June 5, 2024 5:04 am
Washington County Commissioners have their eyes on the Crossroads Parking Garage. Word of the move to purchase the garage on North Franklin Street came to light at Tuesday’s agenda meeting. Commissioners are expected to vote at Thursday’s meeting to formally contact both the City of Washington and Washington School District seeking to purchase the garage. Commissioner’s Chairman Nick Sherman tells the Observer-Reporter a recent appraisal put the value at just over $4 million. Reportedly, they have had talks with city officials about the purchase. The move comes as the County looks at possibly demolishing the Courthouse Square building to construct a new public safety complex. Commissioners meet Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
June 5, 2024 2:57 am
Former Washington Mayor Sonny Spossey died Tuesday morning after a lengthy illness. Spossey, who was the grandson of Italian immigrants, was the first Italian American to serve as mayor of Washington. In addition to four terms as mayor, Spossey also served as a city councilman and city treasurer. Spossey was the son of a barber and he followed his father into the profession and worked with him in his West Chestnut Street shop until he passed away in 1998. Sonny retired from barbering in 2019 after 64 years of service. Spossey’s notable achievements during his years as mayor included establishing the Neighborhood Drug Corps to address a growing problem in the community and increasing access and equality for people with disabilities. Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Directors say a funeral liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00 AM, Monday, June 10, 2024, in Saint Hilary Church of Saint James Parish, 320 Henderson Ave., Washington, PA 15301. Entombment will follow in Washington Cemetery. All other services are private.
June 5, 2024 2:46 am
(WPXI) – Nearly 200 people have been displaced by a fire at Second Avenue Commons in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood. Smoke was seen billowing from the homeless shelter at 700 2nd Avenue just after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Fire officials on the scene said an air conditioning unit on the roof caught fire, causing heavy damage to the roof and walls. The fire was considered a three-alarm due to being at a high-rise building. No one had to be rescued from the building, but several people were taken to the hospital from the scene, fire officials said. Four firefighters were hurt and three of them were transported. Two civilians who were outside the building were also taken to the hospital for heat-related symptoms. All utilities have been shut off in the building, meaning 180 residents have been displaced. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said residents are being taken to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center as an emergency protocol, as it can accommodate the amount of people impacted and there are no conflicting events being held. Several agencies are working to aid the people displaced, including the Department of Human Services and Community Kitchen Pittsburgh. Those who wish to donate to the victims can do so at the convention center, Innamorato said.
June 5, 2024 2:36 am
The criminal trial for Washington County’s Controller has been delayed until September. April Sloane is accused of animal neglect by causing the starvation death of her dog last year. Sloane’s attorney had requested the continuance last month. Washington County Judge John DiSalle set the new trial date for September 10th. Jury selection had been expected to begin on Monday. Sloane is facing two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one misdemeanor charge of animal neglect for the death of her dog, Thor. North Strabane Township Police found Thor’s body in a trash bag in her garage. Sloane, who continues to work as the county controller, is free on one-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollars bond.
June 4, 2024 4:14 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings fell in April to the lowest level since 2021. But they remained at historically strong levels despite high interest rates and signs the economy is slowing. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 8.1 million vacancies in April, down from a revised 8.4 million in March. Still, layoffs fell, and the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose in April. Monthly job openings have come down steadily from a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 — as the economy’s recovery from COVID-19 lock-downs left companies desperate for workers — but they remain at a high level.
June 4, 2024 1:53 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s restricting asylum to help “gain control” of the U.S.-Mexico border. The American Civil Liberties Union says it’ll sue over Biden’s plan to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border. Biden signed the proclamation Tuesday as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability before November’s elections. Biden’s order would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem the southern border to be overwhelmed. The Democratic president has contemplated unilateral action for months, especially after Republican lawmakers rejected a bipartisan security deal at the behest of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump says Biden has surrendered the southern border. (Photo: AP)
June 4, 2024 6:28 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Protests at the University of Pittsburgh have ended in what officials are calling a peaceful ending to a long few days. Protesters were calling for the university to sever any ties with Israel or companies promoting the Israel-Hamas War. The Pittsburgh police chief told Channel 11 that the mayor and his team were able to speak with “willing and trusted participants” inside the encampment on Monday night. A short time later, protestors vacated the encampment. It came just hours after protesters clashed with police. A Pitt police officer was pulled to the ground when protestors pulled down fencing. A protestor who cut their head during the incident was taken to a local hospital. A Pitt spokesperson said the exterior of the Cathedral of Learning was vandalized during the demonstration and the city made the decision to step in overnight.
June 4, 2024 4:56 am
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as deceptive and driven by addiction. They say he’s a man whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on federal forms to purchase a gun in 2018. The case is dredging up painful memories for the president and his family, and revealing new and highly personal details about their struggles with addiction and grief as the 2024 election looms, all while the first lady and Hunter Biden’s sister Ashley watched from the front row of the courtroom.
June 4, 2024 4:54 am
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s newly elected president faces a long list of challenges, including persistent cartel violence, a deeply divided country, cash-straitened social programs and the long shadow of her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. But for some analysts what awaits Claudia Sheinbaum mostly comes down to three things: money, dialogue and what happens in the U.S. election. She begins her six-year presidential term Oct. 1, so has four months to define her agenda. During this time, López Obrador is expected to continue delivering his daily morning press briefings as he tries to solidify his legacy. The coexistence might be far from easy: He has divided society; she says she wants to unite it. He is a leader of the masses; she is an academic and a scientist.
June 4, 2024 4:53 am
The Israeli military says it killed two Palestinians, who it claimed were attempting to launch a shooting attack toward Israeli communities from the occupied West Bank. Residents of Israeli communities just outside the West Bank have reported an uptick in shootings emanating from the occupied Palestinian territory in recent days. A surge of violence has gripped the West Bank since the October start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. A cease-fire proposal announced by United States President Joe Biden has placed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a crossroads. The proposal offers the possibility of ending Israel’s war against Hamas, returning scores of hostages held by the militant group, and quieting the northern border with Lebanon.
