September 25, 2019 4:08 am
A nearly 3 year long PennDot construction project encompassing East Wylie Avenue, Allison Avenue and Jefferson Avenue and State routes 18 and 844 is slated to begin in April of 2020. Drainage, road widening and reconstruction plus the replacement of 3 traffic signals and the addition of two more will certainly have city residents looking for alternative routes. No cost for the project has been identified but PennDot Transportation Planning Manager Angela Saunders states that 80% of the funding will come from the federal government and the other 20% will be paid from multimodal funds from the state. The project is set to go out for bid and once construction begins, PennDot expects the project to last two and a half construction seasons. Barring any delays, construction will be complete in the spring of 2022.
September 25, 2019 4:05 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors took the final steps toward building a new fire station in the Eighty Four area of the Township. At their legislative meeting Supervisors awarded nearly $4 million dollars in bids to begin the construction of Station # 2. Robert Balogh, Supervisor Chairman indicated that insurance ratings played a large role in deciding to build the station. Balogh pointed out that once this station is built, residents all over the township could see a reduction in their fire insurance. Mark Grimm, Fire Chief is pleased that he will have a station that will be able to fit the equipment needed to serve the public in that area but will be able to serve the police as well. Staffing for the new station is set so no new hires will be needed. Grimm is appreciative of the relationship the fire department has with the township. Township officials expect the new station to be ready in the spring of 2020
September 24, 2019 4:50 pm
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – Vehicles exceeding the weight limit of a West Virginia suspension bridge have led officials to close it indefinitely. News outlets report the Wheeling Suspension Bridge closed Tuesday morning and won’t be open to vehicular traffic for at least a year. Pedestrians can still walk or bike across. A charter bus weighing well over the weight limit caused the bridge to close for more than a month earlier this year. The bridge passed inspections and officials added barriers and signs. The Friends of Wheeling organization says those changes haven’t stopped violators. Members recently observed over 100 vehicles weighing more than the 2-ton (1.8-metric ton) weight limit drive over the bridge. West Virginia Department of Transportation Acting District Engineer Joe Juszczak says the bridge will be closed until permanent repairs are made.
September 24, 2019 3:20 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say they’ve charged multiple medical professionals for overprescribing millions of opioids across Appalachia. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski on Tuesday announced charges against 13 people in West Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee. Eleven of those charged are doctors. Benczkowski says the charges involve more than 17 million illegally prescribed opioid pills. Authorities used data that detailed prescriptions, insurance information and other factors to determine the overprescribing. In one example, officials said a doctor in a West Virginia city of 10,000 people prescribed nearly 2 million pills. The action comes after charges were filed against 60 people in April for the illegal distribution of opioids. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 115 Americans die every day from opioid-related overdoses.
September 24, 2019 3:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he has directed the release on Wednesday of the “unredacted” transcript of his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump has acknowledged that he discussed former Vice President Joe Biden in the call. Trump tweets Tuesday that “You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure.” Trump’s reference to Biden on the call raised questions about whether the president improperly used his office to pressure another country as a way of hurting one of his chief Democratic rivals. On Monday, it was reported that Trump had ordered his staff to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine a few days before a phone call with Zelenskiy The call is at the center of an intelligence whistleblower complaint.
September 24, 2019 1:35 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Emmy Award viewership plunged to 6.9 million people, a drop of 32% from last year. The Nielsen company says it’s the first time ever that viewership for television’s biggest awards show has slipped below 10 million viewers. The show, telecast Sunday night on Fox, had no host and competed with a popular NFL game on NBC. The ratings illustrate a growing disconnect between the TV-viewing public and television academy voters. While a popular series like HBO’s “Game of Thrones” won best drama, the less-seen Amazon series “Fleabag” earned best comedy. Last year’s Emmys, with 10.2 million viewers, had been the previous least-watched edition of the Emmys.
September 24, 2019 9:54 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration has issued a rule that will make overtime pay available to 1.3 million additional workers, though the proposal replaces a more generous one advanced by former President Barack Obama. The Labor Department said Tuesday that it is raising the salary level that companies will have to pay to exempt workers from overtime to $35,308 a year, up from $23,660. Americans earning less than that amount will typically be paid time and a half for any work over 40 hours a week. The new rule will benefit retail, fast-food restaurant, and home health care workers, among others. Many employees in those industries have been paid just above the $23,660 threshold, which has been in place since 2004, and then required to work overtime without extra pay.
September 24, 2019 8:51 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – Kenny Chesney will return to Pittsburgh in 2020 with a tour stop at Heinz Field. The country star’s Chillaxification 2020 Tour is hitting stadiums across the country. He’ll be bringing Florida Georgia Line, Old Dominion and Michael Franti & Spearhead along for the ride. Chesney’s Heinz Field show will be held May 30. General ticket sales begin Oct. 4 at 10 a.m.
September 24, 2019 7:25 am
LONDON (AP) – In a major blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain’s highest court has ruled that his decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the crucial countdown to the country’s Brexit deadline was illegal. The unanimous, strongly worded Supreme Court judgment on Tuesday declared Johnson’s order to suspend Parliament “void and of no effect.” The court found that Johnson’s suspension had the effect of limiting debate by lawmakers on Britain’s impending departure from the European Union in violation of Parliament’s constitutional role. The landmark decision was quickly criticized by Johnson and prompted calls for him to quit from opposition leaders. The Conservative prime minister and Parliament have been at odds since he took power in July with the goal of taking Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a divorce deal. Johnson vowed Tuesday that he will not resign and was flying back to London from New York overnight. Parliament resumes Wednesday.
September 24, 2019 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Pelosi announced Tuesday that the House is moving forward with official impeachment inquiry, saying “no one is above the law.” Pelosi says she made the announcement after meeting with House chairmen and members of the Democratic caucus. The announcement comes as more than a dozen Democrats, many of them moderates, have endorsed impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. Democrats have questioned whether Trump improperly used his office to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate political rival Joe Biden’s family. The administration is withholding a whistleblower complaint at least partly related to that matter from Congress.
