(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, as the nation observed National 811 Day yesterday, calling 811 is the first step you should do before any project involving digging or excavation. This step is for businesses, contractors and homeowners at least three days in advance. According to that same release from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, here is some more information about calling 811, including some tips to stop risks during digging.

A Clear and Simple Message: Know What’s Below

The PA One Call system is intended to reduce risks by ensuring that utility companies mark underground lines — including electric, gas, water, sewer, and telecommunications — before any digging takes place.

Under state law, all excavation work must be preceded by a call to 8-1-1 at least three business days in advance.

Each year, the PUC’s Damage Prevention Committee (DPC) hears hundreds of cases involving damaged underground lines — the vast majority of which could have been avoided by following proper 8-1-1 protocols.

Common risk factors include:

• Failure to contact 8-1-1 before digging;
• Improper or careless excavation methods;
• Inaccurate or unverified utility markings;
• Contractors requesting homeowners to place 8-1-1 tickets on their behalf — which is prohibited under Pennsylvania law.

Reinforced by Law – Act 127 of 2024

Pennsylvania strengthened its Underground Utility Line Protection Law with the passage of Act 127 of 2024, signed by Governor Josh Shapiro. The law reauthorized and expanded the PUC’s enforcement authority and emphasized greater accountability across the board.

Key provisions include:

• Mandatory reporting of alleged violations by all stakeholders;
• Faster response timelines for facility owners and excavators;
• Escalating penalties for unresolved violations;

Real Consequences – Real Lives at Risk

In a recent high-profile case, the PUC’s Safety Division filed complaints against both a natural gas utility and a contractor following a gas line strike at a Harrisburg home that resulted in a devastating explosion. The investigation found violations of the state’s 8-1-1 law — illustrating how dangerous it can be when required procedures are ignored.

Take These Steps Before You Dig

To reduce risk and stay in compliance with Pennsylvania law:

• Call 8-1-1 at least three business days before starting any digging project;
• Wait for the marks – utilities will mark lines free of charge;
• Verify all utilities are marked before work begins;
• Dig with care and respect the markings;
• Make sure your contractor places the call – they must submit their own ticket under state law.

For more information, visit www.pa811.org or dial 8-1-1. Out-of-state callers can reach the PA One Call System at 1-800-242-1776.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced today that tonight, weather permitting, two ramps on I-376 (Parkway West) in Collier and Robinson Townships will reopen on a work schedule. This is four weeks ahead of the schedule that these ramps will reopen to traffic and they are expected to be reopened by Saturday, August 16th, 2025. The bridge and median barrier work has been completed that required these closures for these two ramps. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, during overnight single-lane restrictions that are occurring in both directions on the I-376 bridges over Boyce Road from 9:00 PM through 5:00 AM each night, crews will work to reopen the following ramps according to the following schedule:

• Westbound I-376 to Campbells Run Road (Exit 62)
  • Crews will work to remove the closure and have it opened to traffic by 5:00 A.M. on Wednesday, August 13th.
• Boyce Road to eastbound I-376
  • Crews will work to remove the closure and have it opened to traffic by 5:00 A.M. on Saturday, August 16th.

In addition to this schedule, according to the same release from PennDOT District 11, I-376 between the Ridge Road (Exit 61) and I-79 (Exit 64A) interchanges will return to normal configuration in this schedule.

• Westbound I-376 will return to a normal traffic configuration by 5:00 A.M. Wednesday, August 13th.
• Eastbound I-376 will return to a normal traffic configuration by 5:00 A.M. Saturday, August 16th.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Twenty dollar bills are counted on June 15, 2018, in North Andover, Mass. The number of Americans who do not have a bank account fell to a record low last year, as the proliferation of online-only banks and an improving economy is bringing more Americans into the traditional financial system, according to a report Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

(AP) ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. & BETHLEHEM, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug 12, 2025– DLP Capital, a private real estate investment firm headquartered in Florida and Pennsylvania, announced today that it has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for the 13th year in a row.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250812060553/en/

“To be on the Inc. 5000 for 13 years is a rare and remarkable feat,” says Don Wenner, founder and CEO of DLP Capital. “It’s an affirmation of the resounding demand for attainable workforce housing across the country, and a testament to the lasting dedication and trust that our investors, sponsors, residents, and employees have put in us.”

The Inc. 5000, published once per year by the New York City-headquartered Inc. Magazine, is an annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing companies as measured by cumulative revenue growth over the past three years. To be eligible for the 2025 Inc. 5000, companies must be “privately held, for profit, based in the U.S., and independent.” In addition, contenders must have generated no less than $100,000 in revenue in 2021 and at least $2 million in revenue in 2024 to qualify.

“To be on the Inc. 5000 for 13 years is a rare and remarkable feat,” says Don Wenner, founder and CEO of DLP Capital. “It’s an affirmation of the resounding demand for attainable workforce housing across the country, and a testament to the lasting dedication and trust that our investors, sponsors, residents, and employees have put in us.”

This year, DLP ranked #3,821 on the Inc. 5000, #344 in Florida, and #86 in the real estate category. “Disciplined thought, disciplined people, and disciplined action have led us to where we are today,” says Wenner. “Looking ahead, we aim to multiply our impact on America’s housing crisis by bringing Thriving Communities to life across our expanding portfolio of multifamily, build-to-rent, manufactured, and short-term vacation rental homes.”

DLP Capital joins an exclusive cohort of companies that have managed to grow despite inflationary headwinds, high interest rates, and mounting economic uncertainty. This year, the top 500 companies on the Inc. 5000 list achieved a median three-year revenue growth rate of 1,552% and collectively contributed over 48,000 jobs to the American economy during the same period.

Inc. magazine will honor this year’s awardees at the Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona from October 22–24, 2025. The Fall issue of Inc. magazine will feature the top 500 companies from the Inc. 5000 list.

About DLP Capital: DLP Capital is a St. Augustine, FL and Bethlehem, PA-headquartered private real estate investment firm with over $5.25 billion in assets under management (AUM). Through its four sponsored funds, the firm invests, develops, finances, and operates attainable multifamily and single-family rental housing communities for America’s working families. Founded in 2006 by Don Wenner in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, DLP Capital is a thirteen-time Inc. 5000 honoree, most recently in 2025.

(File Photo of the PennDOT logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) PennDOT is making an encouragement to drivers going to the 2025 Little League World Series in Williamsport this year to visit www.511PA.com/map/page/LLWS.  This is a page with enhancements that get support from the Shapiro administration to get digital services that are real-time and accessible to all Pennsylvanians. This website includes the travel time in average it will take to get to the main route for the 2025 Little League World Series and one or two other routes to get there. That website also includes speeds for traffic, construction, cameras for traffic, and incidents on the map. The primary travel routes to the 2025 Little League World Series: Route 15 south to Route 220 to Market Street (from north); Route 15 north (from south); Interstate 80 east to Route 220 north to Market Street (from west); and I-80 west to Route 15 north (from east), will have traffic that is monitored on those routes on this site as well. You can use this link below to access the website as well.

Click here for the link: www.511PA.com/map/page/LLWS.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his budget address for the 2025-26 fiscal year to a joint session of the state House and Senate at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper’s office, Topper expressed this statement in Harrisburg yesterday regarding the Pennsylvania state budget impasse: 

“It is sad to say the state budget is now 42 days late and the continued piecemeal approach taken in the House regarding SEPTA funding and the lack of authentic negotiation has put an agreement further off than it has been before.

“The solutions to the incredible challenges we face as a Commonwealth will only be found when all parties engage in meaningful ways and acknowledge the serious problems confronting us in resolving this budget: SEPTA is in crisis. Our state’s education system, in many respects, is in crisis. Our state’s economic outlook is in crisis.

“There is a path to agreement on all these fronts. I have seen it. But if we continue down the path of showmanship instead of showing up to find real solutions to these very serious problems, this budget impasse will only continue to deepen, and the Commonwealth will not find itself in a better place.”

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) A trial began yesterday in Beaver County for the suspect who is accused of allegedly killing twenty-year-old Treonna Washington in an Aliquippa alley on August 17th, 2024. According to multiple witnesses put on the stand by the prosecution, Jason Banks, Jr. was dating Washington. A witness testified that a party occurred with Washington and some of her friends on August 16th, 2024 when Banks showed up at the apartment of Washington in Linmar Terrace in Aliquippa. Washington was found dead the next day in an alley and the roommate of Banks will testify later this week. That roommate of Banks was the last person with Banks and Washington that was in the alley with them before Washington was killed. The roommate of Banks hearing a shot of a gun was what the prosecution told the jury. In its opening statements, the defense proclaimed that only three people were in the alley that Washington was killed at and they asked the jury to listen to every side. The defense also has a belief that the proof of this case will not be proven by the prosecution beyond a doubt that is reasonable. In terms of physical evidence, the jury got a statement from the prosecution that no gun was recovered and residue for gunshots are inconclusive, but later testimony will be when that will all be explained. The expected time of the case is set to go into the following week.

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of AAA East Central)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Gas prices are a penny less in Western Pennsylvania this week at about $3.37 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. These prices also fluctuated with the national average going down two pennies to $3.13. The report states that at this time last year, the average price for a gallon of gas in Western Pennsylvania was around $3.76. The report also notes that the average price that you can expect for a gallon of unleaded gas here in Beaver County is about $3.41. According to a release from AAA East Central and AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, here are the average prices of unleaded self-serve gasoline this week in various Pennsylvania areas:  

$3.370      Altoona
$3.412      Beaver
$3.593      Bradford
$3.061      Brookville
$3.373      Butler
$3.110      Clarion
$3.225      DuBois
$3.355      Erie
$3.325      Greensburg
$3.399      Indiana
$3.367      Jeannette
$3.501      Kittanning
$3.243      Latrobe
$3.384      Meadville
$3.581      Mercer
$3.320      New Castle
$3.362      New Kensington
$3.396      Oil City
$3.379      Pittsburgh
$3.389      Sharon
$3.386      Uniontown
$3.596      Warren
$3.353      Washington

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Dave Sunday speaks to the audience in the Forum Auditorium across the street from the Capitol after taking the oath to become Pennsylvania’s next attorney general, Jan. 21, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) A “cyber incident” was reported yesterday by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday and his office in Harrisburg. This incident downed lines for telephones and email accounts from agencies as well as putting his website offline yesterday. According to Sunday, staff members are investigating the cause of the network outage yesterday and trying to restore his agency’s communication systems. Sunday also confirmed in a statement that “around the clock” is when information technology employees are trying to fix this problem for him and those affected by this incident.