(File Photo)
Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 9:54 AM HARRISBURG – Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) ordered a special election to be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, to fill the vacant seat in the 24th Legislative District in Allegheny County.
The seat was vacated when Rep. Ed Gainey was sworn as the Mayor of Pittsburgh.
House rules state the speaker shall issue a writ for a special election to be held on a date which shall occur on or before the date of the first municipal election which occurs not less than 60 days after the issuance of the writ.
“Voters in Pennsylvania are already receiving a lot of information about new districts and major elections this year,” Cutler said. “This special election is to complete the term under the current, or old, map. Therefore, holding the election on its own unique date, and not coinciding this special election with the primary, eliminates potential confusion for voters.”
Candidates for the office will be selected by a process designated by their respective political parties, and the winner of the special election will take office after the results are confirmed.
(Photo Courtesy of Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium)
Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 9:45 AM (Pittsburgh, PA) -Guests to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium may notice a unique penguin among the black and gold colony: a one-winged, one-year-old gentoo penguin named Floppy. Floppy, named by a donor shortly after his birth, is the only known penguin with an amputated wing at a zoo or aquarium in the United States. The prodecure took place in late 2021 and the penguin’s recovery is progressing well.
In August 2021, aquarists at the PPG Aquarium noticed some swelling near the young penguin’s shoulder. Floppy was given an X-ray and it was confirmed that he had broken a wing bone. The vets and aquarists offered care and monitored the injury for signs of natural healing for several weeks. However, it became apparent that the bone was not healing properly. Surgical repair was ruled out due to the location of the break, so the Pittsburgh Zoo’s Animal Care staff diligently consulted with other institutions before it was decided that the best avenue of recovery was to have the wing amputated.
Floppy’s surgery successfully occurred on September 8th. While amputation was the best option for Floppy, he had to re-learn how to swim, dive, float, navigate his habitat, and exit the water. The Animal Care team has closely monitored his progress and has been pleased every step of the way. He is able to perform most activities fairly well, and the staff of the PPG Aquarium has installed a ramp so that he that can better enter and exit the water. In late 2021, Floppy was reintroduced to the colony and can now often be seen publicly in his habitat.
Floppy continues to make progress towards a full recovery every day. The life expectancy of penguins in the wild is 10-15 years, but living in aquariums, they can reach over 30 years of age. He and his fellow
penguins can be seen in their habitat at the PPG Aquarium year-round. Floppy is expected to remain indoors at this time, though on weather-permitting weekends through February, other members of the penguin colony can be seen exploring outside during the Penguins on Parade event.
(Photo courtesy of PA Media Services)
Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 09:13 AM
Wolf: Vaccine is strategy to fight COVID-19, not shutdowns
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is brushing aside questions about whether he’ll issue more orders for shutdowns as cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 spread quickly and fill Pennsylvania’s hospitals with unvaccinated patients. Wolf, speaking on KDKA-AM radio in Pittsburgh, reiterated Tuesday that the vaccine is his administration’s strategy for fighting COVID-19. He says people need to get vaccinated. Wolf’s Department of Health expects new cases to peak in January, followed by a peak in hospitalizations in February and a peak in deaths in late February to early March. Hospitals hit by severe staffing shortages have been sounding the alarm as largely unvaccinated COVID-19 patients fill hospital beds.
Story and photos by Mark Peterson. Published 6:50 A.M. January 11, 2022. Featured photo: St. Barnabas Broadcasting, Inc. President, William V. Day and WBVP-WMBA General Manager, Mark Peterson pictured at the WBVP transmitter site in 2019.
(Beaver Falls, PA) Every once in a while, the places that deliver the news, actually create the news. That was the case on Monday. After filing some paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission last week and working out some final technical details, WBVP and WMBA turned on the transmitter for a brand new F.M. radio station on Saturday morning. The new station can be found at 95.7 F.M. and can be heard throughout much of Beaver County and parts of Allegheny and Butler Counties. Much like new parents and grandparents like to show pictures and brag about their new children or grandkids, Station officials took to the airwaves on Monday to talk about their proud, new addition. William V. Day, President of St. Barnabas Broadcasting, Inc. and Beaver County Radio General Manager Mark Peterson, beamed from ear to ear, just like excited parents of a young lad who had just hit a home run at the little league ball park, as they discussed the debut of their newest station, W239CR – 95.7 F.M. The pair joined talk show host Mike Romigh as part of Teleforum yesterday to formally announce the presence of a fourth radio station to the Beaver County cluster.
During the special interview, Peterson talked about how the 95.7 F.M. will augment the existing coverage area currently being served by WBVP, WMBA and 99.3 F.M. “The good news is, moving forward, we now have just finally completed the project of putting this second F.M. radio station on the air and it’s actually WMBA’s translator, 95.7 and it’s signal originates from the tower site in Bell Acres . . . in the northern part of Allegheny County . . . I think listeners are going to discover [increased coverage] to the south and east. ” Peterson was making reference to and contrasting the coverage area of 95.7 F.M., with WBVP’s F.M. Translator, W257EA-99.3 F.M., which originated from a much more northern location in Pulaski Township, Beaver County.
St. Barnabas Broadcasting Inc. President, Mr. William V. Day, got a little nostalgic while promoting the new entity during the discussion, referring back to a period many years ago, when he worked for WBVP. “It does bring back memories, but there have been new memories created. . . [This new station] has caught the vision of what we are trying to do and it’s a thrill for me to be here this morning. [To be] back in Beaver Falls, be with you, the people who are listening to us.”
The debut of 95.7 F.M. is the latest chapter in glorious history for WMBA that started in 1954. That was when a company based out of Pottsville, PA, Miners Broadcasting Service, Inc., bought 10 acres of land along Big Sewickley Creek just over the Beaver County line near Ambridge. Over the next couple of years, a studio was built in the second floor above Action Tire on Duss Avenue in Ambridge. In addition, transmitting equipment was installed and 2 towers were erected on the newly acquired plot of land. By 1957, construction was complete and 1460 WMBA went on the air offering daytime only service on September 19th of that year. The next big change happened in 1988 when new towers and transmitting equipment were installed. This monumental upgrade enabled the station to create a slightly different nighttime broadcast pattern and thus paved the way for the FCC to approve an application for WMBA to broadcast 24 hours a day. In 2000, WBVP and WMBA became part of the same company and began simulcasting the same great local programming when Iorio Broadcasting Inc. bought WMBA from Donn Communications, Inc. This latest improvement of adding an F.M. station actually began in 2018, when an application for an F.M. translator station at 95.7 F.M. for 1460 WMBA was awarded a temporary construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission. The build out and testing was completed for W239CR-95.7 F.M. in December, 2021. Final approval to move forward and power the station up arrived this past Friday. That meant that on Saturday, January 8, 2022, at around 9:30 A.M., history was made again for WMBA when station engineer, Jim Roush, pushed the button on a newly installed F.M. transmitter at the station’s Bell Acres, PA tower site.
The F.M. Antenna bays used to originate the 95.7 F.M. signal that are mounted at a height of 390′ above the ground on WMBA’s broadcast tower in Bell Acres, PA
All four Beaver County Radio Stations, including the new 95.7 F.M., will continue to simulcast local community based programming that’s been a hallmark of the stations since since WBVP began serving the area in 1948. A complete list of daily programs can be found here.
Advertising opportunities are available. Call 724-846-4100, or click here for more information.
(AP Photo)
Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 6:44 AM (Harrisburg, Pa.) A Pennsylvania court won’t block an entire subpoena to state election officials in what Republican state lawmakers call a “forensic investigation” of 2020′s presidential election. The statewide Commonwealth Court that issued the seven-page order Monday also did not appear to immediately greenlight the release of some information that Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro challenged as being protected by privacy laws. In the unsigned order, the court said state officials did not persuade it that the subpoena issued in September by a Republican-controlled Senate committee had no legitimate legislative purpose.
The featured image above shows the main entrance to the Rochester School District.
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Correspondent. Published January 10, 2022 at 9:36 P.M.
(Rochester, PA) The Rochester School Board met Monday night for a work session. Superintendent, Dr. Jane Bovalino, along with the board and administrators discussed a plan to reintroduce a masking mandate within the district. A two week mandate was first suggested, followed by a month, and finally an agreement was made to mandate masks until further notice. The decision was based on rising numbers of Covid cases within the district staff and students, as well as numbers reflecting the general area. Masking had been optional at Rochester after the state mandate was lifted in early December.
(File Photo)
Monday, January 10, 2022 at 2:23 PM
PITTSBURGH and ERIE, Pa (January 6, 2021) – Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) Perinatal Hope Program is pleased to announce today its expansion into Butler and Erie counties to support and care for pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorders (OUDs). The program’s expansion was made possible thanks to a recent federal grant, announced by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf late last year, of more than $583,000 as part of a $55 million federal block grant program awarded to the state via the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services SAMHSA.
The Perinatal Hope Program, a part of the AHN Women’s Institute, currently operates out of AHN West Penn, AHN Jefferson and AHN Forbes hospitals. It will now open sites aligned with AHN Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie (232 W. 25th Street) and AHN’s Northern Regional OB/GYN in Butler County (125 Emeryville Dr., Cranberry Township).
Perinatal Hope will further enhance and expand upon AHN Saint Vincent’s Growing Hope program, which has helped opioid-addicted moms in the northwest Pennsylvania Erie for more than five years.
The grant will also be used to bolster the Perinatal Hope program’s overall services and clinical staff – including the addition of a peer recovery specialist, behavioral health consultant, social worker and certified nurse practitioner – across its existing footprint in Allegheny, Beaver and Fayette counties.
“On behalf of AHN, we truly look forward to offering our integrated services and support to even more pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders,” said Krista Flaherty, LCSW, MSW, Manager of the AHN Perinatal Hope Program. “Purposeful resources – accessed early and often – can be integral to mitigating potential long-term impacts on the health and well-being of mother and baby. It’s important to note that today’s announcement also comes at a critical time against the backdrop of the ongoing opioid epidemic.”
The rate of hospitalizations with opioid use disorder per 100,000 residents in 2019 was 293.2 for Pennsylvania, 296.9 for Butler County and 344.3 for Erie County. The rate of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) – a set of complications caused by a newborn’s drug withdrawal due to a mother’s substance use disorder – is two times higher in Pennsylvania when compared to the national average.
Designed to be a “one-stop shop,” Perinatal Hope works to brings together different services, health care professionals and educational materials so women can get maximum support from a routine prenatal visit. The program’s clinical team also works closely with the AHN Center of Inclusion Health and Women’s Behavioral Health to provide holistic care.
Enrolled prenatal patients may access medication assisted therapy for opioid use disorder, care coordination, education on relevant chronic conditions and drug and alcohol counseling through POWER, among other resources during their routine OB/GYN exams. The program also extends its services through postpartum.
“New mothers with substance use disorders often face unique challenges, including the relative lack of specialized and prioritized postpartum treatment resources, the stigma of having an infant exposed to substances, postpartum hormonal changes, and postpartum depression,” said Marcia Klein-Patel, MD, PhD and Chair of AHN Women’s Institute. “For these reasons, among other factors, overdose rates during the postpartum periods are notably elevated which is why it’s so important to continue access to health care and other community-backed programs to better support the entire family, even after delivery.”
Additional services currently offered by AHN Perinatal Hope include newborn education, lactation support and eased access to care for postpartum depression. The program also plans to launch services to include smoking cessation, STD/HIV education, financial empowerment and safe sleep education.
Perinatal Hope is slated to enroll first patients across Butler and Erie offices by early 2022. For more information, please go to ahn.org/NotAlone or call 412-578-5575.
(Photo provided by CCBC)
Monday, January 10, 2022 at 2:13 PM Monaca, PA – Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) is announcing the appointment of Angela Hamilton as vice president of student affairs. She will be responsible for overseeing all student affairs functions, including student life, student services, and enrollment services. Hamilton reports directly to President Dr. Roger W. Davis and serves as a member of the Senior Executive Cabinet.
“We are thrilled that Angela is once again expanding her role at CCBC and joining the senior leadership team,” said Dr. Davis. “She has a proven track record of putting students first, improving processes that advance the college wholistically and departmentally, and collaborating to build effective teams. Her experience and passion throughout her career will play a key role in benefitting our students and culture as we continue to look to the future.”
As a Beaver County native and CCBC alumna, Ms. Hamilton has 14 years of progressive experience at CCBC. Previously, she was associate vice president of student affairs, registrar, and director of enrollment services, as well as served on the admissions staff. She joined CCBC in 2007 and has also taught as a part-time instructor on campus.
During her time at CCBC she has spear-headed such initiatives as the degree audit, online registration, a remodel of the Enrollment Services area for concierge-style service, and most recently, the launch of community classrooms and the return of athletics post-pandemic.
“Angela exceeds her commitment to CCBC and the students, so this promotion is well-deserved,” stated CCBC’s registrar Rose Whelpley. As a supervisor, she encourages me to achieve my goals and promotes a positive work environment.”
Hamilton is one of only 50 individuals internationally to earn a Strategic Enrollment Management Endorsement from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers.
“I am proud to be a part of the CCBC community and to take on this new opportunity,” said Hamilton. “I look forward to representing the student body while helping students unlock their highest potential, providing students with a web of support and opportunity inside and outside of the classroom.”
Hamilton earned her M.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, B.S. from Robert Morris University, and associate degree from CCBC. She resides in Center Township with her husband, two children, and therapy dog Bailey, who she volunteers with on campus and at nursing homes throughout the community.
(File Photo)
Monday, January 10, 2022 at 7:58 AM (Hanover Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that they were dispatched to the scene of two vehicle accident on New Years Day on Lincoln Highway in Hanover Twp, Beaver County at 3:06 AM.
Upon Arriving on the scene and investigating it was learned that 19-year-old Alexander Vuckovich of Aliquippa was operating a 2020 Subaru Legacy at the intersection of US 30 and Pa 18 when he failed to stop at a stop sign causing a 2005 Chevy Silverado being driven by 28-year-old Wade Searight to collide with Vuckovich’s vehicle. Vuckovich was charged by Troopers with a stop sign and yield sign violation. His vehicle had to be towed from the scene and no injuries were reported.
(File Photo)
Monday, January 10, 2022 at 7:26 AM (Glasgow Boro, Beaver County, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that they were dispatched to a residence on Liberty Ave in Glasgow Boro , Beaver County last Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 7:14 PM for a report of a physical altercation involving an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend.
Upon arriving and investigating Troopers arrested 27-year-old Tyler Laughlin of Beaver on charges of strangulation, simple assault, and terroristic threats in the incident involving him and 28-year-old Kelsea Campbell of Midland.
Troopers did not release any further information involving the incident.
