4:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is allowing the Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in place for now, but has agreed to hear arguments in the case on Nov. 1. The justices said Friday they will decide whether the federal government has the right to sue over the law. The court’s action leaves in place for the time being a law that clinics say has led to an 80% reduction in abortions in the nation’s second-largest state. The law bans abortions after cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. That’s before some women even know they are pregnant. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that she would have blocked the law now.
October 22, 2021 4:15 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – Alec Baldwin has tweeted about firing a prop gun on the set of a Western and killing the cinematographer. The actor on Friday called the shooting a “tragic accident.” The director of the movie was wounded, and authorities are investigating. Halyna Hutchins was cinematographer on “Rust.” She was 42. The shooting happened in the desert on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. A spokesperson for Baldwin says a prop gun with blanks misfired. A spokesman for the Santa Fe County sheriff says detectives are looking into what type of projectile was discharged and how. It was not clear if Baldwin was performing at the time of the shooting.
October 22, 2021 4:12 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A special panel within Pennsylvania’s state government is rejecting a request by state House Republicans that it force the Health Department to formally adopt the statewide mask order in schools as a regulation or stop the policy altogether. The Joint Committee on Documents voted 7 to 4 on Thursday to uphold the validity of Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam’s Aug. 31 order. The order applies to K-12 schools and child care facilities and is designed to halt the spread of the coronavirus. The committee is an obscure entity that includes of members of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, other executive branch officials and legislative leaders.
October 22, 2021 2:19 am
Washington County 911 has confirmed that there was a bomb threat at the Red Roof Inn on West Chestnut Street in North Franklin Township Thursday evening around six-thirty. Multiple emergency responders were called out and several streets in the area were closed off. Emergency dispatchers tell WJPA News that the threat appeared to be unfounded. There were no injuries and no further details were available.
October 22, 2021 2:09 am
The National Weather service has confirmed three tornadoes hit the region Thursday night. One was in Hopewell Twp, Washington County where reports say homes along Willow Road and Lowry Lane were damaged. The weather service will continue to investigate damage throughout the area over the next several days. WJPA has also heard reports of moderate to severe damage to structures in Mt Pleasant, Independence and Hopewell Townships. In Peters Twp, officials say the Venetia area was hit hard with reports of numerous trees and wires down and roadways blocked. There have been no reports of any injuries. West Penn Power crews continue work to restore service to hundreds of customers countywide. According to their outage website, some customer may not have their power restored until 4 p.m. (Photo shows storm damage in Venetia)
October 21, 2021 5:22 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House voted Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Now the U.S. attorney’s office must decide whether to prosecute. The congressional committee has vowed to move swiftly and forcefully to punish anyone who won’t cooperate with the probe. The vote was mostly along party lines, with almost all Republicans voting against the contempt measure. The partisan debate is emblematic of the raw tensions that are still lingering in Congress nine months after the Capitol attack.
October 21, 2021 4:20 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – In a stalemate with lawmakers over raising the minimum wage or requiring companies to have paid sick leave, Gov. Tom Wolf will impose those requirements on companies getting financial incentives from the state. Wolf signed an executive order requiring companies receiving incentives to pay at least $13.50 an hour, rising to $15 an hour in 2024. State contractors already must pay that amount, under a prior executive order Wolf signed in 2016. The sick pay requirement has no required time frame attached to it. The state annually budgets for tens of millions of dollars in grants, loans and tax breaks for companies that make certain promises to expand in Pennsylvania.
