August 18, 2022 4:07 am
Canon-McMillan School Board members once again heard negative feedback over the recently approved updated mascot for the school district. The highlander mascot that has been in use since 1954 was redesigned and that redesign has caused much controversy. Former board member Darla Monaco presented board members with a petition signed by 468 residents that are against it. Markus Solobay called the mascot image “satanic and demonic”. Karen Krashna Moran wished more people were involved with the decision making process. Ann Marie Miller loves the new design and is excited to see it displayed everywhere. The new mascot was adopted during the June 29 school board meeting by a 7-2 vote. There does, however, seem to some confusion among some residents over the fact that the new highlander design (pictured) is just as the mascot and is not the new logo for the school district.
August 18, 2022 2:29 am
A Washington man accused of a drive by shooting in July had his preliminary hearing on Wednesday. Russell Porter, 26 is accused of firing a gun at Bailey Batch while their vehicles were stopped at a red light at the intersection of E. Wylie and Allison Avenues. During testimony, Batch identified Porter as the shooter of her car and described how events unfolded. She identified a passenger in her car during the shooting as well. The District Attorney filed charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. He amended the charges and doubled them due to the passenger in Batch’s car at the time of the shooting. All charges were held for court, the defense request for bond was denied and Porter will remain in the Washington County Jail.
August 17, 2022 5:28 pm
CLEVELAND (AP) – A federal judge in Cleveland has awarded $650 million in damages to two Ohio counties that sued pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart saying their opioid distribution policies created a public nuisance. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster released the award amounts in a ruling issued Wednesday. A jury returned in November ruled in favor of Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland after a six-week trial. Polster then conducted a hearing to determine how much the counties should receive. The damage awards are meant to help the counties abate a continuing opioid crisis. Their counties’ attorneys said it would take $3.3 billion total for the counties to abate the crisis.
August 17, 2022 8:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The pace of sales at U.S. retailers was unchanged last month as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates forced many households to spend more cautiously. Retail purchases were flat in July after having risen 0.8% in June, the Commerce Department reported. America’s consumers, whose spending accounts for nearly 70% of economic activity, have remained mostly resilient even with inflation near a four-decade high, economic uncertainties rising and mortgage and other borrowing rates surging. Still, their overall spending has weakened, and it has shifted increasingly toward necessities like groceries and away from discretionary items like home goods, casual clothes and electronics.
August 17, 2022 4:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has signed Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill. It’s the “final piece” of the president’s pared-down domestic agenda as he aims to boost his party’s standing with voters ahead of midterm elections. Biden says, “The American people won, and the special interests lost.” The legislation includes the biggest federal investment ever to fight climate change – some $375 billion over a decade. It also caps prescription drug costs at $2,000 out-of-pocket annually for Medicare recipients, and helps an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.
August 17, 2022 4:06 am
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and her Trump-endorsed Republican rival Kelly Tshibaka have advanced from Tuesday’s primary. Meanwhile, Republican Sarah Palin was among the candidates advancing to the November general election in the race for Alaska’s only House seat. Under a voter-approved elections process, party primaries have been replaced with open primaries in which the top four vote-getters in each race advance to the general election. Ranked voting is being used in general elections. Murkowski and Tshibaka earned two of the slots in the Senate race. In the House primary, Democrat Mary Peltola, Palin and Republican Nick Begich advanced to the November election as results continued to be tabulated.
August 17, 2022 4:05 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Rudy Giuliani is scheduled to appear in an Atlanta courthouse to testify before a special grand jury in an investigation into possible illegal attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia. It’s not clear how much the former New York mayor and attorney for former President Donald Trump will be willing to say now that his lawyers have been notified that he’s a target of the investigation. Any questioning that does happen Wednesday will take place behind closed doors because the special grand jury proceedings are secret.
August 17, 2022 4:03 am
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican adversary in Congress, has been defeated in a GOP primary. She fell Tuesday to Harriet Hageman, a rival backed by the former president, in a rout that reinforced his grip on the party’s base. Cheney is describing her loss as the beginning of a new chapter, telling supporters that “our work is far from over.” She says she “will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office.” Cheney’s political future beyond Capitol Hill could include a 2024 presidential run, potentially putting her on another collision course with Trump.
August 17, 2022 3:59 am
North Strabane Township Supervisors held two public hearings before beginning their agenda meeting on Tuesday night. The first meeting that took nearly an hour had developers of a 62 unit apartment building participate in a conditional use hearing. The development is called Ashford Place and the applicant is Weavertown Place LLC. The conditional use hearing was held to allow the public to comment on whether they feel that developers are meeting zoning ordinance requirements. The development is to be located on Morganza Road adjacent to the Morgan’s Point residential development. Public comment centered on issues of privacy and child safety, traffic and safety of building materials used. The second hearing was for a conditional use application by 84 Lumber to develop a two story office park on a parcel of land that contains the existing fitness center and training center. The development will be a single building consisting of 4500 square feet of office space per floor. Supervisors are scheduled to vote on both issues at their legislative meeting on August 23.
August 17, 2022 3:58 am
CALIFORNIA BOROUGH, Pa. — (WPXI) – A person was taken to the hospital after being hit by a train in California Borough on Tuesday. According to Washington County 911, police, fire and EMS crews were called to the railroad tracks near the intersection of Union Street and 1st Street at around 9:15 p.m. for the incident. No other injuries were reported. Additional details are limited at this time.
