>>Funeral Services Set for Two Girls Murdered by Their Father
(York, PA) -- Funeral services have been set for six-year-old Aaminah Vicosa and her older sister, seven-year-old Giana, following their deaths November 18th at the hands of their father, Robert Vicosa. The former Baltimore County cop had taken them from their mother and set out on a crime spree across southeast Pennsylvania before killing them, himself and an accomplice in Maryland. An obituary relays funeral services for the girls will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Living Word Community Church in Red Lion.
>>State Lawmakers' Pay Raises Begin Wednesday
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Beginning today, an automatic pay raise kicks in for many Pennsylvania lawmakers. The boost for the pay of the state's rank-and-file legislators will be just under $8,000. The total will push yearly salaries to just over $95,000. Elected caucus leaders' salaries will range from nearly $109,000 to just under $149-thousand for Republican House Speaker Bryan Cutler and Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman.
>>Bids for Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse Coming in at the Finish Line
(Harrisburg, PA) -- It hasn't been until the final days of eligibility that four bids have been made on the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Harrisburg. The federal government is auctioning off the 11-story, 1966 building at 228 Walnut Street with a minimum three-million-dollar bid. The auction is set to end at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, although Pennlive dot com reports federal officials could extend that. As of Wednesday morning, the anonymous bids topped over nine-million dollars.
>>Donation from Giant Foods Will Help High School Grow Produce for Food Pantries
(Harrisburg, PA) -- The parent company of Giant Food Stores is funding a project at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology to further hydroponic food production at Steelton-Highspire Junior and Senior High schools. Hydroponic food is the production of plants in water and a nutrient solution. The Giant Company donated 20-thousand dollars for equipment needed to finish greenhouse renovations at the school. With full growth potential reached, approximately 375 heads of lettuce, as well as other produce, can be harvested each week for donation to local food organizations.
>>Senator Toomey Not Pleased with Recovery Post-Pandemic
(Washington, DC) -- Senators on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, including Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey, are talking about how the U.S. economy is faring post-COVID. Chair and Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown said it's bouncing back nicely from the height of the COVID pandemic. But Toomey talked about rising inflation and price spikes at gas stations and in stores, arguing President Biden's policies are aggravating the problem. The comments came Tuesday ahead of testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
>>Dr. Oz Announces Bid For Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Seat
(Montgomery County, PA) -- TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz is officially announcing his bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania as a Republican. The 61-year-old cardiac surgeon and host of the "Dr. Oz Show" announced he will enter the race to try to replace retiring GOP Senator Pat Toomey in an op-ed published in the Washington Examiner. Oz is a longtime resident of New Jersey and registered to vote in Montgomery County last December. A spokesperson said Dr. Oz has strong family ties to the state.
>>Over 300 Lancaster County hospitality businesses receive Industry Relief Funding
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Governor Tom Wolf says nearly 59-hundred state businesses have received funding this year through the COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Relief Program (CHIRP). Some 325 of those establishments are in Lancaster County. The CHIRP Funds range from 5-thousand dollars for small bed and breakfasts, franchise, and small restaurants to $45,000 for larger businesses and hotels. Restaurant group Thomas E. Strauss, Incorporated received $45,000, as did companies called Thirty, Inc. and Seven Hills Incorporated.
>>iPhone Thieves Sought in Manheim Township
(Lancaster, PA) -- Manheim Township Police are asking for the public's help to identify suspects linked to a shoplifting incident at a mobile phone store last Tuesday. Police say both men walked around the T-Mobile store on Oregon Pike and then cut the security cables attached to the Apple iPhones. The total loss was about 33-hundred dollars. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call 9-1-1.
>>Lancaster Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For 2019 Shooting
(Lancaster, PA) -- A Lancaster man will spend the rest of his life in prison after his sentencing for a shooting that happened two years ago. Raymond Lydell Speller was found guilty in May in the shooting death of Pedro Almodovar in the three-hundred block of Howard Avenue in 2019. Lancaster County Judge Jeffrey Wright sentenced him to life plus seven-and-a-half to 20 years. After receiving his sentence, Speller apologized to the victim's family, stating he was not in his right state of mind when the shooting happened.
>>Judge: Mail-In Ballots Without Dates On Return Envelopes Must Be Counted in Lehigh County
(Allentown, PA) -- A Lehigh County judge's ruling Tuesday could affect the outcome in a judge's race in which the leading candidate is ahead by only 74 votes. The judge ruled that mail-in ballots without dates on the return envelopes must be counted and the votes included in the results of the November 2nd election. The votes cast in the 261 mail-in ballots that were flagged could affect the outcome in the countywide race. The judge's ruling rejects the Republican candidate's appeal that the ballots should be disqualified, according to a state precedent.
>>Lackawanna State Senator Introduces Turnpike Reform Package
(Lackawanna, PA) -- A state senator from Lackawanna says he wants to increase enforcement of tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Democrat Senator Marty Flynn says some 104-million dollars goes uncollected each year in Pennsylvania across the whole turnpike system. Flynn says drivers who don't use E-ZPass, have an almost 50-50 chance of slipping through the "toll-by-plate" camera billing system. The PennCapital-Star dot com says Flynn's proposals include mandatory reporting from the Turnpike Commission to state lawmakers, reinstated staffing at Turnpike interchanges and increased penalties for drivers who don't pay their tolls.
>>Sixers Battle Celtics
(Boston, MA) -- The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics will be fighting for the better record when they hit the floor tonight. Both teams enter the game in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference at 11-and-10. The Sixers are fresh off a Monday night win. Tipoff is set for 7:30 from TD Garden in Boston.