The suspect in a Tuesday night stabbing in New Brighton is in custody. Reports say that Michael North stabbed his mother and brother inside their Beaver County apartment. Both victims survived the incident with varying degrees of injury. North is facing multiple charges including aggravated assault.
A Mercer County man was arrested following a six hour standoff with police on Thursday in Coolspring Township. State Police report a neighbor called 911 saying that 63-year-old Robert Suchy had threatened them with a gun and tried to force them to come with him. Police acquired a search warrant for the home and an arrest warrant for the man, which they tried to carry out just after noon on Thursday. When police arrived, Suchy barricaded himself in the home and refused to come out, prompting the standoff situation. The standoff ended around 7pm. Suchy was taken to the hospital for treatement.
Governor Josh Shapiro has unveiled plans for a new state economic-development strategy. He said Wednesday that it’s been about 20 years since the state has developed such a plan and he expects the new one to be finished by the end of the year. It’s expected to focus on priority industries and assistance programs for businesses. The governor says the state is seeking input on what those industries should be and how to accomplish the new goals. The state’s Department of Community and Economic Development also will be hosting listening sessions with business leaders toward that effort. They’ll also be soliciting ideas on their website.
The Beaver County Humane Society stepped in yesterday to rescue 14 cats that had been all-but abandoned in a Center Township home. Neighbors who contacted authorities about the situation says the cats’ owner stops by the house just once a week to check on the animals and that the felines are not properly cared for. Agents in biohazard suits removed the cats yesterday and the animals are now in the custody of the humane society. The owner is facing charges in the case.
Governor Josh Shapiro is allotting ten-million-dollars for a new pilot program to clean up industrial sites. He says the purpose of the PA Sites program will be to prepare brownfields and other vacant industrial areas for redevelopment. He says the idea was launched after state businesses complained about a lack of shovel-ready sites in Pennsylvania.
A state lawmaker is proposing legislation that could pave the way for converting unused state property into affordable housing. The proposed bill would require state agencies to work with the Department of Community and Economic Development to assess affordable-housing potential of their surplus land. State Representative Joe Webster, a Montgomery County Democrat, is seeking co-sponsors for his proposed legislation.
Pennsylvanians who get health insurance through Medicaid must reapply for coverage soon. The state’s Department of Human Services secretary stressed the importance doing that. Dr. Val Arkoosh says post-pandemic, the federal government is now requiring that coverage eligibility be determined every year. She says three-and-a-half million Pennsylvanians get health care through Medicaid and are at risk of losing it or having a gap in coverage if they’re not re-qualified.
A federal proposal to impose speed limits for semi-trucks is picking up speed. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it’s developing a rule to require trucks to install monitoring devices that would limit their speeds to 68-miles-an-hour. Some national trucking companies have already installed the devices. Pennsylvania state data says deaths from large-truck crashes have risen 22-percent over the past three years with 162 people dying in truck collisions.
Fall and winter trout stocking will begin across Pennsylvania’s streams and lakes starting on Oct. 2ND. The stocking, which will continue through mid-December, will include approximately 117,500 hatchery-raised adult Rainbow, Brown and Brook trout. In October alone, the Fishing and Boat Commission says there will be nearly 88,000 trout stocked into 53 lakes and 40 stream sections.