Legislators and activists gathered in Harrisburg to call for updates to Pennsylvania law that would extend anti-discrimination and hate crime protection to LGBTQ Pennsylvanians. Don Rooney has more…
A state lawmaker from our area wants to make a major change in concealed-carry laws. Representative Aaron Bernstine recently announced plans to abolish the requirement to have a concealed carry permit in Pennsylvania. The lawmaker says the right to carry a gun should not be questioned, but pro-permit activists say gun owners should have proper training.
Several hundred young people are urging lawmakers in Harrisburg to increase the sales age for tobacco in Pennsylvania. More than 600 members of the Tobacco Resistance Unit spoke with lawmakers prior to a rally Tuesday at the state capital. The group wants the age raised from 18 to 21 for all tobacco products. It’s reported 12 other states have already made a similar move.
A proposal to expand a private school tax Credit program is moving on from the state House of Representatives. The measure nearly doubles the Educational Improvement Tax Credit and would expand eligibility limits for families looking to qualify for the private school scholarships created by the program. Representative Matt Gabler (R-Clearfield & Elk) supported the legislation and said the expansion will help to allow more students to access the educational programs they need…
All House Republicans and four Democrats voted in favor of the measure.
A missing 90-year-old man from Hopewell Township is found safe. Family members hadn’t seen William Palumbo since his vehicle was spotted near the Steubenville Pike Eat-‘N-Park in Robinson Township Tuesday afternoon. Police aren’t saying where Palumbo was found or what led to his disappearance.
Six people are displaced after a fire broke out late last night at an apartment building in Rochester. When firefighters arrived at the scene on Riverview Street, they saw flames coming from a third-floor window. Fire officials say the fire started in the living room of an apartment. The six people who were displaced are receiving assistance from the Red Cross. Two cats were also displaced.
PennDOT District 11 is announcing a traffic shift on Route 18 (Brodhead Road) in Monaca Borough began today. Beginning at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Route 18 traffic will be shifted into two 10-foot wide lanes on the bridge over Markeys Run between Old Brodhead Road and the railroad overpass continuously through Friday, June 21. Crews will conduct concrete patching and a latex placement on the bridge. The work is part of an $11.86 million improvement project on Route 18 between the Rochester-Monaca Bridge and the new I-376 Monaca/Shippingport interchange. Additional work includes guiderail upgrades, drainage work, shoulder repairs, and signal updates.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH, 2019
TODAY – PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 74.
TONIGHT – SOME CLOUDS. LOW NEAR 60.
THURSDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING LATER IN THE DAY. HIGH
NEAR 80.
Vázquez gets revenge on Gallo, Pirates nip Rangers 5-4
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Felipe Vázquez doesn’t let his failures linger. That wouldn’t help the Pittsburgh Pirates closer be any good at his job. Still, he wanted another shot at Texas slugger Joey Gallo. Getting touched for a 467-foot home run will do that.
So when setup man Kyle Crick hit a batter with two outs in the eighth on Tuesday night and the Pirates nursing a one-run lead, Vázquez knew if everything went right, he’d see Gallo as the last man up.
The outcome this time was different. Far different. Three pitches. Three strikes. The last two both clocked at 101 mph, followed by a fist pump, a smile and the obligatory jab to catcher Francisco Cervelli’s chest in celebration after the Pirates escaped with a 5-4 win.
“My turn,” Vázquez said after picking up his 10th save. “He got me once. He’s not going to get me twice. I knew as soon as Crick hit that guy, I was like, ‘Yeah.’ I wanted him to be up for sure. I wanted to get a little revenge in here.”
Gallo’s moon shot in the 11th last Tuesday didn’t spoil Pittsburgh’s 6-4 win, and the hard-throwing All-Star tried to play it off in the aftermath, tweeting he thought it might go “500 feet.”
“You’ve got to have fun,” Vázquez said. “You cannot get frustrated. At least me. I’m a closer. I can’t get frustrated. I cannot carry all that to my next start.”
Vázquez’s emphatic strikeout ended the only perfect inning for Pittsburgh’s bullpen. The Pirates relied on spot starter Steven Brault and six relievers to win for the fifth time in six games. Brault lasted four innings while filling in for injured Chris Archer. Michael Feliz (1-0) pitched a scoreless fifth and the Pirates survived to improve to 16-5 in their last 21 interleague games.
“It’s a night we were tough enough,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “We had enough pitches.”
POLANCO PRODUCES
Pittsburgh right fielder Gregory Polanco sent a two-run shot to the first row of seats in right-center off Adrian Sampson (0-2) in the fifth, his first since dislocating his left shoulder in an awkward slide last September.
Polanco underwent surgery shortly after mangling his shoulder on Sept. 4. He returned a bit earlier than expected and is still working to rediscover the power that led him to hit a career-high 23 home runs in 2018. He entered Tuesday hitting .250 with one RBI in 10 games and spent the pregame focusing on using his lower body more to compensate for a left shoulder he admitted is still “weak.”
Polanco singled in his first at-bat — before getting caught stealing at second, though his slide was just fine — and lined out to right in the third. In the fifth, he turned on a pitch from Sampson to put Pittsburgh ahead 5-2.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be like right away because obviously this is not 100 percent,” Polanco said while touching his shoulder. “This is still weak. But, you know, it’s getting there. It’s getting there.”
HOT HUNTER
Hunter Pence drove in all four runs for Texas, doubling twice and adding his fourth home run. The rest of the Rangers went 2 for 27. Texas stranded eight runners and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Manager Chris Woodward could start giving Pence more opportunities going forward. The 36-year-old is now hitting .333 with 17 RBIs while serving as part of an outfield rotation.
“We definitely need to find a way to get him in there more often,” Woodward said. “He deserves playing time. He really does. Obviously, I think everybody is taking notice.”
LECLERC BOUNCES BACK
The Rangers took José Leclerc out of the closer’s role last week after he blew a save against the Pirates. He threw a shutout inning of relief in Toronto over the weekend and allowed just one baserunner in two innings of work on Tuesday.
“To see José get two scoreless, it’s really cool to see him having success,” Woodward said. “I feel pretty confident that not too long from now, he’s going to be back in his role that he had.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Archer (right thumb inflammation) did some flat-ground work on Tuesday but remains out indefinitely. … RHP Keone Kela sat out his second straight game with right shoulder soreness.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Shelby Miller (1-2, 7.99 ERA) has allowed four runs in each of his last five starts heading into Wednesday’s series finale. He took the loss against Pittsburgh last week, surrendering four runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Pirates: Nick Kingham (1-0, 6.39) makes his first start of the season, filling in for Archer. Kingham went 5-7 with a 5.32 ERA in 15 starts as a rookie in 2018.
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Republicans move expanded ed tax credits through state House
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania House are moving a proposal ahead to expand a private school tax credit program.
Representatives voted 111 to 85 Tuesday to nearly double the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, increasing it by $100 million.
The bill also includes an automatic 10 percent increase, if all available credits are used in a given year.
All Republicans and four Democrats voted for it, advancing the proposal to the Senate.
The 18-year-old tax credit program reimburses corporations for donating to groups that offer private school scholarships to low- and middle-income families.
The bill would expand eligibility limits from families that make $85,000 to families with income of $95,000.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf says he’s hesitant to boost business tax credits at the expense of education funding that goes into classrooms.