Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Former Aliquippa Police Chief Don Couch was suspended from his job in 2018, and  2020 council voted to reinstate him and  demote him to sergeant. Instead, he filed a lawsuit against the city last year  and the lawsuit has been settled. Details were not released at Wednesday night’s meeting. C

Keystone State News Connection

Contract PHL Airport Workers Seek Higher Wages, Healthcare

Michayla Savitt

PHILADELPHIA — Anticipating a busy summer, airport workers in Pennsylvania continue their fight for better wages and health insurance, and demand what they say would be a fair contract from American Airlines and other carriers.

Philadelphia International Airport contract workers and supporters rallied this week in support of a prevailing wage bill being debated by the city council, which would change a city agreement with air carriers, to boost hourly wages to just over $15, create a paid-leave standard, and provide an hourly wage supplement for healthcare.

Michelle Richards, an airport wheelchair attendant and member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ, supports the proposal, especially after working on the front lines throughout the pandemic.

“We’re not going to stop until we get what we deserve, because we are the ones out here doing the jobs, and they are the ones behind the scenes,” Richards asserted. “We are the faces of the airport, that does the job every single day.”

American Airlines has pushed back on the bill, telling City Council member Kenyatta Johnson in a letter it cannot accommodate a pay increase, since revenues have been down. The proposal is backed by several city council members and is still under review.

SEIU noted workers who would be affected by this bill are predominantly Black, and as front-line staff, they remain at greater risk of getting sick.

Bishop Dwayne Royster, executive director of Power Interfaith, voiced frustration at the rally with the airline’s opposition to the proposal.

“How can American Airlines’ CEO claim to support Black Lives Matter, but can’t support the Black lives that work every single day to make this airport and this airline run?” Royster asked.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, Memorial Day weekend marked the highest travel numbers for U.S. airlines this year.

There won’t be a sighting of Parrot Heads at Star Lake in July after all. The Jimmy Buffett concert that was scheduled to be at the Pavilion at Star Lake on July 15 has been canceled.

Rescheduled performances created a conflict with a show in Nashville on July 16 and thus the Pittsburgh date has been canceled.
Fans who purchased tickets to the show will be issued refunds.

The first show scheduled for this summer at Star Lake will be when Chicago performs on July 21.

Police say inmate who admitted to 6 killings spoke of others
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — New information has surfaced about Pa State Police’s conversations with convicted Serial Killer Edward Surratt who is serving multiple life sentences in a Florida jail.
Surratt had admitted to the killings of three Beaver County residents in the late 1970’s along with 3 others in the state and Pennsylvania State Trooper Max DeLuca says Surratt also discussed five to seven other slayings here in the state. Trooper DeLuca said yesterday that police in those areas have been alerted. He obtained those details in March from Surratt, who is serving life at a state prison in Raiford, Florida. DeLuca says Surratt implicated himself in the deaths of six people in four Pennsylvania slayings during 1977 and 1978. He’s not expected to be prosecuted for the six Pennsylvania killings. DeLuca says Surratt wouldn’t disclose how many people he killed in Pennsylvania.

US jobless claims drop to 385,000, another pandemic low
By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fifth straight week to a new pandemic low, the latest evidence that the U.S. job market is regaining its health as the economy further reopens. Jobless claims dropped to 385,000, down 20,000 from the week before. The number of applications for unemployment aid, which generally reflects the pace of layoffs, has fallen steadily all year. The decline reflects a swift rebound in economic growth and the job market’s steady recovery from the coronavirus recession. More Americans are venturing out to shop, travel, dine out and congregate at entertainment venues. All that renewed spending has led companies to seek new workers.

Shrinking giants: North Atlantic right whales getting tinier
By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
A new study says the hulking giants of the deep, North Atlantic right whales, are on average about three feet shorter than just 20 years ago. Thursday’s study says the critically endangered whales are shrinking because of the stress of getting tangled in fishing gear, crashing into ships and climate change moving their food supply north. There are only 356 of the whales left. Scientists say their smaller size is a big deal because it reduces their ability to reproduce. Full grown North Atlantic right whales used to average 46 feet. Now the younger generation is on track to not quite average 43 feet.

Mall to install cameras after criticism following shooting
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania mall says it will install surveillance cameras and take other measures to beef up security following criticism from officials after gunshots that prompted a lockdown and an evacuation of shoppers over the Memorial Day weekend. The Allegheny County district attorney’s office and Ross Township police had criticized Ross Park Mall officials following Saturday’s gunfire, saying mall operators had refused requests to install cameras, although some individual stores have them. Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, Inc. said in a statement that the company already does a good job of maintaining security at its facilities but “as an additional measure, we will soon begin the process of securing CCTV cameras.”