(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Center Twp., Pa.) Vehicle break-ins have been reported to Center Township Police. The vehicles have  been in front of  or in close proximity to the homes. Police are asking that residents report any suspicious  activity in their neighborhood.

(Center Twp., Pa.) Center Township Board of Supervisors met Monday night  and adopted a resolution  to apply for a $250,000  grant  from PADCNR to be used for the construction  of a park pavilion.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The president of Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union is expressing support for in-person instruction in the fall. Rich Askey is president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. He calls an in-person return to school a “top priority” now that many teachers have been vaccinated and older children have become eligible for the COVID-19 shot. Askey’s statement came days after the leaders of the nation’s two major teachers unions called for a full return to in-person learning. Most Pennsylvania schools have already resumed at least some in-person instruction, though some are sticking with virtual learning at least through the end of the current academic year.

Body found in burned vehicle on western Pennsylvania road
CLAYSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities are trying to identify a body found in a burned vehicle on a western Pennsylvania road over the weekend. The Washington County coroner’s office was called to the scene Sunday in Claysville in East Finley Township. Officials said the remains of the man or woman were officially pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m. Sunday. There was no immediate word on the cause of death or the cause of the vehicle fire. State police are investigating.

Supreme Court throws abortion fight into center of midterms
By DAVID CRARY and JILL COLVIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a potentially ground-breaking abortion case, probably this fall, and the news is energizing activists on both sides of the contentious issue. They’re already girding to make abortion access a high-profile issue in next year’s midterm elections. The case on hand is a Mississippi law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. If upheld by the Supreme Court, it would mark a first step toward the possible demise of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That ruling established a nationwide right to abortion at any point before a fetus can survive outside the womb.

HARRISBURG – Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) on Monday introduced “constitutional carry” legislation, which would no longer require law-abiding citizens to obtain a government-issued license to carry a concealed firearm in Pennsylvania.

Constitutional carry, or permitless carry, allows an individual over 21 years of age who has passed a criminal background check upon purchase of a firearm to legally carry a handgun concealed without first having to obtain government permission.

Current law does not require citizens to obtain a license to openly carry a firearm in Pennsylvania.

Bernstine, a vocal pro-Second Amendment lawmaker, called the current concealed carry process a duplicative abuse of the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners.

“Pennsylvanians who follow the law each day should not be punished or hindered just because they prefer to carry their weapon concealed,” said Bernstine. “Constitutional carry ensures that citizens have the right to protect themselves and their families without seeking a government permission slip.”

Bernstine’s bill, House Bill 659, would make available an optional concealed carry license which would be valid in other states that have a reciprocal agreement with Pennsylvania.

The bill’s introduction comes on the heels of new executive actions on gun control announced at the federal level.

House Bill 659 has 68 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors.

“The broad bipartisan support from my colleagues shows that law-abiding Pennsylvanians are tired of the constant attacks on our firearms rights,” said Bernstine.

Currently, 20 other states have constitutional carry, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

 Recently, Bernstine was interviewed by Pennsylvania House Second Amendment Caucus Chairman Matt Dowling about his proposed legislation. To view the interview, click here. https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pagopvideo/761130463.mp4

(Beaver County, Pa.) Today is Primary Election Day  in Pennsylvania. The polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM tonight. There are four questions on the ballot that most republican representatives are telling the voters in their district to vote yes for all four.

Today is election day and polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM tonight. If you have a mail in ballot or absentee ballot they need to be at the elections bureau before 8PM tonight or they don’t count.
The ballot for the May primary will include choices for Justice of the (PA) Supreme Court, Judge of the Superior Court, Judge of the Commonwealth Court, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and various county and local municipality positions.

Also on the ballot will be four statewide ballot questions along with various county or local ones. Most republican representatives are telling the voters in their district to vote yes for all four of the state wide questions. The questions are listed below:

1. QUESTION ONE: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law and increase the power of the General Assembly to unilaterally terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration—and the powers of Commonwealth agencies to address the disaster regardless of its severity pursuant to that declaration—through passing a concurrent resolution by simple majority, thereby removing the existing check and balance of presenting a resolution to the Governor for approval or disapproval?

2.QUESTION TWO: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law so that: a disaster emergency declaration will expire automatically after 21 days, regardless of the severity of the emergency, unless the General Assembly takes action to extend the disaster emergency; the Governor may not declare a new disaster emergency to respond to the dangers facing the Commonwealth unless the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution; the General Assembly enacts new laws for disaster management?

3.QUESTION THREE: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended by adding a new section providing that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of an individual’s race or ethnicity?

4. QUESTION FOUR: Do you favor expanding the use of the indebtedness authorized under the referendum for loans to volunteer fire companies, volunteer ambulance services and volunteer rescue squads under 35 PA.C.S. §7378.1 (related to referendum for additional indebtedness) to include loans to municipal fire departments or companies that provide services through paid personnel and emergency medical services companies for the purpose of establishing and modernizing facilities to house apparatus equipment, ambulances, and rescue vehicles, and for purchasing apparatus equipment, ambulances and rescue vehicles, protective and communications equipment and any other accessory equipment necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the fire companies and emergency medical services companies?

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondant Curtis Walsh)

(New Brighton, PA) New Brighton Fire Department responded to a smoke detector activation at Haynes Day Care Center on 6th Street in New Brighton. Fire fighters did a sweep of the building and allowed adults and children who evacuated to re-enter shortly after arriving. No injuries occured.