TSA officers prevented a Beaver Falls, Pa., man from carrying this handgun through the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on April 9. (TSA photo)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A Beaver County, Pa., man was arrested on Sunday, April 9, after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) stopped the man with a loaded gun in his carry-on bag. The 9 mm firearm was loaded with five bullets.

When the TSA officer spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, airport police were alerted, came to the checkpoint and confiscated the weapon and arrested the man, a resident of Beaver Falls, Pa. In addition to being arrested, the man also faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty. Federal penalties for bringing weapons to the checkpoint can run as high as $15,000, depending on the circumstances.

“The spring travel season is upon us and checkpoint operations are very busy,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “We’ve seen an increase in travelers, and I am personally grateful that TSA officers here at Pittsburgh and across the country remain focused on their mission. Let this incident serve as a reminder to others who are traveling with a firearm, to take a few moments before you come to the airport to refresh your familiarity with the proper procedures on how to pack a gun for a flight. Firearms should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.”

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

Firearms are not permitted through a security checkpoint because passengers should not have access to a firearm during a flight. This even applies to travelers with concealed carry permits or are enrolled in the TSA PreCheck® program, who will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges if they bring a gun to a checkpoint.  Individuals who bring their gun to a security checkpoint also face a federal financial civil penalty.

This is the 6th weapon caught in a checkpoint so far in 2023 at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published April 13, 2023 7:40 A.M.  

(Ambridge, PA) Ambridge Borough Manager Mario Leone announced at Tuesday’s council meeting on March 16 the borough was notified that they will receive a $400,000.00 CFA Multi-Modal Grant for its Streetscape Project. On March 17, the borough submitted Federal Appropriations to both Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Congressman Chris Deluzio for $2 million for the borough’s proposed Community Center/Recreational Complex. The borough received a $12,500.00 Humanities Grant for the continuation of the Heart and Soul Program, they have to apply to PA DCED for an additional $12,500.00. A Creative Communities Grant for $6,500 was received for the 5th Street Park Mural for the 2024 Bicentennial for Old Economy and Ambridge Mr. Leone reported that the borough applied for a DCNR  grant for $600,000.00 with a 50% match for the P.J. Caul Park Improvement Project.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published April 13, 2023 7:29 A.M. 

(Ambridge, PA) Ambridge Fire Department responded to a fire in nearby Bell Acres Borough recently. Jordan Turner, one the department’s firefighters,  saved the resident’s dog, he also conducted a program on Career Day at Highland Elementary School.  He was named the borough’s Employee of the Month.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published April 13, 2023 7:26 A.M.

(Aliquippa, PA) PA State police were called to the Eleanor Roosevelt Apartments , 740  Sheffield Avenue at 12:07 a.m. Wednesday to assist Aliquippa Police and take over the investigation into the death of a 40 year old female. No foul play is suspected, and the investigation is still open, according got a state police report issued Wednesday afternoon.

The Congressman toured Pittsburgh Technical College alongside President and CEO Dr. Harvey-Smith and other college staff. Photo courtesy of the office of Congressman Deluzio.

OAKDALE, PA – On Monday, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) visited Pittsburgh Technical College (PTC) a two-year, private, non-profit regionally accredited college in Pennsylvania’s 17^th Congressional District and announced that his office has helped the institution secure release of $3,729,168.71 in Employee Retention Tax Credits.

The IRS had allocated the federal credits, but the funds had been held up since they were first requested in the summer of 2021 and were delayed for over a year. Recognizing the critical need for funding, Congressman Deluzio’s office worked in coordination with the Internal Revenue Service and secured the release of the nearly $3.8 million in federal funds, including interest, that were slated to arrive on April 11^th, 2023. These new funds will help PTC retain instructors, boost workforce training for in-demand careers, and support students with scholarships and services.

“Colleges with an applied and technical focus like Pittsburgh Technical College help provide critical workforce training to fill good-paying, frequently union jobs that keep our community running,” said Congressman Deluzio. “I am proud that my constituent services team and I were able to bring home these federal funds to support job growth and training for those jobs right here in the 17^th Congressional District.”

“At Pittsburgh Technical College, one of our top strategic priorities is to expand access to higher education for all students in our region through scholarships and grants,” said PTC President/CEO Dr. Alicia B. Harvey-Smith. “Thanks to Congressman Deluzio and his team for assisting in expediting the release of this significant tax credit to PTC. These funds strengthen our ability to serve our mission of providing comprehensive access to advanced technical education.”

Dr. Harvey-Smith continued, “Congressman Deluzio and his team are great partners. Partnerships like this are key to transformative impact for all citizens across the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and surrounding regions. Pittsburgh Technical College is a community asset committed to expanding partnerships to innovatively develop an in-demand workforce. This funding helps to position PTC as an educator of choice in applied and technical education and further achieve its institutional priorities of building a comprehensive middle skills pipeline and fueling economic development, a commitment realized through a 95% in field placement rate.”

Among other things, the close to $3.8 million in tax credits will help Pittsburgh Technical College:

• Stabilize its workforce in applied and technical areas.
• Fund critical workforce initiatives for in-demand careers in Allegheny County, especially training Nurses, First Responders in Criminal Justice, Trades and Welding Professionals.
• Close gaps resulting from declines in enrollment and auxiliary revenue due to the pandemic.
• Provide students with vital resources such as scholarships and support services to enhance personal and professional success.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The electronics subsidiary of German company Merck KGaA says it will spend $300 million to expand its specialty gas production facility in eastern Pennsylvania. The announcement Wednesday was attended by Gov. Josh Shapiro. EMD Electronics says it will create the world’s largest integrated specialty gases facility to serve the fast-growing semiconductor industry. State officials hope it will boost Pennsylvania’s appeal to computer chip makers. Shapiro is pledging more than $1 million in state grants for the expansion in Schuylkill County. Company officials say the site houses a research center and synthesizes materials that form core building blocks of transistors, a component of microchips.

FILE – The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are edging higher on Wall Street after a report showed inflation is cooling faster than expected. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher Wednesday after bouncing between small gains and losses earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose and and Nasdaq composite was relatively unchanged. A report showed prices at the consumer level rose 5% last month from a year earlier. That’s still high, which kept a check on financial markets. But it was also below what economists expected and marked a continued slowdown from inflation’s peak last summer. Yields also swayed following the report.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks to reporters during a news conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Philippine Officer in Charge of the Department of National Defense Carlito Galvez, at the State Department, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been less than a week since news of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war surfaced, sending the Pentagon into full-speed damage control to assure allies and assess the scope of the leak. The information on scores of slides has publicized potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and exposed private assessments by allies on an array of intelligence matters. Among the questions raised by the leak are whether it will erode allies’ trust in sharing information with the U.S. or impact Ukraine’s plans to intensify the fight against Russia this spring.

The likeness of Benjamin Franklin is seen on a U.S. $100 bill, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. In a time of high inflation and high interest rates, refunds for taxpayers are on average 10% smaller this year compared with last year, in part due to expired pandemic relief programs. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re expecting a tax refund, it could be smaller than last year. And with inflation still high, that money won’t go as far as it did a year ago. The 90 million taxpayers who have filed as of March 31 got refunds that were an average of nearly 10% less than last year. That’s in part due to pandemic relief programs expiring. The filing deadline for most taxpayers is Tuesday. According to the most recent IRS data, the average refund is $2,910, down from $3,226. That’s a difference of more than $300.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing a portion of Pine Grove Road (Route 4039) in Industry Borough, Beaver County, will close to traffic today, Wednesday, April 12 for wall repair work.

A portion of Pine Grove Road between Doyle Road and Route 68 will close to traffic for wall repair work. Local traffic will be accommodated to the repair area. Through traffic will be detoured via Route 68, Barclay Hill Road and Doyle Road. The project is expected to be completed in late May.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 950 traffic cameras.