September 28, 2022 4:16 am
HAVANA (AP) – Cuba is in the dark after Hurricane Ian knocked out the power grid and devastated some of the country’s most important tobacco farms when it hit the island’s western tip as a major storm. Cuba’s Electric Union says authorities were working to gradually restore service overnight to the country’s 11 million people. Ian hit a Cuba that has been struggling with an economic crisis and has had frequent power outages in recent months. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the island’s western end, devastating Pinar del Río province, where much of the tobacco used for Cuba’s iconic cigars is grown.
September 28, 2022 4:15 am
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Hurricane Ian has made landfall in southwestern Florida as a massive Category 4 storm. About 2.5 million people had been ordered to evacuate the area before the storm hit the coast on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph). The storm was heading inland, where it was expected to weaken, but residents in central Florida could still experience hurricane-force winds. Before making its way through the Gulf of Mexico to hit Florida, Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane Tuesday, killing two people and bringing down the country’s electrical grid.
September 28, 2022 4:07 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors met Tuesday night and an item buried deep in the agenda was the authorization of a separation agreement between the township and its police chief Brian Hughes. No details were given during the meeting before supervisors voted unanimously 4-0 to enter into the agreement. Township Manager Andrew Walz would not comment on the item citing it as a personnel issue but he did indicate a right to know request can be filed at the end of the week. In other business supervisors granted the developers of Ashford Place their conditional use application adding several conditions to the application before the vote. The development is a single building multifamily construction. Some of those conditions required are a height restriction of not more than three stories, a 49 unit maximum for the building, a privacy fence and building line that will be measured from the nearest point of a right of way and not from the property line. Prior to the meeting a public hearing was held to review changes to the township’s zoning ordinance recommended by Planning and Zoning Director Anthony Asciolla. Items under consideration are an annual permitting process to regulate the operations of Air BnB and VRBO properties, less restrictive rules for keeping chickens and new regulations for beekeepers. Electric vehicle charging stations were also addressed in the proposed new ordinance. Citizens may view the changes for the next 30 days.
September 28, 2022 2:17 am
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh says a Pittsburgh man is facing multiple charges following an incident in Washington earlier this month. Walsh says 23-year-old Mark Kwiatkowski faces charges of simple assault, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct after he brandished a weapon following a verbal altercation near South Forrest and East Pine Avenues. Walsh says Kwiatkowski was visiting his brother at Washington and Jefferson College on September 10th and was exiting his vehicle when he overheard people making comments about his driving skills. A verbal argument ensued and Walsh says that’s when a witness claimed that Kwiatkowski pulled out a gun and waved it in the air. Walsh says he later admitted to having a gun concealed in the waistband of his pants and police later found an unloaded 9 MM semi-automatic pistol wrapped in a towel in his brother’s closet.
September 28, 2022 2:10 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — (WPXI) – Kennywood Park has unveiled new security measures for the first weekend the park is open again after Saturday’s shooting that left three people hurt, including two teenagers. In a release from park officials, the new security measures are as follows:
- Increased Police Support: In addition to our security team, we are doubling the number of police officers contracted through local law enforcement agencies for each night of Phantom Fall Fest. There will be a more visible police presence at the entrance and throughout the park. Kennywood leadership will be more clearly visible in uniform red jackets, as well.
- Perimeter Enhancements: Park teams have cut down trees along the fence line bordering Route 837 to improve sight lines. New flood lights and security cameras are being installed for better monitoring, and ongoing security patrols in that area will increase significantly.
- Chaperone Policy Updates: Guests age 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age (with valid ID) to enter the park at all times during Phantom Fall Fest.
- Park Entrance Policies: With the weapons detection system working as designed since its installation this spring, the park’s prior screening system has been removed to eliminate guest confusion. New signage is being installed to inform guests they are entering a security screening area. Though the new system is able to screen bags and individuals via cameras and metal detection to identify those in need of further inspection, we will implement additional spot checking of bags as a precautionary measure.
- New Bag Policy: Only bags within the dimensions of 8″ x 5″ x 1″, as well as medical and diaper bags, are permitted.
- Facial Coverings: Masks that cover some or all of a person’s face are not permitted to be worn by any guest after 6 p.m. The only exceptions are surgical masks or N95/KN95 masks as recommended as a precaution against COVID-19. If masks of this nature are worn, they must be free from additional coverings including but not limited to fake blood, makeup or coloring.
Kennywood Park general manager Mark Pauls said there was weapons detection is effect on Saturday night and that the fence line was being patrolled by police and security. They also said they don’t know how the gun got in to the park. Investigators and park officials have not confirmed whether the gunman was able to bypass the new security system when he entered the park with a gun.
September 27, 2022 4:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – All 50 states have received final approval to begin construction on a first nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations that places one roughly every 50 miles along interstate highways. It’s part of the Biden administration’s plan to spur widespread adoption of zero-emission cars. The Transportation Department approved plans Tuesday for the last set of 17 states that will install or upgrade fast chargers along 75,000 miles of highway, coast to coast. By year’s end, drivers could start seeing shiny upgrades to existing highway EV stations in states including California, Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania.
September 27, 2022 12:45 pm
The Allegheny County Health Department announced today that a second human case of West Nile virus has been recorded in Allegheny County this year. The agency identified the person as a man in his 60s who lives in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. He experienced mild symptoms and was never hospitalized for the virus and has since recovered from the illness. According to a news release, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported eight other cases of West Nile virus this year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ACHD said it has set up more mosquito traps in Brighton Heights as part of its West Nile surveillance efforts. It has also treated five other areas where West Nile has been detected with a mosquito pesticide called Zenivex E20. The pesticide isn’t harmful to humans or pets.
September 27, 2022 4:23 am
Experts say the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade appears to be sending more teens to their doctors in search of birth control, including long-acting reversible forms like intrauterine devices and implants. Waits for appointments are growing in some areas, Planned Parenthood is getting a flood of questions and doctors report demand even among teens who aren’t sexually active. Some patients are especially fearful because some of the new abortion laws don’t include exceptions for sexual assault. Dr. Peggy Stager said dedicated spots for insertion of the Nexplanon implant are consistently filled at her Ohio practice and requests for contraceptive refills have increased 30% to 40% since the Court’s June ruling.
September 27, 2022 4:23 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A NASA spacecraft has rammed an asteroid in an unprecedented test to see if a potentially menacing space rock could be knocked off course. The galactic grand slam occurred at a harmless asteroid 7 million miles away Monday. The Dart spacecraft plowed into the small space rock at 14,000 mph. Scientists say the impact should have carved out a crater and hurled streams of rocks and dirt into space. Most importantly, though, scientists are hoping the collision altered the asteroid’s orbit. NASA won’t know how much the spacecraft nudged the asteroid for a couple of months.
September 27, 2022 4:21 am
TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s hawkish former leader Shinzo Abe was honored by a rare and divisive state funeral that was full of militaristic presentation like soldiers carrying his ashes in a box brought by his widow and praise of his nine-year premiership. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the publicly financed ceremony was a deserved honor for Japan’s longest-serving modern political leader, but it has deeply split public opinion. The event attended by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and other foreign and Japanese dignitaries. Kishida eulogized Abe as having a clear vision for economic growth and development and promoting the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” as a counter to China’s rise.
