January 3, 2024 4:53 am
South Strabane Township reorganized their board of supervisors Tuesday night by welcoming two new supervisors. Jeff Bull and George Rowand will take over for Bracken Burns and Richard Luketich. Both men are looking to bring back what they describe as “fiscal responsibility“ to the township. Both men say that voters constantly complained of high taxes and the increasing unaffordability to live in South Strabane. Bull went right to work asking that nominations for zoning officers be tabled because last year, $250,000 was spent on code enforcement. He says that is too much for a township the size of South Strabane. Bob Weber was named chairman of the board by a 3-2 vote over Jeff Bull. Supervisors moved meeting times to the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6 PM instead of the current 7 PM start time.
January 3, 2024 4:53 am
Washington County reorganized all of the offices that were up for election in November. At the top of the list were the swearing in ceremonies for Commissioner. Republicans Nick Sherman and Electra Janis took their chairs as majority members. Democrat Larry Maggi will begin his sixth term as commissioner in the minority. Second term commissioner Sherman says that he will be making sure that the County 9-1-1 emergency response system is studied. He stated that two consulting agencies have been hired and both found glaring issues with the proposed system. His goal is to make sure the system is the best available for emergency responders. Maggi begins his sixth term and is looking to keep civility and cohesiveness in the board of commissioners while keeping control of spending. Janis, who is beginning her first term as a commissioner says that she would like to enhance economic development. She pointed to the successes of Canonsburg and Washington in their efforts to open shops and restaurants. She would like to see the same success brought to other towns, especially in the Monongahela Valley. County Row Offices also were sworn in. Coroner Tim Warco, District Attorney Jason Walsh, Prothonotary Laura Hough, Register of Wills James Roman and Treasurer Tom Flickinger were all sworn in as incumbents. Clerk of Courts Ray Phillips will begin his first term.
January 3, 2024 2:50 am
For the first time in the history of the City of Washington, a person of color will occupy the Mayor’s chair. JoJo Burgess assumed his position at his swearing in ceremony during the reorganization meeting of the city at noon on Tuesday. Burgess thanked many people for their help, most recently during his campaign, but also in his early life. He pointed out Mike and Butch Marino, two brothers that guided him during his early teens from a life of trouble, into a life of help and service. He spoke of how they taught him that wrestling was a better method of anger relief than that of a life on the streets. Burgess also paid homage to the Putnam administration that he says has the city “going in the right direction.” He wants to continue that motion by “jumping on a moving train” and continuing city improvements. Also sworn in were councilmen Joe Pintola and Ken Westcott. Controller Nick Dubina and Treasurer Anthony Nicolella also were sworn in for another four year term. All department assignments remained the same with Westcott directing Accounts and Finance, Pintola stays on as Streets and Public improvements director. Andrew Callan stays as director of Parks and Public Buildings and Joe DeThomas heads Public Safety. Additionally, Steve Devenney was sworn in as the city’s new Chief of Police. He takes over for the retired Dan Rush.
January 3, 2024 2:22 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — In 2024, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro could face a more complicated sophomore year in charge of Pennsylvania. He’s facing pressure to respond to a court ruling that Pennsylvania’s system of public school funding unconstitutionally discriminates against poorer districts. Meanwhile, his administration must oversee a presidential election that, four years ago, was marred by Donald Trump-allied efforts in court to overturn it. In 2024, Shapiro is facing calls for billions of new dollars for public schools. He says school funding needs more equity. But he also says someone has to pay for it. Shapiro also says administration officials have been meeting for months to prepare for the 2024 presidential election.
January 2, 2024 5:01 pm
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is appealing a decision by Maine’s Democratic secretary of state that he cannot be on the ballot there because he violated a constitutional ban against people who “engaged in insurrection” holding office. The Republican presidential candidate’s appeal to Maine’s Superior Court came Tuesday as he was expected to appeal a similar ruling by Colorado’s Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation’s highest court has never ruled on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to have the final word on Trump’s eligibility in Colorado, Maine and elsewhere.
January 2, 2024 1:49 pm
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University President Claudine Gay has resigned amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy. Gay announced her departure, which came just months into her tenure, in a letter to the Harvard community on Tuesday. She and the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania came under fire last month for their lawyer like answers to a line of questioning from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the colleges’ code of conduct. (Photo: AP)
January 2, 2024 9:32 am
LAS VEGAS — (WPXI) – A Uniontown man that police say is the prime suspect in his wife’s murder was arrested at a resort in Las Vegas. According to Uniontown police, Franyerlys Nicold “Nicole” Zambrano Briceno was found dead from a single gunshot wound in a house on Bierer Avenue at 1:31 p.m. Monday. Police said she was believed to have been dead for at least a couple of days. The victim’s husband, Arthur Guty Jr., 55, is considered a suspect in her murder, police said. Las Vegas Metro Police snapped a photo of Guty, moments after they took him into custody at a Las Vegas resort. He had a cigarette in his mouth and his hands behind his back. “He was in possession of $100,000 cash approximately, and he was located at the Mardi Gras Casino having a continental breakfast,” Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele told Channel 11. Police in Uniontown have been trying to find him for days after family and friends of his wife said they hadn’t heard from her. Detectives got a search warrant and found Zambrano dead inside their home. Police say it’s unclear how long she had been dead but it was enough time for Guty to make it to Las Vegas. His cell phone pinged there, and officers there tracked him down. Police believe he was trying to leave the country.
January 2, 2024 8:20 am
TOKYO (AP) — A passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft have collided on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda airport and burst into flames. TV footage showed a large burst of fire erupt from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied after landing. The area around the wing then caught fire. Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said all 379 occupants of the passenger plane got out safely. He said the pilot of the coast guard plane evacuated safely but the other five crewmembers were found dead. Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.
January 2, 2024 5:22 am
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Someone in Michigan has won an $842.4 million Powerball jackpot on the first day of 2024, the first time it has been won on New Year’s Day since the game’s start in 1992. The winning numbers drawn were: 12, 21, 42, 44, 49 and red Powerball: 1. Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $810 million to $842.4 million at the time of the drawing, making it the fifth-largest Powerball jackpot and 10th-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever won. Before the big win on New Year’s, the jackpot had been growing since mid-October. The chance of winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292.2 million.
January 2, 2024 5:19 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s two largest cities have come under Russian hypersonic ballistic missile attacks. Officials said the Tuesday morning assaults killed at least four people and injured almost 100, as the war approached its two-year milestone and the Kremlin’s forces stepped up their winter bombardment of urban areas. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four civilians were killed and 92 injured in the capital, Kyiv, and in northeastern Kharkiv as hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that can fly at 10 times the speed of sound slammed into city blocks. The barrage extended Russia’s escalated attacks on Ukraine in recent days that began on Friday with its largest single assault on Ukraine since the war started, in which at least 41 civilians were killed.
