Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT is announcing drainage improvement work on Chapel Road (Route 3005) in Center Township, Beaver County, will begin Monday, August 23 weather permitting.

Drainage improvement work requiring the closure of a portion of Chapel Road will begin at 7 a.m. Monday morning and continue around-the-clock through 4 p.m. Friday, August 27. Chapel Road will close to through traffic between Skyview Drive and Rodeo Drive.  Traffic will be detoured via Brodhead Road and Center Grange Road.

Please use caution when traveling in this area.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Route 151 (Gringo Road) in Hopewell Township, Beaver County will begin Monday, August 23 weather permitting.

Single-lane alternating traffic will occur daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Route 151 between Stone Quarry Road and Brodhead Road. Improvement work includes milling and paving, shoulder and base repair, and drainage upgrades. (Improvement work was intended to begin in mid-July but delayed due to utility relocation work)

The project is part of a $1.19 million group paving job.  A. Folino Construction is the prime contractor. The overall project will conclude in late November.

Pittsburgh – PennDOT District 11 is announcing inspection activities on the Rochester-Beaver Bridge (Route 51) in Bridgewater and Rochester boroughs, Beaver County, will occur Monday through Friday, August 23-27 weather permitting.

Single-lane restrictions will occur on the bridge 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day as crews conduct routine inspection activities. Crews from Tra

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf today announced that Pennsylvania’s nation-leading farmland preservation program has reached more than 600,000 acres of farmland preserved, leaving it forever safeguarded from future residential, commercial, or industrial development.

Since taking office in 2015, Governor Tom Wolf has made farmland preservation a priority investment dedicating more than $253 million in the state’s program, an increase of 132 percent over the previous administration’s investment in the program. Combined with investments from county farmland preservation programs, Governor Wolf’s $253 million investment has preserved nearly 100,000 acres since 2015.

“Pennsylvania’s farmland preservation program is of utmost importance – agricultural development and farmland preservation are inextricably tied to food security and nutrition and the population of Pennsylvania and the world are only increasing,” said Governor Wolf. “My investments in preserving Pennsylvania farmland for perpetuity are critical to increasing the quantity and diversity of food, driving economic transformation, and ensuring that land is always available for Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry.”

The 600,000-acre milestone was celebrated at the Martin Farm in Berks County today, where Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding was joined by Senator Judy Schwank, Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs chair and industry leaders.

Today, Pennsylvania safeguarded an additional 2,515 acres on 29 farms in 14 counties, investing more than $7.5 million in the future of agriculture. Pennsylvania’s nation-leading farmland preservation program preserves farms from development, and it makes targeted investments in the future of farming and food security for Pennsylvania.

“In just 34 years, Pennsylvania has preserved more than 600,000 acres of the most productive, non-irrigated farmland in the United States,” said Redding. “As climate change and our growing population place increased demand on land use, this program becomes even more critical to the resilience of agriculture. The acreage preserved over the past 34 years, and what we look forward to preserving tomorrow, is an investment in the future needs of Pennsylvania, the nation and the world.”

The 29 farms preserved today are in Berks, Butler, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Lancaster, Lehigh, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Schuylkill and York counties.

These farms include a vineyard as well as multiple crop and livestock operations.

“Not every state is fortunate enough to have an agriculture industry like we have in Pennsylvania,” said Senator Schwank. “It’s a major economic driver and serves as the green infrastructure that sustains the Commonwealth environmentally. Preserving farmland ensures we can grow our own crops and rely less on imports and products. Buying locally grown food keeps money in local economies, creates jobs and provides economic stability to farmers. The continued growth of the Farmland Preservation program is very encouraging, and I believe will help Pennsylvania maintain its robust agriculture industry well into the future.”

Since the program began in 1988, federal, state, county, and local governments have purchased permanent easements on 5,928 Pennsylvania farms totaling 601,647 acres.

Highlights among today’s purchases include:

• Mark L. and Ann M. Miller farm, a 112.42-acre crop and sod operation in Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County. This highly productive farm roughly one hour’s drive from the New York City metropolitan area is in a region of the Lehigh Valley undergoing intense development pressures from residential subdivisions.
• The Glen Hetherington #5 farm is a 102.99-acre crop operation in Union Township, Schuylkill County. The farm is in an important farming area which now includes 830 acres of preserved farmland. The Hetheringtons are donating 47.58 acres of woodland to the program in addition to the productive farmland offered for this easement purchase. Many preserved farms include woodland tracts, which are crucial for Pennsylvania’s thriving timber industry, in addition to the benefits they offer for wildlife habitat, water quality and storing carbon dioxide to offset climate change.

Farms preserved and dollars invested, by county:

Berks County – total investment: $375,651 state, $207,200 county
The Benjamin & Karah Davies farm, a 20-acre livestock operation
The Kenneth & Elizabeth Ehst farm, a 27-acre crop farm
The Curtis & Dorothy Huber farm, a 20-acre crop farm
The Dennis & Donna Kunkle farm, a 61-acre crop and livestock operation
The Jeremy & Cindy Martin farm, a 50-acre crop and livestock operation
The Warren & Bonnie Wessner farm, a 76-acre crop farm

Butler County – total investment: $38,549 state, $78,497 county
Thurber Farm, an 88-acre crop and livestock operation

Centre County – total investment: $148,564 state, $50,000 county
The Larry & Suzanne Harpster farm, an 82-acre crop farm

Chester County – total investment: $954,838 state, $443,970 county
The Virginia Kelsall farm, a 49-acre crop and livestock operation
The Douglas & Jessica Engle farm, a 172-acre crop farm

Cumberland County – total investment: $509,985 state, $100,000 county
The Jacob & Lora Crider farm, a 92-acre crop and livestock operation
The Floyd & Susan Martin farm, a 68-acre crop and livestock operation

Dauphin County – total investment: $39,540 state only
Andals Farm, a 26-acre crop farm

Erie County – total investment: $361,535 state only
The Kevin & Colleen Osborn farm, a 218-acre crop farm

Lancaster County – total investment: $1,723,754 state only
The Joshua & Britni Akers farm, a 154-acre crop and livestock operation
The Bradley & Lois Beiler farm, a 92-acre crop and livestock operation
The Thomas & Iva Lapp farm, a 102-acre crop and livestock operation
The Jerry Paul & Laurie Beth O’Donnell farm, a 113-acre crop and livestock operation

Lehigh County – total investment: $676,372 state, $17,990 county
The Mark & Annie Miller farm, a 112-acre crop farm

Mercer County – total investment: $185,806 state, $61,026 county
The Harold & Marlyn Hill farm, a 239-acre crop and livestock operation

Montgomery County – total investment: $1,932,433 state, $870,309 county
AFZ Development, a 36-acre crop farm
The John & Donald Black and Donna Horn farm, a 44-acre livestock operation
The Jason Lutchendorf #1 farm, a 76-acre crop farm
The Scott & Sharon Melanson farm, a 26-acre crop farm

Northampton County – total investment: $227,635 state, $277,470 county
Sutliff Farms #1, a 33-acre crop farm
The Carl & Judith Nicholas farm, a 16-acre crop farm

Schuylkill County – total investment: $215,534 state, $215,534 county
The Glenn Hetherington #5 farm, a 151-acre crop farm

York County – total investment: $13,251 state, $817,890
The Randall & Sarah Patterson farm, a 228-acre crop and livestock operation
Pennsylvania Wine Works, a 44-acre vineyard

In 2019, an agriculture research study funded by the department and conducted through the University of Pennsylvania, found the total economic impact of farmland preservation in Pennsylvania to be valued from $1.8 to $2.9 billion annually. The report also estimated environmental benefits of farmland preservation to be an additional $1.9 billion annually.

To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program, and investments in a secure future for Pennsylvania agriculture, visit agriculture.pa.gov.

Investments in preserving farmland for future production are further enhanced by investments Governor Wolf made in establishing Pennsylvania’s first-ever PA Farm Bill in 2019. It created the Agriculture Business Development Center to support business planning, marketing, diversification, and transition planning for Pennsylvania farmers. The bill package also included a realty transfer tax exemption for the transfer of preserved farmland to a qualified beginning farmer.

To learn more about the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, visit agriculture.pa.gov/pafarmbill.

Harrisburg, PA – Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is urging people in Pennsylvania and beyond to support Second Lady Gisele Fetterman’s awareness and fundraising campaign to preserve Lebanon Cemetery in North York, a historic Black cemetery that was the only place Black people were allowed to be buried in metro York until the 1960s.

The Fettermans learned about the site after volunteers in April invited the Lieutenant Governor to see headstones sinking and breaking. The 5-acre property dates back to the 1800s.

“It’s heartbreaking to see that this Black history has been marginalized,” Second Lady Gisele Fetterman said. “These Americans deserve to be honored and to know that people care about them.”

Among the more than 3,500 African American ancestors buried at Lebanon Cemetery are abolitionists and conductors of the Underground Railroad with national significance, more than 30 Civil War veterans, Spanish-American War veterans, Tuskegee Airmen, and highly decorated veterans of World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.

The Second Lady is raising awareness about the cemetery and has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $100,000 to fund preservation and improvement projects.

“Right now, the state of this place doesn’t convey its importance to our heritage,” said Samantha Dorm, a Yorker who’s a descendant of six generations of people buried at the historic site. “It’s important for today’s generation to understand the significance of their own ancestors.”

Dorm is one of a handful of dedicated volunteers working to uncover graves that have sunk and broken over time, to make sure veterans and historically significant people are logged and honored, and to preserve the dignity of all ancestors buried at the site.

All funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign are directly deposited into the account of the nonprofit Friends of Lebanon Cemetery, a group of volunteer stewards of this historic property that includes Dorm and many other direct descendants of people who are buried there.

The funds will be used for upkeep, maintenance, and priority projects as identified by the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery, in partnership with the cemetery’s operations board.

More information about Friends of Lebanon Cemetery and the people buried there can be found at www.friendsoflebanoncemetery.com. The GoFundMe link is https://gofund.me/c377baff.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to speak Friday about the chaotic evacuations in Afghanistan. He’s facing a firestorm of criticism, including from some U.S. diplomats over the effort to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who helped the U.S. during the 20-year war. The pace of evacuations picked up some overnight, but the Taliban and complex U.S. visa requirements are making it hard for many to reach Kabul’s airport. U.S. officials told The Associated Press that U.S. diplomats had urgently warned the Biden administration weeks ago to ramp up an evacuation for Afghans most at risk from the Taliban. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal government document.

Major League Baseball is ending a 70-year relationship with trading card company Topps after signing a new partnership with a rival company. The loss of the MLB partnership immediately scuttled a deal announced earlier this year that would have made Topps a publicly traded company. The special-purpose acquisition company Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II said Friday that its agreement to merge with Topps to take the company public was terminated by mutual agreement after it found out that MLB and the league’s players’ union would not be renewing their respective agreements with The Topps Co. when they come up for renewal at the end of 2025 and 2022, respectively.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A backer of former President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election is suggesting that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts. In a Facebook video posted Thursday, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano blamed “the powers that be” for stopping him from holding a meeting of the committee he chairs to vote on issuing subpoenas to counties. He later deleted the video. Mastriano has helped spread Trump’s baseless claims that the election was stolen from him in Pennsylvania. Senate Republican leaders have been largely silent about Mastriano’s efforts and it has sowed discord in the Republican caucus. Democrats oppose it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is giving new urgency to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tour of southeast Asia, where she will attempt to reassure allies of American resolve following the chaotic end of a two-decade war. The trip will provide a forum for Harris to assert herself more directly in foreign affairs. But there are substantial risks. Harris is largely untested in international diplomacy and foreign policy. Her swing through Vietnam could draw unwanted comparisons between the humiliating withdrawal of U.S. troops there in 1975 and the tumultuous effort this week to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan. And it’s all happening in the shadow of China, whose growing influence worries some U.S. policymakers.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A backer of former President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election is suggesting that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts. In a Facebook video posted Thursday, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano blamed “the powers that be” for stopping him from holding a meeting of the committee he chairs to vote on issuing subpoenas to counties. He later deleted the video. Mastriano has helped spread Trump’s baseless claims that the election was stolen from him in Pennsylvania. Senate Republican leaders have been largely silent about Mastriano’s efforts and it has sowed discord in the Republican caucus. Democrats oppose it.