Six people are displaced after a fire broke out late last night at an apartment building in Rochester. When firefighters arrived at the scene on Riverview Street, they saw flames coming from a third-floor window. Fire officials say the fire started in the living room of an apartment. The six people who were displaced are receiving assistance from the Red Cross. Two cats were also displaced.
PennDOT District 11 is announcing a traffic shift on Route 18 (Brodhead Road) in Monaca Borough began today. Beginning at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Route 18 traffic will be shifted into two 10-foot wide lanes on the bridge over Markeys Run between Old Brodhead Road and the railroad overpass continuously through Friday, June 21. Crews will conduct concrete patching and a latex placement on the bridge. The work is part of an $11.86 million improvement project on Route 18 between the Rochester-Monaca Bridge and the new I-376 Monaca/Shippingport interchange. Additional work includes guiderail upgrades, drainage work, shoulder repairs, and signal updates.
WEATHER FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH, 2019
TODAY – PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 74.
TONIGHT – SOME CLOUDS. LOW NEAR 60.
THURSDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING LATER IN THE DAY. HIGH
NEAR 80.
Vázquez gets revenge on Gallo, Pirates nip Rangers 5-4
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Felipe Vázquez doesn’t let his failures linger. That wouldn’t help the Pittsburgh Pirates closer be any good at his job. Still, he wanted another shot at Texas slugger Joey Gallo. Getting touched for a 467-foot home run will do that.
So when setup man Kyle Crick hit a batter with two outs in the eighth on Tuesday night and the Pirates nursing a one-run lead, Vázquez knew if everything went right, he’d see Gallo as the last man up.
The outcome this time was different. Far different. Three pitches. Three strikes. The last two both clocked at 101 mph, followed by a fist pump, a smile and the obligatory jab to catcher Francisco Cervelli’s chest in celebration after the Pirates escaped with a 5-4 win.
“My turn,” Vázquez said after picking up his 10th save. “He got me once. He’s not going to get me twice. I knew as soon as Crick hit that guy, I was like, ‘Yeah.’ I wanted him to be up for sure. I wanted to get a little revenge in here.”
Gallo’s moon shot in the 11th last Tuesday didn’t spoil Pittsburgh’s 6-4 win, and the hard-throwing All-Star tried to play it off in the aftermath, tweeting he thought it might go “500 feet.”
“You’ve got to have fun,” Vázquez said. “You cannot get frustrated. At least me. I’m a closer. I can’t get frustrated. I cannot carry all that to my next start.”
Vázquez’s emphatic strikeout ended the only perfect inning for Pittsburgh’s bullpen. The Pirates relied on spot starter Steven Brault and six relievers to win for the fifth time in six games. Brault lasted four innings while filling in for injured Chris Archer. Michael Feliz (1-0) pitched a scoreless fifth and the Pirates survived to improve to 16-5 in their last 21 interleague games.
“It’s a night we were tough enough,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “We had enough pitches.”
POLANCO PRODUCES
Pittsburgh right fielder Gregory Polanco sent a two-run shot to the first row of seats in right-center off Adrian Sampson (0-2) in the fifth, his first since dislocating his left shoulder in an awkward slide last September.
Polanco underwent surgery shortly after mangling his shoulder on Sept. 4. He returned a bit earlier than expected and is still working to rediscover the power that led him to hit a career-high 23 home runs in 2018. He entered Tuesday hitting .250 with one RBI in 10 games and spent the pregame focusing on using his lower body more to compensate for a left shoulder he admitted is still “weak.”
Polanco singled in his first at-bat — before getting caught stealing at second, though his slide was just fine — and lined out to right in the third. In the fifth, he turned on a pitch from Sampson to put Pittsburgh ahead 5-2.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be like right away because obviously this is not 100 percent,” Polanco said while touching his shoulder. “This is still weak. But, you know, it’s getting there. It’s getting there.”
HOT HUNTER
Hunter Pence drove in all four runs for Texas, doubling twice and adding his fourth home run. The rest of the Rangers went 2 for 27. Texas stranded eight runners and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Manager Chris Woodward could start giving Pence more opportunities going forward. The 36-year-old is now hitting .333 with 17 RBIs while serving as part of an outfield rotation.
“We definitely need to find a way to get him in there more often,” Woodward said. “He deserves playing time. He really does. Obviously, I think everybody is taking notice.”
LECLERC BOUNCES BACK
The Rangers took José Leclerc out of the closer’s role last week after he blew a save against the Pirates. He threw a shutout inning of relief in Toronto over the weekend and allowed just one baserunner in two innings of work on Tuesday.
“To see José get two scoreless, it’s really cool to see him having success,” Woodward said. “I feel pretty confident that not too long from now, he’s going to be back in his role that he had.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Archer (right thumb inflammation) did some flat-ground work on Tuesday but remains out indefinitely. … RHP Keone Kela sat out his second straight game with right shoulder soreness.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Shelby Miller (1-2, 7.99 ERA) has allowed four runs in each of his last five starts heading into Wednesday’s series finale. He took the loss against Pittsburgh last week, surrendering four runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Pirates: Nick Kingham (1-0, 6.39) makes his first start of the season, filling in for Archer. Kingham went 5-7 with a 5.32 ERA in 15 starts as a rookie in 2018.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Republicans move expanded ed tax credits through state House
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans in the Pennsylvania House are moving a proposal ahead to expand a private school tax credit program.
Representatives voted 111 to 85 Tuesday to nearly double the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, increasing it by $100 million.
The bill also includes an automatic 10 percent increase, if all available credits are used in a given year.
All Republicans and four Democrats voted for it, advancing the proposal to the Senate.
The 18-year-old tax credit program reimburses corporations for donating to groups that offer private school scholarships to low- and middle-income families.
The bill would expand eligibility limits from families that make $85,000 to families with income of $95,000.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf says he’s hesitant to boost business tax credits at the expense of education funding that goes into classrooms.
Sheriff says shots fired at school in suburban Denver
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) — Authorities say shots have been fired at a school in suburban Denver.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says it believes two people have been injured in the shooting at the school but says it’s still gathering information.
It described the situation as “unstable” and asked the public to avoid the area.
(Harrisburg, Pa.) — Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. congratulated Elliot Howsie on his confirmed appointment to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
Howsie was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf following Senator Costa’s recommendation and was today confirmed by the full Senate unanimously.
“I was honored to recommend Elliot through this process, and we saw he had a broad range of support from folks who have worked with him for years or just recently met him,” said Senator Costa. “Elliot has the unique blend of work and life experience that will make him a valuable addition to the bench. I know he’ll be a wonderful judge and administer fair justice in his new role.”
Howsie grew up in Wilkinsburg, and after graduating from Central Catholic High School, he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in criminal justice.
As he pursued his master’s degree in criminal justice, Elliot worked in social services teaching decision making and reintegration skills to the children at Shuman Juvenile Detention Center.
Elliot went on to serve as an Assistant District Attorney for five years in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, where he focused on prosecuting cases involving child abuse. After leaving the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, he established his own law firm. He worked as a sole practitioner specializing in criminal defense as well as personal injury cases in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
In 2012, he was appointed by Allegheny County Executive, Rich Fitzgerald, to be Allegheny County’s first African American Chief Public Defender.
Beaver County Chamber of Commerce President Jack Manning’s May 2019 Message
Government Affairs Educational Pathway’s Sub-Committee Report
The Beaver County Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee has three key area of advocacy for 2019. These three areas are 1) Elevating Transportation Infrastructure; 2) Maximizing our Riverfront Potential; and 3) Enhancing Educational Pathways. As we enter the month of May with the impending end of the school year and graduations, we’d like to focus on the third of these.
We believe there is nothing more important at this point of the Beaver Valley’s economic revitalization than workforce development. A competent education system is necessary to produce and sustain a qualified workforce that can adapt to the current economy and labor market, with sufficient funding to efficiently improve student outcomes. Specifically, the Chamber supports:
All of our current Chamber members are looking for talent to fill open positions and expand their business. Whether you are an entrepreneur opening a small business, a nonprofit providing valuable social services, or a manufacturer looking for technicians and mechanics, everyone is looking for employees willing to learn and become part of their work-teams.
Ensuring that our students understand all the career pathways and opportunities ahead of them is critical. While much emphasis has been rightly placed on the building trades and the need for multiple skilled workers, opportunities abound across multiple segments of our economy. There is great demand for those skilled in healthcare, financial management, hospitality, and food service, as well as engineering.
There are multiple Chamber members and organizations that are working to help high school graduates find the right career path for them, as well as upskill current employees to take on new and emerging careers that require more technical training. Our Bridges and Pathways College Partnership institutions have redefined their curriculum to provide for the right employer needs of an ever-changing knowledge-based economy. Organizations such as PA CareerLink, Job Training for Beaver County, Community College of Beaver County. Pittsburgh Technical College, Penn State Beaver, the Builders Guild of New Castle and our many union partners, all have programs and apprenticeships for many of today’s career opportunities.
Beaver County is experiencing a great resurgence in job growth and record low unemployment. We know that in order to foster continued business growth and development, organizations will need a skilled workforce. Our Chamber membership and the Government Affairs Committee are committed to ensuring that every student and worker within our region has the skills and opportunity for a successful, family sustaining career. By doing so, we hope to ensure continued prosperity and a quality of life that will sustain us through many future generations.
This important community update is brought to you by Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, 1st Consultants, Strassburger, McKenna, Gutnick & Gefsky, Ambridge Regional Chamber of Commerce, Skerlec Contracting, and NovaCare!
(Beaver Falls, Pa.) by Frank Sparks Beaver County Radio
On Tuesday, May 7, 2019 during Teleforum with Frank Sparks in the 10 o’clock hour Frank continued his series highlighting the candidates running for office in Beaver County.
Frank’s guest was Beaver County Commissioner Tony Amadio who is a seeking to be re-elected as a Commissioner. Amadio is a Democrat who has teamed up with former Commissioner Dennis Nichols on the ballot. The two hope to win the Democratic nod to run in the general election in November. The Commissioner talked about his life growing up in Aliquippa and playing by the river. After graduating high school Tony went onto college, first West Virginia then CCBC and finally California University of Pa., Amadio then began substitute teaching throughout the area before settling on a 34 year career at Center Area School District, now Central Valley. Amadio became involved in politics, which was his love from being a young boy, by first being a fire marshal and then a Center Twp Supervisor before finally running for and being elected a Beaver County Commissioner.
The Commissioner told the listeners about his experiences and what he has learned during his time as a Commissioner and how he is excited for what the future holds for the county.
Amadio told the listeners about his wife, Cheryl, who is his best friend and love of his life. Tony and Cheryl also have two Children and 4 Grandchildren. Tony also talked about his love for Beaver County and told Sparks that if elected this will be his last term so he can spend more time with his family and travel with his wife.
You can watch Commissioner Amadio’s interview as it streamed live on Facebook by pressing the play button below….
Over four hundred former federal prosecutors say that President Donald Trump would face charges of obstruction of justice if he weren’t the president, The Washington Post reports. About 426 former federal prosecutors signed a statement declaring that the behavior described in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges had it not come from a sitting president.