(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Emergency culvert replacement work is set to begin on Friday night (February 9) along Route 68 in Industry, which will close a section of the road until 3 PM on Monday afternoon (February 12).

PennDOT District 11 announced the project yesterday, which will detour motorists through the Shippingport Bridge onto Shippingport Road west of the closure, and detour motorists from Route 18 Southbound to Shippingport Road heading eastbound.

Posted Detours

West of the Closure

• From Route 68, take the Shippingport Bridge (Route 168) south
• Turn left onto Shippingport Road
• Turn left onto Route 18 (Frankfort Road)
• Take the ramp to 376 West toward New Castle
• From westbound I-376, take the 68 West (Exit 38A) off-ramp toward Midland (toward the closure) or 68 East (Exit 38B) off-ramp toward Beaver (to continue on eastbound Route 68)
• End Detour

East of the Closure

• From Route 68, take the ramp to 376 East toward Pittsburgh
• From eastbound I-376, take the Route 18 (Exit 39) off-ramp toward Monaca/Shippingport
• Bear right toward 18 South toward Shippingport
• From southbound Route 18 (Frankfort Road), turn right onto Shippingport Road
• Turn right onto the Shippingport Bridge
• Turn right onto 68 East toward Beaver (toward the closure) or stay straight to 68 West/168 North toward Midland (to continue on westbound Route 68)

Crews from Gregori Construction, Inc. will conduct the work.

(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)

Freedom Middle School PTO’s former treasurer Margot Taddeo was arrested last Friday on theft and bad check charges by Beaver Valley Regional Police.

The school found out she failed to make a deposit of $12,214.05 dating back from September 2022 and July 23, 2023. Taddeo was the only member who had access to all the money used for events. When all the events were canceled, board members noticed suspicious activity which led them to find out funds were missing. 

She was charged by District Justice Ed Howe on 2 felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, 7 misdemeanor counts of theft by unlawful taking, 4 counts of bad checks and theft by deception. She will face a hearing in Beaver County Central Court on February 15, 2024. 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget proposes significant increases to education and economic development and would regulate adult use marijuana, while leaning heavily on Pennsylvania’s flush reserves to underwrite his vision.

The Democrat on Tuesday unveiled his budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, in front of a joint session of the House and Senate in the ornate Capitol Rotunda.

Referring to his inaugural spending plan as a “down payment” on his vision for Pennsylvania, Shapiro called on lawmakers to enact his projected $48.3 billion budget to inject more cash into underfunded public schools and attract major industrial and high-tech projects to invigorate a slow-growing economy.

“I know that’s a bold vision, and some will reflexively be opposed, saying, ‘We can’t afford that,’” Shapiro said in prepared remarks. “But I would argue we can’t afford not to invest right now.”

He said it taps into his “competitive spirit,” and acknowledged his proposal is ambitious.

In the wake of a court ruling that last year determined the state needed to better fund its public schools, Shapiro wants a $1.1 billion, or 14%, increase to public schools. A significant portion of that would go toward helping poorer schools, a proposal which drew enthusiasm from education advocates.

The budget does not call for a tax increase, or require one for at least five years, Shapiro said. Instead, about $3 billion in reserve cash would be used to balance the budget, with tax collections projected to increase by $1 billion, or 2.2%. Shapiro’s spending request would increase total authorized spending by 7% through the state’s main bank account.

The proposal would hold the line on taxes on income and sales, the state’s two largest sources of income, while public schools, higher education, public transit and human services would absorb much of the increase in spending. The proposal would shrink the state’s cash reserve from $14 billion to $11 billion.

With a nod to his burgeoning catchphrase, Shapiro called on lawmakers “get more stuff done.” Acknowledging the divided Legislature, with Republicans controlling the Senate and Democrats the House, Shapiro made his plea for bipartisan cooperation.

As a new revenue stream, Shapiro wants to legalize adult-use marijuana, following the example of Pennsylvania’s neighbors, including Ohio, New Jersey and New York. He called for expunging records of those incarcerated for marijuana, and using $5 million of proceeds for restorative justice. Shapiro’s administration estimates the industry would eventually yield $250 million in additional annual revenue.

For public schools, of the $1.1 billion increase, about $872 million would go toward helping the state’s poorest districts provide a better education for its students.

Shapiro also called for more funds for student teacher stipends, mental health, special education and school construction, and tighter limits on charter school reimbursements. He is also requesting funds to place menstrual hygiene products in schools.

“If you combine those savings with the new money I’m proposing for our 500 school districts, that would mean nearly 2 billion dollars more for our public schools next year,” he said to applause. “This is ambitious. None of this is easy and all of it will require us to work together.”

Pennsylvania lags nearly every other state in funding higher education. To bolster students continuing through post-secondary, Shapiro’s budget allots an extra $200 million, or 10%, more for the state’s higher education institutions. The extra funds and a revised state-owned higher education system seeks to raise Pennsylvania from being one of the worst states in college affordability and state funding.

Beyond the continued push for a $15 minimum wage and the additional revenue stream of recreational marijuana, Shapiro wants legislators to fund economic development projects to attract major industrial and high-tech businesses to cultivate a more dynamic workforce. He proposes borrowing $500 million to go toward site development, to better entice industrial and tech businesses to choose Pennsylvania over other states.

“We need to build a more competitive Pennsylvania that starts in our classrooms, runs through our union halls and our small businesses, through our farmlands and our high rises, our college campuses, and leads to a life of opportunity and a retirement with dignity,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro’s proposal would boost spending on home and community services for the intellectually disabled and autistic by about $200 million, or 12% more. That’s about half the amount that advocates say is needed to fix a system beset by staffing shortages and long waiting lists.

Another significant investment would go to public transportation, increasing the state share by $283 million, or about 2%. A bit under half of that would go to Philadelphia’s primary public transit authority, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, commonly known as SEPTA.

Under Shapiro’s proposal, about $31 million more would flow to help Pennsylvania State Police maintain and update its fleet of vehicles and aircrafts. The funding comes after a high-profile prison escapee eluded officers.

Specifically targeting gun violence, an additional $1.5 million would increase staffing of state troopers and civilians by auditing gun retailers and monitoring social media for threats.

To curb youth-based gun violence, Shapiro wants about $23 million to increase after-school programming for adolescents, and to dedicate resources to cleaning up shared spaces like parks and recreation areas that are most affected by gun violence.

Smaller line items target housing needs — like $50 million for home repair subsidies, and $10 million for the next four years to rehab properties and build new homes and apartments. Funds would also be allocated for those facing eviction to have legal counsel.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — The conservative group Project Veritas and its former leader are taking the unusual step of publicly acknowledging that claims of ballot mishandling at a Pennsylvania post office in 2020 were untrue.

The statements from Project Veritas and founder James O’Keefe came as a lawsuit filed against them by a Pennsylvania postmaster was settled Monday.

The group produced videos in the wake of the 2020 presidential election based on claims from a postal worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, who said he had overheard a conversation between the postmaster and a supervisor about illegally backdating mail-in presidential ballots.

Pennsylvania is a battleground state in presidential elections and had been a key target for unfounded claims of election fraud by former President Donald Trump and his supporters after he lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden. The claims about the Erie postmaster sparked calls for an investigation from Republicans and were cited in court by the Trump campaign to support voter fraud allegations.

The admission on Monday was the latest evidence that Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election were baseless. The former president’s allegations of massive voting fraud have been dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by state election officials and his former attorney general, William Barr.

The Erie postal worker, Richard Hopkins, said in a statement Monday that he was wrong and apologized to the postmaster and his family, as well as the Erie post office.

“I only heard a fragment of the conversation and reached the conclusion that the conversation was related to nefarious behavior,” he wrote. “As I have now learned, I was wrong.”

Both Project Veritas and O’Keefe said in their statements posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that they are not aware of any evidence or other allegation of election fraud in Erie during the 2020 election. The conservative nonprofit, which is known for its hidden camera stings aimed at embarrassing news outlets, labor organizations and Democratic politicians, removed O’Keefe last year amid reports of mistreated workers and misspent organization funds.

Erie postmaster Robert Weisenbach sued the group, as well as O’Keefe and Hopkins, for defamation in 2021.

Weisenbach’s attorneys included the group Protect Democracy, which confirmed the settlement, as did Stephen Klein, an attorney who represented Project Veritas and O’Keefe. Both sides said the “case was resolved in a manner acceptable to all the parties.”

An attorney for Hopkins did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Weisenbach, who voted Trump, has previously said the false ballot backdating accusations destroyed his reputation and forced him to flee his home after his address was circulated online and he was confronted by a man yelling at him as he pulled into his driveway, according to court documents.

The U.S. Postal Service also investigated Hopkins’s claims, but found no evidence of backdated ballots, according to a report released in February 2021.

Elections officials previously told The Associated Press the county had received about 140 ballots after the election and just five had an Erie postmark.

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling more than three quarters of a million vehicles in the U.S. because a faulty sensor may cause the front passenger air bags to inflate when they’re not supposed to.

The recall covers certain Honda Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V and Odyssey models from the 2020 through 2022 model years, as well as the 2020 Fit and Civic Coupe. Also included are the 2021 and 2022 Civic hatchback, the 2021 Civic Type R and Insight, and the 2020 and 2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline and Accord Hybrid.

Affected models from the Acura luxury brand include the 2020 and 2022 MDX, the 2020 through 2022 RDX and the 2020 and 2021 TLX.

Documents posted Tuesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that the front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, and fail to turn off the air bag as intended. The sensors are required to disable the air bags if children or small adults are in the seats. If that doesn’t happen, it increases the risk of injury.

Dealers will replace the seat sensors at no cost to owners. Owners will be notified starting March 18.

Honda says in documents that it has 3,834 warranty claims but no reports of injuries or deaths from the problem between June 30, 2020 and Jan. 19 of this year.