August 17, 2023 4:42 am
Washington County Commissioners began their August meeting by rejecting submissions for engineering services, consulting and bid specs for repairs to the Courthouse Square Building. According to Commissioner Chairwoman Diana Irey-Vaughan, commissioners are revisiting the idea of rehabilitating Courthouse Square, three years after purchasing the Crossroads Center Building. Irey-Vaughn states that the building has been found to be structurally sound despite earlier concerns that contributed to the purchase of the new building. She further indicates that the county needs to have more office space and the Courthouse Square building would go a long way to fulfill that need. Commissioner Larry Maggi was in favor of the rehabilitation three years ago and still is today. He indicated that the county does need space. He is in favor of the project and now needs to see what the costs of rehabilitation will be and where that money will be found. Maggi was reluctant in his support of the purchase of the Crossroads Building saying that he felt that the new building could have come at a better price. The construction firm SiteLogIQ has been hired to serve as the construction manager for the project.
August 16, 2023 5:39 pm
(WPXI) – Six people are now dead after an explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum Borough that destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen more. Heather Oravitz, 51, community development director for the borough, lived in the house that exploded and was killed, the Plum Borough mayor confirms. Her husband, Paul Oravitz, was in the hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries. Two people who were taken to the hospital in stable condition and have since been released and fifty-seven firefighters were treated at the scene due to “minor issues.” The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
August 16, 2023 4:57 pm
ATLANTA (AP) — The prosecutor in Atlanta who obtained an indictment this week against former President Donald Trump and 18 others wants to take the case to trial in March. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a proposed scheduling order filed with the court Wednesday that she wants the trial to start on March 4. She is also proposing that arraignments for the defendants happen the week of Sept. 5. Trump and 18 others were indicted Monday by a Fulton County grand jury. They are accused of committing various crimes as part of a scheme to keep Trump in power after his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
August 16, 2023 1:45 pm
(AP) – Former West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins has entered a 12-month diversion program to resolve a drunken driving arrest. Huggins had been scheduled for a formal arraignment on Thursday. But court records in Pittsburgh show that the hearing was canceled last month after he was accepted into the program. Under the agreement, his one-year probation period can be done after six months if he meets all conditions, including completion of an alcohol treatment program. Huggins was assessed $2,810 in court costs and fees and his driver’s license was suspended for at least 60 days. Huggins was arrested June 16 and West Virginia announced he had resigned the next day.
August 16, 2023 5:09 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Transgender rights are taking center stage in North Carolina as the GOP-controlled General Assembly plans votes Wednesday seeking to override the governor’s veto of legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors. The state House is to cast the first vote Wednesday afternoon seeking to enact the bill over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition. The Senate said it could take the decisive, final vote as early as Wednesday evening. Republicans hold narrow veto-proof majorities in both chambers, indicating Cooper’s veto is likely be overridden. If the override drive succeeds, North Carolina would become the 22nd state to enact legislation restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.
August 16, 2023 5:08 am
Washington (AP) — Congressional leaders are pitching a stopgap government funding package to avoid a federal shutdown after next month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raised the idea to House Republicans on a members-only call. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the two leaders had spoken about such a temporary measure. It’s an acknowledgement the Republican-led House and Democratic Senate are nowhere near agreement on spending levels. The fiscal year starts Oct. 1, when funding will be needed. The stopgap measure would fund operations into December but McCarthy needs support from Republicans who are loathe to agree as they push for steeper cuts.
August 16, 2023 5:07 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is asserting Pvt. Travis King bolted across the border last month after becoming disillusioned with the inequality of American society and racial discrimination in its Army. The state media report Wednesday was the first word on North Korea’s detention of King. It said North Korea’s investigation into King’s “illegal” entry would continue. It’s impossible to verify the authenticity of the comments attributed to King. The United States and others have accused North Korea of using past detainees to wrest diplomatic concessions. A U.S. Defense Department official said the Pentagon was working to bring King back to the U.S. The soldier’s family said his mother is appealing to North Korea to treat her son humanely.
August 16, 2023 5:03 am
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Maui County released the names of two people killed in the wildfire that all but incinerated the historic town of Lahaina Tuesday evening, as the death toll rose to 106. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of coroners, pathologists and technicians along with exam tables, X-ray units and other equipment to identify victims and process remains, said Jonathan Greene, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for response. The county said in a statement Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79 were among the dead, the first people so named. A further three victims have been identified, the county wrote, and their names will be released once the county has identified their next of kin.
August 16, 2023 4:53 am
The North Strabane Board of Supervisors moved forward with plans for their next legislative meeting. The board recognized four structures to be demolished under the 2023 Community Development Block Grant allocation with the Washington County Redevelopment Authority. Only one of those sites is owned by the township, a rare occurrence. The rest is from requests by property owners. Property owners see value in not having to deal with unused property anymore, and they can move forward with using that land for future use. The board discussed amendments to the township fee schedule for wireless facilities for cell phone service. Last month the board amended where the facilities could be placed. Policies and procedures in place at the federal and state government levels, limit charges to people who want to and entities that want to place tower based non tower based small WCF within the township. For a large tower base, the application fee will be $2,500. A non-tower which or antenna on a structure is $1,000. A small wireless facility, the cost is $1,000. A colocation on a wire, it’s $500. For small wireless right of way maintenance fee, it’s $270 a year. After Linden Vue Drive residents submitted a request for a traffic calming policy will have a future meeting. The area requested is between Linden Creek and Forest Lane Roads. The first step is requesting and screening driver speeds. The traffic engineer agreed to proceed to step 2 of the policy, a discussion on fixing the issue. Future steps are supervisor approval and installation of approved measures. It was the second time in the five years he’s been the township manager that Andrew Walz, has seen the calming policy request. The process depends on the PennDOT handbook and the grade of the road. It could be anything from speed humps, to rumble strips. In similar news residents of Greenwood Drive are requesting stop signs at certain intersections. Recommendations may be in time for the legislative meeting later this month or in September.
August 16, 2023 4:49 am
In 2019, Governor Tom Wolf funded a $2.5 million study to be overseen by the Department of Health regarding effects of Unconventional Natural Gas Development otherwise known as “fracking” on the health of Pennsylvanians. In 2020 the DOH authorized the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health to perform an epidemiological study that asked the question “Does living near unconventional natural gas development activities or other environmental hazards in Southwest Pennsylvania increase the risk of specific health issues?” The study concentrated on three main areas, Asthma, Birth Outcomes and Childhood Cancer. Results of that study were revealed Tuesday at the Natali Student Center on the campus of PennWest California University. According to Alison Steele, Executive Director of the Environmental Health Project, the results were what she expected. Because epidemiological studies only show correlation and not causation she was not surprised at the results. In the area of adverse birth outcomes, the study learned that babies born to mothers living near actively producing wells had babies that were born 1 ounce lighter than average. That lighter weight poses no significant risk. In the Asthma study, there was a strong link between actively producing wells and severe exacerbations of asthma and hospital emergency department visits for people living within 10 miles of an active well. They also have a 4-5 times greater risk of having an asthma attack. The disappointing result for the audience was with Childhood Cancer. No associations were found between fracking activities and the development of childhood leukemia, brain or bone cancers including Ewing’s Sarcoma. Ther results did show that children living within a mile of one or more wells had a 5-7 times more likelihood of developing lymphoma. A two hour question and answer period displayed frustration from the audience. They wanted to know why this type of study was performed. They are looking for studies that relate to radioactive elements in the soil and water along with air pollution studies. A written statement put out by the DOH after the meeting states that they are working on implementing the findings of the Statewide 43rd Grand Jury report released by then Attorney General, now Governor Josh Shapiro regarding fracking activities.
