Election Results in Pa. Official After Recount Completed

(AP Photo/File)

By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dr. Mehmet Oz has won Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Senate primary after a dayslong recount. The celebrity heart surgeon will face Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in November in a race that could help determine control of the closely divided Senate. The state revealed the results of the recount Wednesday, which determined that Oz had beaten former hedge fund CEO David McCormick by 951 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast. Oz had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Fetterman is recovering from a stroke he suffered four days before the May 17 primary election.

Plea Ends Case over 1995 Blaze that Killed 3 Firefighters

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man accused of having set a Pittsburgh blaze that killed three firefighters more than a quarter of a century ago has entered a plea that carries a conviction but spares him further jail time while allowing him to continue to maintain his innocence. Forty-four-year-old Gregory Brown Jr., who served 20 years of a life sentence before winning a new trial, appeared in federal court Wednesday to enter the plea. The judge called it a “just and reasonable” end to the case, saying “It’s time to move on.” The 1995 Valentine’s Day blaze killed Capt. Thomas Brooks and firefighters Marc Kolenda and Patricia Conroy.

New Jersey Man Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Throwing an Explosive Device at Police During May 30, 2020, Pittsburgh Protest

(File Photo of Pittsburgh Federal Court)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) A resident of Long Beach Township, New Jersey, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release on a conviction of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Nicholas Lucia, 27.
The court was previously advised that on May 30, 2020, Lucia threw an explosive device towards several uniformed police officers who were attempting to maintain control during ongoing rioting. The explosive device landed on the vest of one of the officers, and another officer quickly pulled it off and threw it before it exploded. One officer suffered a concussion as a result of being in close proximity to the explosion.
Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the joint investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lucia.

Rochester Road Slide Remediation Starts Thursday in Franklin Park

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing the closure of a portion of Rochester Road (Route 4011) in Franklin Park Borough, Allegheny County, will begin Thursday, June 9 weather permitting.

Slide repair work requiring the closure of a portion of Rochester Road between Nicholson Road and Wexford Bayne Road will begin at 7 a.m. Thursday. Through traffic will be prohibited around-the-clock as crews conduct the slide remediation work through late June. Traffic will be detoured via Nicholson Road and Wexford Bayne Road.

Please use caution when traveling in this area.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

US Congressman Lamb Releases Statement After Passage of Gun Reform Package

(File Photo)

(Washington D.C.) US Representative Conor Lamb issued a statement following passage of H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act yesterday.
Lamb said in a statement that “By passing this bill today, we are doing everything we can to prevent another Uvalde. These clear and simple rules will make it harder for criminals to get guns, and make it less likely that children will be shot while they are trying to learn. These rules will not take away one minute of hunting or lawful sport shooting from anyone. The Senate needs to do their job and pass this legislation to protect our communities and children from more senseless violence.”
The Protecting Our Kids Act will:
Raise the purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old.
Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off the streets.
Subject ghost gun purchases to background check requirements.
Strengthen safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings.
Close the bump stock loophole to ban these deadly tools from civilian use.
Outlaw high-capacity magazines.
Require an annual report of demographic data of those being determined to be ineligible to purchase guns.

Matzie: Nearly $400,000 awarded to improve Beaver County probation services, support rehabilitation, reduce recidivism

(File Photo of Official Photo of Pa. State Rep. Rob Matzie)

(Ambridge, Pa.) Beaver County is receiving more than $396,000 to strengthen probation services and fund efforts to help non-violent offenders return to the community through restrictive supervision and substance use treatment, state Rep. Rob Matzie announced today.

Matzie, D-Beaver/Allegheny, said the funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will improve outcomes while saving taxpayer dollars.

“In addition to improving traditional probation and parole services, part of the funding awarded today is going to support the county’s program to divert non-violent offenders away from incarceration and into highly supervised drug and alcohol treatment programs,” Matzie said. “Programs like these save taxpayer dollars on incarceration, while giving people a second chance to overcome substance use disorders, return to their families, and rejoin the community.”

Matzie said the funding includes:

  • $282,501 in Continuing County Adult Probation and Parole Grant funds to improve delivery of probation and parole services.

  • $94,967 in Intermediate Punishment Treatment Funds to Beaver County commissioners for County Probation with Restrictive Sanctions for fiscal year 2022-23.

  • $18,600 in unexpended County Intermediate Punishment funds.

 

Matzie said that in addition to the funding to Beaver County, Allegheny County is receiving more than $4 million in PCCD funding to support child victims, bolster services for recovering mothers with newborns, improve probation services, strengthen programs that prevent juvenile delinquency, and enhance police resources.

Penn Ave in New Brighton Closed Today For Maintenance, Harmony Ave. Tomorrow

(File Photo)

(New Brighton, Pa.) Traffic alert for drivers in New Brighton this morning as Penn Avenue, from Allegheny Street which is the bottom of hospital hill by the middle school, to Sixth Street which is in the area of Penn bistro will be closed today, Thursday, June 9, starting at 8:00 AM to perform routine road maintenance.

Another closure Tomorrow starting at 8:00 AM, will occur on Harmony Avenue which is the intersection at Wooley bully’s and the road will be closed to the New Brighton Area School District entrance in Pulaski Township.
That road will also be closed for maintenance.

According to mass e-marlin that was sent out to Borough residents and posted on social media both roads are anticipated to be reopened early in the afternoon on the same day as the closure.

No, You’re Not Imagining It — Package Sizes are Shrinking

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see. From toilet paper to yogurt to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide. In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. In the U.K., Nestle slimmed down coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. Shrinkflation isn’t new, experts say. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation. —

No Injuries in Hit and Run Accident On Pa. Turnpike in Big Beaver

(File Photo)

(Big Beaver, Pa.) Pa State Police in Gibsonia are investigating after a being dispatched to the scene of a hit and run accident on the Pa Turnpike in Big Beaver Boro at 2:05 PM on Monday, June 6,2022.
Upon arriving on the scene and investigating it was learned that 74-year-old Richard Gregory of Hermitage was driving west bound on the turnpike near mile marker 12 in a 2014 Toyota Camary when a vehicle that was traveling behind him at a faster rate of speed for unknown reasons struck his vehicle from behind. After the collision Gregory pulled to the should of the road and the unknown vehicle continued to travel westbound on the Pa Turnpike. There is no description of the vehicle and State Troopers are asking anyone with information to call them at the Gibsonia Barracks.

Former Northside Resident Pleads Guilty to Drugs and Weapons Charges

(File Photo of US Federal Court in Pittsburgh)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced that 35-year-old Brandon Washington A former resident of Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense before United States District Judge Robert Colville.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that in March 2021, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police narcotics agents working with the Drug Enforcement Administration utilized an undercover agent to purchase cocaine from Washington at a hotel in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood. Agents executed search warrants on multiple hotel rooms thereafter, which led to the seizure of additional quantities of cocaine base (in the form commonly known as “crack”), drug paraphernalia commonly used to process cocaine into cocaine base, and a loaded .45 caliber pistol.
By pleading guilty, Washington admitted that he distributed cocaine, possessed cocaine base with the intent to distribute it, and unlawfully possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for October 4, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both.