June 29, 2021 4:17 am
SURFSIDE, Florida (AP) – It’s Day 6 of a painstaking effort to find survivors after after the collapse of a beachfront Florida condominium. Twelve stories of debris have flattened like a stack of pancakes, with layer upon layer of wreckage frustrating efforts to find pockets where someone might have survived. It’s deliberate work, and treacherous: Thunderstorms rolled through Surfside Tuesday, and debris fell overnight from the shattered edge of the remaining building. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said rescuers marked a “don’t go beyond here” line and are searching farther from the structure. The confirmed death toll stands at 11, with 150 people still unaccounted for.
June 29, 2021 4:12 am
As COVID-19 cases in PA have rapidly declined since April, the initiative to reopen the Washington Park Pool has conversely increased after a year-long shutdown. However, safety inspections for the facility revealed several critical hazards. In an interview after Monday’s council meeting, the pool’s conditions were discussed. “The water lines froze under the concrete, under the bathrooms, everything has to be dug up now”, commented Councilman Joe Pintola. Pool lights need to be replaced and pool ladders need to be fixed as well. Mayor Scott Putnam confirmed that the pool will not open this summer, contrary to the hopeful expectations of the public. “At this point with where we’re at and the lateness of the season, it doesn’t make sense to open it now this summer”, said Putnam. While the pool will continue to undergo construction, a newly hired park administrator, DeAnna Martin, will “bring new activities for the youth to help out the community”, according to Mayor Putnam. The exact dates of the public pool’s restoration are unknown, but Mayor Putnam believes it will officially reopen by next summer.
June 29, 2021 4:08 am
Peters Township Council took on several discussions related to private roads, connections between new and existing housing developments and what the township refers to as minimum maintenance roads. Township Manager Paul Lauer briefed council on the desire of residents of privately owned Mt. Blaine Dr. to have their road brought up to standard for adoption. A second concern is connection between housing plans. The township’s police and fire chiefs and Public Works director all spoke about the need for connections between neighborhoods for safety and efficiency needs. At issue is a current block of Manor Way by current residents not allowing the Juniper Woods Plan to connect to Manor Way. Currently, emergency services must leave Peters Township and enter through Upper St. Clair to render aid. The removal of that block would significantly reduce response times. Also discussed was bringing what the township describes as minimum maintenance roads into current compliance. Council also got its first look at preliminary drawings of the new fire department substation that will be located on Bebout Road. Current designs are in excess of desired spending and changes are being considered. Construction is scheduled for 2022.
June 29, 2021 4:06 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A key trade that sealed a budget deal between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans who control the Legislature was a $100 million injection of cash into Pennsylvania’s poorest public schools in exchange for the governor backing off a regulatory expansion of eligibility for overtime pay. Wolf, a Democrat, had sought more than $1 billion in new, higher funding for public schools, but met Republican resistance. He settled for $300 million, including the $100 million strictly for poorer districts. In exchange, Wolf agreed to repeal the regulation he pushed through in 2020 to expand the range for lower-wage salaried workers who must receive time-and-a-half pay for overtime.
June 29, 2021 3:24 am
Authorities say two people were flown to Pittsburgh hospitals Monday evening after their small plane crashed in a field in Somerset Township. According to officials, the crash happened just after six o’clock at 295 school Road, near the Kammerer exit of Interstate 70. They say a witness said that the plane, a Cessna 150, landed in the field there, but crashed when it tried to take off again. The plane had a 34-year-old female flight instructor on board along with a 29-year-old male student. They had apparently left from the Greene County Airport. Emergency responders say the two were conscious when they arrived. They were listed in critical but stable condition. Their identities have not yet been released. (Photo: WPXI)
June 28, 2021 5:29 pm
(AP) – After a brief dip, gas prices in the U.S. are on the rise again, hitting an average $3.09 per gallon. That’s according to the fuel price tracking app GasBuddy. The national average is now almost 5 cents higher than a month ago and 92 cents higher than one year ago. For consumers, higher gasoline prices are one element of an inflationary mix they’ve encountered as the economy recovers from the pandemic. Rising prices for commodities and materials have also boosted prices for such items as lumber, diapers and meat and poultry. The bad news: Gas prices could go higher this summer before heading lower.
June 28, 2021 3:36 pm
DURHAM N.C. (AP) – Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc. will pay $40 million to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales. That’s according to a landmark legal settlement announced on Monday after years of accusations that the company had fueled an explosion in teen vaping. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein had accused Juul of unfair and deceptive marketing practices targeting young people to use it vaping products, which delivers addictive nicotine. Juul promises not to advertise to anyone under 21 in North Carolina and says it will put restrictions in place for sales both online and at brick-and-mortal retailers.
June 28, 2021 12:45 pm
Authorities in Armstrong County are investigating an accident early Sunday morning that left a Greene County man dead. The Armstrong County Coroner says 29-year-old Alan Lipscomb of Mount Morris was in the westbound lanes of Route 422 in Worthington when he was hit by a vehicle around two-thirty. Lipscomb was pronounced dead at the scene.
June 28, 2021 6:21 am
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman was in Washington Sunday. He attended the annual Washington County Democratic party picnic at Washington Park. He spoke briefly with WJPA News on several topics. As for legalizing recreational marijuana; Fetterman says he is just waiting for Republicans to come on board and support the idea. Fetterman says it would generate “hundreds of millions of dollars” and pointed to other nearby states like New York and New Jersey. As for GOP proposed voting changes, Fetterman says his biggest concern is Voter ID. He calls it “voter suppression”. Fetterman says a 2012 report by the Pa. Department of State found some 700,000 residents do not have an I.D.
June 28, 2021 4:19 am
MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Danny has formed off South Carolina’s coast, and forecasters say the storm is expected to dump several inches of rain on some parts of the Southeast once it heads inland. The fourth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season formed Monday afternoon off South Carolina’s coast. It has top sustained winds of 40 mph and is racing to the west-northwest toward expected landfall within hours. Forecasters say Danny could drop several inches of rain on parts of South Carolina and Georgia as it heads into the Southeast. But the hurricane center in Miami says Danny will undergo rapid weakening once it makes landfall.
