News Staff A former Penn State and Altoona Area High School football standout has been arrested. According to ESPN, Kevin Givens has been charged with second-degree assault for allegedly attacking a man in Baltimore, Maryland. Reports say Givens, who just finished up his second season with the San Francisco 49ers where he has played in 13 games … Read more
A former Pennsylvania financial adviser who earned millions by pushing high-risk, high-fee investments on unsuspecting retirees was sentenced Friday to more than 17 years in federal prison. A judge said Anthony Diaz took advantage of dozens of clients, some of whom lost their life savings or were unable to send their children to college as … Read more
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was stable in February, as the labor force and payrolls both grew as they creep back toward pre-pandemic levels, according to state figures released today. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 7.3%, the same as January. That was more than a whole point above the national rate of 6.2% in February. In a survey … Read more
It’s an unfortunate milestone as The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported an increase of 3,623 new coronavirus cases in the state Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 1,000,240 throughout all 67 counties since the beginning of the pandemic. Health officials also reported 41 more coronavirus-related deaths. Blair County reported 28 news cases and one additional … Read more
Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, in conjunction with a number of House committee chairs, sent letters to various Wolf administration cabinet secretaries this week seeking an update on regulatory and enforcement matters that have been suspended, waived or otherwise changed during the COVID-19 emergency. Agencies receiving letters include the Office of Administration; Department of … Read more
A drug smuggling plot at the Blair County Prison was stopped short, and now Hollidaysburg police are searching for a woman who they say helped arrange it. Police today are trying to find 31-year-old Mara Mingle. Mingle’s four co-conspirators meanwhile, have been arrested. They include 57 year old Constance Martinez and 46 year old Shellie … Read more
Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate has confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. The final vote Wednesday was 52-48. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all … Read more
Officials say one person was injured when flames broke out at an Altoona apartment building Wednesday morning. The call came in around 10:20 a.m. for the fire on the 800 block of 29th Street. One woman had to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation but will be okay. The fire apears to be … Read more
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor on Wednesday, announced his intentions to require school districts, community colleges, technical schools and universities to return to in-person instruction as a condition of receiving state funding… saying that while many schools in Pennsylvania have worked hard over the past year to keep their doors open to students while … Read more
The state senate on Wednesday, approved a bill sponsored by Senator Judy Ward that sets commonsense safety standards for barns and other agricultural buildings that are repurposed for weddings and other social events. Senate Bill 191 would allow farmers to file an annual affidavit that their venue meets certain safety standard alleviating the costly requirements … Read more