News

PLAINS TWP. — WVIA Public Media has embarked on a project to address one of the most serious public health challenges: the opioid epidemic. The project began with airing the documentary, “Broken: Women, Families & Opioids” on Thursday night. It will be fo

Unionized workers in three Luzerne County human services departments will receive raises but pay more for health care, based on collective bargaining agreements county council approved this week. The four-year agreements cover 2018 through 2021 for employ

WILKES-BARRE — The trial for murder suspect Daniel Holtslander, set to begin next month, has been delayed to allow the defense more time to prepare. Holtslander, 40, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Kurt Swan, a homeless man whose body wa

Teachers in the Hazleton Area School District pay health insurance premiums of $600 a year. An article in Sunday’s edition incorrectly said they paid no premium.

WILKES-BARRE — A Hazleton man who killed another motorist when he swerved into oncoming traffic pleaded guilty Thursday to felony charges. Estiven Rodriguez Fernandez, 21, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of fleeing the scene of an accident, as well

RICE TWP. — Investigators say they are still reviewing surveillance video from Rice Twp. Elementary to narrow down which students entered a bathroom where a threatening message was discovered on Wednesday, forcing a lockdown. “Whoever we pick out of the f

WILKES-BARRE — The city will join other government agencies across the nation in suing drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors that officials claim are responsible for making the opioid epidemic possible by “dumping millions of dollars’ worth of pre

WILKES-BARRE — The price was too darn high. Luzerne County will not seek to purchase a building on Water Street near Luzerne County Correctional Facility, after the owner raised the asking price, according to county Manager David Pedri. County officials h

WEST PITTSTON — West Pittston residents who want a levee have been disappointed. Next week, the borough council will learn about an alternative. Adam Wagner, CEO of Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based Flood Control Barriers LLC, will show council the inflatable flood

HUNTINGTON TWP. — A Stillwater man bit and choked a woman who was “crying and begging” for him to stop brutally raping her in a camper earlier this month, according to state troopers. Denver Samuel McCourt, 22, of 1360 Old Tioga Turnpike, was charged Thur

SCRANTON — The band director at Lakeland Junior-Senior High School knew about and encouraged an illicit relationship between her husband and a student that ended only after the wife asked the girl to join her in performing a sexual act on her spouse, inve

WILKES-BARRE — A Swoyersville man is facing aggravated assault charges after police say he broke a security guard’s jaw with a punch thrown at a downtown nightclub. Edward Kane Jr., 31, of 250 Tripp St., allegedly laughed and said, “I had to drop him like

WAVERLY TWP. — From Scranton to Toronto, hundreds of people will spend their Passover Seders feasting on kosher foods prepared in the Abingtons. Staff at the Jewish Discovery Center in Waverly Twp., prepared and sold about 2,000 portions of food over the

State voters overwhelmingly favor promoting renewable energy sources over natural gas, according to a new poll released Wednesday. More voters favor natural gas development than don’t, but they think neither Gov. Tom Wolf nor the state General Assembly ha

Hillary Clinton sneaked into Scranton pretty much unnoticed Tuesday. The former secretary of state, first lady and Democratic presidential candidate visited the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. The Geisinger Health System owns the medical school

WILKES-BARRE — City Hall will be open on today, but the Department of Public Works will be closed for the Good Friday holiday, the Mayor’s Office announced Thursday. Residents in East End, Parsons and Miners Mills neighborhoods with a Friday collection da

A memorial service has been planned for a local pastor who also served as a longtime youth sports coach and teacher on the West Side. The Rev. Louis Falcone died in January following a lengthy illness. He was 84. Friends and family will gather for a memor

WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County Manager David Pedri on Tuesday made the case for enacting a $5 vehicle registration fee to raise revenue to repair county-owned roads and bridges. Members of county council, which in 2016 rejected the idea of enacting the $5

WILKES-BARRE — Internet marketing company Pepperjam is laying off 20 percent of staff at its six offices, including its headquarters in the Innovation Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre, company spokeswoman Tara Siegel said. Siegel could not provide a specif

WILKES-BARRE — A man is in critical condition after his pregnant girlfriend stabbed him in the gut during an attempt to end the relationship, according to police. Natema Yashey Green, 31, of 177 Rear Nottingham St., Plymouth, is facing aggravated assault