State
More info sought on cracker plantMONACA — Township supervisors in Beaver County want more information before they grant conditional use permits for an ethane cracker plant proposed by Shell Chemicals.A hearing that began Tuesday afternoon and continued Wednesday evening ended with the Potter Township supervisors asking Shell and the Clean Air Council, an environmental group that opposes the plant, to filed legal arguments by Jan. 6.Shell faces more hearings today about two environmental permits the company wants the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to modify.Shell wants to discharge storm and wastewater into the Ohio River and a tributary under a permit issued to Horsehead Inc., which operated a zinc smelter on the site before closing it and selling the land to Shell. The DEP hearing also concerns an air pollution permit for the facility.
Former assistant seeks legal feesBELLEFONTE — A former assistant football coach who won verdicts of more than $12 million from Penn State over his treatment after Jerry Sandusky was arrested for child molestation is asking for another $1.7 million in legal fees.Lawyers for Mike McQueary filed a petition Wednesday outlining the litigation costs and lawyer bills that would justify such an award.The legal fees are being sought under the state’s whistleblower law.McQueary testified he saw Sandusky sexually abuse a boy in a team shower in 2001. After Sandusky’s 2011 arrest, McQueary was placed on paid leave and banned from athletic facilities. He was terminated the next year.
Resident found with Legionnaire’sMCKEESPORT — Authorities say a resident of a nursing home has tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease.Allegheny County officials said the Kane McKeesport Center resident hasn’t left the facility since July but hasn’t showered recently or consumed water from faucets or fountains or ice from ice machines.Officials say the source of the infection is unknown.After an October case at the facility, bottled water was put in use and showers were restricted, along with water treatment system installation and flushing.
Study supports shorter sentencesHARRISBURG — The final report to a study group trying to reduce crime and Pennsylvania’s prison population is recommending shorter prison sentences and more money for programs that help keep ex-cons from re-offending.Those were among the recommendations made Wednesday to Gov. Tom Wolf’s study group by the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. It’s the second such study in four years.The study’s authors say state inmates serving short sentences tend to stay in prison a few months longer than necessary, while shorter county jail sentences should also be trimmed by a couple months.They say that would free up millions for programs outside prison that help reduce recidivism.
Judges must continue trainingHARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s judiciary will have to complete at least three hours of training in ethics and nine hours on other aspects of their job annually under rules imposed last week by the Supreme Court.Continuing education standards that take effect in January apply to justices, county and appeals court judges and senior judges. Chief Justice Thomas Saylor said there’s been no way to track judges’ attendance at continuing education programs.The classes will help jurists brush up on changes in law, procedures and other matters.The Supreme Court is also establishing a board to make decisions about accreditation, determine if waivers should be granted and hear appeals regarding failure to comply.
Transformer failure cuts borough powerPITCAIRN — A trio of transformer explosions has cut power to nearly all of a suburban Pittsburgh borough’s 3,000 residents.Pitcairn is about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh and lost power about 3 a.m. today.Although Duquesne Light supplies electricity to Pitcairn, a borough-run company distributes it to residents. Duquesne Light hoped to restore the electrical supply by 8 a.m. but it was unclear how long it might take the borough to supply that power to residents.The outage comes at a bad time, weather-wise. Early-morning temperatures were in the low double-digits, with wind chills in the negative. It wasn’t known what caused the transformers to fail.
