Site last updated: Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
Butler County's great daily newspaper

STATE

CALIFORNIA — A judge has scheduled a hearing to determine whether California University of Pennsylvania president Angelo Armenti can remove his personal property from his former office.

Armenti was forced out last week by the State System of Higher Education Board of Governors, which oversees state universities, then barred from his office after 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Armenti said he didn't have time to pack up all of his belongings, so he got an injunction from a Washington County judge on Wednesday who ordered his office sealed until she decides at a hearing today whether he can finish moving out.

Some university officials say the firing was wrong and poorly handled. The State System of Higher Education said an audit shows the school improperly diverted nearly $6 million to a related nonprofit and had other financial problems under Armenti's 20-year tenure.

Oxford plans 33-story towerPITTSBURGH — Oxford Development plans to begin developing a 33-story office tower in downtown Pittsburgh to open by June 2015 — provided it can find an anchor tenant for the $238 million project.The building known as 350 Fifth could be entirely new and house about 772,000 square feet of office space. But if no anchor tenant is found, Oxford will instead renovate a six-story building that is about 75 percent empty, at a cost of about $40 million. After renovations, that building would contain about 180,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of retail.If the 33-story office tower is built, the smaller building will be torn down.Oxford previously developed one of the city's largest office buildings, the 45-story One Oxford Center which opened in 1982.

Worker may have flesh-eating bugPITTSBURGH — A cafeteria worker at Pittsburgh's federal office building is being treated for possible flesh-eating bacteria, but health officials say those who also work or eat at the facility face no threat.Officials with the Allegheny County Health Department and the General Services Administration, which runs the Moorhead Federal Building downtown, say the worker was apparently infected from suffering a cut during outdoor activity.The man is not being identified due to patient confidentiality rules, but is being tested for the bacteria at Jefferson Regional Medical Center south of the city. The man is about 30 and is being treated with intensive antibiotics.Health officials say the man faces possible amputation if the antibiotics don't work or the infection spreads. The bacteria that causes the condition is common, but only some people are susceptible to developing it.

Family treated after bat enters homeGIBSONIA — The Allegheny County Health Department said a family of three in the Pittsburgh suburbs is being treated after a rabid bat was found in their home last week.The bat tested positive for rabies on Monday, so the family is being treated as a precaution.Health department spokesman Guillermo Cole told a Pittsburgh newspaper that bats can bite people without leaving marks and that the family is being treated in case they were bitten while sleeping.Cole said five rabid bats were found in the county last year and, statewide 34 bats were among the 450 animals that tested positive for rabies. About 5 percent of all bats tested in Pennsylvania have the disease.

AG candidate Freed leads in money raceHARRISBURG — Republican David Freed has the money edge as the general-election campaign for Pennsylvania attorney general gets under way, while Democrat Kathleen Kane works to replenish her campaign coffers after a tough primary, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday.Freed, the Cumberland County district attorney, had $440,000 on hand as of May 14. He was unopposed in the April 24 primary.Kane, a former Lackawanna County prosecutor, reported less than $2,000 in the bank after spending heavily on TV advertising in her victorious campaign against former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy.Freed's largest contribution — $25,000 — came from a political committee headed by GOP national committeeman Robert Asher. Kane and her husband, Chris, contributed more than $30,000 each to her campaign. The Haviland Law Firm in Philadelphia gave her $15,000.

A&E will do film on PSU scandalSTATE COLLEGE — A documentary on the Penn State abuse scandal is in the works.A&E IndieFilms said it's partnering with Asylum Entertainment to produce “Happy Valley,” a look at former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who faces 52 criminal counts for alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years. Sanudsky said he's innocent.Amir Bar-Lev will direct the film. He was also behind “The Tillman Story.”John Koch, president of Asylum, is a native of State College who once worked as a camp counselor for The Second Mile, the charity that Sandusky founded.Koch said the film will tell the story of the whole town of State College, as well as the investigation.Production is scheduled to start this month. A release date hasn't been set.

House OKs jail bill for felons with gunsHARRISBURG — A bill to require mandatory prison terms for felons caught with guns is on its way to the Pennsylvania Senate after winning lopsided approval in the House.The House gave the bill its final approval Wednesday by a vote of 190 to 7.The legislation would set a minimum five-year prison term for felons caught possessing firearms and impose stiffer terms of up to 25 years for repeat violent offenders under the state's “three strikes” law.

More in Pennsylvania News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS