SCOTT TADY

McKEES ROCKS — Everything appears to be A-OK for Aly & AJ.

The sisterly duo demonstrated poise and skill; relatability and relevance Tuesday, pleasing fans at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks.

Continuing their steady evolution from teen actresses to mature indie-pop-rock musical artists, Alyson “Aly” Michalka and Amanda Joy “AJ” Michalka compellingly sang and strummed guitars, backed by a tight trio of guys on electric guitar, bass and drums.

“Rush,” the platinum-selling single from Aly & AJ’s 2005 label debut, sparked Pittsburgh area fans to rise to their feet and mouth along with the words, two-thirds into the California group’s 19-song set.

Indie-rock guitar jangling with a Western folk-country swing highlighted “Dandelions” from 2025’s “Silver Deliverer” album.

Aly (37) and AJ (35) had a seamless but not sameness quality to their voices, making their entwined harmonies a sound to truly behold.

Their show-stopper was “Sirens,” introduced by Aly as a song inspired by a 2022 mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 12 others in Sacramento, Calif., just hours after Aly & AJ had performed in that same area.

“It could’ve been sirens over my body,” Aly emotionally sang, as AJ resolutely strummed guitar. “It could’ve been me/Instead, it’s sirens over their bodies.”

The Roxian audience absorbed “Sirens” with rapt attention. Many heeded Aly’s spoken plea to pull out their phones and send a text to a special number where they could donate money to a program striving to strengthen U.S. gun laws.

It wasn’t a night of humor, even the self-deprecating kind that could have gently poked fun at “Phil of The Future,”  Aly’s science fiction comedy series airing on Disney Channel from 2004-2006, or ABC’s 2010s sitcom “The Goldbergs” featuring AJ.

But there were smiles galore, from the sisters, their bandmates, and fans connecting through a loyalty and love of music.

Largely full on the general admission-standing floor, while half-capacity in the balcony seats, the audience seemed to be having fun and savoring every moment.

(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio Staff

(Beaver Pa.) Beaver Borough announced via their Facebook page that Yard Waste & Spring Cleanup days are almost here! The Town Yard Sale will take place on Saturday, May 2nd from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (rain or shine), and no permit is needed. Just set up and join your neighbors for a day of treasure hunting. Spring Clean Up Days will follow on Saturday, May 9th (Southside/Riverside of Third Street) and Saturday, May 16th (Northside/Hillside of Third Street). Please remember to place items neatly at the curb the evening before your scheduled pickup. A reminder that certain items cannot be accepted, including building materials, freon-containing items, propane tanks, mattresses, electronics, garbage, and yard waste. For questions about acceptable items to be picked up, please contact Brunner’s directly at 724-775-5666.

(File Photo)

(Harrisburg) Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a pair of western Pennsylvania-based amusement companies pleaded guilty to felony corrupt organizations regarding the widespread distribution of hundreds of illegal video gaming devices. The companies — Buffalo Skills Games, Inc. and J.J. Amusement, Inc. — agreed to dissolution and the forfeiture of $5 million in assets, as part of the plea resolution. Investigators seized nearly 400 illegal gambling devices from more than 60 locations in several western Pennsylvania counties. ”This resolution secures a multimillion-dollar forfeiture for the Commonwealth, while assuring the companies will cease to exist,” Attorney General Sunday said. “I commend our partners at the Pennsylvania State Police for helping disband a large-scale operation that involved slot machines essentially dressed up as skill games.”

The Pennsylvania State Police assisted the Office of Attorney General’s Gaming Enforcement and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Sections in a series of 2024 seizures at bars, gas stations, and convenience stores in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Crawford, Indiana, Somerset, Venango, Erie, Washington, Armstrong, and Westmoreland counties. “Illegal gambling operations are not victimless crimes,” Attorney General Sunday added. “They can fuel criminal enterprises, exploit individuals addicted to gambling, and rip off consumers with games that are not regulated, provide little or no chance of winning, and do not comply with gambling self-exclusion lists intended to protect those struggling with addiction.” 

This case was prosecuted by the Office of Attorney General’s Gaming Enforcement Section.

(File Photo)

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Pennsylvania State Police Corporal has pleaded guilty to numerous charges regarding a wide range of conduct, including using work computers to access A.I. tools to create pornography and for secretly filming and photographing individuals, including coworkers.

Stephen M. Kamnik, 39, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Montgomery County Court to 15 charges in all — nine felonies and six misdemeanors.

Kamnik also pleaded guilty to using secured law enforcement and Commonwealth databases for personal reasons, and for possessing child sexual abuse material.

 Montgomery County Judge will order sentence on July 8.

“This defendant pleaded guilty to the full scope of conduct outlined in charging documents — and in regards to all in-person victims,” Attorney General Sunday said. “These crimes stain the great work being done by law enforcement every day in communities across the Commonwealth.”

Pennsylvania State Police, in consultation with the Office of Attorney General, charged Kamnik last year.

According to the investigation, Kamnik created some of the material at Montgomery County barracks, on Commonwealth-owned devices. Also, Kamnik secretly filmed numerous females he came into contact with, including while on duty, and repeatedly entered a women’s locker room at state police barracks and took photos.

An investigation by the Internal Affairs Division of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Office of Attorney General revealed that, for years, Kamnik allegedly misused Commonwealth computer resources for his own personal sexual gratification, including the creation of A.I.-generated pornography of numerous female citizens of Pennsylvania.

His cellphone and an external hard drive from his home revealed evidence that he also used a secured database, JNET, to obtain hundreds of photographs of females — in violation of JNET usage policies.

Among the materials investigators found was an unlawfully recorded video of a Montgomery County magisterial district judge during a court proceeding which Kamnik also edited for apparent lewd purposes.

Kamnik was also found in possession of a stolen .22 caliber firearm during a search of his vehicle in January of 2025.
In all, Kamnik pleaded guilty to:

• Four felony counts of unlawful use of computer
• Sexual abuse of children, a felony
• Receiving Stolen Property (regarding a firearm), a felony
• Unlawful duplication, a felony
• Interception, disclosure or use of wire, electronic or oral communications, a felony
• Criminal trespass, a felony
• Misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy, official oppression, tampering with evidence, misapplication of entrusted property, and unlawful use of an audio or video device in court

Kamnik is currently suspended without pay.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General James Price of the Public Corruption Section and Deputy Attorney General Kimberly Moraski of the Child Predator Section.

Scott Tady/Beaver County Radio

SEWICKLEY – The Lindsay Theater continues screening the global blockbuster “Super Mario Galaxy” movie this week, including a sensory friendly screening this Saturday at 10 a.m.

All tickets for that more mellow “Mario” are discounted to $8.75. The Lindsay has been programming sensory friendly screenings since 2017 and usually offers one with every family-friendly film in its lineup.

Josh Axelrod, communications director for Sewickley’s independent theater, explained how sensory friendly screenings work, when interviewed Wednesday on the Beaver County Radio Morning Show with Scott Tady.

Hear Axelrod’s 12-minute interview here:

Axelrod also discussed other Lindsay offerings this week, including:

“The Drama” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a couple whose impending marriage is complicated following a shocking revelation. Director Kristoffer Borgli’s dramedy is “one of the boldest, brashest movies in some time,” declares USA Today. “Both leads turn in strong performances” in a film that’s “armed with complex characters and a brazen resolve.”

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie sends Mario, Peach and their friends to space as they explore new pockets of the Nintendo-verse. “The animation is remarkably beautiful, the world and characters both true to the 8-bit source material and deeply cinematic,” raves Tribune News Service. “There are lots of references … but it’s still fun even if you’re not a Nintendo die-hard.”

The Women in Film & Media Showcase taking place at 7 p.m. Thursday, featuring 13 shorts either directed or produced by women filmmakers. Tickets are free and going quickly, so the theater recommends RSVPing in advance due to space limitations.

.

SCOTT TADY

Fresh veggies, breads, fruits and honey await visitors to the Beaver County Farmers Markets.

The market season begins this month, starting April 25 at the weekly Beaver site in the Beaver County Court House parking lot.

Two new vendors this year are Pawmazing Bakery and Country Tails Ranch, both offering pet treat bakery goods.

Weekly sites and hours:

Beaver, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Beaver Falls, 3-6 p.m. Mondays, Municipal Parking Lot, 712 12th St.

LIST OF VENDORS

Bussard Homestead & Bakery
Markets: Chippewa, Ambridge

GG Biscotti
Markets: Beaver

Wild and Wonderfilled Flower Farm
Markets: Chippewa

Fabyanic Farms
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

Farrow Farm
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

Fausti Family Farm
Markets: Beaver

Douds-Floyd Farm
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

Habrle Farms
Markets: Beaver

Enon Country Gardens
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver, Chippewa

Harley’s Oak Spring Farm
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver, Beaver Falls,
Chippewa, New Brighton

Alexander Leslie Dairy Products
Markets: Beaver, Chippewa

May-Malone Farm
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

Fitzgibbon Meadery
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

McConnell’s Hill Farm, Inc.
Markets: Beaver

McCormack Apiaries, Inc.
Markets: Beaver

Red Diamond Honey
Markets: Chippewa

Rafka Foods, Inc./Jemila Foods
Markets: Beaver

Muetzel Mountain Apiaries
Markets: Ambridge

Highland Homestead Farm
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

Orlo’s Perennial Nursery
Markets: Beaver

Ridgemont Farms
Markets: Beaver

Country Tails Ranch
Markets: Beaver

PJ’s Deli & Catering
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver, Chippewa

Schweikert Greenhouse
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

Novel Breads
Markets: Beaver

Swab’s Fruits & Vegetables
Markets: Beaver

Swick’s Family Farm
Markets: Beaver

Gray Goat BBQ
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver, Chippewa

Root Cellar Natives
Markets: Ambridge, Beaver

(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio Staff

(Aliquippa, Pa.) No one was injured as investigators are working to determine whether Saturday’s deadly shooting in Beaver Falls is related to shots fired in Aliquippa on Monday night. According to a Facebook post by the Aliquippa Police Department they were dispatched to a report of shots fired into B Building of the Valley Terrace Apartments around 7:15 p.m.

Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible told KDKA TV News that “It appears that the shooters had a target in mind.”  KDKA is also reporting that sources told them that a relative of Stephon Peake, who was gunned down on a porch in Beaver Falls on Saturday night, may have been inside the building.  Bible said after those shots were fired, Aliquippa police saw a white sedan on camera and put out a “be on the lookout” for it. Beaver Falls police saw the vehicle in a parking lot at the Third Base Inn. Officers waited and as they approached the suspects they took off, and a chase ensued. Officers were able to arrest the two suspects, but Bible said they are not charged in the shooting.

(Photo courtesy of Rep. Deluzio)

( GREEN TREE, PA)Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) hosted a public field hearing called “Let Kids Play” on the rising cost of youth sports. Held at the Green Tree SportsPlex on an indoor field, he and a panel of experts shared their experiences and heard powerful public testimony from parents, coaches, local business owners, and interested community members.

In the past, non-profits like Little League Baseball ran kids’ sports leagues, sponsored by local businesses, social clubs, volunteer fire departments, and churches. Today, it’s often private equity and other big investors that are behind the leagues. More often than not—they are focused on profit more than community.

At today’s event, Western Pennsylvanians shared their experiences around the skyrocketing cost of kids’ sports and the impact it is having on young people, families, and the wider community.

“The rising cost of kids’ sports may seem like a small issue to talk about: but I think it says something bigger about America today,” said Congressman Deluzio. “In our country, sports are supposed to be a great equalizer—a place where any kid could show up, work hard, and be part of something bigger than themselves. Now we’re drifting away from that. Kids are getting priced out. Today, a family’s bank account too often decides whether that kid gets that shot, turning youth sports into a luxury item. That must end. That’s why I held this hearing today: to hear peoples’ experiences, and to hear what needs to change to keep this part of the American Dream alive for the next generation of kids.”

“Private equity has turned youth sports from a cherished past time into a profit extraction machine,” said Katherine Van Dyck, senior legal fellow with the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP) and panelist at the hearing. “There is an urgent need to listen to families, take on these firms, and stop their anti-competitive and predatory behavior. The field hearing held by Congressman Deluzio and the Monopoly Busters Caucus is an important step in that direction.”

“I’m honored to be a part of this conversation because the rising costs of youth sports was something that I lived every day for many years as a single mom doing everything I could to support my child’s passion and future as a competitive soccer player,” said panelist and parent Dr. Shannon Conner. “Once he moved into competitive club level soccer, the costs added up quickly. Club dues alone were significant, and monthly payment plans were the only way we were able to participate at all. And the dues were just the beginning. None of these expenses were optional if you wanted your child to stay competitive. Youth sports are supposed to promote health, teamwork, confidence, and opportunity. But when costs rise and access narrows, those benefits become reserved for families who can afford them—or who are willing to shoulder unsustainable financial strain. We must prioritize affordability, transparency, and access. No parent should have to choose between financial stability and giving their child the chance to play the sport they love.”

“I can tell you from firsthand experience that the cost of participating in youth sports, especially basketball, is rising at a pace that is unsustainable for many families,” said panelist Gino Palmosina, head basketball coach at Moon Area High School and owner of Win Today Basketball. “What used to be a local or regional experience has turned into a national business model. The reality is that families are already being squeezed. I’ve had conversations with parents who have multiple kids and cannot simply afford for all of them to participate anymore. That’s a major concern because youth sports should be about access, development, and community. The grassroots organizations that built youth sports in these communities are now competing against larger, well-funded entities that can absorb costs, control facilities, and dominate the tournament landscape. And the end of the day, kids just want to play. They want to learn, compete, and be part of a team. But if the costs continue to rise the way they have been, we’re going to lose a lot of those kids, and that’s something that—as a community—we cannot afford.”

Congressman Deluzio hosted this event as a field hearing for the Monopoly Busters Caucus, a caucus that he co-chairs in the Congress that looks into the way that consolidated corporate power is ripping off the American people. This is the caucus’ second field hearing, following one in Seattle, WA that focused on monopolies’ role in driving up the cost of groceries.