PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh: TMK IPSCO to temporarily close for improvements
The Ambridge manufacturing plant that provides pipe to shale gas drilling companies will take advantage of the industry slowdown, and will take a month off of production to make $15 million in efficiency improvements.
Pittsburgh: Iggy Azalea cancels Pittsburgh Pride performance
After prolonged controversy surrounding the rapper’s scheduled appearance at the event, Iggy Azalea announced on Monday evening that she would withdraw from the festival. The organizers have not yet announced her replacement.
Harrisburg: Plot to kidnap judge and his wife
State prison inmate Anthony Davis is facing solicitation to kidnapping charges. In court on Tuesday, two of Davis’ jailhouse lovers testified against him. One brought in evidence of a detailed and explicit letter on how to kidnap Judge George Zozos’ wife, and if he didn’t have a wife, then the judge himself.
Harrisburg: Police chief apologizes to 75-year-old veteran
On Memorial Day, a Harrisburg police officer and civilian-clothed Army officer confronted Robert Ford, who was wearing a Marines uniform, and accused him of being a fake. Harrisburg police chief Tom Carter publicly apologized to Ford during a speech about community policing on Monday.
Lackawanna County: Judge pushes to adopt personal Breathalyzers
Defendants of alcohol-related charges may be required to wear alcohol-monitoring bracelets, but they’re expensive. A proposed change would introduce a cheaper option, hand-held Breathalyzers called Smart Mobiles, that can randomly administer tests.
Statewide: Unequal election laws
Third parties face difficulty even getting their names on the ballot in Pennsylvania. To get on the general election ballot, they must receive enough signatures to total 2 percent of the total number received by the top vote-getter of a similar office; in some cases, that can mean more than 2,000 signatures.
NATIONAL
The mentally ill in jail
The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that 400,000 inmates suffer from mental illness, and that between 25 to 40 percent of all mentally ill people will go to jail at some point in their lives. In Cook County Prison in Chicago, about one in three inmates are mentally ill.
Former speaker’s arraignment
Dennis Hastert appeared in court Tuesday afternoon, emerging from his recent obscurity following allegations of lying about hush-money payments to a person who accused him of sexual abuse. Hastert has pleaded not guilty.
Protests and conflicting narratives in McKinney, Texas
On Monday, protesters gathered to march through McKinney, condemning the police officer’s actions against a young girl as racially motivated. But a second narrative claims that the pool party’s DJ played loud music for hours, disrupting the community, and that several teens began fighting with each other, provoking an appropriate reaction from the police.
High school graduation rate
Officially, it’s at 81 percent, but the number has been inflated by questionable actions in some school districts throughout the nation. Some students are misclassified and removed from the school’s registers. Others make the requirements for graduation easily attainable, but those diplomas may not hold up in college.
IN OTHER NEWS
Spending $714,000 at the fortuneteller’s
A Brooklyn man apparently spent thousands on jewelry and gifts for the fortuneteller who helped him get in contact with an ex-flame, but all it got him was debt, eviction and visits from evil spirits.
Mom and cat review daughter’s Amazon purchase
The cat modeled the top better than the daughter could have.
The daily report was compiled by Stephanie Roman, a PublicSource intern. You can reach her with questions or suggestions at sroman@publicsource.org.
