Allegheny County Police Arrest 29 On Drug Charges In Pitcairn Area

Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Allegheny County Police arrested 29 Pitcairn-area residents on drug charges in a 10-month undercover investigation that yielded warrants for 51 suspected “low-level dealers,” Superintendent Charles Moffatt said.

The sting began about 6:20 a.m. Friday and extended into the afternoon. One suspect suffered a heart attack during the course of his arrest and was hospitalized, Moffatt said.

Officers recovered one weapon and small quantities of prescription pills, crack cocaine and heroin. Investigators sought warrants for the suspects after observing them sell drugs at least three times each between March 13 and Nov. 15, Moffatt said.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5207992-74/county-drug-police#ixzz2mojNV8bW
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Police Say They Arrested A Fellow Cop For Driving Drunk After He Shows Up To Work Intoxicated

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pittsburgh police charged a city cop with driving drunk after he showed up to work glassy-eyed late Friday night, and a breath test showed a blood-alcohol level exceeding the legal limit.

Police charged Vernon Gibson, 38, of Southern Avenue in Mt. Washington, with two counts of driving under the influence. Gibson was taken home and told he would receive a summons.

A city police sergeant met Gibson when he arrived to work a shift at the Municipal Courts Building, Downtown, shortly after 11 p.m., according to court documents.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5213342-74/gibson-police-alcohol#ixzz2mohbkGkd
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7-Year-Old From York Up For Kindest Kid Award

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

York PA – A second-grader’s passion for cleaning up York landed him a spot as one of four candidates for the Sprout channel’s “Kindest Kid” award.

Mateo Maldonado, 7, was chosen from applicants across the country to compete for the award, sponsored by the channel that airs children’s programming. Voting takes place on the Sprout website, and the winner will travel to Sprout’s studios for an interview Dec. 21.

Mateo’s mother, Meranda Rodenhaber, said she and Mateo’s father, Chris Maldonado, nominated their son after seeing an advertisement on Sprout for the award that talked about children who go out of their way to care for others.

“Right away it just clicked, and it was like, ‘That’s Mateo,'” Rodenhaber said.

Read more: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_24676665/7-year-old-from-york-up-kindest-kid

Companies Honored At Best Places To Work In PA Event

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LANCASTER, PA – An investment company and an insurance brokerage firm were named the top two “Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania” for 2013 at the awards ceremony held here this evening.

Edward Jones of Lemoyne, Cumberland County, and the Philadelphia-based insurance brokerage firm, The Graham Company, topped the list for the large- and small/medium-sized categories, respectively.

Team Pennsylvania Foundation joined the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Central Penn Business Journal in announcing Pennsylvania’s 100 Best Places to Work at the Lancaster County Convention Center.

Governor Tom Corbett attended the event, offering brief comments that celebrated the companies and their employees who made the Best Places to Work list. The governor also personally congratulated each winning company as they came forward to receive their award.

To see the entire list and read the rest of the article, click here: http://teampa.com/2013/12/2013-best-places-to-work-in-pa-winners-announced/

Tax Break Expected To Change Next Month For Commuters

English: SEPTA New Flyer E40LFR (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Commuters who take trains or buses to work face a cut of up to $1,380 in their annual pretax transportation benefits, while commuters who drive will get a slight increase, starting next month.

Currently, both transit riders and drivers can set aside up to $245 a month to cover their commuting costs, through plans managed by their employers.

That “transportation fringe benefit” is similar to flexible spending accounts for medical or dependent-care expenses. Employees elect to deduct a certain amount of their salary for commuting costs; employees benefit by reducing their taxable incomes and employers benefit by reducing their payroll taxes.

But the transit benefit is caught up in tax-policy debates in Washington, and time is running out for congressional action to prevent the benefit from reverting to $130 a month (the 2012 limit of $125, plus a $5 inflationary bump). The parking benefit, meanwhile, is set to rise to $250, from the current $245.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20131206_Tax_break_expected_to_change_next_month_for_commuters.html#xQaDM8PsQcDa1VCv.99

Police: Sunbury Newlyweds Killed Man For Thrills

Locator map of the Sunbury-Lewisburg-Selinsgrove in the central part of the of . The three components of the CSA are colored separately: Sunbury Micropolitan Statistical Area: red Lewisburg Micropolitan Statistical Area: yellow Selinsgrove Micropolitan Statistical Area: green (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) — Newlyweds just three weeks removed from their wedding day lured a Pennsylvania man to his death with a Craigslist ad because they wanted to kill someone together, police said.

Elytte Barbour told officers before his arrest Friday night that he and his wife, Miranda, had planned to kill before but their plans never worked out until last month when Troy LaFerrara responded to an online posting that promised companionship in return for money.

Elytte Barbour, 22, and Miranda Barbour, 18, both face criminal homicide charges in LaFerrara’s death. His body was found Nov. 12 in an alley in Sunbury, a small city about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The couple recently moved to nearby Selinsgrove from North Carolina.

According to Sunbury police, Elytte Barbour told investigators he hid in the backseat of the couple’s SUV as his wife picked up LaFerrara at a mall on Nov. 11. He told police that, on his wife’s signal, he wrapped a cord around LaFerrara’s neck, restraining him while Miranda Barbour stabbed him.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131207/police-sunbury-newlyweds-killed-man-for-thrills

U.S. Unemployment Falls To 7%

WASHINGTON – A fourth straight month of solid hiring cut the U.S. unemployment rate in November to a five-year low of 7 percent. The surprisingly robust job gain suggested that the economy may have begun to accelerate.

It also fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve will scale back its economic stimulus when it meets later this month.

Employers added 203,000 jobs last month after adding 200,000 in October, the Labor Department said Friday. November’s job gain helped lower the unemployment rate from 7.3 percent in October.

The economy has now generated a four-month average of 204,000 jobs from August through November. That’s up from 159,000 a month from April through July.

Reading School Board Member Karen McCree Says She’ll Resign

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Following a tumultuous reorganization meeting earlier in the week, longtime Reading School Board member Karen H. McCree has resigned from her position.
McCree said she submitted her resignation to board president Rebecca Acosta Wednesday. The school board released a statement about McCree’s resignation Friday.

Acosta and McCree have butted heads at recent public meetings. The tussle escalated to a heated shouting match at Monday’s reorganization meeting, when Acosta was named president.

McCree just began her 15th year as a member of the school board. Her last board meeting will be Dec. 18 and her resignation will take effect Jan. 3.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while and there have been some other reasons that I’ve decided that now is the time,” McCree said of her decision Friday.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article/20131207/NEWS/312079964/1052#.UqNbcPSgnuI