(File Photo: Source for Photo: The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, arrives at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The number of Americans planning cruise vacations is expected to hit a record high for the fifth year in a row.

AAA projects that 22.4 million people in the United States will go on domestic and international ocean cruises in the year of 2027, which is a 3.6% increase over the year of 2026.

2026 is also expected to end with higher than projected numbers for cruise travelers, as more of them turn to going on cruises for the convenience, value, and variety.

(Caption for Photo: A packed house listens during a council meeting ahead of a final vote on paid parental leave legislation at the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. (Massoud Hossaini/TribLive)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) Allegheny County Council voted 11-4 yesterday to approve a policy that requires many employers to provide eligible workers with up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

This policy applies to employers that have 15 or more employees and covers the birth or adoption of a child, as well as a stillbirth.

Employers with less than 15 employees are exempt.

Workers that are full-time must be employed for six months to qualify and workers that are part-time must work at least 625 hours.

Allegheny County would be the first county in the entire country to adopt a paid parental leave mandate independently.

This measure now goes to Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato for her signature.

(File Photo of a Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Lawrence County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that lane restrictions on I-376 in Union and Neshannock townships in Lawrence County, will begin tomorrow, weather permitting. 

Starting that day, single-lane restrictions will occur on I-376 in each direction between the Michell Road (Exit 9) and State Street/Poland, Ohio/Route 224 (Exit 13) interchanges weekdays from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M., and on Saturdays during the same time as needed.

Crews will perform asphalt milling, paving, and line painting operations through the early part of November. 

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of (PRNewsFoto/SHEETZ, INC.), Caption for Photo: Sheetz logo.)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New York City, NY) A new ranking from Fortune confirms that Sheetz is the third best retail workplace in the country.  

Fortune’s Best Places in Retail puts Sheetz only below Wegmans and Target. 

According to Sheetz, this ranking is its 11th straight year on the list. 

Sheetz employees said that they are encouraged to challenge the status quo and to try things that are new.

Fortune stated that Sheetz’s mentality of caring for others is “embodied from the top down.”

Sheetz is based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and it employs over 30,000 people at over 850 stores in multiple states, which includes Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, and West Virginia. 

Another Allegheny County based workplace made the top ten of this list of Fortune’s best retail workplaces in the country, as DICK’S Sporting Goods, which is based in Coraopolis, was number seven on this list. 

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against a northwestern Pennsylvania pharmacy technician for diverting nearly 90,000 prescription pills from her place of employment. 

Thirty-four-year-old Alyssa R. McDowell, is charged with several felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, theft by unlawful taking, and related misdemeanor charges.

McDowell surrendered yesterday morning and was arraigned, when her bail was set at $100,000 unsecured. 

According to the Office of Attorney General’s investigation, McDowell diverted nearly 90,000 prescription pills: Oxycodone and Hydrocodone, from Sheffield Pharmacy in Warren County between 2022 and 2026. 

Investigators allege that between January of 2022 and May of 2026, McDowell diverted 80,926 Oxycodone pills and 8,744 Hydrocodone pills.

McDowell ordered extra bottles and took them for herself, then altered paperwork in attempts to conceal the thefts. 

(File Photo of an Open for Business Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Rochester, PA) A store with items like breakfast pastries and coffee is about to open at Rhode Island Avenue across from the Rochester-Monaca Bridge.

A Dunkin’ Donuts store which has been under construction on the property since May, is set to open Monday, October 26, according to signs on the building.  

This is occurring over two years after the DeAngelis Donuts in Rochester closed down.

That location had a well-known spinning doughnut sign.

This will be Dunkin’ Donuts’ fifth location in Beaver County, and the upcoming Rochester location joins the shops in Aliquippa, Chippewa Township, the Center Township Walmart, and New Brighton.

The New Brighton Dunkin’ Donuts location opened last year on the former Pizza Joe’s site that is located at the New Brighton-Beaver Falls Bridge. 

(File Photo of a Beaver County Sheriff’s Office Badge)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The Beaver County Sheriff’s Office has been notified by numerous callers over the past few days that a person had called them and identified himself as Sergeant Howard of the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office.

That caller then advised that the call was being recorded and he was following up on a federal court subpoena in which the victim failed to show.

The scammer then told the victim that they need to report to the courthouse to immediately handle this issue.

Therfore, the scammer notes that they will need to pay a fine or they will be arrested on the spot.

The scammer then hangs up when they have agreed to come to the courthouse and calls them back to tell them that they will be tased and thrown on the floor.

They can pay in a variety of ways in which the actors will end up with the victim’s hard-earned money if they want to pay without coming into the building.

The scammer’s intention is to scare the victim, with one of these aforementioned lies, into paying the amount they have claimed is owed.

They are trying to access things like bank account information, credit card numbers, gift card numbers or a PayPal type account number.

Always call the agency the caller purports to be before you give anyone your personal information.

In this case, if the caller claims that the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office has a warrant for you, please call that office at 724-770-4602 or Beaver County Emergency Services at 724-775-0880. 

According to a release from the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office, here is a summary of how to safeguard you from becoming the victim of any scam:

1. Under no circumstances should a resident ever provide any personal information over the phone when receiving calls. If you have any question as to the legitimacy of the call, get the individuals name and position, hang up and then obtain legitimate contact information for the company/agency, through independent means,
and re-contact them. As in this case, if they say there is a warrant for your arrest in Beaver County, contact the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office.

2. NEVER provide credit card information, social security numbers, your date of birth, bank information, gift card numbers, etc. to anyone with whom you have not initiated the call.

3. Note any telephone number of the caller displayed on your caller ID. Beware, however, that many scammers “spoof” the numbers of a legitimate entity to make you think the call is from who they claim to be.

4. Document the conversation with the suspect.

5. Disconnect without providing any financial and/or personal information.

6. Criminals are able to access much of our personal information simply with the use of personal computers and
Web sites.

(File Photo of State Representative Rob Matzie)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Ambridge, PA) State Representative Rob Matzie announced today that nearly $400,000 in newly awarded tax credits will leverage investments to strengthen Beaver County health, nutritional and family resources and support economic development.

According to Matzie, nearly $81,300 in tax credits will leverage community corporate partner investments to support Adagio Health, which provides health, nutrition and family support services for Beaver County and other families in the region.

Matzie also stated that in addition to the tax credits that support Adagio Health, $285,000 in tax credits were awarded to leverage investments that support economic development work by the Beaver Falls Community Development Corporation, and $26,000 in tax credits were awarded to leverage investments in Neighborhood North Museum of Play projects to expand accessible family and youth spaces in Beaver Falls.

The tax credits that support Adagio Health were awarded under the Charitable Food Program, and the tax credits supporting the projects in Beaver Falls were awarded under the Neighborhood Assistance Program.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – A polling judge, right, helps guide a voter’s ballot into a voting machine during the Pennsylvania primary election, at Mont Alto United Methodist Church in Alto, Pa., on May 17, 2022. Voter-by-voter electronic election records are not subject to public scrutiny, a Pennsylvania court ruled Monday, March 4, 2024, in a case that began with a request for those records by an election researcher whose work has fueled right-wing attacks on voting procedures. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt reminded registered Pennsylvania voters today who are planning to vote by mail ballot in the November 3rd general election that they must apply for their ballot online (click here to learn more) or in person (click here to learn more) by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27th.

The Department of State’s Elections Data page (click here) links to a downloadable Daily Mail Ballot Report, and this provides point-in-time data showing each county elections office’s statistics.

If voters either complete their mail ballot at home or at their county elections office, they should follow these easy steps, according to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of State, to ensure that their ballot can be counted:

• Read all instructions enclosed with the ballot.
• Fill out the ballot by following the instructions on how to mark selections. Check both sides of the ballot in case there are races listed on the second page.
• Seal the ballot in the yellow secrecy envelope marked “official election ballot.”
• Seal the yellow secrecy envelope in the pre-addressed outer return envelope.
• Sign and date the outer return envelope.
• Mail or hand deliver the completed ballot to their county elections office, or hand deliver the ballot to an officially designated satellite election office or drop box in their county. Under Pennsylvania law, a voter may hand deliver only their own ballot. The only exceptions are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot and for voters who need an emergency absentee ballot.

County elections offices must receive their completed mail ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day, which is November 3rd. Mail ballots that are returned after that time, even if they are postmarked by 8 p.m. on November 3rd, will not count.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Election Day for voters who are registered that want to vote in person. They can vote if a voter is in line by 8 p.m.

Voters who got a mail ballot, but have not returned it may vote in person on November 3rd if they bring their mail ballot materials with them to be voided.

Voters who requested a mail ballot and did not get it, or do not have it to surrender it, may vote by a provisional ballot at their polling place.

The provisional ballot will be reviewed by their county’s board of elections after November 3rd to determine whether it can be counted.