HARRISBURG – May 25, 2022 – Today, Pennsylvania Senate Democrats wrote a following letter to Republican leaders in response to rampant gun violence and mass shootings that have become too common in the United States. Just this year, 215 mass shootings have taken place in the country, with the devastating shooting that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022, being the 215^th.

In the letter, the caucus calls on the Republican majority to act on “reasonable and responsible legislation and appropriations” that does not infringe on Second Amendment rights but will help keep guns away from bad actors and support gun violence prevention. Senate Democrats list seven bills that have been introduced to mitigate gun violence but have sat in committee with no discussion or votes. They also highlight how American Rescue Plan dollars and Pennsylvania’s current budget surplus can be used to help communities prevent horrific violence.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio

(Hopewell Township, PA)  The annual Memorial Day observance  begins with a parade led by the Hopewell Vikings band proceeding from the high school on Longvue Avenue to  Laird Drive and onto Brodhead Road at 10:30 a.m. Monday.  The annual observance, sponsored by VFW Post 8805 will begin at approximately 11 a.m. at the memorial located at the junior high school.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has announced more steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible across the U.S. as it projects COVID-19 infections will continue to spread over the summer travel season. The nation’s first federally backed test-to-treat site is opening Thursday in Rhode Island. The site will provide patients with immediate access to the drug once they test positive. More federally supported sites are set to open in the coming weeks in Massachusetts and New York City, both hit by a marked rise in infections. Next week, the U.S. will send authorized federal prescribers to several Minnesota-run testing sites, turning them into test-to-treat locations.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top election official says the margin between the top two candidates in last week’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate is tight enough to trigger a recount. The state’s acting secretary of state, Leigh Chapman, said the vote totals for celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick fall within the recount margin in state law. Oz, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, led McCormick by 902 votes out of more than 1.3 million ballots counted as of Wednesday. The separation between the candidates is well within the the recount law’s 0.5% margin. A recount could take until June 8.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — An effort by Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania to ban owning, selling or making high-capacity, semi-automatic firearms isn’t going to be taken up by state lawmakers. Pennsylvania House Republicans on Wednesday again displayed their firm opposition to gun restriction proposals. The House voted 111 to 87 against the effort to take up the bill. Republican floor leader Kerry Benninghoff argued it should have to go through a committee first. The bill has spent more than a year in the Judiciary Committee, where the Republican chairman has bottled up most proposals to regulate or restrict firearms. Just one Republican and one Democrat crossed party lines in the vote against considering the bill.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 26, 2022 7:58 A.M.

(Aliquippa, PA) The city planning commission approved a recommendation by the city planning commission for the proposed tin mill site submitted by Betters Real Estate Holdings, L.P. for their property on Woodlawn Road.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 26, 2022 7:55 A.M. 

(Aliquippa, PA)  ALIQUIPPA POLICE CHIEF JOHN LANE ASKED COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE PROMOTION OF OFFICER JOSH GONZALEZ TO SERGEANT. GONZALEZ WAS HIRED BY COUNCIL  AUGUST 2, 2018.  GONZALEZ, WAS PROMOTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE CITY’S WORK SESSION.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

At the commissioners’ work session on Wednesday, the board was notified of several resolutions to be voted on at the May 26 public meeting. Of the 29 total resolutions to be voted on, three of them are updates to human resources policies.

One of those policy updates involves the salary rates for those on parental leave. Solicitor Garen Fedeles spoke about the details: “Any parent who goes on parental leave–this is for the birth or adoption of a child–the county would pay that employee 80% of their salary for the first 20 days, and 50% of their salary for an additional 20 days.”

Fedeles specified that this applies to both mothers and fathers who are full-time employees of the county, although there is a policy for part-time employees as well. The resolutions will be voted on at the public meeting at 10:00 AM on Thursday morning.

Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp participated in the work session by phone feed for undisclosed reasons. The next work session is scheduled for June 1 at 10:00 AM.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A massive recall is getting most of the blame for the U.S. baby formula shortage, but experts say the products have long been vulnerable to this type of crisis. They point to decades-old policies that have allowed a handful of companies to corner the market. Safety and manufacturing rules imposed by U.S. regulators make it hard for smaller companies to enter the market. And federal contracting rules also favor the largest manufacturers who can offer the lowest prices on formula. Those government rules are aimed at assuring safe, affordable formula. But they are now getting renewed scrutiny because of the shortage.