(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday recently announced that a co-defendant who was involved in a scheme to defraud a Pittsburgh-based charity called Tickets for Kids has been found guilty of felony charges. 

An Allegheny County Judge convicted 65-year-old Ramona Wilkes yesterday of felony charges of corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, deceptive business practices and criminal use of a communication.  

Wilkes was sentenced to five years of probation, with the first year on house arrest, and she was ordered to pay $57,346.65 in restitution to Tickets for Kids. 

Wilkes used her position as an employee with Pittsburgh Mercy, a non-profit organization, to obtain tickets from the Tickets for Kids charity. 

These tickets were intended to be given to children who are served by Pittsburgh Mercy, but Wilkes kept the tickets for herself and her co-conspirators to use personally or to resell for profit.

According to Attorney General Sunday: “Tickets for Kids exists to create opportunities for children who otherwise might never experience a concert, sporting event or other special outing. Instead of helping fulfill that mission, this defendant exploited it for personal gain. This verdict holds her accountable, and the restitution ordered will help the charity continue serving the children who need it most.”

This case was prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Organized Crime Section. 

(File Photo of a Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that overnight lane restrictions on Route 65 in Emsworth Borough in Allegheny County have been extended. 

On weeknights from 7 P.M. to 5 A.M. through late August, Route 65 will be reduced to a single-lane of traffic in both directions at the intersection with Locust Street.  

Water mainline replacement work will continue to be conducted by crews from RCC Building Contractors, Inc. 

SCOTT TADY

Embrace the chance to sing along on “American Pie,” with Don McLean himself, Friday at the South Park Amphitheater.

McLean will sing his hits like “Vincent,” “Crying” and of course, the epic “American Pie” in a free concert hosted by the Allegheny County Parks Department.

Erie singer-songwriter Josh Travis starts the music at 7:30 p.m. Food trucks and beer and wine vendors will be on hand.

Concertgoers can bring blankets or chairs.

• – – –

The prince of parody, “Weird” Al Yankovic, will bring merriment and laughter to the Pavilion at Star Lake on Saturday.

Yankovic gained fame and acclaim for song spoofs like “My Bologna (to the Knack’s “My Sharona”), “I Love Rocky Road (Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock and Roll”), “Eat It” (Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”) and “Another One Rides The Bus” (Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust.”

Tickets are $40 to $122. The music begins at 8 p.m. with Puddles Pity Party, the mirth-making musical sad clown with a lovely voice. Google him: You’ll see.

• – –

The Black Keys bring their high-octane, bluesy, funky rock to Stage AE on Sunday.

The outdoor show starts around 7 p.m. with Eddie 9V.

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Amy Grant returns to the Carnegie of Homestead on Thursday, where she delighted fans a few years ago with a show mixing her pop, country and Christian songs plus relatable and heartfelt storytelling.

The six-time Grammy Award winner and 2022 Kennedy Center honoree has released her new album, “The Me That Remains,” her first collection of all-original songs in 13 years. Leaning fully into her strengths as a songwriter, the album finds Grant taking a clear-eyed look at where she stands personally, spiritually, and creatively today.

Tickets cost $64 to $102. The music begins at 7:30 p.m.

(File Photo of the Visit Beaver County Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Monaca, PA) iCare Home Care Services, LLC is currently hiring to find a caregiver to help out a client in Monaca.

According to a Facebook post from the company yesterday, the ideal candidate is dependable, patient, and passionate about helping others live safely and independently.

The person who is hired for this position will need to show quality care and companionship and both accompany and transport the client to their medical appointments.

The caregiver also needs to assist in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living.

If you are interested in this opportunity or know someone else that would, you can send the company a private message, but the inquiries have to be serious.

More information about the company can be found on its Facebook page at this website: https://www.facebook.com/icarehomecareservice

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press and Business Wire, Caption for Photo: More than 40 employee volunteers put PITTSBURGH PAINTS™ products and colors to work to transform the Specialty Hospital’s Green Unit.

CRANBERRY TWP, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul 28, 2026– The Pittsburgh Paints Company (“Pittsburgh Paints Co.”) today launched the COLORS FOR COURAGE™ program, an employee volunteer-led community engagement program that brightens moments, strengthens futures, and creates colorful spaces in the lives of deserving families when they need it most. The first project was held today at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh’s Pediatric Specialty Hospital. More than 40 employee volunteers put PITTSBURGH PAINTS ™ products and colors to work to transform the Specialty Hospital’s Green Unit. In addition to the product donation, Pittsburgh Paints Co. provided a financial contribution of $10,000 to support The Children’s Home with its most pressing needs.

(Credit and Caption for Photo: <p>According to the Education Data Initiative in Pennsylvania, the average debt is more than $36,000 per borrower. (Adobe Stock)</p>)

(Reported by Danielle Smith, Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania borrowers are among millions nationwide facing federal student loan changes as the cost of living continues to surge. Pennsylvanians hold over 67 billion of the more than 1-point-7 trillion dollars in U-S student loan debt. Tamar Hoffman with Community Legal Services says that under the Department of Education’s new regulations, borrowers who have loans from before July 1st, 2026 keep most of their old repayment options and can also use the new Repayment Assistance Plan. She notes that borrowers with consolidation loans now have fewer choices and must use either the R-A-P or standard tiered plan. She points out many recent changes to the student loan repayment options are a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which introduced sweeping federal student loan reforms when it was signed into law in 2025.

(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Pittsburgh reported today that forty-three-year-old Nicholas Popio of Struthers, Ohio was charged with summary traffic violations after a two-vehicle crash in Allegheny County on July 15th. 

Popio was driving on I-79 North in Franklin Park Borough and unlawfully used an emergency highway crossover to go into the southbound travel lanes.

The vehicle driven by twenty-two-year-old Lauren Marsico of Zelienople hit the vehicle of Popio and she did not stop her vehicle in time after realizing that Popio was in the wrong lane.

There were no reported injuries.