Connect with us

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania American Water Awarded Two PENNVEST Loans and a Grant to Make Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements

Published

on

Pennsylvania American Water Awarded Two PENNVEST Loans and a Grant to Make Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements


MECHANICSBURG, Pa., October 16, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Shapiro administration recently announced that Pennsylvania American Water was awarded $7.9 million in low-interest financing from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST), for two infrastructure improvement projects, including the replacement of lead service lines in the City of Pittsburgh and wastewater collection system repairs in Exeter, Berks County.

“At Pennsylvania American Water, we strive to provide our customers with high-quality, reliable water and wastewater services while also meeting environmental standards and regulations. We’re thankful to PENNVEST for approving loan requests for projects that will support us in those efforts,” said Pennsylvania American Water Vice President of Engineering Bruce Aiton. “This funding will have a positive impact on the service provided for many of our customers by enabling us to continue our efforts to remove lead service lines in our City of Pittsburgh water system and also to repair aging wastewater infrastructure in our Exeter wastewater system.”

One PENNVEST loan of $1,891,056 and one grant of $3,908,944 million will support a project to replace 357 identified lead water service lines in the City of Pittsburgh, including 258 residential lines in the 29th Ward and 99 residential lines in Mt. Oliver Borough.

The project will replace 57 utility-owned and 300 private-owned lead water service lines. Removal of all leaded components will provide direct water quality improvements to customers and is consistent with regulatory and Pennsylvania American Water initiatives to eliminate lead-containing lines from the public water supply system. Learn more at pennsylvaniaamwater.com/leadfacts.

Advertisement

The $2.1 million loan will repair aging infrastructure in the company’s Exeter wastewater system, reduce inflow and infiltration, and improve treatment plant operations. Specifically, the project consists of replacing 10 sections of sanitary sewer main totaling approximately 1,815 feet and the 18 manholes located therein.

“Investing in Pennsylvania’s infrastructure is commonsense – my Administration continues to focus on these upgrades with the goal that every Pennsylvanian has access to clean water,” said Governor Josh Shapiro in the Commonwealth’s official announcement. “This investment will help to ensure that public health is protected across the Commonwealth and that residents have their constitutional rights to pure water upheld.”

The terms for the PENNVEST loan for the Pittsburgh project are 1 percent for the full 30-year loan period. For the Exeter loan, the terms are 1 percent for the first five years and 1.743 percent for the remainder of the 20-year loan period.

About American Water
American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders.

Advertisement

For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.

About Pennsylvania American Water
Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, is the largest regulated water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 2.3 million people.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241016625499/en/

Contacts

Media Contact:
David Misner
Senior Manager, External Communications
717-262-7525
david.misner@amwater.com

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer

Published

on

Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer


A Pennsylvania man was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar, according to reports.

Timothy Grace, 40, was busted on Feb. 21 after carrying his wounded pet budgie named “Blue Skies” in his pocket to Callaghan’s Bar in Greensburg, according to CBS Pittsburgh.

Timothy Grace was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar. WTAE

“The caller’s a bartender. She says there is a white male at the bar with a parakeet,” a dispatcher reported on the police radio transmissions obtained by the outlet.

“The patron was bragging to other people that were inside the bar that he feeds the parakeet marijuana and has it drink beer on a daily basis,” Detective Sergeant Justin Scalzo told the outlet.

Advertisement

Grace “appeared extremely intoxicated” when police showed up to the bar and found the pet bird in distress, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

“Its leg appeared to be broken,” Scalzo said, according to WTAE. “Its foot was actually facing the wrong direction.”

Grave was initially arrested for public intoxication and now faces charges including aggravated cruelty to animals and transporting animals in a cruel manner, the outlet said.

The pet bird was brought to PEARL Parrot Rescue in the Pittsburgh area, which rushed him to an emergency care facility.


Exterior of Callaghan's bar, with a sign showing
The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg. WTAE

Blue Skies spent four days in the hospital and was later taken in to be fostered by Teri Grendzinski, the president of PEARL. The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg, CBS reported.

“They realized his leg was broken. He also had some respiratory issues going on,” Grendzinski told the outlet. “He was also very, very skinny.”

Advertisement

“The leg was broken badly enough there is a chance they’re going to have to amputate the leg if it doesn’t heal correctly,” she added.

If Blue Skies is eventually put up for adoption, he will require specialized care, the outlet said.

“When we got that call, it was horrifying. Why would you do that to a bird?” Grendzinski said.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico

Published

on

Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico


A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter’s best friend over a three-year span before fleeing with the teen to Mexico.

On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, was convicted on all counts of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children.

Esterly shook his head as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Advertisement

Esterly’s trial began on Tuesday, March 3, after a judge denied his pretrial motion for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the Lehigh County District Attorney to be removed as a prosecutor in the case.

Both Esterly and his victim testified on Wednesday, March 4.

The victim — who is now 24-years-old — told the courtroom that she met Esterly and his family while attending church as a child and became best friends with one of his daughters. Esterly was a youth leader and elder at the church at the time. The victim said Esterly also coached her soccer team.

The victim said she became so close to Esterly’s family that she called his wife “mom” and eventually spent almost every weekend at their home in Lowhill Township, Pennsylvania. She also said she vacationed with them in New York state and Ocean City, Maryland.

The victim said Esterly first sexually assaulted her in August 2015 when she was 13-years-old after he gave her alcohol during a family birthday party.

Advertisement

“I was scared. Frozen in fear,” the woman told the courtroom on Wednesday. “I pretended I was sleeping.”

The woman accused Esterly of sexually assaulting her almost every time she slept over at his home. She told the courtroom she eventually became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which Esterly gave her in exchange for sex. According to the woman, Esterly gave her cocaine and methamphetamine to keep her awake during school because she “would be up with him all night.”

The woman said Esterly continued to sexually assault her until he was confronted by his wife in 2017. Esterly’s wife then threw him out of the house, according to the victim. She said Esterly continued to sexually assault her over the next year.

Esterly was later arrested and then sentenced to prison after federal agents found him with the victim in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2018. She was 16-years-old at the time.

The woman said she moved on and went to college after Esterly’s sentencing though she still struggled with drug addiction. She said she sought counseling in February 2025. She told the courtroom she received a message from Esterly on LinkedIn that same month in which he apologized for “failing you as a person I was supposed to be for you.” At that point Esterly had been released from prison.

Advertisement

The woman said she had not told anyone about her relationship with Esterly up to that point and replied to him, “I live with our secret every day as I promised. I would appreciate an apology.”

The woman told the courtroom that Esterly responded by writing, “I hope one day you can forgive me. Nobody knows I reached out to you. That is the best for both of us.”

On Feb. 21, 2025, Allentown Police received a report of Esterly’s sexual assaults which led to the new charges being filed against him. He was arrested in West Virginia in June 2025 after two police pursuits. He was then extradited to Pennsylvania.

The victim told the courtroom on Wednesday that she kept quiet about Esterly’s abuse for years because she “was afraid to speak,” and felt “dirty and ashamed.”

“I wasn’t ready to tell anyone,” she said. “He was a father figure in my life. I loved him.”

Advertisement

The woman also said she didn’t want to hurt Esterly’s daughter who was her best friend.

When the District Attorney asked her why she was “here today,” she replied by saying, “I want to tell the truth. I want to be set free.”

The woman ended her testimony by saying, “I don’t want to live with this secret anymore.”

After her testimony, Esterly took the stand for 45 minutes, denied all of the accusations against him and accused the woman of lying.

Closing arguments then took place Thursday morning. It then took an hour for the jury of seven women and five men to reach their verdict.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Published

on

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say



Advertisement

Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. 

Map shows distance from Hillside, Illinois, to Zelienople, Pennsylvania

Advertisement

KDKA


Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said. 

Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.

Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.

“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

Advertisement

State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.  

“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday. 



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending