(File Photo of the Allegheny Health Network Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Allegheny Health Network (AHN), they made an announcement today that Brian Johnson, MD, has been appointed as medical director and chief population health officer for its clinically integrated network, Physician Partners of Western PA. Dr. Johnson is a long-time physician leader for AHN and had most recently served as the president of AHN West Penn Hospital. According to a release in Pittsbrugh today from Allegheny Health Network, other role changes at AHN include:

• Lou Baverso, AHN’s chief operating officer, will serve as interim hospital president at AHN West Penn until a permanent successor is named. Mr. Baverso joined AHN in 2025. 

• Saad Mahmood, DO, has been appointed CMO at AHN Allegheny General Hospital. Dr. Mahmood brings significant experience to this role, having served as the hospital’s associate CMO since 2023. He succeeds Al Philp, MD, the hospital’s long-time CMO and network director for Trauma. Dr. Philp will remain on staff at AGH and will transition back to a full-time clinical role.
    

• Alan Murdock, MD, a trauma, critical care and emergency general surgeon who has served as director of the General Surgery residency program since 2017, will assume the role of interim network director, Trauma.
    

• Giath Shari, MD, has been appointed CMO for AHN Forbes Hospital. Dr. Shari, who has served as chief of the AHN Forbes Medicine Department since 2022, is a pulmonary and critical care physician. He succeeds Ezz-Eldin Moukamal, MD, the long-time Forbes CMO who last year was named AHN’s Chief Quality Officer. 

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of AAA East Central)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Gas prices are two cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.11 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. As 2026 continues, the national average for a gallon of gas has dropped two cents over the past week to $2.79 and March of 2021 was the last time the national average for a gallon of regular gas was this low. The report states that at this time a year ago, the average price for a gallon of gas in Western Pennsylvania was around $3.37 and the average price that you can expect for a gallon of gas here in Beaver County is about $3.11. According to a release from AAA East Central and AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, here are the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline this week in various Pennsylvania areas:

$3.153      Altoona
$3.113      Beaver
$3.390      Bradford
$2.867      Brookville
$3.098      Butler
$3.072      Clarion
$3.022      DuBois
$2.994      Erie
$3.123      Greensburg
$3.106      Indiana
$3.156      Jeannette
$3.237      Kittanning
$3.159      Latrobe
$2.893      Meadville
$3.164      Mercer
$2.996      New Castle
$3.157      New Kensington
$3.199      Oil City
$3.101      Pittsburgh
$3.030      Sharon
$3.146      Uniontown
$3.429      Warren
$3.079      Washington

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE -A Meta logo is shown on a video screen at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, Calif., April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Shippingport, PA) According to a release in Irving, Texas on Friday from Vistra Corporation, that company announced on Friday that it has entered into 20-year power purchase agreements to provide more than 2,600 megawatts of zero-carbon energy from a combination of three different Vistra nuclear plants to support Meta’s operations in the region. One of these plants is the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport and Meta is also purchasing 433 megawatts of incremental nuclear energy and capacity from equipment upgrades to increase uprates (also known as generation output) there and at the Perry and Davis-Besse Plants in Ohio. State Representatives Josh Kail (R-Beaver County/Washington County) and Rob Matzie (D-Beaver County) praised this development. Kail stated: “The Beaver Valley Nuclear Plant has been a trusted source of affordable, reliable power since 1976. Extending its operating license will secure over 750 high-quality jobs for decades, ensuring long-term economic stability for Beaver County and beyond. It’s a smart, private investment that benefits communities without shifting the burden to taxpayers. This is a major win for western Pennsylvania.” Matzie expressed: “Beaver Valley has delivered clean, reliable energy and stable employment for generations. This agreement ensures that tradition continues—without adding costs to taxpayers. As a co-chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Nuclear Energy Caucus this is exactly the kind of forward-looking investment we have championed and one that Pennsylvania needs, and for which Beaver County is perfectly positioned: one that keeps and creates jobs, energizes local economies, and keeps dependable power on the grid.”

(File Photo of the PennDOT Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) PennDOT announced today that all of its driver license and photo centers, including its full-service center in Harrisburg, will be closed on Saturday, January 17th, through Monday, January 19th, 2026, in observance of the holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Customers can still go online to PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services website anytime to obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services, including all forms, publications, and driver training manuals by clicking here.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Austyn Whirt, 18, prepares for a mullet hairstyle contest, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A contest that celebrates the much-maligned but enduring mullet hairstyle will get underway Monday at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

The short-in-the-front, long-in-the-back coiffure, once the province of Canadian hockey players and hair metal bands, was expected to attract dozens of competitors for the day’s “mane” attraction. Categories included children under 5, throwback mullets and the patriotic Flow of Freedom Award.

Ben Barley, 7, of Red Lion, Pennsylvania, arrived at the event with his parents two hours ahead of the event wearing a T-shirt featuring his name and the words “MULLET LIFE 6-7,” a nod to both his hairstyle and the bafflingly popular youth catchphrase. He said he’d been working on his mullet for two years.

Though mullets likely have been around longer than there have been barbers, the Oxford English Dictionary cites hip hop legends the Beastie Boys for helping popularize the term mullet with the song “Mullet Head” on their 1994 recording, “Ill Communication.” As the venerable dictionary notes, it’s a term that is slang, humorous “and frequently derogatory.”

The contest, in its third year, is one of the few at the fair open to people who live outside Pennsylvania.

(File Photo of the Aliquippa School District Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) According to a release on Saturday from Phillip K. Woods, Superintendent of Schools for Aliquippa School District, that district announced that it has exceeded its guaranteed energy savings for the second consecutive year, generating significant financial savings while modernizing school facilities and improving learning environments for students and staff. Aliquippa School District has realized a cumulative total of $331,710 in verified savings since the start of this project, which includes $22,523 in excess savings beyond contractual guarantees and these arte funds that directly benefit their district’s financial stability and long-term planning. According to the Year 2 Measurement & Verification (M&V) Report completed as part of the District’s Energy Services Contract, Aliquippa School District achieved $162,767 in total verified savings during Year 2 alone, surpassing its guaranteed savings by $7,747. Woods confirms that the savings stemmed from a series of district-wide energy conservation improvements, which included the conversion to high-efficiency LED lighting, the HVAC and building automation upgrades, the improved air filtration and system controls, the power factor corrections to reduce electrical demand costs and the window and masonry upgrades to enhance building efficiency and longevity. Those improvements not only reduced maintenance and utility costs, but also improved the quality of lighting, the indoor air comfort, as well as the safety and the system reliability across both school buildings. In Year 2 of the project alone, Aliquippa School District recorded utility cost savings of $28,583, operations and maintenance savings of $8,478 and energy-related cost avoidance that is ongoing that totaled $125,706 annually.

By Scott Tady

BEAVER — Filming for the Apple TV+ series “Parallax” will continue this week in Beaver, affecting parking and traffic flow.

There will be no parking on Third Street, between Market and Insurance streets, Monday through Thursday. Parking will be restricted on Third Street, between Insurance Street and College Avenue, Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to a Beaver Police Department statement, there will be intermittent traffic control between Insurance and Beaver streets on Tuesday and Wednesday. Traffic may be temporarily stopped or slowed during filming.

“Parallax” stars Liev Schreiber as an ex-soldier-turned-homicide detective who relocates from Philadelphia to a small town in Western Pennsylvania in search of a quieter life. He soon confronts a dangerous and cunning serial killer threatening his family and community.

Schreiber, an Emmy Award nominee for Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” and other “Parallax” cast members already have been filming scenes in Beaver and Allegheny counties, including scenes previously shot near the Beaver Gazebo and along the borough’s Fifth Street.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published January 12, 2026 12:15 P.M.

(New Brighton, Pa) A new coffee shop celebrated their grand opening in New Brighton Monday morning.

The Coffee Village, located at 400 Ninth Street, is the latest installment at the recently renovated ‘Old Foodland’ building.

The locally owned shop offers high quality coffee, specialty espresso drinks, teas, and more with indoor seating and a drive-thru.

The shop owner and staff were joined by members of the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11am Monday.

Also in attendance were New Brighton Mayor Valerie McKelvey and State Representative Roman Kozak, in addition to others.

The Coffee Village also operates locations at Brighton Rehab and Heritage Valley in Brighton Township, Sewickley, and Pittsburgh.

More information on the The Coffee Village is available at coffeevillages.com

(File Photo of a United States Flag)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Annville, PA) According to a release in Annville, Pennsylvania today from the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), they are now reminding veterans that applying for or reviewing their veterans’ benefits should be a priority in the new year. This assistance is free and a link with a complete list of the county veterans affairs directors, with their contact information, as well as another link with more contact information for other accredited veterans services can be found below:

Click here for more information about County Directors.

Click here for more information about Veterans Services Officers.