Aliquippa Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Cocaine Trafficking

(File Photo)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to five years of imprisonment on his conviction for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on James Louis Peronis, 61, on April 15, 2025.
According to information presented to the Court, beginning in May 2021, Peronis was the subject of a joint investigation by local, state, and federal law enforcement related to cocaine trafficking. During the investigation, law enforcement determined that Peronis would obtain kilogram quantities of cocaine in Ohio and then distribute the cocaine in Pennsylvania. On July 1, 2021, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Peronis as he entered the Western District of Pennsylvania from Ohio. During the traffic stop, law enforcement conducted a consensual search of the vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of nearly two kilograms of cocaine.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program of Beaver County for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Peronis.

Pennsylvania Unemployment Rate Remains Steady at 3.8 Percent in March

(File Photo) A hiring sign shows in Wheeling, Ill., Sunday, March 21, 2021. The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck and a further encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market. The Labor Department said Thursday, April 22, that applications declined 39,000 from a revised 586,000 a week earlier. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

  Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for March 2025.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 3.8 percent in March. The Commonwealth’s rate remained below the U.S. unemployment rate which rose one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.2 percent.

The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate was two-tenths of a percentage point above the March 2024 level of 3.6 percent, while the national rate was up three-tenths of a percentage point over the year.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was up 3,000 over the month to 6,542,000 in March. Resident unemployment (up 4,000) drove the increase.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 20,900 over the month to 6,217,700 in March, the 11th consecutive record high. Jobs increased from February in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. Education & health services and leisure & hospitality each added 6,500 jobs over the month. Both education & health services and other services rose to record high levels in March.

Over the year, jobs were up 86,700 with gains in seven of the 11 supersectors. Education & health services (+48,500) had the largest volume increase since March 2024.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on FacebookX, and LinkedIn.

Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. March 2025 data are preliminary and subject to revision.

Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
Change from Change from
          March  February    March  February 2025   March 2024
            2025         2025    2024 volume percent volume percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force 6,542 6,539 6,609 3 0.0% -67 -1.0%
Employment 6,291 6,291 6,371 0 0.0% -80 -1.3%
Unemployment 252 248 238 4 1.6% 14 5.9%
Rate 3.8 3.8 3.6 0.0 —- 0.2 —-
U.S.
Civilian Labor Force 170,591 170,359 167,922 232 0.1% 2,669 1.6%
Employment 163,508 163,307 161,425 201 0.1% 2,083 1.3%
Unemployment 7,083 7,052 6,497 31 0.4% 586 9.0%
Rate 4.2 4.1 3.9 0.1 —- 0.3 —-
Note: April 2025 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released on May 16th, 2025.

 

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
       Change from        Change from
         March    February         March      February 2025          March 2024
           2025           2025           2024 volume percent volume percent
Total Nonfarm Jobs 6,217.7 6,196.8 6,131.0 20.9 0.3% 86.7 1.4%
Goods Producing Industries 845.0 845.5 847.5 -0.5 -0.1% -2.5 -0.3%
  Mining & Logging 21.9 21.9 22.1 0.0 0.0% -0.2 -0.9%
  Construction 261.6 261.5 260.6 0.1 0.0% 1.0 0.4%
  Manufacturing 561.5 562.1 564.8 -0.6 -0.1% -3.3 -0.6%
Service Providing Industries 5,372.7 5,351.3 5,283.5 21.4 0.4% 89.2 1.7%
  Trade, Transportation & Utilities 1,143.4 1,143.9 1,138.9 -0.5 0.0% 4.5 0.4%
  Information 89.5 89.1 92.4 0.4 0.4% -2.9 -3.1%
  Financial Activities 340.2 340.7 340.2 -0.5 -0.1% 0.0 0.0%
  Professional & Business Services 843.4 837.0 836.8 6.4 0.8% 6.6 0.8%
  Education & Health Services 1,399.1 1,392.6 1,350.6 6.5 0.5% 48.5 3.6%
  Leisure & Hospitality 581.2 574.7 568.3 6.5 1.1% 12.9 2.3%
  Other Services 269.8 267.6 259.5 2.2 0.8% 10.3 4.0%
  Government 706.1 705.7 696.8 0.4 0.1% 9.3 1.3%
For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov

Sources say Brighton Rehab still facing financial struggles

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published April 18, 2025 10:53 A.M.

(Brighton Township, Pa) Brighton Rehab & Wellness Center is reportedly continuing to face financial burden.

It was revealed in the fall of 2024 that the facility owed the state Department of Human Services approximately 9 million dollars in nursing fees.

More recently the facilty is facing delinquent property taxes.

According to Beaver County property tax records, owner Comprehensive HealthCare owes $145,332,00 in taxes that were due on January 13, 2025.

An official source in Beaver County told Beaver County Radio that the county is aware of the facility facing issues at the federal and state level. They say those issues are being negotiated.

Sources say Brighton Rehab will be facing a hearing in May.

Superload transported by a company from Aliquippa is traveling through Western Pennsylvania

(File Photo of the PennDOT logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) A super load of 153 tons, which is being transported by Southern Pines Trucking, Inc. of Aliquippa, started to travel through Western Pennsylvania on Thursday. According to PennDOT, the super load is moving as a rolling slowdown. PennDOT is informing drivers from Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson, Mercer, Venango and Westmoreland counties to watch out for the super load. Drivers are recommended, if possible, to use alternative routes for traveling.

Heritage Valley Health System President and CEO closure rumors addressed at the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Congressional Breakfast

(File Photo of the Heritage Valley Health System logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The President and CEO of Heritage Valley Health System Norm Mitry put rumors of the Beaver Medical Center closing to bed at the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Congressional Breakfast at Seven Oaks Country Club on Thursday. The Heritage Valley Kennedy Hospital in Allegheny County is already being planned to undergo a closure. Mitry emphasized that if comments, concerns, or questions arise about Heritage Valley Health System, his phone number will be given to those present at the event. Mitry then announced his phone number to the attendees of the breakfast to show how passionate he was about Heritage Valley Health System and that the company is staying around.

Man taken into custody for robbing a Sunoco in Aliquippa

(File Photo of Handcuffs)

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

(Aliquippa, PA) A man was taken into custody on Thursday morning after robbing a Sunoco on Broadhead and Sheffield Roads in Aliquippa. Twenty-six-year-old Jason Dean Mannino demanded money from the cashier, who reportedly refused and locked the door. Mannino broke the glass of the door with his gun. Aliquippa Police went to 2355 Mill Street and a woman named Samantha Norton told Aliquippa Police Sergeant Josh Gonzalez that Mannino was in her apartment. Police found him in an upstairs apartment near there. Mannino is in the Beaver County Jail with a filed charge of robbery against him. Charges against Mannino were filed in District Justice Joseph Schafer’s office in Center Township.

Pennsylvania State Police in Butler County investigating the murders of both a woman and the male suspect who killed her

(File Photo of Police Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Butler County, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Butler County are currently investigating the murders of both a woman and the suspect who killed her, which both took place on Wednesday. The Butler County coroner told WTAE that forty-eight-year-old Gina DePietro was found dead  in an apartment complex in Jackson Township. The thirty-one-year-old male suspect then went to Beaver County before he took his own life.

Alternative checkpoint of Pittsburgh International Airport will soon be used for travelers without TSA PreCheck

(File Photo of the Pittsburgh International Airport Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) TSA announced Wednesday that people at the Pittsburgh International Airport without TSA PreCheck will use its alternative checkpoint starting May 5th. That checkpoint is on the third floor and signs will indicate the change. Officials noted in a media release the change will quicken those going in the checkpoint during morning hours. At 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. each day starting May 4th, checkpoints for passenger screening at the airport will also close.

Object in roadway causes two separate drivers to crash on I-376 East

(File Photo of Police Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Hopewell Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that two separate vehicles each crashed on I-376 East on April 2nd, 2025. Carlos Yalivath Hernandez was driving in Hopewell Township that day and an unknown object caused him to crash on the road. Kim Allison and her husband also crashed behind Hernandez and thought an object that hit their windshield came from his van. According to police, it was determined that Hernandez and then Allison hit an object laying in the roadway.

2 people killed and at least 6 wounded in Florida State shooting

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Law enforcement officers gather after a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When a 20-year-old opened fire at Florida State University, terrified students barricaded doors and fled across campus, abandoning chemistry notes and even shoes, in a shooting that investigators said killed two men and wounded at least six others.

By early Friday, memorials of candles and flowers dotted the campus and a school-wide vigil had been scheduled as students and faculty tried to start healing from the previous day’s shooting, which sent shockwaves of fear across the campus.

“I heard some gunshots and then, you know, just blacked out after,” said Carolina Sena, a 21-year-old accounting student who was inside the student union when the shooting started. “Everyone was crying and just panicking. We were trying to barricade ourselves in a little corner in the basement, trying to protect ourselves as much as we could.”

The shooter, identified by police as Phoenix Ikner, is believed to be a Florida State student and the son of a sheriff’s deputy who opened fire with his mother’s former service weapon, investigators said. Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, which began around lunchtime Thursday just outside the student union.

Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the gunman after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

The two men who were killed were not students, said Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower, adding that he would not release additional information about the victims.

The shooter obtained access to a weapon that belongs to his mother, who has been with the sheriff’s office for over 18 years and has been a model employee, said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. Police said they believed Ikner shot the victims using his mother’s former service handgun, which she had kept for personal use after the force upgraded to new weapons.

Five people who were wounded were struck by gunfire, while a sixth was hurt while trying to run away, Revell said in a statement Thursday night. They were all in fair condition, a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said.

The shooter was a long-standing member of the sheriff’s office’s youth advisory council, the sheriff said.

“He has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have,” McNeil said. “So it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”

As of Thursday night, Ikner was in the hospital with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Revell.

Witness says the suspect’s shotgun jammed

Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus just west of Florida’s capital after the university issued an active shooter alert.

Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old studying business management, was running late to class when he said he saw a man get out of a car with a shotgun and aim at another man in a white polo shirt.

The gun jammed, Stickney said, and the shooter rushed back to his car and emerged with a handgun, opening fire on a woman. Stickney ran, warning others as he called 911.

“I got lucky today. I really did. I really, really did,” he said.

Trumbower said investigators have no evidence that anyone was shot with the shotgun.

Shots sent students scattering

Holden Mendez, a 20-year-old student studying political science and international affairs, said he had just left the student union when he heard a series of shots. He ran into a nearby campus building, where he said his previous emergency response training kicked in.

“There was a lot of fear. There was a lot of panic. There was a lot of misinformation that was being spread around. I was doing my best to kind of combat that,” he said. “I told people, ‘Take a deep breath. This building is secure. Everything is going to be ok.'”

Andres Perez, 20, was in a classroom near the student union when the alarm sounded for a lockdown. He said his classmates began moving desks in front of the door and police officers came to escort them out.

“I always hang out in the student union,” Perez said. “So the second I found out that the threat was there, my heart sank and I was scared.”

Shooting shocks campus and the nation

President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office that he had been fully briefed on the shooting.

“It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things like this take place,” he said.

But Trump also suggested that he would not be advocating for any new gun legislation, saying, “The gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do.”

University President Richard McCullough said he was heartbroken by the violence. “Our hearts go out to our students and the victims of this terrible tragedy,” he said.

Another shooting a decade ago at Florida State

Florida State is one of Florida’s 12 public universities, with its main campus in Tallahassee. About 44,000 students are enrolled in the university, per the school’s 2024 fact sheet.

In 2014, the main library was the site of a shooting that wounded three people. Officers shot and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May.

The university canceled classes for the rest of the week and canceled home athletic events through Sunday.