‘Cardiac event’ claims student

BEAVER FALLS — The coroner said an engineering student who was also on the football and track teams at Geneva College died of natural causes from a “cardiac event” after suddenly falling ill while studying.

Jonathan Antonishen, 22, of Acme, Westmoreland County, was taken to Heritage Valley Beaver hospital where he died Monday night. Beaver County Coroner Teri Tatalovich-Rossi said Wednesday that there was no sign of any congenital defect that caused the death.

PSU will back freeze if $50M is approved

HARRISBURG — Penn State’s president said he will support a tuition freeze next year if lawmakers approve a nearly $50 million increase proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

PSU President Eric Barron made the offer at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday regarding the governor’s $49.6 million request for Penn State.

The governor has proposed increases of more than $140 million for higher education in the fiscal year that starts July 1, including community colleges, the 14 state-owned universities and the state-related schools — Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple and Lincoln.

Currently, freshman and sophomore tuition at Penn State’s main campus is $16,572 for Pennsylvania residents and $29,522 for nonresidents. A freeze for 2015-2016 would be the first since 1967-1968, university spokesman Lisa Powers said Wednesday.

Councilman out of race

PITTSBURGH — A 12-year Allegheny County councilman has withdrawn his nominating petitions and thus ended his last re-election bid.

Seventy-three-year-old William Robinson’s petitions indicated he personally collected more than 300 signatures from people including actors Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts, former Steeler Jerome Bettis — and his two May primary opponents.

The trouble is none — except the opponents who deny signing the petitions — are registered voters in Robinson’s council district. Robinson’s opponents had filed a court challenge over the petitions.