Freda Savana, Bucks County Courier Times Journalist Profile

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Bucks County Justice Center evacuated

1 week ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

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Former Pizzeria Uno in Doylestown Township will become a bank

1 week ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

While it may come as a bit of a disappointment to some, Doylestown Township’s former family restaurant Pizzeria Uno will soon be a bank. JPMorgan Chase announced it will be remodeling the once-popular Uno Pizzeria & Grill into one of its many branches as it expands its reach into Bucks County and the surrounding Philadelphia region.
Bucks County Sheriff expands gun permit outreach

1 week ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

License to Carry Firearms permits will be easier to get with Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran’s effort to expand the department’s mobile gun permit unit. In a recent announcement, the sheriff’s office said it processed more than 12,000 gun permits in 2024 and in the first quarter of this year. Nearly 10% of all permits were handled through the mobile unit, “underscoring the need for expanded outreach services,” said the department in a statement.
Bucks County commissioners try to ice sheriff Harran's immigration plan

2 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

The Bucks County Board of Commissioners Wednesday adopted a resolution reinforcing its opposition to the county sheriff’s plan to authorize 12 of his deputies to join an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program. In a 2-1 vote, the board said it agrees with the finding of the county’s law department that Bucks County has the “sole authority” to enter into such contracts as ICE’s 287(g) program.
Central Bucks School District set to hike taxes by nearly 6%

2 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

The Central Bucks School District is set to adopt a budget that will include a significant rise in taxes. In a recent unanimous vote, the school board agreed to a tax hike of 5.9% to support its $432.4 million preliminary 2025-26 budget. For a homeowner whose property’s market value is $635,000 that means an increase of approximately $328. The district applied for an exception to the Act 1 Index, Pennsylvania’s property tax relief law passed in 2006.
Bucks County judge dismisses county suit against big oil

2 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

A Bucks County lawsuit claiming several energy giants knowingly deceived the public about the dangers of their products was dismissed late last week. Common Pleas Judge Stephen Corr said the county lacked jurisdiction to file the lawsuit, in part because regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is preempted by state law and the federal Clean Air Act.
Bucks County sues CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, OptumRx over insulin prices

2 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

In a lawsuit announced last week, Bucks County officials said big pharma has been in “lockstep with price increases” of insulin for more than two decades, driving the cost of the drug up more than 1,000%. The lawsuit accuses pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx, which control more than 80% of the pharmacy benefit market, of “illegal price fixing…that eliminated competition,” said Bucks County Solicitor Amy Fitzpatrick.
ACLU of Pennsylvania plans to sue Bucks County Sheriff

3 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

The ACLU-PA said it intends to move forward with a lawsuit against Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran. “We cannot provide an exact timeline just yet,” said Stephen Loney, a senior supervisor attorney with the ACLU, in an email Friday, “but it is coming.”Harran’s application to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287 (g) program, which allows local law enforcement to be trained to act as ICE agents, was approved Tuesday, according to officials.
Bucks DA: "Calculating and charismatic" cop sought to cheat elderly woman

3 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

A former police officer who worked part-time for nearly a decade in Langhorne and Yardley boroughs was arrested Tuesday for allegedly constructing a plan to have an elderly woman sign over her estate to him, said Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn during a press conference in Doylestown Wednesday. “It’s a disturbing case,” said Schorn. “It’s very unnerving…it destroys trust.”The estate was estimated at more than $500,000, said authorities.
In Central Bucks, eight candidates to compete for four school board seats

3 weeks ago | buckscountyherald.com | Freda Savana

Tuesday's primary election comes as the Central Bucks School District is embroiled in a child abuse investigation that has seen five top-level administrators and a principal suspended. It’s also the first election since a 2023 court ruling changed the district’s voting map from nine regions to three. The only incumbent seeking election is Daniel Kimicata, who was appointed to his seat in Region 3 in 2024, when Dr. Mariam Mahmud moved out of the region.