Breaking News

Pleasant Village rents to increase by $100 a month

The Altoona Housing Authority plans to raise the rents for Pleasant Village by $100 a month at the beginning of next year. Executive Director Brad Kanuch Thursday acknowledged that $100 is “a lot,” but said the authority needs to make capital improvements to the unsubsidized, self-sustaining development, and the only way to pay for them — or to pay back a loan for the work — is to raise money through higher rents. Authority management has received one rate-hike complaint since sharing the news with residents Sept. 1, with the complainant noting that there are shortcomings at ...

Commonwealth Court rejects inmate’s bid to recover money in drug case

The Commonwealth Court has rejected a request by a Logan Township man seeking the return of more than $14,000 taken by police during a search of his home in June 2020. Police were called to the home of Dwight Campbell due to an ongoing domestic dispute, but officers turned their attention to ...

Suspect in child sex abuse case takes plea, receives 10 years’ probation

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Hollidaysburg man charged with child sexual abuse and related offenses across three separate but related cases pleaded guilty Wednesday to three misdemeanor counts and was sentenced to 10 years’ probation. Kyler Felix Bem, 20, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts ...

Portage Borough Council creates advisory committees

PORTAGE — Two advisory committees were established during Wednesday’s Portage Borough Council meeting with the hopes of involving the community in more of the borough’s affairs. Borough Manager Makayla Zonfrilli-Lang is currently soliciting letters of interest from borough residents ...

Higher ed campus closings in spotlight

A pending House bill seeks to bring more public involvement to the process for closing a campus at public institutions of higher education. A memo filed by Rep Jill Cooper, R-Allegheny, with bipartisan cosponsors gives an additional job to the state Education Secretary when deciding whether to approve a campus closing application or not. The secretary would publish a notice about the application in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and post information on the department’s website. The public would have a 30-day comment period after that under Cooper’s proposal. The secretary would ...

Fetterman speaks at GOP event

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman spoke to the Republican midterm convention via video Wednesday, an extraordinary escalation of the growing rupture between the Pennsylvanian and his party. Fetterman’s decision is certain to stoke fears, already simmering among Democrats, that he will switch ...