Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing a lane closure on the Fort Pitt Bridge and Tunnel in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will occur tonight, Thursday night, December 2 weather permitting.

Keystone State News Connection

December 2, 2021

Emily Scott

MILL CREEK, Pa. — The trillion-dollar infrastructure bill passed by Congress last month includes $65 billion to provide better internet access to rural and low-income communities.

Pennsylvanians see the internet as a necessity to their economic future.

In Huntingdon County, issues with getting online led to the founding of the Rural Broadband Cooperative, a small nonprofit that built a radio tower on a nearby mountain to provide wireless internet service to the central Pennsylvania region.

Henry McCreary, general manager of the Rural Broadband Cooperative, said based on customer anecdotes, the infrastructure bill could help families with students who struggled to connect during COVID.

“Mom had to drive the kids 15 miles every day to grandmother’s house for the kids to be able to access to the internet to get their schoolwork done, which was really a burden for them for lots of reasons,” McCreary related.

The cooperative is now up to 250 customers and growing. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide Pennsylvania with an estimated $100 million over the next five years to increase broadband connectivity across the Commonwealth. An estimated 394,000 Pennsylvanians lack internet coverage.

In Juniata County, 26% of households don’t have broadband access, according to U.S. Census data.

Vince Giordano, director of the Juniata County Library, said many residents depend on them to get online. He said so far this year, the library’s mobile hotspots have been used about 250 times. Giordano argued making broadband widespread in Juniata County is vital to its future.

“Pennsylvania is a big state. And I think if rural areas are going to excel, they need internet,” Giordano contended. “And if they don’t excel, people are going to leave. Even just having good internet can allow people to work from home and do remote work. But if people don’t have the internet, they can’t really do that.”

Juniata County’s population fell by about eleven-hundred people between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. census data. Through the infrastructure package, 23% of Pennsylvanians will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Program, which will help low-income families pay for internet access.

US reports 1st case of omicron variant in returning traveler
By ZEKE MIILLER and RAF CASERT Associated Press
The U.S. identified its first known case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a person in California — as scientists around the world raced to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than the previous ones. The first U.S. case is a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22. The person, who was fully vaccinated, had mild symptoms that are improving. The person has agreed to remain in quarantine and all the individual’s close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative. Nigeria and Saudi Arabia also reported omicron infections Wednesday, marking the first known cases in West Africa and the Persian Gulf region.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The Commissioners’ work session on Wednesday provided some insight into Beaver County’s role in a national multi-state lawsuit  that could be settled soon.

“Beaver County initiated a lawsuit along with a multitude of other counties, cities, [and] states throughout the country,” said Garen Fedeles, the Solicitor for Beaver County. “What is now happening is that the state is trying to work out a settlement for all counties and cities throughout the state to settle the lawsuit as it comes to Pennsylvania.”

Commissioner Jack Manning was the one who brought up the lawsuit during the work session, saying “It has to be everybody in, or it doesn’t work, as far as my understanding. And this is a national $26 billion [lawsuit] with Johnson & Johnson.”

“What the loose proposal is right now from the state’s negotations”, Fedeles said, “Is that the county would get approximately $8.8 million as part of  this settlement to use towards various items…the understanding is that it would be used to fight the effects of the opioid epidemic.”

The Commissioners’ next public work session is scheduled for December 8 at 10:00 AM.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 7:48 AM
(Harrisburg, Pa.) The automatic pay raise for Pa Legislators kicks in today, boosting their pay to over $95,000/year. With the raise some lawmakers earn well over six figures, depending on the position they hold in the statehouse or senate.
The pay raise doesn’t require a vote because of a 1995 law that bases their raises on inflation.
Pennsylvania ranks third on the list of highest-paid legislatures in the country.
California is number one, followed by New York, and then Pennsylvania, not counting per diem.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 6:46 AM
(Sewickley, Pa.) Lane restrictions on Route 65 (Ohio River Boulevard) in Sewickley Borough began yesterday.
Single-lane restrictions will occur in both directions of Route 65 between the Chestnut Street/Bank Street and River Street/Broad Street intersections from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through Tuesday, December 21. Restrictions will not occur in both directions simultaneously. Crews will perform signal head installation and signal pole foundation drilling work.
Work on this $3.03 million project includes milling and paving, guide rail and drainage upgrades, inlet adjustments, base repairs and ADA curb ramps improvements, signal updates, and other miscellaneous construction. Work on this project will be coordinated with other construction activities in the area including the I-79 Neville Island Bridge project.
Lindy Paving is the prime contractor.
Please use caution when traveling through the project corridor. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.

(File Photo)
Story by Frank Sparks, News/Program Director
(Ambridge,Pa.) Motorist in the Ambridge and Aliquippa area will be jumping for joy after THE AMBRIDGE/ALIQUIPPA BRIDGE reopened yesterday ahead of schedule. An ecstatic Ambridge Council president Mike Mikulich contacted Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano and told her of the reopening that took place just before noon. The bridge underwent 4 weeks of necessary repairs that resulted in detours for motorists using the span and was scheduled to reopen on Saturday.
The Ambridge/Aliquippa Bridge is a major artery in the southern end of Beaver County and the closure caused people to have to either utilize the Sewickley or East Rochester Bridges causing major delays throughout the area during peak hours of travel.
The bridge was closed on November 8, 2021 for emergency repairs after safety concerns were raised by citizens who were concerned for their safety on the bridge.

(File Photo)
Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 6:24 AM
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high court says that for now, an order requiring masks inside Pennsylvania’s K-12 schools and child care facilities will remain in place. The state Supreme Court said Tuesday that could change again after it hears oral argument next week in Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s appeal of a lawsuit that has overturned the mandate. If the justices hadn’t acted, the mask mandate would have ended on Saturday. A Commonwealth Court majority said earlier this month that acting Health Secretary Alison Beam lacked authority to require masks. The lower court said Beam didn’t comply with state laws about reviewing and approving regulations and that the mandate was adopted without an existing disaster emergency.