Category: News

18 Rescued After Being Stranded on Ice Floe in Lake Erie

PORT CLINTON, Ohio (AP) — Coast Guard authorities say 18 people were rescued from an ice floe that broke away in Lake Erie over the weekend. Officials said a helicopter from Air Station Detroit noticed a group of people on the floe near Ohio’s Catawba Island at about 1 p.m. Sunday with several all-terrain vehicles seeking a route back to land. The helicopter lifted seven people from the floe. An airboat dispatched from the nearby Marblehead station rescued four others. Officials said the other seven people were picked up and taken to shore by a good Samaritan who also had an airboat at the scene.

Frontier Airlines Buying Spirit in $3B Low-Cost Carrier Deal

(AP Photo)
By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer
Frontier Airlines’ parent company is buying Spirit Airlines in a $2.9 billion cash-and-stock deal that will allow the combined airline to be more competitive against its larger rivals. Spirit shareholders will receive 1.9126 shares of Frontier plus $2.13 in cash for each existing Spirit share they own. This implies a value of $25.83 per Spirit share at Frontier’s closing stock price of $12.39 on Friday. The deal is valued at $6.6 billion when accounting for the assumption of debt and operating lease liabilities.

Pa. GOP Won’t Endorse in Big Primary Fields for Governor, Senate, and Lieutenant Governor

GOP won’t endorse in big primary fields for governor, Senate
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Republican party isn’t endorsing in huge primary fields for governor, U.S. Senate and lieutenant governor, ensuring that this spring’s races will be that much more wide open. The party banned reporters from the ballroom where it held its winter meeting Saturday at a Lancaster hotel. However, committee members and candidates say the party held a voice vote against endorsing. Party committee members had predicted for months that nobody would win an endorsement. The primary field for governor is double-digits deep, while the fields for U.S. Senate and lieutenant governor each feature at least a half-dozen candidates.

What to Watch For in Gov. Wolfe’s Budget Proposal

(File Photo)
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is preparing to pitch his eighth and last budget proposal to lawmakers, as the Democrat pushes Republicans to spend more federal pandemic aid now and Wolf looks to secure one more big boost in state funding for public schools. The details of Wolf’s budget plan for the 2022-23 fiscal year starting July 1 will be released Tuesday. State accounts are brimming with cash, thanks to federal aid and a booming economy, and Democrats floating bullish spending plans. Republican majorities in the House and Senate have remained steadfast that federal pandemic aid and state reserves be used conservatively to ward off deficits.

Beaver Falls Man Not Injured in One Vehicle Accident on I-376 In Chippewa

(Chippewa Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that they were dispatched to the scene of a one vehicle accident Tuesday February 1, 2022 on Interstate 376 in Chippewa Twp. around 9:22 AM.
Upon arriving on the scene and investigating it was learned that 40-year-old Justin Gunther of Beaver Falls was operating a 2013 Kia Optima west bound on the interstate when he lost control of his vehicle striking the cable barrier near mile marker 33.9. Gunther was not injured in the accident but was charged by Troopers with not driving on roadways laned for traffic properly.

Pa Rep. Aaron Bernstine Announces Bid for Fourth Term

(New Galilee, Pa.) Pa State Representative Aaron Bernstine announced on his Facebook Page yesterday that he will be running for re-election this year for his 4th consecutive term.
Bernstine currently represents House District 10, but will be running in House District 8 in 2022 under the state’s newly approved House district maps. He is a small business owner and farmer who lives in New Galilee with his wife, Ilia, and son, Dierks.
The newly drawn 8th District includes the following municipalities: In Butler County, the townships of Brady, Center, Clay, Connoquenessing, Forward, Franklin, Lancaster, Middlesex, Muddycreek, Penn, and Worth; and the boroughs of Connoquenessing, Portersville, Prospect, West Liberty, and West Sunbury. In Lawrence County, the townships of Little Beaver, Perry, Plain Grove, Scott, Slippery Rock, Washington, and Wayne; and the boroughs of Ellport, Ellwood City (Lawrence County portion), Enon Valley, New Beaver, Volant, and Wampum.
Bernstine will make his monthly appeareance on Rappin with the Reps here on Beaver County Radio this Thursday at 9:00 AM

You can read Bernstine’s announcement that was posted to his Facebook Page on Sunday February 6, 2022 below:

“Citing an urgent need to fight back against the destructive liberal agenda in Harrisburg, Aaron Bernstine announced today he will run for re-election this year, seeking a fourth term in the state House of Representatives.
“We are in the heat of a war to preserve our freedoms and constitutional rights in Pennsylvania, and the Harrisburg political class on both sides are to blame. I was on the front lines fighting against the Governor’s shutdowns and stood up to every attempt at weakening our rights. I am proven and tested in tough battles, and with so much at stake, I look forward to charging ahead on behalf of the hard-working folks in Lawrence and Butler counties.”
Bernstine has been a strong advocate for the unborn. Using his position on the House Health Committee, he has supported all efforts to ban abortion. Recently, he has challenged abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected and those which target a diagnosis of Down Syndrome.
He has been an active leader on Second Amendment issues. He championed constitutional carry legislation through the General Assembly, which would have removed the requirement to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm for law-abiding gun owners.
A fiscal hawk, Bernstine has declined lavish pension plans and perks designed by career politicians and has pushed for constitutional spending limits known as the Taxpayer Protection Act. He has been one of few Republicans to consistently vote against state budgets due to excessive spending and successfully got a bill signed into law that eliminated the asset tax.
“Harrisburg has too many tax-and-spend politicians. I will continue to expose their fraudulent accounting practices which attempt to hide the fact that they are spending more of your money, will fight any attempt to raise taxes or fees, and push to permanently curb chronic overspending that consistently hurts families.”
Among his other accomplishments, Bernstine has authored legislation to keep criminals behind bars when they commit violent acts while incarcerated, as well as bills to address Pennsylvania’s nursing shortage and provide greater access to affordable in-home care for seniors.
Bernstine cited restoring election integrity as a top priority, recently winning a lawsuit that asked the court to strike down Act 77 and rule no-excuse mail-in voting unconstitutional.
“Governor Wolf and his liberal allies on the state Supreme Court corrupted Act 77 and used it to destroy the integrity of our elections in 2020. I have and will continue to use every available tool in the arsenal to fix our broken election system.”

Mark Cuban’s Mom, Shirley Dies at 84

(AP Photo)
DALLAS (AP) — Shirley Cuban, the mother of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, has died. Her son Brian Cuban confirmed the death. She was 84. The Dallas Morning News reports that Cuban died Friday in the suburban Pittsburgh home where she and her husband, Norton, raised sons Mark, Brian and Jeff. Brian Cuban said his mother died after battling lung cancer. Shirley Cuban was born Shirley Rita Feldman in 1937. She graduated from Carlow College, today known as Carlow University in Pittsburgh, and worked as a massage therapist and at an addiction rehabilitation center. She and her husband moved to Dallas after Mark Cuban bought the Mavericks’ NBA franchise. Her husband died in 2018, and Shirley returned to the Pittsburgh area.

Steve Higgins Talks About The Impact Of Alvin Gibson & Dwight Collins For BF Basketball

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio, photo by Mark Peterson)

Beaver Falls has had a long tradition of success on the high school hardwood, winning four state championships in boys’ basketball (1970, 1994, 2005, 2013) and a fifth in girls’ basketball (1985). But the tradition can be traced back to the late 1970s, where a pair of men who will be honored this weekend made Tiger Basketball a formidable program.

Those two men were Alvin Gibson from the Class of 1977, and Dwight Collins from the Class of 1979; both of whom will be inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club in 2022. Steve Higgins from the Larry Bruno Foundation joined Matt Drzik to talk about the induction of Gibson and Collins on the February 4 edition of A.M. Beaver County, citing these men as anchors for solidifying the Beaver Falls name in the WPIAL.

Higgins pinpointed a game in the 1977 season where Gibson scored 33 points against Brashear, and the Tigers would continue on to a 26-3 season and a silver medal in the WPIAL (losing the championship to Fox Chapel). Collins, in his senior year of 1979, would lead the Tigers to the Class AAA basketball title. Beaver Falls would be champions again in 1980; their third under legendary coach Frank Chan, whom Gibson and Collins will join in the PBC.

To hear the full interview with Steve Higgins, click on the player below!