Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing a nightly ramp closure on Route 51 (University Boulevard, Stoops Ferry Road) in Moon Township, Allegheny County will begin Thursday night, August 5 weather permitting.

(Wayne Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are reporting that they were advised yesterday afternoon at 3:30 PM that a 32-year-old female who was working for Nesbit Portable toilets was pumping out a porta john at 65 Portersville Road in Wayne Twp. on August 2, 2021 when an unknown person stole her purse out of her truck.
Troopers are asking anyone with information on who took the purse to contact Trooper McBride at the New Castle Barracks at 724-598-2211

Former Penn State President Graham Spanier was released from jail yesterday after serving nearly two months in jail for endangering the welfare of children by his response to a report that Jerry Sandusky had been seen physically abusing a boy on campus.
The 73-year-old Spanier served 58 days in jail and still faces two months of electronic monitoring at home.

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Library book returned after 50 years with $20 bill
PLYMOUTH, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a book checked out a half-century ago has been anonymously returned to a library in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice reports that the 1967 copy of “Coins You Can Collect” by Burton Hobson arrived last month at the Plymouth Public Library in Luzerne County along with a $20 bill. An accompanying unsigned letter saying it was checked out in 1971 by a little girl who wasn’t told they were moving. She said she often intended to send the book back but somehow never got around to it, and it became “a running joke” in her family.

Girl injured in suspected shark attack in Maryland
OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — Family members of a 12-year-old Pennsylvania girl say she suffered injuries after a suspected shark attack in Maryland that left her with 42 stitches for 20 cuts. Jordan Prushinski and her family told WBRE-TV that they were on vacation Monday at the beach in Ocean City when Jordan went into knee-deep water. She was swimming with her family when she limped out of the water bleeding from the leg. Her mother says other beachgoers, including an EMT and a nurse, helped give Jordan first aid. With the help of a lifeguard, they cleaned and bandaged the wound, and Jordan’s family took her to a hospital.

(Ambridge, Pa.) Pa State Rep. 16 th Rob Matzie announced that $77,155.00 was awarded to three local schools in his district to boost fresh fruits and vegetables for grade-schoolers.

Matzie said in a release that the funding awarded under the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program includes $36,140 to the Aliquippa School District, $20,800 to the Ambridge Area School District, and $20,215 to the Rochester Area School District.

He went on to add that “Fresh, nutritious food helps kids learn.” “Securing this funding is going to allow school cafeterias to offer fresh produce to more grade-schoolers in our schools.”

The grants are part of a package of more than $7 million awarded to 288 elementary schools statewide under the FFVP. Funding priority was given to the schools with the highest rates of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

Keystone State News Connection

August 5, 2021

Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvanians are growing worried about the environmental consequences of natural-gas drilling in the state, according to a new poll released by the Ohio River Valley Institute.

It showed the majority surveyed support Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s recommendations to tighten regulations on fracking, including 77% who support assessing sources of air pollution and 82% in favor of requiring safer modes of transporting waste.

The poll, conducted by Data For Progress, surveyed nearly 650 voters from across the state.

Ralph Kisberg, co-founder of the Responsible Drilling Alliance, said the results of the poll show it is time for the state Legislature to make efforts to better transition to clean energy.

“We need to move faster,” Kisberg asserted. “The people understand this, they understand that it’s all tied in with the climate situation and that will get extremely expensive for the country unless we deal with it. And the country is beginning to deal with it, but if Pennsylvania wants to hold onto its position, it’s going to jeopardize its economy, frankly.”

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. Gas giant Shell is building a $6 billion dollar ethane cracker plant northwest of Pittsburgh. A majority of voters polled were against tax breaks for the plant.

In contrast, the Pennsylvanians polled approved of public spending on clean-energy projects, with 77% saying they believed it would have a positive impact on the state.

Kisberg noted there are ways the state could move forward with its clean-energy transition, including a severance fee on the natural-gas industry.

“We can take that revenue and use it for subsidies for lower-income people to make the transition in their homes with energy efficiency,” Kisberg suggested. “And get everybody involved in this transition based on the fact that we have some low-hanging fruit in the tax world that we don’t take advantage of in the state.”

Kisberg added interested individuals should contact Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, who chairs the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Earlier this year, Yaw introduced a municipal “energy choice” bill, which some environmental advocates argued could protect polluting forms of energy such as coal and gas.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(Chippewa Township, PA) The Blackhawk School District held a special meeting tonight to discuss their health and safety plan for the upcoming school year.  Superintendent Dr. Robert Postupac led the 3 hour meeting and started off by saying that Blackhawk intends to open the 2021-2022 school year with five full days of in person instruction at 100% capacity.  The district will follow CDC guidelines to an extent if there would happen to be substantial transmission of the virus among the district including the possibility of required masks for students and staff.  Students will only be allowed to participate in virtual learning if they are sick.  Dr. Postupac stated that the district will go against FAA regulations which require students to wear masks on buses, saying that neither the district or the bus company will enforce the rule.  Students that are symptomatic will be required to get tested before returning to school.  Coach Zach Heyward stated that as of the moment, there has been no guidance on any mandates relating to sports.  Members of the public were divided into groups to give their ideas on assigned relative topics.  One group suggested that masks should not be reintroduced unless 10%, roughly 80 people, are confirmed positive in the high school, and for self contained classrooms, such as in the elementary school, 20%, approximately 4 people.  A group that was assigned the topic of hand washing, quickly answered that they do in fact believe hand washing and sanitization efforts should continue.  Dr. Postupac repeated one phrase frequently throughout the night, which was “This is where we are today”.