May 27, 2020 4:49 am
(AP) – Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 jobs through layoffs and buyouts, with several thousand more jobs expected to be cut over the next few months as the aircraft deals with a downturn in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The company said Wednesday it will lay off 6,770 U.S. workers this week, and another 5,520 employees are taking buyouts. Boeing had already said it would cut 10% of a workforce that numbered about 160,000. The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing’s big commercial-airplanes business. The Chicago-based company says its defense business is stable and will help blunt the impact of falling demand for passenger jets.
August 8, 2019 7:22 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A man who was “full of anger” stabbed, slashed and robbed his way across two Southern California cities in a bloody rampage that killed four people and wounded two others who were apparently targeted at random, authorities said. The 33-year-old man from Garden Grove robbed more than half a dozen businesses and killed two men at his own apartment complex during the two-hour wave of violence Wednesday, police said. He was arrested as he walked out of a convenience store in neighboring Santa Ana, dropping a knife and a gun he had taken from a security guard he had just killed. The attacker’s name wasn’t immediately released. The violence appeared to be random and the only known motives seem to be “robbery, hate, homicide,” Garden Grove police Lt. Carl Whitney said at a news conference. “We know this guy was full of anger and he harmed a lot of people tonight,” Whitney said Wednesday. The attacker and all the victims were Hispanic, police said. The two people who were wounded were listed in stable condition Wednesday night and were expected to survive.
September 20, 2024 5:00 am
Several residents of Donegal Township gathered to voice their frustrations with township supervisors who laid off the road crew on September 12th. Dr. Kathleen Miller was quite vocal because the very next day, a fire hydrant was struck by a vehicle that was detoured through West Alexander due to an accident on Interstate 70. According to Miller, it took 5 days to have the hydrant fixed and proper notice was not given alerting residents to a boil water advisory. That notice took five days to be issued. Labor Negotiator Phil Binotto says the crew was laid off due to decreased productivity. Heath Malson is one of the laid off workers that says the reason productivity is so low is that supervisors took control of ordering supplies and did not order them, so they do not have the materials needed to perform the maintenance required. According to Binotto, the township could call back the crew in emergencies if they are available. Otherwise, road maintenance will be handled by outside contractors. Former supervisor Tammi Iams says that if the township does not have a road crew and must hire outside contractors, according to the Pennsylvania Municipal Liquid Fuels Program regulations, any outside contractors must be paid prevailing wage. That cost is much higher than paying the current road crew. These and other concerns such as snow removal and current road deterioration repair projects left unfinished are major concerns to residents. The road crew will be officially discharged on Friday. The union representing the road crew and the township are currently working on the agreement to officially disband the crew.
Meanwhile, in an update Friday afternoon, Larry Cardillo from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66 said that effects bargaining talks are continuing in efforts to come to a final resolution for the layoff but nothing is concrete. He says that they are continuing negotiations to avoid the layoff of the road crew. Contract negotiations are no longer being negotiated by the township. (Photo: Dr. Kathleen Miller)
November 22, 2023 4:53 am
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) held a public meeting Tuesday previewing its next Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). The upcoming plan will cover the years 2025-2028. It looks at roads, bridges, public transportation and other means of transportation like trails and bikeways. According to Dominic D’Andrea, SPC Director of the Office of Transportation Planning, $3.9 billion is estimated to be available for the 10 county region for that time period. D’Andrea states that currently in the highway/bridge plan, 43% of the monies are designated for bridge projects and 23% for roads. Angela Swallop Saunders, Transportation Planning Manager for PennDot states that projects are still suffering cost overruns due to inflation. Supplies and diesel fuel are still high. She also said that delays in steel beam construction and concrete culvert construction also contribute to those cost increases. Saunders also stated that PennDot is working with local municipalities, that have extremely limited funds to maintain bridges, to help them financially to replace and main bridges that they own. According to the SPC’s D’Andrea, funding methods could change over the next several years. The buying power of the gas tax is becoming less productive because of fuel efficent vehicles, hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. Ideas such as tolls, road use charges and additional registration fees suggested by Governor Tom Wolf’s administration are being entertained by the current adminstration. A draft of the 2025-2028 TIP will be available in May, 2024.
December 31, 2022 4:33 am
The first Mega Millions drawing of the new year will be a big one as no one won Friday night’s estimated $685 million jackpot. The top prize increased to $785 million ahead of the next drawing Tuesday night. Mega Millions says no ticket purchased for the lottery matched all six numbers drawn Friday night. The numbers selected Friday were: 1, 3, 6, 44, 51 and gold Mega Ball 7. The jackpot has grown so large thanks to long odds of one in 302.6 million that have resulted in 22 straight drawings without a big winner. The estimated $785 million prize is for a winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing would be an estimated $395 million.
February 18, 2022 4:15 am
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Hundreds of truckers clogging Canada’s capital stood their ground and defiantly blasted their horns Thursday, even as police arrested two protest leaders and threatened to break up the nearly three-week protest against the country’s COVID-19 restriction The faceoff in Ottawa seems to be escalating as busloads of officers arrived Thursday near Parliament Hill. The city’s interim police chief says action is imminent. Protesters have besieged Ottawa for nearly three weeks in a demonstration that shaken Canada’s reputation for civility and rule-following. Police arrested two of the organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, but officers were not moving in force on the demonstrators.
March 25, 2021 4:41 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jessica Walter, who played a scheming matriarch in TV’s “Arrested Development,” has died. She was 80. Walter’s death was confirmed Thursday by her daughter, Brooke Bowman. The actor’s best-known film roles included playing the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 thriller, “Play Misty for Me.” “Arrested Development” represented a second act for Walter, and earned her admiration from a new generation of fans. Walter’s daughter says the actor will be remembered for her work and for her wit, class and love of life. Walter’s feature debut was in the 1964 film “Lilith,” with Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg and Gene Hackman, who was also on his first film.
May 27, 2020 4:44 am
Peters Township Council was updated by Township Manager Paul Lauer on what could be expected when Governor Tom Wolf allows Washington County to enter the Green Phase of his economic reopening plan. Lauer updated council on revenues coming into the township. He indicated that earned income revenues are down but that could be because of the delayed filing date for income taxes approved earlier this year by the IRS. Deed transfer taxes were down as well. Lauer feels that Wolf’s shut down of the real estate industry had a great deal to do with those revenues falling. Lauer said he hopes to have a better understanding of revenues in the next month or so. Fire Chief Mike McLaughlin updated council on what is occurring with his department as Peters Township approached green. He is tracking day care centers and advising businesses regarding their legal occupancy once the green phase is achieved. Businesses will only be allowed to have 50% of their current approved occupancy of customers inside their establishments. McLaughlin complimented business owners in their efforts to comply with regulations going forward.
August 8, 2019 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 200 mayors, including the mayors of El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, are urging Senate leaders to call senators back to the Capitol to act on bipartisan gun safety legislation. The mayors say weekend shootings in El Paso and Dayton that left 31 people dead are “just the latest reminders that our nation can no longer wait for our federal government to take the actions necessary to prevent people who should not have access to firearms from being able to purchase them.” They urged the Senate to pass two bills expanding background checks for gun sales that passed the House earlier this year. The letter is signed by El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and other mayors where mass shootings have occurred.
September 19, 2024 5:13 am
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris was looking for a boost with persuadable and less-motivated voters as she participated in a livestream Thursday evening with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey. The event, billed as “Unite for America,” is being hosted by Winfrey from suburban Michigan, one of this election’s key battlegrounds. More than 250,000 people were watching on the Harris campaign livestream on YouTube alone as Winfrey introduced the vice president. “We each have those moments in our lives when it’s time to step up,” Harris responded when Winfrey asked about her overnight transformation as she went from President Joe Biden’s running mate to being the Democratic nominee.
