(File Photo)

(Washington D.C.) US Representative Conor Lamb issued a statement following passage of H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act yesterday.
Lamb said in a statement that “By passing this bill today, we are doing everything we can to prevent another Uvalde. These clear and simple rules will make it harder for criminals to get guns, and make it less likely that children will be shot while they are trying to learn. These rules will not take away one minute of hunting or lawful sport shooting from anyone. The Senate needs to do their job and pass this legislation to protect our communities and children from more senseless violence.”
The Protecting Our Kids Act will:
Raise the purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old.
Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off the streets.
Subject ghost gun purchases to background check requirements.
Strengthen safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings.
Close the bump stock loophole to ban these deadly tools from civilian use.
Outlaw high-capacity magazines.
Require an annual report of demographic data of those being determined to be ineligible to purchase guns.

(File Photo of Official Photo of Pa. State Rep. Rob Matzie)

(Ambridge, Pa.) Beaver County is receiving more than $396,000 to strengthen probation services and fund efforts to help non-violent offenders return to the community through restrictive supervision and substance use treatment, state Rep. Rob Matzie announced today.

Matzie, D-Beaver/Allegheny, said the funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will improve outcomes while saving taxpayer dollars.

“In addition to improving traditional probation and parole services, part of the funding awarded today is going to support the county’s program to divert non-violent offenders away from incarceration and into highly supervised drug and alcohol treatment programs,” Matzie said. “Programs like these save taxpayer dollars on incarceration, while giving people a second chance to overcome substance use disorders, return to their families, and rejoin the community.”

Matzie said the funding includes:

• $282,501 in Continuing County Adult Probation and Parole Grant funds to improve delivery of probation and parole services.

• $94,967 in Intermediate Punishment Treatment Funds to Beaver County commissioners for County Probation with Restrictive Sanctions for fiscal year 2022-23.

• $18,600 in unexpended County Intermediate Punishment funds.

 

Matzie said that in addition to the funding to Beaver County, Allegheny County is receiving more than $4 million in PCCD funding to support child victims, bolster services for recovering mothers with newborns, improve probation services, strengthen programs that prevent juvenile delinquency, and enhance police resources.

(File Photo)

(New Brighton, Pa.) Traffic alert for drivers in New Brighton this morning as Penn Avenue, from Allegheny Street which is the bottom of hospital hill by the middle school, to Sixth Street which is in the area of Penn bistro will be closed today, Thursday, June 9, starting at 8:00 AM to perform routine road maintenance.

Another closure Tomorrow starting at 8:00 AM, will occur on Harmony Avenue which is the intersection at Wooley bully’s and the road will be closed to the New Brighton Area School District entrance in Pulaski Township.
That road will also be closed for maintenance.

According to mass e-marlin that was sent out to Borough residents and posted on social media both roads are anticipated to be reopened early in the afternoon on the same day as the closure.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see. From toilet paper to yogurt to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide. In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65. In the U.K., Nestle slimmed down coffee tins from 100 grams to 90 grams. Shrinkflation isn’t new, experts say. But it proliferates in times of high inflation as companies grapple with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation. —

(File Photo)

(Big Beaver, Pa.) Pa State Police in Gibsonia are investigating after a being dispatched to the scene of a hit and run accident on the Pa Turnpike in Big Beaver Boro at 2:05 PM on Monday, June 6,2022.
Upon arriving on the scene and investigating it was learned that 74-year-old Richard Gregory of Hermitage was driving west bound on the turnpike near mile marker 12 in a 2014 Toyota Camary when a vehicle that was traveling behind him at a faster rate of speed for unknown reasons struck his vehicle from behind. After the collision Gregory pulled to the should of the road and the unknown vehicle continued to travel westbound on the Pa Turnpike. There is no description of the vehicle and State Troopers are asking anyone with information to call them at the Gibsonia Barracks.

(File Photo of US Federal Court in Pittsburgh)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced that 35-year-old Brandon Washington A former resident of Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense before United States District Judge Robert Colville.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that in March 2021, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police narcotics agents working with the Drug Enforcement Administration utilized an undercover agent to purchase cocaine from Washington at a hotel in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood. Agents executed search warrants on multiple hotel rooms thereafter, which led to the seizure of additional quantities of cocaine base (in the form commonly known as “crack”), drug paraphernalia commonly used to process cocaine into cocaine base, and a loaded .45 caliber pistol.
By pleading guilty, Washington admitted that he distributed cocaine, possessed cocaine base with the intent to distribute it, and unlawfully possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for October 4, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both.

(File Photo)

(Beaver, Pa.) The election results from the May 17th primary in Beaver County have now been certified after the elections board met on Monday and certified the election.
The automatic recount was triggered in the Republican US Senate race between David Mc Cormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz after county reps recounted the votes the final numbers in the county added up to David Mc Cormick receiving 6,422 votes compared to Dr. oz’s 5,669 vote.
On the other side of the aisle JOHN FETTERMAN received 8,855 in the county compared to US Congressman Conor Lamb’s 7,970. Another person considered to be a front runner on the Democratic side Rep Malcom Kenyatta only received 285 votes in the county.
McCormick conceded to Dr. Oz last Friday night setting up a battle between Oz and Democrat John Fetterman in one of the key US Senate Seats races that could decide party control in the Senate.
Both Oz and Fetterman are running to replace retiring Republican US Senator Pat Toomey

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
By BEN FOX Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security says a looming Supreme Court decision on abortion, an increase of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and the midterm elections are potential triggers for extremist violence over the next six months. DHS said Tuesday in the National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin that the U.S. was in a “heightened threat environment” already. It’s the latest attempt by DHS to draw attention to the threat posed by domestic violent extremism. That’s a shift from alerts about international terrorism that were a hallmark of DHS following its creation after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

AAA: Gas Prices Jump This Week
Gas prices are 15 cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.851 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $4.851
Average price during the week of May 31, 2022                                      $4.701
Average price during the week of June 7, 2021                                       $3.240

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$4.848      Altoona
$4.866      Beaver
$4.832      Bradford
$4.827      Brookville
$4.857      Butler
$4.910      Clarion
$4.794      DuBois
$4.858      Erie
$4.798      Greensburg
$4.805      Indiana
$4.808      Jeannette
$4.897      Kittanning
$4.839      Latrobe
$4.848      Meadville
$4.955      Mercer
$4.870      New Castle
$4.789      New Kensington
$4.899      Oil City
$4.885      Pittsburgh
$4.849      Sharon
$4.846      Uniontown
$4.799      Warren
$4.896      Washington

Trend Analysis:

The cost of gasoline is increasing rapidly across the country in part due to seasonal trends and the rising cost of crude oil. The cost of a barrel of oil is nearing $120, nearly double from last August, as increased oil demand outpaces the tight global supply. Meanwhile, domestic gasoline demand rose last week in the wake of a robust Memorial Day weekend of travel. As a result, the national average for a gallon of gas surged 25 cents in one week to hit $4.86. Today’s national average is 59 cents more than a month ago, and $1.81 more than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 700,000 barrels to 219 million barrels last week. Meanwhile, gasoline demand grew from 8.8 million b/d to 8.98 million b/d as drivers fueled up for Memorial Day weekend travel. These supply and demand dynamics have contributed to rising pump prices. Coupled with volatile crude oil prices, pump prices will likely remain elevated as long as demand grows and supply remains tight.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 72 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.