(File Photo of the U.S. Department of Justice Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Howard County, MD) According to police yesterday, the woman at the center of a 1971 cold case homicide in Howard County, Maryland was identified as a Pennsylvania mother. Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der confirms Sadie Belle Murray was identified and led her two adult children who are still living to be reunited. According to police records, Murray, who went by Sarah Belle Sharkey at the time of her death, was found unconscious in a field off Route 99 in Woodstock in July of 1971. Police also note that Murray, who was born on September 7th, 1924, died two months later after she got hospitalized stemming from an assault attack.

(File Photo of the PennDOT logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from PennDOT District 11, (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll was joined yesterday by regional and transportation-industry leaders for a dedication ceremony to recognize the Liberty Tunnels Ventilation System as an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (NHCEL) in the City of Pittsburgh. The ceremony was held yesterday because the newly installed plaque at the Liberty Tunnels Fan House dedicating it as an ASCE National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark was unveiled. The Liberty Tunnels opened to traffic for automobiles in January of 1924 as the first tunnel in America comprised of two parallel but separate tunnels with four lanes in total and at that time, it was the longest auto tunnel upon opening at over a mile in length. The program of the NHCEL recognizes historically significant national and international projects, structures, and sites for civil engineering. The only other ASCE NHCEL in the City of Pittsburgh and the only other existing NHCEL in Allegheny County is the Smithfield Street Bridge.

(File Photo of the PennEnvironment Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Potter Township, PA) A possible state content decree that would order it to pay more than $2.6 million for repeated pollution of Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River is being faced by the owner of a former plastics plant in Monaca. The decree was filed on Wednesday by the Department of Environmental Protection, in conjunction with nonprofits Three Rivers Waterkeeper and PennEnvironment Inc., filed the decree Sept. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh against BVPV Styrenics LLC and Styropek USA Inc. The consent decree that is proposed must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice for a review period of 45 days before it can be entered by the court and it may be viewed by requesting an informal file review through the website of the Department of Environmental Protection. If the decree is approved by the court, Styropek, which stopped operations at its Potter Township plant in January of 2025, would pay penalties and remediation costs and fund watershed rehabilitation and restoration projects as a requirement. Styropek would also pay $100,000 in civil penalties to the Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Fund and $2.5 million for projects of environmental restoration in the Raccoon Creek and Ohio River watersheds. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, on October 18th, 2022, DEP inspectors observed plastic pellets on the ground at several locations at the Styropek facility in Potter Township. A follow-up survey revealed numerous pellets downstream of the facility’s outfalls along Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River on December 13th, 2022. DEP also issued Styropek a Notice of Violation for the unauthorized discharge of plastic pellets onto land and into Raccoon Creek ten days later on December 23rd, 2022.Styropek must take significant steps to stop future pollution under the proposed decree, which includes installing new turbidity curtains at the lagoons of the facility in Potter Township, implementing stricter monitoring and stormwater control procedures and upgrading wastewater treatment with cloth media filters and other improvements. According to the Beaver County Times, of the $2.5 million restoration funds:

• $2 million would support the Raccoon Creek Plastic Remediation Fund, which will investigate and clean up polystyrene pellet pollution in the watershed’s sediment, water and banks. Styropek would be responsible for carrying out remediation under DEP oversight.
• $500,000, along with any unspent remediation funds, would create the Raccoon Creek Benefit Fund, administered by the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds. This fund would support projects that restore, preserve, and protect water quality in the Raccoon Creek watershed and nearby areas of the Ohio River watershed.

(File Photo of a Dollar Sign)

PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep 4, 2025– Saxton & Stump is preparing to open its new office in downtown Pittsburgh’s landmark Union Trust Building, underscoring the firm’s long-term commitment to Western Pennsylvania and its expanding role in the region’s business and legal community.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250904407859/en/

Union Trust Building – Photo Courtesy of Robert Benson Photography

The law firm has been operating from temporary offices at One PPG Place since April while planning for a permanent location. The firm’s Union Trust Building office is expected to open in October once final interior improvements are complete.

“Opening our Pittsburgh office in the Union Trust Building is more than a location decision – it’s a statement of stability and partnership,” said Saxton & Stump CEO James W. Saxton, an Allegheny County native and graduate of Duquesne Law School. “This building reflects the character and vision of our firm and the caliber of talent we’re attracting – rooted in tradition, driven by innovation, and built for the future.”

The 12,000-square-foot office space is designed for growth, with the firm projecting to double its headcount in Pittsburgh within the next 18 months.

Located at 501 Grant St. in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, the Union Trust Building is one of the city’s most architecturally significant landmarks. Originally commissioned by Henry Clay Frick in 1915, the Flemish-Gothic building was acquired by an affiliate of Boston-based developer The Davis Companies (Davis) in 2014. Davis completed a $100 million restoration of the building, which now serves as a modern hub for premier office, retail, and dining space.

The location places Saxton & Stump’s team within walking distance of city and federal courthouses and many of the firm’s clients.

The Pittsburgh office is now home to 12 professionals, including nine attorneys, serving clients in Construction, Construction Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property, Trucking and Commercial Transportation, and Senior Care groups. Nine of those professionals came aboard in 2025, including four attorneys from Burns White in April and two from Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP in June.

With the addition of its Union Trust Building office, Saxton & Stump now operates 10 offices across Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and New Jersey, including recent expansions in York County, Pa.

“This is just the beginning of our story in Pittsburgh,” Saxton said. “We’re here to grow, to serve, and to become part of the fabric of this region’s business and legal community.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that tonight, weather permitting, a traffic crossover switch on I-376 (Parkway East) in the Municipality of Monroeville in Allegheny County will begin. Presently, eastbound (outbound) traffic is crossed over into the westbound (inbound) lanes. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, beginning this weekend, westbound (inbound) traffic on I-376 is expected to be crossed over into the eastbound (outbound) lanes on Monday to allow crews to continue the demolition and replacement of the bridge that carries the Parkway East over Old William Penn Highway. Barrier installation and line striping operations in advance of the crossover will be conducted by crews there and preparatory work begins at 9 p.m. tonight beginning with I-376 in each direction being reduced to a single-lane of traffic between the Penn Hills (Exit 81) and the Monroeville/Route 48 (Exit 84A) interchanges. According to that same release from PennDOT District 11, here is some more information on this work:

• Once the prep work is complete, two lanes of westbound I-376 will be crossed over into the eastbound lanes and the new configuration will include two 11-foot lanes of traffic in both directions maintained in the eastbound lanes, and the crossover is anticipated to remain in place through early December.
• This work is part of the $70.1 million I-376 Parkway East Betterment Project. Work will include a superstructure replacement over Old William Penn Highway, two bridge rehabilitations over Old William Penn Highway/Lougeay Road/Sunset Drive and Thompson Run Road/Thompson Run/Union Railroad, and six bridge preservations along the I-376. Throughout the project motorists can expect long-term single-lane restrictions, several weekends with traffic down to a single lane, and a long-term crossover in 2025. The improvements on the 4.5 miles of the Parkway East between the Churchill/Route 130 (Exit 79B) and Monroeville/Route 48 (Exit 84A) exit are anticipated to conclude in the fall 2026. Swank Construction Company, LLC is the prime contractor.

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Revetti announced yesterday that forty-six-year-old Michael Evanovich of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement of labor union assets and was sentenced to 24 months of probation and ordered to pay full restitution and a $5,000 fine. According to admissions made during Evanovich’s plea hearing, from April of 2021 through April of 2023, Evanovich served as the president of United Steelworkers Local Union 1219 located in Braddock, Pennsylvania. A caller that was anonymous reported Evanovich to a United Steelworkers district office for misuse of the union credit card he had been granted for official union business use in March of 2024. Between November of 2021 and December of 2023, Evanovich used the credit card for matters that were personal on at least 100 occasions was revealed by an audit of Evanovich’s use of the card by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. According to Revetti, these purchases for the personal use of Evanovich included nearly $1,000 for renting a cabana during a union conference, $199 for valet parking for two cars over five days, and $214 at a women’s cosmetic store. It was calculated by the Department of Labor that a total of approximately $10,000 from Local Union 1219 was embezzled by Evanovich, who knew that he kept the disbursements for personal use he made to himself using the credit card of Local Union 1219. According to Revetti, Evanovich is precluded by law from holding union office or employment for 13 years.