Keystone State News Connection

March 31, 2021

Andrea Sears

PITTSBURGH – The COVID pandemic has shown that the lack of a paid family-leave system has devastating consequences for families, public health and the economy, according to backers of the idea.

The United States is one of the few countries without a national paid-leave policy. That means workers faced with a family medical emergency or an infant needing care risk losing their income to meet their family’s needs.

Heather Arnet, chief executive of the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania, said the pandemic has exposed the current system as inequitable, inefficient, unhealthy and unsustainable, especially for people of color.

“Black and Brown communities were disproportionately at risk to become critically ill with COVID-19,” she said, “and yet 40% of people of color have no access to paid leave.”

The Family Care Act, a state family and medical-leave bill, is being reintroduced in the General Assembly with bipartisan support, and Arnet said there is strong support for national paid-leave legislation. It’s expected to be part of the next phase of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.

When the pandemic began, said Dawn Huckelbridge, director of the Paid Leave for All campaign, one of the first things Congress did was pass a temporary paid-leave program. Now, she said, Congress needs to go further in the next big economic and infrastructure package.

“We must include a comprehensive and permanent federal paid-leave policy to rebuild the care infrastructure in this country,” she said, “and to have an equitable economic recovery.”

Polling has shown that an overwhelming majority of voters, including 86% of Republicans, say all workers should have access to emergency paid sick, family and medical leave.

Twelve states already have passed family and medical-leave legislation based on similar models that require no employer contribution. Arnet noted that some large corporations have their own paid-leave policies, but small businesses can’t afford them.

“This kind of legislation – like the Family Act here in Pennsylvania – is exactly the kind of thing we need that can support families and also, workers and businesses,” she said.

(File Photo)

(Aliquippa, Pa.) An Aliquippa women is in jail this morning being charged with criminal homicide after stabbing her husband to death in their Aliquippa home late last night.

37-year-old Angela Hunt called 911 just before midnight and said she had stabbed her husband, 40-year-old Chad Hunt, and she wasn’t sure if he was still alive.

When police arrived on the scene at 313 Return Street they detained Angela Hunt and secured the scene. Officers found her husband, Chad,  upstairs dead with apparent multiple stab wounds according to a release.

Aliquippa Police Department requested that Pennsylvania State Police assume investigative responsibility of the incident. Angela Hunt was then transported to Pa. State Police Barracks in Brighton Twp. where she was interviewed and placed under arrest for the Criminal Homicide of her husband Chad.

Angela Hunt was then lodged at the Beaver County Jail Pending arraignment.

The investigation is ongoing according to a release from Pa. State Police.

 

Eager to build infrastructure, Biden plans to tax business
By JOSH BOAK and LISA MASCARO Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden wants $2 trillion to reengineer America’s infrastructure and expects the nation’s corporations to pay for it. The Democratic president travels to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to unveil what would be a hard-hatted transformation of the U.S. economy. It includes $621 billion for roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure. The plan would also move the country away from fossil fuels to clean energy. It would be financed by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, among other measures. That could lead to fierce resistance from the business community and thwart attempts to work with Republicans lawmakers.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondant Curtis Walsh)

Emergency crews have responded to a motorcycle accident on route 65 in New Brighton northbound at junction Stretch. The motorcycle struck the median and crashed. The driver of the motorcycle was alert and walking at the scene but was taken away by ambulance.

(Pittsburgh,Pa.) Jenessa Tolejko a former Treasurer of the Brighton Twp.-Beaver Soccer Association is being charged in Federal Court with stealing from the organization over a three-year period to pay for cruises, airline tickets and other personal expenses.

According to the information filed on Monday, Tolejko was the treasurer of the soccer association with control over its finances, including a debit-card account at Citizens Bank.

The release said that from Feb. 5, 2016, through May 30, 2018, Tolejko deposited approximately $180,000 in dues and other soccer-related funds into the group’s bank account and then used “a share of the funds” to pay for travel from Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean and American Airlines. In addition, she made purchases from Amazon and LuLuRoe and paid household bills.

The release didn’t state how much money she took.

Federal prosecutors said that Tolejko transferred funds from the soccer association’s registration account to personal accounts belonging to her or her husband, combining it with his wages and other income, from May 30, 2018, to Aug. 16, 2019.

This isn’t the first time that Tolejko has been in trouble with the law. In August of 2019 she was charged with  theft by deception and three counts each of forgery and access device fraud for an incident where she was fostering two litters of puppies and was accused of not passing on $3,255 in adoption fees Cross Your Paws Rescue in Jeannette.  At that time her attorney told a local TV station that it was a misunderstanding and there was no criminal conduct.

Trump’s heir? Pence reemerges, lays groundwork for 2024 run
By JILL COLVIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump recently rattled off the names of those he viewed as future leaders of the Republican Party, including Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Conspicuously absent from the list: Mike Pence. The former vice president is steadily reentering public life as he eyes a potential run for the White House in 2024. He’s writing op-eds, delivering speeches, preparing trips to key primary states and launching an advocacy group that will likely focus on promoting the Trump administration’s accomplishments. But Trump’s neglect in mentioning Pence during a podcast interview earlier this month signals the former vice president’s unique challenge.

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) The Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement reported yesterday that they served a search warrant on the “House of Savvy” on the Northside of Pittsburgh for operating as a Speakeasy.
Enforcement Officers served the warrant last Friday night just before midnight at the facility located on Perrysville Ave.. Officers seized 77 liters of liquor and wine, 5.4 gallons of beer, and $417.00 in cash. No further details were made available by the Bureau.

(North Sewickley Twp., Pa.)  Pa State Police in Gibsonia are reporting a one vehicle accident occurred on the Pa Turnpike in North Sewickley Twp. around 11 PM Sunday night, March 28, 2021.
Troopers via release said that 27-year-old Taylor Sainato of Youngstown, Ohio was traveling east while driving a 2013 Honda Civic when she lost control on the wet roadway around mile marker 16. Sainato’s vehicle struck the concrete barrier and then a guide rail coming to rest on the south berm. Her Vehicle was towed from the scene and State Police issued Sainato a written warning for not properly driving on roadways laned for traffic.