Author: Beaver County Radio

Representative Summer Lee announces $14.1 million in federal funds for local community improvement projects

(File Photo of a Dollar Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) Representative Summer Lee announced on Monday that her office had secured over $14 million in federal funding to go toward local community improvement projects. The money will fund a total of 15 projects within Lee’s district of Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, which serves the city of Pittsburgh, surrounding eastern suburbs, the Monongahela Valley, and a portion of Westmoreland County. According to a report from WPXI, the projects include:

  • $3,000,000 to expand affordable housing options for people exiting homelessness in Allegheny County.
    • Funding will support the acquisition of underutilized apartment buildings and conversion of vacant units into 50 affordable homes for individuals transitioning out of homelessness.
  • $1,200,000 for the Mon Valley Strategic Blight Removal Project.
    • The project will demolish 16 unsafe structures across McKeesport, White Oak, North Braddock and Clairton to prepare sites for future housing, green space and economic development.
  • $1,092,000 for Transite Water Line Replacements in Monroeville.
    • The project will replace approximately 9,700 feet of aging asbestos-cement water lines, improving the safety and reliability of the local drinking water system.
  • $1,075,000 for the Biddle Property Access and Irwin Discharge Elimination Project in Westmoreland County.
    • The project will support initial remediation efforts to address one of Pennsylvania’s largest sources of abandoned mine drainage pollution affecting local waterways.
  • $1,015,000 for Blight Elimination in North Braddock Borough.
    • Funding will support the creation of an internal demolition unit and the purchase of heavy equipment to address more than 700 abandoned properties, helping eliminate blight and improve public health and safety.
  • $1,015,000 for the Rehabilitation of the Carnegie Library of Homestead in Munhall.
    • The funding will support critical renovations to the historic facility, ensuring continued access to educational resources and community programming while preserving a cultural landmark that has served the Mon Valley for more than 125 years.
  • $1,000,000 for Downtown Pittsburgh Office-to-Housing Conversion Projects.
    • The funding will help convert vacant office space into affordable housing while activating ground-floor retail and supporting downtown economic recovery.
  • $850,000 for reconstruction of the 2nd Street Bridge in the City of Jeannette.
    • The project will improve safety for vehicles, emergency responders and pedestrians through structural improvements and ADA-compliant sidewalks and ramps.
  • $850,000 for the replacement of the Versailles Avenue Viaduct in McKeesport.
    • Funding will support a major bridge replacement project that will reconnect critical routes to schools, healthcare services and local businesses.
  • $850,000 to support construction of a Community and Recreation Center in West Mifflin.
    • The facility will provide space for athletics, meetings, internet access and other community programming.
  • $675,000 for a new Department of Public Works Facility in the Borough of Whitaker.
    • The project will construct a facility to house municipal equipment and support maintenance operations, improving service delivery for street maintenance, snow removal and emergency response.
  • $520,000 for the Piney Fork Interceptor Lining Project in Bethel Park.
    • Funding will upgrade a deteriorating sewage interceptor using modern sewer lining technology to reduce stormwater infiltration and prevent sewer overflows.
  • $400,000 for the Greenfield Elementary School Community Schoolyard Project in Pittsburgh.
    • The project will transform an asphalt schoolyard into a green play and learning space while helping reduce flooding through permeable surfaces and gardens.
  • $350,000 for the Juvenile Justice Prevention Project operated by Youth Advocate Programs in Pittsburgh.
    • The program will provide mentoring, family engagement and career guidance to help adjudicated youth successfully reintegrate into their communities.
  • $250,000 to create a Community Hub at the Thaddeus Stevens Center in Pittsburgh.
    • Funding will transform unused space in the former elementary school into a gathering place for youth- and family-serving organizations in the West End.

Source: Steelers and running back Rico Dowdle reach 2-year, $12.25M deal

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball for a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a report from NFL Network yesterday, the Pittsburgh Steelers are signing former Carolina Panthers standout running back Rico Dowdle to a two-year, $12.25 million deal. Dowdle led the Panthers with 1,076 rushing yards in 2025, giving him consecutive 1,000-yard seasons between Carolina and the Dallas Cowboys. Dowdle, who went undrafted out of South Carolina, also has chemistry with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who coached Dowdle when he was a member of the Dallas Cowboys from 2020-2024. 

New Castle man with dementia found after he went missing from his home

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the New Castle Police Department)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Castle, PA) According to New Castle police on Sunday, a man named Ismael Davila has been found and was taken for medical treatment. Davila has dementia and he is from New Castle. Police noted that he went missing from his Parkwood Court home and was last seen at 8:30 a.m. Saturday when he initially went missing.

New Castle bakery found to be out of compliance with regulations again after recent follow-up health inspection

(File Photo: Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Castle, PA) A New Castle bakery was found to be out of compliance with regulations again after a recent follow-up health inspection. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors visited Bill’s Bake Shoppe on Liberty Street in New Castle on Friday for a follow-up inspection. A report states that inspectors located six violations that put the business out of compliance. Five of the violations included in the report are considered repeat issues, like the person in charge not demonstrating “adequate knowledge of food safety,” rodent feces throughout the facility, no sanitizer test strips or test kit, not using an approved detergent-sanitizer and dirty non-food contact surfaces. Inspectors gave Bill’s Bake Shoppe until March 20th to resolve all the most recent violations. The bakery will be inspected again within seven to ten days and its license will not be renewed until it’s deemed compliant again. 

Pitcairn man arrested on DUI charges in connection with a deadly 2024 crash on the Parkway East

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) A Pitcairn man was arrested on DUI charges in connection with a crash that authorities said killed one of his passengers and injured another. The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office announced that twenty-four-year-old Jordan Isaiah Ha Bowyer was arrested yesterday on charges of homicide by vehicle and DUI and that same office stated that an arrest warrant was issued for Bowyer on Saturday in connection with the single-vehicle crash on I-376 on September 21st, 2024. According to deputies, Bowyer was driving the car when it crashed, killing a 20-year-old passenger and seriously injuring a 26-year-old passenger. The 20-year-old passenger, Brooke Howard of Pitcairn was declared dead on the scene on the Parkway East.

Man who helped recruit players into a sprawling NCAA basketball point-shaving scheme pleads guilty

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – An NCAA logo displayed on the fence before an NCAA softball game between Jacksonville and FGCU, March 24, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)

(AP) One of the so-called fixers in a sprawling betting scheme that allegedly raked in millions of dollars off of big bets on rigged NCAA basketball games pleaded guilty Monday.

Jalen Smith appeared in federal court in Philadelphia and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bribery charges, becoming the first of 26 people charged in the scheme to formally do so. It came a week before the start of March Madness, in which bettors will wager billions legally — and illegally — on the 68 college basketball teams in the tournament.

Smith, of Charlotte, North Carolina, trained and developed local basketball players for professional scouting combines and used those connections with players when he became part of the scheme, according to prosecutors.

The charges against Smith and 25 others were unsealed in January. Smith’s lawyer, Rocco Cipparone, said in an interview that Smith pleaded guilty to get the matter behind him, serve whatever sentence he’ll be given and “move forward in his life in a positive direction.”

Smith had begun talking to prosecutors about a guilty plea well before he was formally charged, and the possibility that others in the case might plead guilty didn’t have any impact on his decision making, Cipparone said.

Besides the fixers who recruited players and placed bets, the charges targeted 17 former college basketball players and four other players who were active with their college teams this season.

More than a dozen players tried to fix games as recently as last season and some helped recruit other players, federal prosecutors said.

Two of the players charged were banned by the NCAA after a separate point-shaving investigation. One of the two, former University of New Orleans player Dae Dae Hunter, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he participated in point-shaving to get money to care for his child.

It is the latest gambling scandal to hit the sports world since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision unleashed a meteoric rise in legal sports betting.

Smith was active in helping fix games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, placing bets and recruiting players with the promise of a big payment in exchange for purposefully underperforming during a game, prosecutors said.

The fixers would then bet against the players’ teams in those games, defrauding sportsbooks and other bettors, authorities said.

Smith often traveled to meet players to deliver cash payments by hand, prosecutors said. In one case, Smith traveled to Louisiana to arrange the delivery of about $32,000 in cash to two of the players charged in the scheme, prosecutors said.

Smith also pleaded guilty to a separate weapons charge, stemming from an FBI search of Smith’s bedroom at a house in North Carolina last May where agents found a loaded handgun in a hamper underneath some clothing.

Smith was prohibited from possessing the weapon as a condition of a drug conviction in 2018, and told agents that he had bought it from a man outside a sneaker store in Charlotte, the plea agreement said. Agents later found that it had been reported stolen.

The point-shaving scheme began with two games in the Chinese Basketball Association in 2023, according to the indictment. Successful there, fixers recruited Smith and two other fixers and moved on to rigging NCAA games, and the last game they fixed was in January 2025, it said.

Their scheme grew to involve more than 39 players on more than 17 different NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams, who then rigged and attempted to rig more than 29 games, prosecutors said.

They wagered millions of dollars, raking in “substantial proceeds” for themselves, and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to players in bribes, prosecutors said. Payments to players typically ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game, they said.

Prosecutors named more than 40 schools where games were allegedly targeted by the scheme. Those included Tulane University and DePaul University.

Rigged games included major conferences and some playoffs, including the first round of the Horizon League championship and the second round of the Southland Conference championship, prosecutors said.

Players often recruited teammates to cooperate by playing badly, sitting out or keeping the ball away from players who weren’t in on the scheme to prevent them from scoring. Sometimes the attempted fix failed, meaning the fixers lost their bets, prosecutors said.

Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor announces major reforms to the permitting process of the Steel City

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – This April 2, 2021, file photo shows bridges spanning the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh. Republicans in Congress are making the politically brazen bet that it’s more advantageous to oppose President Joe Biden’s ambitious rebuild America agenda than to lend support for the costly $2.3 trillion undertaking for roads, bridges and other infrastructure investments. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor announced major reforms to the city’s permitting process yesterday. O’Connor stated that he wants to smooth the path for small businesses to open and homeowners to do renovations, and he also wants to improve coordination between city departments and improve transparency for residents. He cited Shauntel Green, who sought help from the mayor after running into roadblocks to opening a restaurant in Homewood. O’Connor expressed that some changes, especially those for commonly used permits, should happen quickly. However, an overhaul of the city’s zoning code could take much longer. 

Plum man facing numerous charges after blowing up his own Pittsburgh-area house in 2022

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) A Plum man is facing numerous charges after police said he intentionally blew up his home nearly four years ago. Jacob Rabb is facing a lengthy list of charges, including criminal attempted homicide, in connection with an explosion on Hialeah Drive in Plum that injured five people, destroyed his house and damaged several other homes. According to the criminal complaint, Rabb intentionally tampered with the dryer’s gas valve and turned the gas on, allowing gas to flow into the home, which exploded around 11:30 p.m. on April 22nd 2022. Rabb, his then-girlfriend and their three young children were home during the explosion. Police stated in the criminal complaint that one of the children suffered first-degree burns. 

Pittsburgh ice cream shop Page’s Dairy Mart opens in the South Side

(Credit for Photo: Courtesy of KDKA Photojournalist Bryan Orr, Page’s Dairy Mart opened Monday for its 75th season along East Carson Street.)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Page’s Dairy Mart opened for the season yesterday, kicking off the 75th season at the historic Pittsburgh ice cream shop along East Carson Street in the South Side. The line wrapped around the building from the front end on East Carson Street all the way around to near Becks Run Road, which is a custom at Page’s. 

Feasibility study to weigh merging Duquesne City School District with other school districts

(File Photo of the Top of a School Bus)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Duquesne, PA) The state of Pennsylvania will review whether the Duquesne City School District is sustainable long-term and whether it should merge with another district. The study will examine everything from enrollment to finances and could help determine what education in Duquesne looks like in the years ahead. This feasibility study will examine potential partnerships with nearby districts, including East Allegheny School District, Pittsburgh Public Schools and West Mifflin Area School District.