November 1, 2022 4:10 am
PITTSBURGH — Pediatric hospitals across the country are filling up as cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are surging, which is leading to long wait times in the emergency room.Earlier Monday, the wait time at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh was longer than nine hours. Children’s Hospital tells our news partners at Channel 11 it’s seeing 20 to 30 cases of RSV per day, with average wait times between 3 and 4 hours. Dr. Raymond Pitetti, Director of Emergency Operations at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, says in 2019 they only saw 5 to 10 cases a day. He says they are evaluating each child to make sure anyone with critical needs is seen first. They haven’t opened any extra units yet, but it is in consideration. Pitetti says he believes RSV is hitting kids hard after years of masks protecting them while also preventing them from building immunity. If your child is in need of medical attention but it’s not critical, Pitetti encourages you go to an urgent care or your pediatrician, where the waits will be shorter, and leave Children’s care to kids in greater need.
November 1, 2022 2:45 am
A Canton Township man whose house was raided to find drugs and five other people pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Sherman Haddix, 48 pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of simple possession for his role in a March incident that had state police raid his residence. During a house search, marijuana, suspected crack a hand gun and $2000 cash were found. Three of the others found at the home are serving jail sentences for conspiracy possession charges. The final two have their cases working through the courts. Haddix received a sentence of 12 months probation.
November 1, 2022 2:43 am
PennDOT has released plans for a bridge liner project in the Mon Valley. Officials say the work will be completed in Speers Borough on a bridge that crosses a tributary to the Monongahela River. The work zone is adjacent to the Interstate 70 West ramps and the Norfolk Southern Railway. The plan is to reinforce the existing structure and install a structural plate pipe-arch liner system on an aggregate bed. This work will not cause any road closures, as two lanes of traffic will be open throughout the project. Other roadway improvements in the area will be completed including new guide rails. This project is set to cost between $800,000- $1,000,000 with the timeline for work set between April and August of next year. Renderings and other information on this project can be found on the PennDOT District 12 website.
November 1, 2022 2:37 am
A third suspect in a shooting on Ridge Avenue in May was formally arraigned on Monday. Brandon Allen, 31 of Washington pleaded not guilty to 10 criminal charges for his role in the killing of 58 year old Kristin Barfield. Barfield was sitting on her boyfriend’s front porch when gunfire broke out and struck her in the chest according to police. Allen faces felony charges of homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and conspiracy aggravated assault along with prohibited possession of a fire arm. His case will be joined with two other suspects in the shooting, 15 year old Tyriq Moss and 17 year old Juan Worthy. Moss is being charged as an adult. Allen is accused of driving the car while Moss fired the gun. A December 14 trial status conference is scheduled for all three defendants.
November 1, 2022 2:15 am
Washington City Council is working on the 2023 budget and in its agenda meeting on Monday, Finance Director Ken Westcott stated that his staff is sharpening its pencils to get the city’s budget balanced. Westcott stated that currently the budget is showing a deficit of less than $100,000 but anticipated revenues and further spending cuts have Westcott confident that the city will have a balanced budget and will not need tax increase in 2023. During department reports, Fire Chief Chris Richer announced that the department entered into another partnership, this time with AAA. A recent bicycle accident with a car and several other bike accidents throughout the year caused him to reach out to the organization and they have donated 150 brand new bicycle helmets with the commitment of 100 more in the spring. The fire department just wrapped up Fire Prevention Month with 46 visits to schools impressing on students the importance of fire safety. Council will meet for their voting meeting on Thursday afternoon at 1PM.
October 31, 2022 9:36 am
MORBI, India (AP) – Military teams are searching for people missing after a 143-year-old pedestrian bridge collapsed into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Sunday evening, killing at least 133 people. As families mourned the dead, attention was turning Monday to the reasons for the colonial era bridge’s collapse, which plunged more than 100 people into the Machchu river. Live video reports showed hundreds of people clinging to the broken structure and trying to make their way to safety. The suspension bridge had reopened four days earlier after six months of repairs. Officials said it was overloaded with tourists drawn to the attraction during the Hindu festival season.
October 31, 2022 6:25 am
A Carroll Township man was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday night in Union Township. The Washington County Coroner’s office says 54 year old Frank Eckels was pronounced dead at the scene. He was traveling south on State Route 88 when he crossed into the northbound lane and struck an oncoming vehicle near the intersection of Patterson Road just after 6:30 p.m. He was not wearing a helmet. No other details are currently available. Monongahela City Police continue to investigate.
October 31, 2022 4:35 am
The Washington Country Transportation Authority has taken a first step towards construction of its first bus maintenance and storage facility. Freedom Transit says it has closed on a 12-acre property in South Strabane Township. The property is currently the site of Tower Golf and the Amish Touch store just across Berry Road from Strabane Square. According to Executive Director Sheila Gombita, the property was purchased for $3.2 million and will be developed into an 88,000 square foot facility to include; bus storage, maintenance bays, a mechanical bus wash, outdoor CNG and gasoline fueling stations, and office space for dispatch and operations staff. Federal and state dollars were used to purchase the property. Gombita says the total project carries a price tag of some $48 million. Federal Transit Administration , PennDOT and a small percentage of local match dollars will be used to fund construction. The tentative timeline for the project to be completed is Fall of 2025. Gombita says the facility will help the agency efficiently maintain buses, improve service and meet safety requirements.
October 31, 2022 4:21 am
SAO PAULO (AP) – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has done it again: Twenty years after first winning the Brazilian presidency, the leftist defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro Sunday in an extremely tight election that marks an about-face for the country after four years of far-right politics. With more than 99% of the votes tallied in the runoff vote, da Silva had 50.9% and Bolsonaro 49.1%, and the election authority said da Silva’s victory was a mathematical certainty. It is a stunning reversal for da Silva, 77, whose 2018 imprisonment over a corruption scandal sidelined him from the 2018 election that brought Bolsonaro, a defender of conservative social values, to power.
October 31, 2022 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home carried zip ties with him when he broke in. That word comes from a person briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition to anonymity to The Associated Press. It’s the latest parallel to the U.S. Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Police say the suspect confronted 82-year-old Paul Pelosi early Friday and, according to AP reporting, demanded to know, “Where is Nancy? Rioters who swarmed the Capitol trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory over Donald Trump roamed the halls and shouted menacingly, demanding “Where’s Nancy?” Some in the siege were seen inside the Capitol carrying zip ties.
