December 20, 2022 4:14 am
Peters Township Council received bad news again on construction bids for an aquatic center that is proposed to be built at Rolling Hills Park. Bids received last week showed a low base bid of $17,355,000 from Hudson Group. According to Township Manager Paul Lauer, the original proposed budget for the pool was $10.8 million in 2019. Bids received in 2020 found the project to be estimated at more than $13 million dollars. Council rejected those bids and authorized staff in 2021 to rebid the project again on a smaller scale and allow the next council to make decisions since the face of council changed with three new members coming on board in 2022. Given those numbers Lauer anticipates that the bids will be rejected. He feels that for the time being the issue will be paused until a solution is found.
December 20, 2022 4:12 am
PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania’s former top law enforcement officer, who once served jail time for leaking secret investigative files and lying about it, has been acquitted of drunken driving. A Lackawanna County judge on Monday acquitted former Attorney General Kathleen Kane of drunken driving and careless driving after a one-day bench trial in Scranton. The 56-year—old former attorney general was charged by Scranton police after she got into a minor car crash on March 12. Kane denied that she was intoxicated. Kane, the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general, spent eight months behind bars for perjury and other counts.
December 20, 2022 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Lions Clubs across Pennsylvania are being advised to “be extra vigilant” concerning bank accounts and transactions after thieves targeted at least two clubs in the state. A Facebook post from the Pennsylvania State Council of Lions Clubs’ acting administrator reports that incidents have been reported in club chapter 14-B, which serves Allegheny County, as well as 14-E, which serves Westmoreland County. Dr. Kamal Gella, the district governor for 14-B says scammers have managed to duplicate the service organization’s checks. The thief or thieves also managed to get a cashier’s check with the organization’s account numbers. With the investigation ongoing, he didn’t want to state exactly how much money had been stolen, but he wanted to make sure the community is aware of these types of schemes. “It can happen to any one of us. When we write a check and we mail it, the check has our account number and routing number,” he said. “This new scam is getting ahold of the check, photoshopping a signature and ordering checks.” He said “some banks were able to catch it, (but) some banks were not able to catch it.”
December 19, 2022 7:36 am
HONOLULU (AP) – Severe turbulence rocked a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu Sunday, seriously injuring 11 people in what an Hawaiian Airlines official called an isolated and unusual event. Jon Snook, the airline’s chief operating officer, says the flight was full, carrying 278 passengers and 10 crew members. Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Director Jim Ireland says 36 people received treatment, including those with nausea or minor injuries. He says 20 people were taken to hospitals, including 11 people deemed to be in serious condition. Snook says there was some internal damage to the aircraft. He says the seatbelt sign was on during the turbulence.
December 19, 2022 4:07 am
EL PASO, Texas (AP) – Cities along the U.S.-Mexico border are setting in motion humanitarian efforts including emergency shelter, food and transportation services ahead of an expected dramatic increase in the number of asylum-seekers as pandemic-era immigration restrictions are set to expire this week. Title 42, a public health rule in place since March 2020, has been used to deter migrants more than 2.5 million times and will expire Wednesday. In El Paso, one of the busiest Border Patrol sectors, officials are seeking state and federal aid as daily new arrivals could double from 2,400 and temperatures are set to drop below freezing.
December 19, 2022 4:06 am
More than half of 17.5 million users who responded to a Twitter poll created by billionaire Elon Musk over whether he should step down as head of the company had voted yes by the time the poll closed. There was no immediate announcement from Twitter, or Musk, about whether that would happen, though Musk said that he would abide by the results. Musk attended the World Cup final on Sunday and may be midflight on his way back to the U.S. early Monday. Musk has taken a number of unscientific polls on substantial issues facing the social media platform including whether to reinstate journalists that he had suspended from Twitter, a decision that created a lot of blowback.
December 19, 2022 4:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Jan. 6 committee has unveiled a criminal referral for former President Donald Trump, citing evidence that it says merits prosecution by the Justice Department. Among the crimes the panel cited at its final public meeting Monday are obstruction of an official proceeding, aiding in an insurrection and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The referral has mostly symbolic import, and it will ultimately be up to the Justice Department, which has been conducting its own investigation, to decide what charges, if any, to bring.
December 19, 2022 4:02 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Authorities in Ukraine’s capital say it’s being targeted in a new attack and a critical infrastructure point has been hit. The statement Monday morning came three days after what they described as one of Russia’s biggest attacks on Kyiv since the beginning of the war. The Kyiv city administration says more than 20 Iranian-made drones were detected over the capital’s air space and at least 15 were shot down. It added that a critical infrastructure point was hit, without giving more details. There are no immediate reports of casualties. Russia has been targeting energy infrastructure, including in Kyiv, as part of a strategy to try to freeze Ukrainians.
December 19, 2022 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – Four people were hurt and eight people were displaced after a car slammed into a house in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood late Saturday night. According to Pittsburgh police, the car hit the front of a house in the 2600 block of Woodland Avenue at around 2:15 a.m. Video shows a mangled car resting through the front of the home, with the front portion of the car on the front porch. Police said the driver was pinned between the car and the house. He was extricated and taken to an area hospital in stable condition. A child inside the house was taken to a hospital in stable condition. An adult was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition. A police officer was evaluated on scene for a hand injury, officials said. According to officials, an estimated eight people were displaced from the crash. The American Red Cross is assisting the people displaced.
December 19, 2022 2:56 am
A major road work spanning multiple municipalities in Washington County is just around the corner. PennDOT announced plans to display the Route 18 Pavement Preservation Project earlier this week. The work is slated to take place along Henderson Avenue in the City of Washington at the intersection with Route 844, and continue through Canton, Chartiers, and Mount Pleasant Townships to the intersection with Route 50. Resurfacing will be the main work, along with drainage improvements, guide rail and signage replacements and traffic signal replacements. Detours will be in place during the work period, which is scheduled to begin in April of 2023, with the overall project lasting until April of 2024. More information and details on the project can be found at the PennDOT District 12 website.
