July 18, 2020 3:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says this country has the “best testing in the world. But snapshots from around the U.S. are revealing shortfalls. In Pittsburgh, adults who are afraid they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus are being asked to skip testing if they can quarantine at home for 14 days. Hawaii will wait another month to lift a two-week quarantine on visitors because of test supply shortages and delays in results. In Sun Belt states where the virus is surging, lines of cars with people seeking tests snake for hours in the beating sun, often yielding results so far after the fact that they’re useless. Public health experts say the testing system is in shambles.
July 18, 2020 3:54 am
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A hearing took place in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh on Friday over a lawsuit connected to Governor Wolf’s ’emergency declaration’ powers and restrictions imposed to try and stop the spread of Coronavirus. Washington County is part of the suit and Commissioner’s Chairman Republican Diana Irey-Vaughan testified. She told WJPA NEWS that, “testimony was submitted earlier by affidavit and Friday’s hearing was to cross-examine and confirm the details of her testimony with the attorneys representing both sides.” Also present at the hearing was Republican Commissioner Nick Sherman. Judge William Stickman presided over the case, which will continue with testimony from the side representing the Governor and Secretary of Health next week. Butler, Fayette, and Greene Counties are also part of the suit, along with politicians and businesses that claim their constitutional rights were violated as they were ordered to close their doors.
July 18, 2020 3:52 am
Komatsu Mining Corporation. is expanding its footprint locally. The company that has been operating in Washington County for 60 years has purchased a lot at Alta Vista Business Park to develop a 250,000 square foot distribution center. The business park is owned by the Mon Valley Alliance and Komatsu chose the site because of its proximity to Interstates 70 and 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Ben Brown, CEO of the Mon Valley Alliance stated that “The development is a result of investments made by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Washington County Commissioners through the Local Share Account program, Fallowfield Township and Charleroi School District. The site is designated with a Keystone Opportunity Zone designation. The Class A center will be built on about 30 acres and feature a 215,000-square-foot warehouse, 35,000 square feet of office space and more than 250 parking spaces.
July 18, 2020 3:35 am
ATLANTA (AP) – John Lewis, who carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress, has died. He was 80. Lewis was the last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He was best known for leading 600 protesters in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was knocked to the ground and beaten by state troopers. Televised images forced the country’s attention on racial oppression. A Democrat from Atlanta, he won his U.S. House seat in 1986.
July 17, 2020 2:37 pm
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Tom Flickinger, Treasurer of Washington County is notifying county taxpayers that due to software conversion issues the Web page will be suspended beginning July 20th until August 1st 2020. Real Estate tax payments will not be available to be paid online. Also, taxpayers due tax refunds from the county will be delayed until after the software conversion. Mr. Flickinger reminds taxpayers that penalties and fees have been suspended on current 2020 real estate taxes until December 31st 2020. Prior year taxes due will carry the normal penalty and fee assessments. Mr. Flickinger wishes to thank county taxpayers for their understanding. Any questions please contact Mr. Flickinger directly.
July 17, 2020 2:29 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s unemployment slid a bit down in June after hitting a pandemic peak in April, but it was well above the national rate even as payrolls rebounded by more 230,000. The state Department of Labor and Industry reported Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 13% in June, down four-tenths of a percentage point from May’s adjusted rate. The state’s rate went over 16% in April, the highest rate in over four decades of record-keeping. A survey of employers showed seasonally adjusted nonfarm payrolls grew by more than 230,000 in June to surpass 5.4 million. That was about 1 in 5 jobs lost during the pandemic.
July 17, 2020 2:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer, but has no plans to retire from the Supreme Court. The 87-year-old Ginsburg said her treatment so far has succeeded in reducing lesions on her liver and that she will continue chemotherapy sessions every two weeks “to keep my cancer at bay.” She spent time in the hospital this week for a possible infection, but Ginsburg said it was unrelated to the cancer. Her departure from the court before the election could give President Donald Trump the chance to shift the court more to the right.
July 17, 2020 4:11 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials say defense leaders are weighing a new policy that would bar the display of the Confederate flag at department facilities without actually mentioning its name. For weeks, those leaders have been tied in knots over the incendiary issue of banning the Confederate flag. No final decisions have been made, but officials say the new plan presents a creative way to ban the Confederate flag in a manner that may not raise the ire of President Donald Trump. Trump has defended people’s rights to display it. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing internal deliberations.
July 17, 2020 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal ban on cruise ships operating in U.S. territory is being extended through September. The ban was due to expire next week, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the extension on Thursday. The move comes as coronavirus cases are rising in 40 states. Florida, where many cruises start, just had a single-day record of deaths from COVID-19. Major cruise lines that belong to an industry trade group had already canceled sailings until Sept. 15 because of ongoing discussions with federal officials over how to restart operations safely. The companies are trying to save cash and borrow more money to survive the pandemic.
July 17, 2020 4:08 am
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Fire officials say Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines sparked a wildfire last year in Northern California that destroyed hundreds of homes and led to the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued the finding Thursday. Cal Fire says investigators determined that power lines near the town of Geyserville ignited the fire that ripped through Sonoma County last October. The agency didn’t release details of the investigation but said it sent the report to the district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges. PG&E recently emerged from bankruptcy caused by its role in several devastating wildfires.
