Pennsylvania State Police have reported via release that on June 5th 6:51 p.m. on Route 18, The New Castle Police investigated a two vehicle accident. A 2017 Hyundai Elantra operated by an 18 year old male, Alfred Kennedy, was traveling east on Vance Rd., and failed to stop at a stop sign before entering onto Route 18 while a 2007 Ford E-250, operated by 59 year old man Patrick Kerr, was traveling south on the same route. Kennedy then struck into Kerr, causing him to travel through the northbound lane, off the roadway and overturn onto the passenger side coming to a final rest facing north. Kennedy’s vehicle traveled through the north bound lane and off the roadway facing east. Both vehicle’s were towed from the scene to Del’s Garage. Kennedy’s vehicle was accompanied by a 26 year old female, Alexandra Conforti, a 23 year old female, Abby Conforti, and another passenger who has yet to be identified, who were all taken to St. Elizabeth sustaining injuries. Kerr, who was operating the second vehicle involved in the crash, was also admitted to St. Elizabeth due to sustaining injuries from the crash.

Pennsylvania State Police have reported via release that on April 17th, 2021 at approximately 2:06 p.m., PSP conducted a traffic stop on the off ramp from US422 west bound onto W Pittsburgh Rd, in Taylor Township, Lawrence County. The operator of a 2000 Chevy Prizm was identified to be a 22 year old female, Catrina Kitchen; a New Galilee resident. Kitchen gave consent for the vehicle to be searched, where narcotics and drug paraphernalia was located. Kitchen showed signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance. Through field sobriety testing it was determined KITCHEN was operating the vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance. Kitchen was arrested and later released as per Rule 519 at UPMC Jameson. Charges have been filed through MJD 53-3-02.

Pennsylvania State Police have reported that on June 4th, 2021, at approximately 6:20 p.m., Officers from the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, with the assistance from the City of Pittsburgh Police Department and a Trooper from the State of Police Barracks, obtained and served a search and an arrest warrant at the Savoy Sports Bar, located at 2623-2326 Penn Avenue, PA 15222. The BLCE have been receiving numerous complaints alleging that the premises has been open and operating without a valid liquor license, and upon further investigation, the allegations were confirmed to be true. Charles Sanders was arrested and transported to the Allegheny County Jail, and because of the search warrant approximately 12.2 gallons of malt or brewed beverages and approximately 277 liters of liquor were seized.

Swaths of internet down, outage at cloud company Fastly
LONDON (AP) — Numerous websites were unavailable on Tuesday after an apparent widespread outage at cloud service company Fastly. Dozens of high-traffic websites including the New York Times, CNN, Twitch and the U.K. government’s home page, could not be reached. Fastly said in repeated updates on its website that it was “continuing to investigate the issue.” About an hour later, the company said: “The issue has been identified and a fix has been applied. Customers may experience increased origin load as global services return.” A number of sites that were hit early appeared to be coming back online.

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Jump as Crude Oil Prices Climb
Gas prices in Western Pennsylvania are seven cents higher this week at $3.240 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                 $3.240
Average price during the week of June 1, 2021                                        $3.177
Average price during the week of June 8, 2020                                        $2.345

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

$3.152      Altoona
$3.234      Beaver
$3.214      Bradford
$3.253      Brookville
$3.246      Butler
$3.254      Clarion
$3.239      DuBois
$3.248      Erie
$3.212      Greensburg
$3.244      Indiana
$3.254      Jeannette
$3.219      Kittanning
$3.244      Latrobe
$3.239      Meadville
$3.270      Mercer
$3.219      New Castle
$3.241      New Kensington
$3.259      Oil City
$3.239      Pittsburgh
$3.241      Sharon
$3.277      Uniontown
$3.259      Warren
$3.255      Washington

Trend Analysis:
After ten days of stability, the national gas price average increased a penny over the weekend to $3.05. On the week, the majority of states’ (26) gas price averages either increased by one cent or saw no movement. Only two states saw prices increase a nickel or more. Prices are poised to fluctuate in the coming week, especially in light of a recent drop in demand. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported demand decreased from 9.48 million barrels a day to 9.15 million barrels a day for the week ending May 28. During the same week, total gasoline stocks increased to nearly 234 million barrels as U.S. refinery utilization jumped to 88.7%—the highest rate since February 2020.

This week’s demand number is expected to be higher as it will reflect Memorial Day holiday weekend travel, but it’s not likely to lead to an increase in gas prices for the majority of motorists. However, crude oil is on the rise and could prop up pump prices.

Last week, crude prices increased to their highest price point ($69/barrel) in 2.5 years. Since crude accounts for more than 50% of the price at the pump, when it goes up, so does the price motorists pay. What is promising is that crude may not sustain at this level. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and its allies including Russia, announced last week it still plans to gradually increase crude production in July. If it does increase production, this could lead to a decrease in crude oil prices.

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

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier yessterday announced that the transition from the decades-old mainframe to a new, faster, and easier-to-use Unemployment Compensation (UC) system is on track for launch tomorrow.

“We still have many key hurdles to cross, but the transition so far has been smooth, and we are ready for the new system to come online Tuesday,” said Acting Secretary Berrier. “Months of hard work and testing have helped us eliminate many potential issues, and we continue to have staff on hand around-the-clock ready to resolve anything that comes up during the rest of the transition.”

With the new system deployment just hours away L&I is encouraging UC and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) claimants to familiarize themselves with the new system through a series of 25 workshops and other easy-to-use tools and helpful resources.

Upcoming Workshop Dates and Links:

• Wednesday, June 9 at 2:00 PM for Claimants (English)
• Thursday, June 10 at 6:00 PM for Claimants (English)
• Thursday, June 10 at 7:30 PM for Claimants (Spanish)

A full list of scheduled workshops and links to connect to them are here. Recordings of each workshop will be uploaded to this page on www.uc.pa.gov.

Topic-specific instructional videos:

• Login – Create a New Keystone ID
• Login with an Existing Keystone ID
• Reset a Forgotten Password
• How to File an Appeal
• Waiting Room 101
• How to Change Communication Preferences

Other Helpful Resources: 

Claimant User Guides:

• How to login (Spanish)
• File weekly certifications (Spanish)
• Open a new claim (Spanish)
• Overpayment management (Spanish)
• Appeal process (Spanish)
• Fact-finding (Spanish)
• Dashboard – Quick Start Guide

Employer User Guides:

• Request relief from charges
• Granting access to Third-Party Administrators

Claimant and Employer User Guides:

• Appeal process
• Fact-finding

System Tracker

L&I has launched the UC System Enhancements Tracker to help users easily view status updates of the new system after it comes online tomorrow. Updates on the transition to the new system are also being posted regularly on L&I’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The Unemployment Compensation Service Center phone line and email will continue to remain open throughout the transition to the new system.

The UC system went offline Wednesday evening and will continue to be offline until the new system launch tomorrow. When the new system comes online, all eligible UC and PEUC claimants will be able to file for available weeks and filing will change from biweekly to weekly.

The Extended Benefits program will also operate on the new system. The final week of eligibility for this program has passed, but individuals who need to take action within the program – such as viewing past payments – will be able to do so once the new system comes online.

The transition to the new UC system does not affect Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimants, who file through a separate system.

For more information and updates on unemployment benefits programs, visit www.uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter. 

(Beaver, Pa.) Jury selection continues today in the upcoming trial of Sheldon Jeter Jr. who is accused of killing his childhood friend Tyric Pugh in May of last year. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano spoke with Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier and he expects jury selection to take three to four days and for the trial to last many weeks.

Investigators say that Jeter’s trial will focus on May 15, 2020 when Pugh was for dead in the street and surveillance video showed a vehicle they believe belonged to Jeter.

Investigators say when they went to Jeter’s home, they found a weapon matching the shell casings found at the crime scene. Jeter’s attorney has denied that Jeter has any involvement in the case.

Gun rights supporters rally outside Pennsylvania Capitol
MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A couple hundred gun rights enthusiasts are hoping an annual rally on the Pennsylvania Capitol steps will spur action by state lawmakers to extend greater legal protections to the use and possession of firearms. The event’s main organizer is a state representative and said Monday the crowd at the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Rally was the smallest in the past 16 years. Among the attendees’ legislative priorities is letting anyone who can legally possess guns conceal them when they carry them in public without a license or permit. They also want to prevent cities from enacting more restrictive local firearms restrictions.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The state House is advancing revisions to Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law, seeking to make permanent some of the changes put in place temporarily because of the coronavirus pandemic. Representatives on Monday voted 164 to 38 for the bill, sending it to the Senate. It would permit dispensing a three-month supply at a time, up from one month’s supply. Patients will be able to continue to pick up their medicine outside a dispensary, rather than coming inside the building. The legislation would ease the process by which contaminants must be removed before the final testing. Grower-processors would be permitted to use pesticides under standards the Agriculture Department would develop.

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
The head prosecutor in Pittsburgh is expounding on his policy regarding plea deals, days after it became public that he told his staff to no longer offer them to clients of a Black criminal defense lawyer who called the office “systematically racist.” Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. announced Monday his office will investigate any claim by a defense lawyer or unrepresented defendant who raise concerns that a plea offer shows racial or other bias. His new policy says that when a lawyer or defendant claims plea talks have treated them differently because of “protected status,” the prosecutor has to look into it and report what’s occurred.