September 13, 2019 4:11 am
City Councilman Matt Staniszewski continued his absence from council since his August 26 arrest for DUI. A quorum to conduct business was reached with the participation of councilmen Joe Manning and Ken Westcott and Mayor Scott Putnam. Councilwoman Monda Williams was also absent from the meeting again. Staniszewski was called out by city resident Barry Andrews for his behavior. Andrews cited 3 other occasions that Staniszewski’s behavior “gave the city a black eye.” Andrews pulled no punches calling for Staniszewski’s immediate resignation from council. When asked about Councilwoman Williams’ absence, Mayor Scott Putnam stated that Williams planned to attend Thursday’s meeting but had difficulties with a trip. He anticipates her participation at meetings going forward. Absences by these two council people will stretch the effectiveness of council and could cause cancellations of meetings if a quorum of at least 3 council members is not reached. Putnam pointed to the recent troubles in Monessen and said that those kinds of incidents theoretically could occur in Washington. In brighter news, council unanimously approved an access road to the rear of Washington Park. The road will come in off of Clare Dr. and travel through the park to near the Stone Pavilion. Washington Park will now have two exits. This exit will be used only in the case of emergency. First Responders from Washington and South Strabane Township will have keys to a locked gate. The move was applauded by several members of the audience.
September 13, 2019 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – A 30-year-old man whose relatives reported concerns about his behavior and far-right extremist rhetoric after last year’s Pittsburgh synagogue massacre awaits sentencing for his conviction on a federal gun charge. Jeffrey Clark Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington, D.C. Clark pleaded guilty in July to illegal possession of a firearm. Federal prosecutors have recommended a 10-month prison sentence. Clark, who has been jailed for 10 months since his arrest, could be eligible for immediate release if Kelly agrees with prosecutors’ recommendation. The FBI said Clark is a white nationalist who followed Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers on social media and referred to him as a “hero” in a post after the October shooting that killed 11 people.
September 13, 2019 3:14 am
Republicans held a small protest on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse Thursday morning. Nick Sherman, a Republican candidate for Washington County Commissioner and Republican nominee for Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis are calling for answers in connection with the disappearance of more than $96,000 from the Clerk of Courts office. Back in July, County Commissioners announced that an audit by the Controller discovered the missing money. A State Police investigation was immediately launched. There has been no update on the status of that investigation. Clerk of Courts Frank Scandale has denied any wrongdoing in the matter and said he welcomed the investigation. Scandale told WJPA News that he would not be commenting on the news conference, saying it was merely a “political stunt”.
September 12, 2019 5:27 pm
A Fayette County man was killed in an early morning accident in Westmoreland County. The coroner’s office says a car driven by 32-year-old Donald Schultz of Washington Township collided with the rear of a garbage truck on Route 51 north, near Gallatin Road in Rostraver Township. Schultz was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say the garbage truck was exiting a business on the east side of the roadway and pulled onto Route 51 and that’s when Schultz’s vehicle collided with it.
September 12, 2019 4:16 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Walmart is rolling out an unlimited grocery delivery subscription service this fall as it races to gain an advantage in the competitive fresh food business. The service will charge an annual membership fee of $98 for subscribers to access unlimited same-day delivery, which will be offered in 1,400 stores in 200 markets. By year-end, it will extend to a total of 1,600 stores – or more than 50% of the country. The move allows the nation’s largest grocer to further tap into time-starved shoppers looking for convenience at a time when Walmart is locked in an arms race with Amazon and others to expand fresh-food delivery. About two years ago, Amazon purchased Whole Food Market Inc. and is now is offering same-day grocery delivery in various cities.
September 12, 2019 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says his administration will propose banning thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes amid an outbreak of breathing problems tied to vaping.
State and federal health authorities are investigating hundreds of breathing illnesses reported in people who have used e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. No single device, ingredient or additive has been identified. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the Food and Drug Administration will develop guidelines to remove all e-cigarette flavors from the market, especially those favored by children. The FDA regulates e-cigarettes and has authority to ban vaping flavors, but has resisted calls to take that step. Instead, the agency has said it is studying the role of flavors in vaping products, including whether they help adult smokers quit traditional cigarettes.
September 12, 2019 4:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Judiciary Committee is approaching its first impeachment-related vote, set to define procedures for upcoming hearings on President Donald Trump. Some moderates in the caucus are urging the panel to slow down. The vote Thursday is an escalation as the Judiciary panel has said it is examining whether to recommend articles of impeachment. It would allow the committee to designate certain hearings as impeachment hearings, empower staff to question witnesses, allow some evidence to remain private and permit the president’s counsel to officially respond to testimony. As the committee moves forward, some moderate House Democrats are concerned about the committee’s drumbeat on impeachment. Several freshmen Democrats met with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Wednesday and expressed concerns about the path ahead.
September 12, 2019 4:11 am
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s clearing of the way for the Trump administration to deny nearly all asylum claims from Central Americans is being denounced by immigration advocates as a “death sentence” for migrants trying to escape poverty and violence in their homelands. The new policy would disallow asylum for anyone who passes through another country on the way to the U.S. without first seeking asylum there. Late Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to enforce the rule while legal challenges to it continue. Migrants who make their way to the U.S. overland from places like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador would be largely ineligible under the new rule, along with asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and South America who arrive at the U.S.-Mexican border. The Trump administration is calling it a “big victory” in its effort to stem the surge of migrants.
September 12, 2019 4:08 am
DENVER (AP) – Several Democratic presidential candidates are running on a promise to ban fracking and stepping on unstable political ground as they do so. Must-win Pennsylvania has gotten an economic boost from fracking, the technique used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock. The procedure is also vital in swing state Colorado and in the Democrats’ dream state of Texas, the headquarters of the energy industry. Fracking has become steadily less popular as worries about the side effects of the energy extraction technique have increased. It’s been linked to water contamination, air pollution and even earthquakes. But it’s also helped bring down the cost of natural gas and the use of dirtier-burning coal. Even most environmentalists have proposed regulating it rather than banning it.
September 12, 2019 4:07 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A third family has come forward in an investigation of multiple suspicious patient deaths at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia. Attorney Tony O’Dell says Thursday he’s representing the family of Navy veteran John Hallman after the 87-year-old died at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg last year. Federal prosecutors are probing the deaths of up to 11 patients at the facility. Attorneys representing the families of men who died say at least two of the deaths have been ruled homicides, with both veterans dying from wrongful insulin injections. O’Dell says Hallman died suddenly after his blood sugar spiked, indicting another wrongful insulin injection. Separately, the VA inspector general this week confirmed an investigation of multiple sexual assaults at another VA facility in West Virginia.
