AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Amid a federal corruption case, a company that owns nuclear plants in Pennsylvania and northern Ohio will be sold for more than $3.4 billion to a Texas-based company. Under the deal announced Monday, Ohio-based Energy Harbor will become part of a newly formed Vistra subsidiary called Vistra Vision. According to the statement announcing the deal, both companies’ boards of directors have approved the deal and a majority of Energy Harbor stockholders support the move. According to the release, Vistra won’t be buying Energy Harbor’s two coal plants along the Ohio River. Energy Harbor is at the center of an alleged $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors call the largest corruption case in Ohio history.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) Tune into Beaver County Radio starting this Friday for your chance to win a half pint of Pennsylvania Pure Maple Syrup and a pair of tickets to the Beaver County Maple Syrup and Music Festival that is happening on April 22 and 23 at Brady’s Run Park.

All you have to do is tune into Beaver County Radio on Friday mornings starting this Friday, March 10, 2023 from 6:30 AM to Noon and listen for either Mike Romigh or Eddy Crow to give you the cue to call in and win. We will be giving away two pair of tickets and maple syrup every Friday through April 14, 2023.

Keep an eye on our Facebook Page as well for your chance to win at https://www.facebook.com/beavercountyradio.

It’s all being brought to you by PUSH Beaver County and Beaver County Radio 95.7 and 99.3 FM along with 1230 WBVP, 1460 WMBA and beavercountyradio.com

Photo of Kylie Kennedy and Mary Adams at Hopewell High School talking about their fundraising.
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 7, 2023 9:23 A.M.

(Hopewell Township, PA) Kylie Kennedy and Mary Adams attend classes and they both work after school, and they don’t stop there!  The girls made chocolate pretzels, chocolate covered strawberries, and chocolate covered Oreos using 50 pounds of chocolate with the help of Mary’s mom.  The girls sold the delights for Super Bowl  Sunday and Valentine’s Day. The girls raised over $1,000.00 according to high school assistant principal Dr. Robert Kartychak. The funds were donated to the Women’s Center of Beaver County.
They plan on selling more of the delights for Easter.
Kylie works at Harold’s Inn and will attend Bella Capelli Beauty Academy after graduation. Mary works at the Brighton Hot Dog Shop in Beaver and is on the high school’s girls soccer team and the school newspaper. She will attend Ohio University  to be a nurse and then train to be a nurse anesthetist. She said, “I’ve always been interested in the field , and nurses have a bigger work load”.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 7, 2023 9:20 A.M.

(Ambridge, PA) Stephanie Hull was hired recently by the Ambridge School board to  be the new principal at Highland Elementary School. Mrs. Hull replaces Tom McKelvey who has accepted a position in the Seneca Valley School District. A meet and greet will be held in the high school cafeteria on  Wednesday, April 12, 2023 beginning at 6:30pm.

Looking for the perfect car? Well, you’re in luck! Ross Township, PA, is currently auctioning off a 2021 Ford Mustang former undercover police car.  This online auction is open to the public at municibid.com and ends on Friday, March 10th. Pennsylvania residents are able to bid in this government auction online, 24/7, on Municibid.

 

Why is this auction important? All of the proceeds from this auction are going right back into improving Ross Township’s local community. 100% of the proceeds from this auction go back to Ross Township. These funds are used for road maintenance, setting up local events for residents, community programs, public safety initiatives, and more!

 

The 2021 Ford Mustang former police undercover vehicle has only 1,699 miles on it and features a 2.3L L4 DOHC 16V engine and 6-Speed Automatic | 6-Speed Manual transmission. It is in excellent condition and all pictured equipment is included (Whelen CORE emergency lights and siren, Havis computer mount with USB C power adapter, Brother 7 thermal printer, Charge guard, pre-wired for Kenwood mobile radio). The Police Department is going in a different direction and is selling the vehicle to meet those needs.

 

Here is a snapshot of the Ross Township’s auction on Municibid:

A view of the scene Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday, March 6, 2023 that Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month’s derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals just across the border in Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, file)

Norfolk Southern says it plans to improve the use of detectors along the tracks that are supposed to spot overheating bearings and other problems in the wake of a fiery Ohio derailment a month ago. The company said Monday it would evaluate the distance between such “hot bearing” detectors and anticipates adding about 200. The company said the first ones would be installed just west of East Palestine, where a Feb. 3 derailment forced half the town to evacuate as toxic chemicals burned. The company also pledged to install more acoustic bearing detectors and review all of its standards and practices.

FILE – Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference in Philadelphia, Feb. 16, 2023. Shapiro will propose a three-year incentive of up to $2,500 a year for newly certified teachers, cops and nurses in Pennsylvania when the Democrat unveils his budget plan on Tuesday, March 7, administration officials said. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to emphasize school funding and making Pennsylvania more competitive for cutting-edge tech firms when he delivers his first budget. Shapiro’s first budget proposal comes Tuesday as the state keeps rolling up robust tax collections. Shapiro will address a joint session of the House and Senate at 11:30 a.m. ET. Perhaps the most prominent feature of Shapiro’s budget will be what he called a “down payment” on the billions of dollars that public school allies say are necessary to help the poorest districts. Shapiro also has said he wants to slash the state’s corporate tax rate, a move that would save businesses billions of dollars.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks to the 2023 International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has decided to set aside the usual big White House budget unveiling to showcase his new fiscal year plans this week in Pennsylvania. Not coincidentally, that’s a must-win state in the 2024 election. His trip to Philadelphia on Thursday is a sign that the president’s budget proposal will be a form of political messaging, not just an outline of the government’s finances. Biden hinted in a Monday speech that tax increases on the wealthy will be at the core of his budget plan, saying he will be proposing a tax that targets billionaires.

HARRISBURG – The agreement announced by Vistra Corp. and Energy Harbor Corp., owner of Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station, should be good news for keeping the plant open and workers on the job, state Sen. Elder Vogel (R-47) said today.

The transaction will combine Energy Harbor’s nuclear and retail businesses with Vistra’s nuclear and retail businesses and Vistra Zero renewables and storage projects under a newly formed subsidiary Vistra Vision.

The combination creates a leading integrated retail electricity and zero-carbon generation company with the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the country, along with a growing renewables and energy storage portfolio.

“This is a positive development for area citizens who rely on Beaver Valley for jobs and energy,” said Vogel. “Vistra Vision is expected to be a premier zero-carbon generation and retail growth company, and it’s exciting for the 47^th Senate District to be a part of that.”

The two-unit Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station of Shippingport generates enough electricity to power more than one million homes daily. Unit 1 is licensed to operate until 2036 and Unit 2 is licensed to operate until 2047.

With the completion of the agreement, Vistra Vision will operate one of the largest retail businesses in the country with approximately five million customers across 18 states.

Gas prices are steady in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.767 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average price in Beaver County is $3.762  

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by four cents to $3.40, which is still 12 cents less than a month ago and 28 cents less than a year ago. One reason for this week’s increase could be higher demand, as the cost of oil has barely budged for the past few weeks.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand jumped from 8.91 million to 9.11 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by nearly 1 million barrels to 239.2 million barrels last week. The increase in gas demand, amid tighter supplies, has contributed to rising pump prices.

Another reason for higher gas prices is that the seasonal switch to summer blend gasoline is underway. This blend lowers emissions but is more expensive to refine. Switching to summer blend can add about five to ten cents to the price of gasoline.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 64 cents to settle at $77.69. Crude prices increased after the market saw that manufacturing activity rose in China last month, signaling that global oil demand may be more robust than anticipated this year. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories increased by 1.2 million barrels to 480.2 million barrels last week.