(File Photo of Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti announced Wednesday that a felon from McKees Rocks has been indicted on a charge of disobeying a law involving federal firearms. Twenty-three-year-old Mark Edwin Clements III had a firearm when he was already a convicted felon on February 21st, 2025. According to Revetti, Clements could receive a maximum of up to fifteen years in jail, an up to a $250,000 fine, or both provided by the law.

(Photo Provided with Release)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Allegheny Health Network, AHN is the first health-care system in Western Pennsylvania to treat enlarged prostate with Aquablation therapy. This includes the new HYDROS Robotic System powered by artificial intelligence. The system uses waterjet technology with help from robotics to remove the tissue of the prostate. Around forty million men in the United States can be affected by this condition also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia.

(File Photo of Police Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Moon Township, PA) A Moon Area High School student was apprehended after trying to commit identity theft. According to detectives in Moon Township, eighteen-year-old Michael Farabaugh broke into a neighbor’s house and stole some personal items. Police confirm that Farabaugh tried to use the identities of the family of the house to open ten different accounts of credit cards. Farabaugh is in the Allegheny County Jail and faces charges including forgery, fraud and identity theft.

(Photo Courtesy of the City of Aliquippa Police Department)

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

(West Aliquippa, PA) A wanted suspect was apprehended on Wednesday for possessing drugs in West Aliquippa. Police caught thirty-nine-year-old Eric Bruce Jr. on the 400 block of Allegheny Avenue after chasing him on foot. Bruce was seen by police riding a bike near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street on Wednesday morning and then he snuck through an alley in a mask after he saw police. According to the police report, Bruce was taken into custody without incident and he faces charges for both possession of drug paraphernalia and possessing a controlled substance.

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office, Deluzio announced $249,970 will be awarded to New Sun Rising and River Wise. Deluzio stated in the release that the money helps the two organizations to assist in technology and prepare some small to medium-sized local organizations for projects in the Ohio River Valley. These projects will try to provide air quality, local systems of food, management of water and costs for utility in the Ohio River Valley.

(File Photo of State Representative Roman Kozak)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from State Representative Roman Kozak’s office, Kozak introduced Nicholas’ Law. This bill will eliminate a regulation of limitations for specific crimes against any nonverbal person that needs dependent care. The crimes include simple or aggravated assault, neglect or abuse, involuntary deviate sexual assault and rape. Kozak also named the law after Nicholas Maravich, who faced abuse from his former caretaker and could not communicate that any information was wrong at a criminal trial.

(File Photo of Daylight Saving Time Picture)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Daylight-Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 9th, 2025. The holiday leads up to the season of spring because of the traditional reminder to spring your clocks forward in the United States by one hour. The alternative is the autumn conclusion of Daylight-Saving Time, in which clocks go back one hour in the United States to fall back during the season of fall.

(File Photo of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday that he wants his administration to try to fill openings in the state’s workforce by recruiting federal workers who might be losing or leaving their jobs as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.

Shapiro became the latest governor to make that pitch, joining other governors who are holding job fairs, fast-tracking hiring for such applicants or doing other kinds of outreach.

Shapiro, in a news conference at a state job fair in Harrisburg, said his administration will raise its consideration of federal job experience when it looks to hire and has assembled materials online to show federal workers how their experience translates to the state workforce.

Shapiro gave as examples nurses who can help staff state health care facilities, civil engineers who can work on road and bridge safety, accountants who can process state tax returns and emergency response professionals who can help the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

Shapiro noted that the state, with a workforce of almost 82,000 people, has nearly 6,000 open positions for which federal workers who are losing their jobs could apply.

“Some of them might have been laid off recently, some of them might just be looking for a change right now,” Shapiro said. “They can step into one of our vacancies and be ready to serve on day one.”

Trump administration’s cuts have made the country “less safe and less healthy and less protected,” Shapiro said.

Trump, through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, is closing agencies, firing workers, laying off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees.

More layoffs could be on the way.

The IRS and Social Security Administration are preparing plans to cut their workforces, federal offices could be sold off and federal employees who don’t comply with Musk ’s demands for reports on their recent accomplishments could get fired. Trump also has vowed to dismantle the Department of Education.

Roughly 80% of the country’s 2.4 million federal workers are based outside of metropolitan Washington, D.C.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Voting booths are set up at a polling place in Newtown, Pa., Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is spending more than $10 million to replace its electronic voter registration database with an election management system that will also provide election night results and handle campaign finance filings and lobbyist registration.

Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced Wednesday the Civix system should be fully in use by the time of the next presidential election in 2028, replacing the existing Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE system.

Election management is closely watched in Pennsylvania, a perennial swing state where the two major parties are constantly seeking an edge in state and national contests.

State officials say the Civix system’s functions for public use will provide information about voter registration, coming elections and voting data.

The SURE system, used by counties to record, update and verify voter registration information, has been in place since 2003 and is widely considered to be outdated.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not reliable,” said Schmidt, who compared using the existing system to the frustrations of having a 20-year-old phone. “It is safe and secure. We are always having to make upgrades.”

It’s not clear how much the Civix software will also require hardware changes, Schmidt said.

“As the project develops, it will become more clear the extent to which new hardware is needed,” he said.

Forrest Lehman, who has served as Lycoming County’s elections director for about a decade, said there is a widespread feeling among county elections officials that the SURE system is in need of replacement.

“We all want this to succeed,” Lehman said. “We want a new voter registration system that can move this state and the counties that use it into the 21st century.”

Story by Curtis Walsh – Published March 5, 2025 2:46 P.M.

(Beaver, Pa) The Beaver County Commissioners briefly spoke about the Shell Cracker plant at their work session Wednesday morning.

Recent information has been released that suggests Shell is considering selling the plant that recently cost them over 14 billion dollars to build and has only been operating since 2022.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Shell is exploring the sale of their chemical assets in the US and Europe.

Commissioner Jack Manning commented that “everything has a price” and suggested that normally these kind of deals are not unusual but he does see this one as unusual considering the large investment and how quickly Shell is willing to sell.

Also during the meeting, the Commissioners spoke about administrative changes possibly happening between the New Brighton and Rochester School districts.

The schools recently announced two town hall meetings to discuss combining the administration between the schools.

Commissioner Dan Camp noted that “it’s been a long time coming” and Manning says that he supports the idea.

The meetings are open to the public and will take place on April 7th at New Brighton and April 24 at Rochester. Both meetings will be held in the auditorium of the respective school at 6pm.