(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The city of Beaver Falls is looking to make 2023 “even bigger, better, and greater”, as Councilwoman Vanessa Taylor phrased it during her invocation…and they’ll have a good amount of cash to attempt such progress.

At their final meeting of 2022, the city’s council approved the 2023 budget for Beaver Falls at the amount of $46,685,492.13. The budget will take affect when the money is appropriated to the individual departments specified in the budget. The number matches that in the proposed budget, which can be seen by clicking here; the final, approved budget will be available online within the coming days.

The bulk of the budget was arranged and presented through the city’s treasurer, Sandy Wilkins, who was commended for her efforts following the budget’s approval. “You really help the city in ways that we can’t begin to thank you,” Mayor Kenya Johns stated to Wilkins. “We all appreciate you. All your hard work, your late nights, it doesn’t go unnoticed.”

The city also approved the hiring of Michael Gurney as an Operator-In-Training for the Water Works Treatment Plant, a one-year agreement with Valley Waste Services, and a list of General Fund expenditures in the amount of $279,602.59. The councilmembers thanked each other for a good 2022 and thanked Mayor Johns for her first year of leadership; the mayor returned thanks to the Council in kind.

A new year of meetings for the Beaver Falls City Council begins on January 10 at 7:00 PM at the City Building.

FILE – A shopper carries bags down Fifth Avenue on Black Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, in New York. Holiday sales rose as shoppers showed some resilience during the most important shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File )

NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday sales rose as American spending remained resilient during the critical shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent, according to one measure. Holiday sales rose 7.6, a slower pace than the 8.5% increase from a year earlier when shoppers began spending the money they had saved during the early part of the pandemic, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. Mastercard SpendingPulse had expected a 7.1% increase. The data released Monday excludes the automotive industry and is not adjusted for inflation, which has eased somewhat but still remains painfully high.

FILE – Zach Bryan performs at the Railbird Music Festival on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Lexington, Ky. The chorus against Ticketmaster’s contentious concert pricing practices is growing, numbering among them Zach Bryan and friends.
(Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The chorus against Ticketmaster’s contentious concert pricing practices is growing, including Zach Bryan and friends. The country music artist dropped a live album titled “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster” on Sunday. Bryan also issued a statement on social media in which he decried “a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately.” The statement doesn’t mention Ticketmaster by name except in the new album title, though he tagged the company in a separate Instagram post displaying the track listing. A message seeking comment from Ticketmaster was not immediately returned.

FILE – President Joe Biden speaks about manufacturing jobs and the economy at SK Siltron CSS, a computer chip factory in Bay City, Mich., Nov. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — When he ran for the White House, Joe Biden told voters his presidency would be a bridge to the next generation. His first two years on the job have revealed it to be a much more ambitious venture. As he nears the halfway mark on his first term, Biden is pointing to legacy-defining achievements on climate change, domestic manufacturing and progress on the pandemic — all accomplished with razor-thin majorities on Capitol Hill and rather dim views from the public. The 80-year-old president is looking toward an announcement in early spring that he’ll run again despite his age.

An electric vehicle charges at an EVgo fast charging station in Detroit, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting Jan. 1, many Americans will qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle. The credit, part of changes enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to spur EV sales and reduce greenhouse emissions. But a complex web of requirements is casting doubt on whether anyone will be able to receive the full $7,500 credit next year. For at least the first two months of 2023, though, a delay in the Treasury Department’s rules for the new credits will likely make the full credit temporarily available to consumers who meet income and price limits. The new law also provides a smaller tax credit for people who buy a used EV.

Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, in and maybe out again. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that. But the slap? The slap was everywhere — that moment Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the Oscars and a global audience said, “Wait, did that just happen?” That’s The Associated Press’ top pop culture moment of 2022, but there were so many more. Swift had a big year that kept getting bigger. In movies there were big comebacks: Wakanda and Avatar sequels, and of course Cruise, who turned 60 and had his biggest movie with “Top Gun: Maverick.”

FILE – Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 4, 2022. Pennsylvania voters on Tuesday, Nov. 8, will send dozens of new representatives and senators to the Legislature, thanks to a slew of retirements and new district maps that were revamped by the state’s redistricting commission. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top elections official is fully certifying results from the November vote after recount petitions in some counties delayed the process. The Department of State said Tuesday that acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman completed certification of all races in the 2022 midterm election on Thursday. The final tally comes less than two weeks before members of Congress and state lawmakers are due to be sworn in on Jan. 3. The state’s next governor, Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, will be inaugurated on Jan. 17. Recount petitions in at least 27 of the state’s 67 counties caused delays in the certification process.

File Photo
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published December 27, 2022 9:03 A.M.

(New Brighton, PA) New Brighton Police were called to a head-on accident at 2078 Mercer Road Monday afternoon at 4:55 p.m, according to 9-1-1. No injuries were reported when the vehicle struck a telephone pole. No information has been released by New Brighton Police this morning.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio

(Washington D.C.) The Lymphedema Advocacy Group received notification last Friday that the act was passed by the Senate., The House already passed the bill prior to the senate,  which officially means it was passed by Congress. . President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk.