(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Under the new proposal, sponsored by Allegheny County council members Bethany Hallam and Olivia Bennett, people would be required to wear masks at all indoor events any outdoor gathering of more than 250 people. Anyone who fails to comply could be fined up to $100.

If passed, it would be effective until Apr. 30, 2022, unless repealed earlier by council

Hallam caused an uproar on social media due to photos she posted on her Twitter account of herself at the Steelers Game in Buffalo over the weekend without a mask on.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(New Brighton, PA) The New Brighton Area School Board met Monday night for their first of two meetings this month.  The board started off by approving a final reading of revisions to multiple policies within the school handbook, as well as a final reading to a new policy to be added titled “Threat Assessment”.  Board members then approved 2022 Pennsylvania School Boards Association candidates President Elect David Schaap, Vice President Allison Mathis, and PSBA Insurance Trust Trustees Richard Francis, William LaCoff, and Nathan Mains.  The board also approved to exonerate 2019 school property taxes for a parcel located at 1120 6th Avenue.  The property is used as a church and the owners are applying to be on the list of tax exempt properties maintained by the Beaver County Assessor’s Office.

PennDOT is announcing the closure of a portion of Hitzel Hill Road (Route 4045) in Bell Acres Borough, Allegheny County, has been extended.

Public’s help sought after teen killed at Halloween event
NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. (AP) — Authorities are asking for help from the public in their search for a teenage suspect who opened fire at a popular Halloween attraction in western Pennsylvania over the weekend, killing one 15-year-old youth and wounding another. Allegheny County police said 15-year-old Steven Eason of Wilmerding was shot in the chest and stomach Saturday night at the Haunted Hills Hayride in North Versailles. The other youth is in stable condition. Detectives said Eason and friends knew the other youth casually and went to his aid when they saw him in a confrontation with the 15- to 17-year-old suspect, who drew a handgun and fired three times.

By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Bill McSwain, top federal prosecutor in Philadelphia under former President Donald Trump, will run for governor. He made the announcement Monday, joining a crowded Republican field that may still yet get bigger. McSwain’s announcement was not a surprise. He had written to Trump in July, seeking the former president’s endorsement for governor and, before that, had told party figures that he intended to run. It is his first run for public office. The 52-year-old McSwain lives in Chester County and went back to private law practice after more than three years as the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, which included Philadelphia.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel is soon leaving the job he’s held for a more than decade.  Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday Wetzel will be replaced by George Little, a top administrator at the agency. Little has served Corrections as a deputy secretary overseeing community corrections, parole and probation field supervision services, and parole re-entry operations. Wetzel was first named to the job in 2011 by then-Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican. His last day with the state is Oct. 1, and he plans to work in the private sector. Little joined the state prison system as director of community corrections in 2016 before becoming an executive deputy secretary.

Prison guards union asks court to review vax-or-test mandate
By MARK SCOLFORO and MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The union that represents corrections officers in Pennsylvania prisons wants a state court to intervene over the governor’s recent mandate that they all get coronavirus vaccines or submit to weekly testing. The six-page Commonwealth Court complaint over a rule Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced last month requests that the court issue a preliminary injunction to end mandatory testing unless inmates, visitors and outside vendors are also subject to the requirement. Wolf a month ago announced that about 25,000 employees of Pennsylvania’s prisons and state health care and congregate care facilities would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 7 or take weekly tests for the virus.

(Scott Twp., Lawrence County, Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are reporting that they were dispatched to the scene of a one vehicle accident on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, on Rose Point Harlensburg Road in Scott Twp., Lawrence County around 5:54 PM.

Troopers stated via release that upon arriving on the scene and investigating they determined that 24-year-old Kayla Haswell from Ellwood City was operating a 1996 Jeep Cherokee at and unsafe speed around the bend and lost control of her vehicle causing it to roll over and come to rest on its right side facing north.

Haswell was not injured and requested that EMS not respond. She was cited for driving a vehicle at an unsafe speed and her vehicle was towed from the scene.

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf is committed to a fair and transparent redistricting process and today signed an executive order creating the Pennsylvania Redistricting Advisory Council. The six-member council, comprised of redistricting experts, will provide guidance to the governor to assist his review of the congressional redistricting plan which will be passed by the General Assembly later this year. In addition, the governor announced the opening of a redistricting website at which members of the public can submit proposed maps, outline communities of interest, and submit comments to help shape the outcome of this critical part of our democratic process.

“We must bring more fairness and transparency to the redistricting process, so every Pennsylvanian is assured their voice is heard,” said Gov. Wolf. “I have long believed that gerrymandering is wrong, and politicians should not use the redistricting process to choose their own voters. Our commonwealth and our nation were founded on the ideals that voters freely select their own elected leaders.

“The decisions that are made through the drawing of new district boundaries will affect every person and community in Pennsylvania for the next decade. It is one of my most important acts as governor and I take that responsibility extremely seriously. That is why I have tasked this advisory council with listening to the people of Pennsylvania and providing their expert advice so that I can better evaluate the maps in the best interest of all Pennsylvanians.”

Executive Order 2021-05 creates the council that will review processes in other states that reduce gerrymandering, develop factors to determine if a plan improves the integrity and fairness and prevents the dilution of a person’s vote and offer recommendations to ensure that districts are compact and contiguous to keep communities together and ensure people are proportionally represented.

The council members have expertise in redistricting, political science and mapmaking:

• Tabatha Abu El-Haj, Ph.D. J.D., professor of law, Drexel University
• Lee Ann Banaszak, PhD., political scientist, Penn State University
• Beth Campbell Ph.D., mathematician, Gettysburg College
• Christopher S. Fowler, PhD., geographer, Penn State University
• John J. Kennedy, Ph.D., political scientist, West Chester University
• Sozi Tulante, J.D., former Philadelphia City Solicitor

The council will engage the public, redistricting experts, and other stakeholders to make holistic recommendations and emphasize integrity and fairness when drawing boundaries for Pennsylvania’s congressional map.

Voters’ voices and opinions should have a key role in redistricting decisions. In order to provide direct opportunities for the public weigh in and have their voices heard, the Wolf Administration today opened a new redistricting website at which members of the public can submit proposed district maps, outline communities of interest they believe should be given special consideration in the redistricting process and submit comments to be considered by the governor and Redistricting Advisory Council.

“As this critically important process kicks off in Pennsylvania, we want to hear from you,” said Gov. Wolf. “Your vote and your voice matter. So please, take some time to share your thoughts with us.”

Gov. Wolf has long fought to modernize our elections to remove barriers to voting and improve the process for citizens and election officials.

In 2019, the governor signed a landmark law with the most significant improvement to Pennsylvania’s elections in more than 80 years. The law created the extremely popular option to cast a ballot by mail without an excuse and provided more time to register to vote, among other enhancements.

During this term, the governor also helped to secure $90 million to counties with purchasing new voting systems with a paper trail and modern security. The Wolf Administration also created the option for people to register to vote or update their registration online for the first time, which more than 3 million people have used.