December 14, 2020 4:08 am
(WPXI) – One of the more popular outdoor venues for concerts in the Pittsburgh area seems to have another new name, and this one should sound very familiar. S&T Bank acquired the naming rights to what was then called KeyBank Pavilion and named it S&T Bank Music Park. However, it appears to have changed yet again. According to the venue’s Facebook page, the new name will be “The Pavilion at Star Lake.” If that sounds familiar, that’s because the pavilion was originally named Star Lake Amphitheater. Most of the planned concerts for 2020 were either canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there are a few still scheduled for 2021.
December 13, 2020 7:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who plowed her car into protesters Friday in New York City, injuring six of them, has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, police said. Kathleen Casillo, 52, was released from custody after being given a notice to appear in court at a later date, police said. A message seeking comment was left at a number listed for Casillo. Online records did not list a lawyer who could speak on her behalf. Bystander video showed a black BMW sedan suddenly accelerating as protesters gathered around the vehicle around 4 p.m. Friday near 39th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. One person appeared to be leaning over the front of the car. Protester Sofia Vickerman, of Denver, Colorado, said people and a bicycle were tossed in the air. Six people were taken by ambulance to hospitals with injuries that officials said did not appear to be life-threatening. Casillo, of Rockaway Park, Queens, remained at the scene. She was taken into custody and questioned, police said. Another woman, whom police described as a protester, was arrested for interfering with ambulance workers at the scene, police said. Nicolle Besuden, 32, of Manhattan, was charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental administration. She called the allegations “false and incredibly damaging” and referred to an account of the incident from the injured protester she was helping, who said Besuden was providing care and comfort before EMTs arrived and that her arrest was uncalled for.
December 13, 2020 7:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Charley Pride, one of country music’s first Black superstar whose rich baritone on such hits as “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” helped sell millions of records and made him the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died. He was 86. Pride died Saturday in Dallas of complications from Covid-19, according to Jeremy Westby of the public relations firm 2911 Media. Pride released dozens of albums and sold more than 25 million records during a career that began in the mid-1960s. Hits besides “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” in 1971 included “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” “Burgers and Fries,” “Mountain of Love,” and “Someone Loves You Honey.” He had three Grammy Awards, more than 30 No. 1 hits between 1969 and 1984, won the Country Music Association’s Top Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year awards in 1972 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. He won the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award last month by the Country Music Association.
December 13, 2020 7:51 am
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s daily coronavirus cases have exceeded 3,000 for the first time while the government delays stricter measures for fear of hurting the economy ahead of the holiday season. The 3,030 new cases, including 621 in Tokyo, took Japan’s national tally to 177,287 with 2,562 deaths, the Health Ministry said Sunday. Experts say serious cases are on the rise around the country, putting an extra burden on hospitals and affecting the daily medical treatment for other patients. They urged authorities to take measures such as suspending out-of-town trips and requesting stores to close early. Recent media surveys show support ratings for the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga have dropped about 20 points from around 70% during his first three months in office amid public discontent over his coronavirus handling. Japan issued a nonbinding state of emergency in the spring and has survived earlier infection peaks without a lockdown. Experts say the ongoing resurgence in the dry and cold season would be a bigger challenge.
December 13, 2020 7:49 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A subpoena seeking documents from Hunter Biden asked for information related to more than two dozen entities, including Ukraine gas company Burisma, according to a person familiar with a Justice Department tax investigation of President-elect Joe Biden’s son. The breadth of the subpoena, issued Tuesday, underscores the wide-angle lens prosecutors are taking as they examine the younger Biden’s finances and international business ventures. Hunter Biden’s ties to Burisma in particular have long dogged the policy work and political aspirations of his father, Joe Biden, now the president-elect of the United States. It’s unclear whether Hunter Biden’s work at the Ukrainian company is a central part of the federal investigation or whether prosecutors are simply seeking information about all his sources of income in recent years. Hunter Biden confirmed Wednesday that his taxes are under federal investigation. The revelation comes at a delicate time for the president-elect, who is building out his Cabinet and will soon decide on his nominee to run the Justice Department, the same department overseeing the investigation into his son. In addition to the Burisma-related request, the subpoena issued last week also seeks information on Hunter Biden’s Chinese business dealings and other financial transactions.
December 13, 2020 7:47 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump returned to Washington for weekend rallies to back his desperate efforts to subvert the election that he lost to Joe Biden. Sporadic fights broke out between pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators after sundown Saturday. WRC-TV reported that four people were taken to a hospital with stab wounds, and the Metropolitan Police Department told the station that 23 people were arrested. The gatherings of mostly unmasked Trump loyalists were intended as a show of force just two days before the Electoral College meets to formally elect Biden as the 46th president. Trump, whose term will end Jan. 20, refuses to concede, while clinging to baseless claims of fraud that have been rejected by state and federal courts, and Friday by the Supreme Court. Trump tweeted his apparent surprise Saturday morning at the rallies, publicly known for weeks: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA”
December 13, 2020 7:46 am
The first trucks carrying a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States were set to pull out of a Michigan manufacturing plant Sunday, with the shots that are critical to stopping the nation’s coronavirus outbreak destined to reach states a day later. An assembly line of workers began in the early morning hours pulling doses out of a freezer, boxing the vaccine and loading the units onto pallets so they could be placed on trucks at a Pfizer plant in Michigan. Dry ice, shipping labels and packing tape were on hand as the workers — donning masks, face shields and gloves — put together the packages inside the warehouse. One forklift driver transported the boxes to a loading area where a second forklift driver transferred the pallets from inside the facility onto a semitruck. Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine will set in motion the biggest vaccination effort in American history at a critical juncture of the pandemic that has killed 1.6 million and sickened 71 million worldwide. Initially, about 3 million doses were expected to be sent out, and the priority is health care workers and nursing home residents as infections, hospitalizations and deaths soar in the U.S. With numbers likely to get worse over the holidays, the vaccine is offering a bright spot in the fight against the pandemic that’s killed nearly 300,000 Americans.
December 13, 2020 4:12 am
The man who was killed following a pedestrian accident Wednesday night in Amwell Township has been identified. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says Marquis Anthony Drew, 29, of South Bend, Indiana was hit just before 8 p.m. near 773 National Pike. The victim was struck by a vehicle traveling west. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office has announced that an on-duty County detective was involved in the accident and that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has been notified and will investigate. A cause and manner of death are also pending an autopsy and investigation. Ambulance and Chair Service, Amwell Township, Lone Pine, and South Strabane Fire Departments as well as the South Strabane Police and County Sheriffs Office all responded to the scene. State Police continue to investigate.
December 13, 2020 2:50 am
Governor Tom Wolf on Thursday, announced a new round of statewide restrictions to curb the surge of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania. They went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning and will remain until 8 a.m. on January 4th, 2021. They are as follows:
All in-person indoor dining at businesses in the retail food services industry, including, but not limited to, bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, distilleries, social clubs, and private catered events is prohibited. Outdoor dining, take-out food service, and take-out alcohol sales are permitted and may continue, subject to any limitations or restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania law. Indoor gatherings and events of more than 10 persons are prohibited. Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and other places of congregate worship are specifically excluded from the limitations during religious services, but these institutions are strongly encouraged to find alternative methods for worship, as in person gatherings pose a significant risk to participants at this time. Outdoor gatherings and events of more than 50 persons are prohibited. All in-person businesses serving the public may only operate at up to 50% of the maximum capacity stated on the applicable certificate of occupancy, except as limited by existing orders to a smaller capacity limit. Indoor operations at gyms and fitness facilities are prohibited. Outdoor facilities and outdoor classes can continue, but all participants must wear face coverings. All in-person businesses in the entertainment industry serving the public within a building or indoor defined area, including, but not limited to, theaters, concert venues, museums, movie theaters, arcades, casinos, bowling alleys, private clubs, and all other similar entertainment, recreational or social facilities, are prohibited from operation. In-person voluntary activities at schools are prohibited. All sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel and recreational activities are paused. Professional or collegiate sports activities may continue in accordance with guidance from the CDC and the Department of Health, but without spectators.
December 13, 2020 1:51 am
Longtime WJPA News Director Jim Jefferson died Friday morning following a brief battle with cancer. He was 68 years old. For more than 35 years, Jim was the steady voice bridging our listeners and community leaders, elected officials and the news of the day. A Point Park College graduate, Jefferson joined the staff at WJPA in the early ’70s, retiring 3 1/2 years ago with his wife, Debbie, to their farm in Scenery Hill.
Jefferson was remembered today by many he covered over the years–mayors, commissioners, judges, chiefs of police, co-workers and friends:
Former Washington Mayor Sonny Spossey– “Like many, I awakened to Jim delivering the news. He was a straight shooter.”
Washington County Commission Chair Diana Irey Vaughan– “Jim was the best in the what the media had to offer.”
Commissioner Larry Maggi– “Jim was the consummate professional from the start. You trusted him.”
Retired President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca– “Jim was a straight arrow, the epitome of a newsman. He delivered the news fairly and never editorialized.”
Retired South Strabane Police Chief Don Zofchak– “It’s a fine line for law enforcement and the media. And we always had a great relationship in that way. It’s a great loss.”
Longtime Meadows track announcer Roger Huston– “He had that uncanny ability to make you feel comfortable when he interviewed you, like he’d known you his whole life.”
Washington Wild Things Vice President Chris Blaine– “I never saw Jim upset or in a bad mood. He was personable, pleasant, easy to work with in every situation.”
Funeral services will be private. (Photo: courtesy of Observer-Reporter)
