Legislation to eliminate school property taxes in Pennsylvania was unveiled by Rep. Frank Ryan (R-Lebanon) Tuesday in the state capitol. The measure, House Bill 13, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, would replace 100% of school property taxes. Ryan’s legislation would broaden the sources for the funding of Pennsylvania’s schools to some expanded and new levies, so that burden of paying for education does not fall squarely on the backs of homeowners…

Ryan added that these changes will also help prepare the state’s 500 school districts to deal successfully with an upcoming financial crisis.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association’s biannual art competition promotes awareness of the labor movement. Andrea Sears reports from Harrisburg. Click on ‘play’ to hear Andrea’s report…

Officials say the former president of Slippery Rock University has died. Robert Aebersold died last week from medical complications in Greensboro, North Carolina. The 83-year-old served the university from 1984 to 1997 and is credited with developing its dance program and physical therapy program.

A few dozen junior hunters around the Commonwealth will soon get a crack at bagging a wild pheasant. The state Game Commission says it’s holding a lottery during which 38 youth hunters between the ages of 12 and 16 will be approved to hunt wild pheasant roosters on two Saturday mornings, on either November 2nd or Ninth. Young hunters who get the OK will then be able to, while accompanied by an adult guardian, go out with an assigned mentor and try their luck. Applications to be in the lottery are due by September 15th, and those chosen will be notified following a random drawing on the Seventeenth with all the details they need to take part.

A bill aiming at improving pipeline safety and communication in P-A is being considered in Harrisburg. House Bill 15-68, if voted into law, would create a Pipeline Safety and Communication Board that would improve communication and transparency on public safety issues regarding the pipelines with public and government agencies. Rep. Chris Quinn (R-Delaware), who co-sponsored House Bill 1568, said he is primarily concerned with improving communication between agencies that must coordinate to ensure public safety in areas that host pipelines carrying hazardous materials…

The bill is currently in the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.

Police report that a man from Butler County is accused of walking into a Cranberry Township church and talking about a mass shooting. Edwin Leech entered Victory Church during an early morning prayer service and reportedly began to scream that he was the second Messiah. Leech allegedly added he was going to teach them a lesson on how to treat people. Police say Leech didn’t directly threaten anyone at the church but did admit to having mental problems.

Investigators say they made a horrifying discovery in New Kensington yesterday. They recovered the body of an elderly woman from the bedroom of a home that had the door and all of its vents duct-taped shut. It’s believed her body was there for months. Humane officials rescued 19 cats from the property. An autopsy is being done on the woman to determine her cause of death. A dog and another cat didn’t survive.

A New Castle teen has been charged for posting nude photos of a woman on social media. New Castle City Police have charged 18 year old Seth Heaney of Croton Avenue with unlawful dissemination of an intimate image. The victim told police that a friend also showed her screen shots of a Snapchat conversation with Heaney asking her to post the pictures on social media for money.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Pittsburgh reports a New Castle doctor pleaded guilty to prescribing and distributing dangerous drugs, at federal court in Pittsburgh. 66 year old Dr. Thomas Ranieri pleaded guilty to 14 federal counts. Authorities say from January to June 2013, he prescribed and distributed quantities of drugs like oxycodone and fentanyl “outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.” Ranieri will be sentenced in January. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both.

A man from Mount Lebanon will be in a Beaver County courtroom Monday after being accused of hitting a coworker with a metal pipe several times. Murat Kapitonov is free on 25-thousand-dollars bail following the alleged attack at Champion Concrete on 12th Street July 23rd. According to Midland police, the 42-year-old reportedly hit Dilyavar Oslamov during an argument over a work truck. Kapitonov told police he only hit Oslamov to defend himself.