Wolf taps a new election secretary for last year in office
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf will have a new top election official as he enters his last year in office, naming Leigh Chapman to replace Veronica Degraffenreid atop the Department of State. The governor’s office said Monday that Chapman will take over Jan. 8. She’ll be the department’s fifth secretary or acting secretary during Wolf’s seven years at the busy agency. Chapman previously served almost two years in the department under Wolf as a policy director. Most recently she has been the executive director of the Washington-based Deliver My Vote, a voting advocacy group. After almost a year in the job, Degraffenreid will become a special adviser to Wolf.

(AP Photo)
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 7:39 AM
By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer
The U.S. flu season has arrived on schedule after taking a year off. Flu hospitalizations are rising and the first two child deaths have been reported. Last year’s flu season was the lowest on record. That’s likely because COVID-19 measures — such as schools closing and people wearing masks — prevented the spread of influenza. It’s also possible the coronavirus somehow pushed aside other viruses. The type of flu circulating this year tends to cause the largest amount of severe disease, especially in the elderly and the very young. Health officials are urging people to get their flu shots.

(File Photo)
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 7:29 AM
(Summit Township, Butler County, Pa.) Pa State Police in Butler are reporting that they were dispatched to a location on Hays Lane in Summit Township, Butler County for a report of items being stolen from a 20 -year-old Butler Woman’s 2016 Mazda CX-5.
Upon investigating Troopers determined that someone entered her vehicle sometime between December 7, 2021 at 7:30 PM and December 8, 2021 at 3:30 PM and stole a Michael Cors Mini Backpack and a Michael Cors wallet and its contents. The total value of the items is $430.00.
State Police in Butler are asking anyone with information to call them at 724-284-8100

(File Photo)
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 7:19 AM
(Summit Township, Butler County, Pa.) Pa State Police in Butler are reporting that they were dispatched to a location on Chicora Road in Summit Township, Butler County on December 8, 2021 at 4:35 PM for a report of items being stolen from a 21 -year-old Butler Woman’s 2017 Honda vehicle.
Upon investigating Troopers determined that someone entered her vehicle and stole a purse and contents worth $355.00 and a Wal-Mart Gift Card valued at $10.00.
State Police in Butler are asking anyone with information to call them at 724-284-8100

(File Photo)
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 7:03 AM
(Racoon Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that they were called to a Racoon Twp. residence along Pa Route 151 for a report of theft.
Upon arriving on the scene and investigating Troopers reported that 56-year-old Lisa Waite told them that someone removed prescription medication from her purse sometime between 3:00 PM December 16, 2021 and 6:00 PM December 17, 2021. The drugs that Waite reported stolen were a Klonopin pill and a Ritalin pill.

AAA: Gas Prices End the Year on a Higher Note
Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.528 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. Despite the small decline, prices in the region end 2021 more than a dollar higher than this time last year.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $3.528
Average price during the week of December 20, 2021                            $3.548
Average price during the week of December 28, 2020                            $2.475

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.537      Altoona
$3.548      Beaver
$3.581      Bradford
$3.362      Brookville
$3.459      Butler
$3.522      Clarion
$3.518      DuBois
$3.543      Erie
$3.493      Greensburg
$3.547      Indiana
$3.550      Jeannette
$3.505      Kittanning
$3.544      Latrobe
$3.566      Meadville
$3.583      Mercer
$3.487      New Castle
$3.530      New Kensington
$3.579      Oil City
$3.530      Pittsburgh
$3.486      Sharon
$3.569      Uniontown
$3.582      Warren
$3.521      Washington

Trend Analysis:

Gasoline prices fluctuated over the past few days as fears of an omicron-driven economic slowdown were countered by news of a severe fire at a major oil refinery. Last Thursday, a fire erupted at the Exxon Mobil Corp refinery in Baytown, Texas. The plant is one of the largest refining and petrochemical facilities in the United States. If the damage forces the plant offline for long, the disruption could negatively affect gasoline prices. The recent steady decline in pump prices has slowed, with the national average for a gallon of gas falling two cents on the week to $3.28.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 5.5 million barrels to 224.1 million barrels last week. On the other hand, gasoline demand decreased from 9.47 million b/d to 8.99 million b/d. Typically, falling demand and increased supply would support larger drops in pump prices, but fluctuations in the price of crude oil have helped to keep pump prices elevated.

At the close of last week’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $1.03 to settle at $73.79. Despite demand concerns over the omicron variant of COVID-19, crude prices increased after the EIA reported that total domestic crude stocks decreased by 4.7 million barrels last week to 423.6 million barrels. The current stock level is 15.2 percent lower than in December 2020, contributing to pressure on domestic crude prices.

 

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 72 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

(File Photo)
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 6:11 AM
(Harrisburg, Pa.) No one matched the five numbers for the Powerball on Monday night, meaning that Wednesday’s jackpot will be worth $441 million, lottery officials said.
No one has won a Powerball jackpot since Oct. 4, when one player won $699.8 million. That was Powerball’s fifth-largest and the seventh-largest for any lottery in the United States.
The largest Powerball jackpot to date was the $1.586 billion payout split by three winners in 2016.

(AP Photo)
Monday, December 27, 2021 at 12:57 PM
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday pledged the full support of the federal government to states facing surges in COVID-19 cases from the more-transmissible omicron variant and a run on at-home tests.

Joining a regular meeting between his coronavirus response team and the National Governors Association, Biden said, “My message is: if you need something, say something, and we are going to have your back any way we can.”

Biden acknowledged long lines and chaotic scenes as Americans sought out testing amid the case surge and as they looked to safely gather with family and friends over the holiday.

He referenced his administration’s plan to make 500 million rapid tests available to Americans beginning next month through an as-yet-to-be-developed website.

A White House official said the new tests would come from new manufacturing capacity and wouldn’t interfere with existing supply chains.

Despite supply issues and omicron, holiday sales rise 8.5%
By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers
Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure. Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Sunday that holiday sales had risen 8.5% from a year earlier. MasterCard SpendingPulse had expected an 8.8% increase. The results covered Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. They were fueled by purchases of clothing and jewelry. Holiday sales were up 10.7% compared with the pre-pandemic 2019 holiday period.