[naviga:h3]Pgh. Promise cuts back on funding[/naviga:h3]

PITTSBURGH — A fund that offers scholarships to Pittsburgh public school students is reducing its annual maximum scholarship amount.

The Pittsburgh Promise announced Tuesday that the program will only pay tuition and fees, eliminating room and board. Its annual scholarship will drop to $7,500 — or $30,000 over four years.

The maximum scholarship was changed to $10,000 — or $40,000 over four years, in 2012 and was also used for room, boarding and books.

Officials say the changes start with the class of 2017 and will allow the fund to serve more students.

The changes, paired with the completion of a $250 million fundraising campaign, will allow the scholarships to reach students through the class of 2028.

The Pittsburgh Promise has provided $64 million in scholarships to more than 5,600 students.

[naviga:h3]Villanova $225M expansion OK'd[/naviga:h2]

VILLANOVA — Expansion at Villanova University has been approved following a 3½ year battle between township officials and the school.

Radnor Township commissioners voted 4-2 Monday in favor of approving new dormitories, parking lots and a performance center for the university.

Work on the $225 million project is slated to begin in the fall.

Chris Kovolski, a university vice president, says the dorms will house about 1,200 students. The new dorms will allow 83 percent of undergraduates to live on campus and will also include a bistro, apparel store and a convenience store.

The budget and timetable for the performance center is pending due to the project being dependent on donor money.

Opponents of the expansion were concerned Villanova doesn't give enough back to the township.

[naviga:h3]California to offer doctorate program[/naviga:h2]

CALIFORNIA — California University of Pennsylvania has received approval to offer its first doctorate program in the school's 160-year history.

The 50-credit program for a doctor of health science degree will begin in the spring 2016 semester.

The school is one of 14 state-owned universities that comprise the State System of Higher Education, whose board approved the degree program last week.

Those who obtain the degree will be qualified to work in physical or occupational therapy, athletic training, rehabilitation science and related fields.

The degree is also the first of its kind being offered at any of the 14 SHE schools.

[naviga:h3]Milton houseparent faces charges[/naviga:h2]

HERSHEY — A houseparent at a Pennsylvania school established by the Hershey chocolate company's founder has been charged with fondling an 8-year-old girl while she slept.

Police say the girl told another houseparent at the Milton Hershey School that it happened Friday.

Forty-one-year-old Fernando Zagaceta, of Hershey, faces charges including indecent assault on a child under 13 and unlawful contact with a minor.

His attorney didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday. Zagaceta faces a preliminary hearing July 21.

The K-12 school is a free, private, co-ed boarding school for children from low-income families. It says Zagaceta has been removed from campus.

The school says it's cooperating with police and doesn't believe any other children were victimized.

[naviga:h3]Philadelphia mayor helps homeless man[/naviga:h2]

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter helped his security detail restrain a homeless man who tried to approach him.

Nutter was talking to aides outside the Municipal Services Building on Tuesday when 56-year-old George Creamer approached and was grabbed by one of the mayor's guards.

Cell phone video obtained shows Nutter helping to restrain the man.

The mayor tells the station his main role was to just calm the man down.

Creamer says he did not intend to harm the mayor. He says he just wanted the mayor to know how security restrictions for September's visit by Pope Francis will affect the homeless.

Nutter says he did not feel threatened.