Court flips on signature rules for Pa. nominating petitions
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court says voters who sign a state political candidate’s nominating petition have to list the address where they are registered to vote or it doesn’t count. The state Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a 5-year-old precedent because of a more recent change in state law. The court had previously held that a petition signature could not be invalidated just because the voter’s address didn’t match their voter registration address. The ruling was made in a challenge to Rania Major’s petition to run in the Democratic primary for judge in Philadelphia. The court upheld a decision to keep Major off the ballot.

Pennsylvania pension system says it got grand jury subpoena
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system are giving a little more detail about a federal probe, saying the agency received a subpoena, although it is staying silent about subpoenas said to have been received by top management officials. Officials at the Public School Employees’ Retirement System and board members have declined to answer questions publicly about what information federal investigators are seeking. In a brief statement Thursday, the $64 billion pension system said it had been served with a grand jury subpoena for documents. Pension system officials have said nothing about Tuesday’s revelation by state Treasurer Stacy Garrity that federal subpoenas were served on “several PSERS management officials.”

Tourist charged with manslaughter in pal’s Hawaii death
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii judge rules there is probable cause to charge a Pittsburgh tourist with manslaughter in the strangulation of the college buddy he was vacationing with. Benjamin Fleming was arrested last month after his first night out on the Big Island with his two college friends ended in a deadly fight. Alexander Germany-Wald of Montclair, New Jersey, testified at a preliminary hearing for Fleming that their friend, Abhishek Gupta, also of Pittsburgh, got “psychotically” drunk. Germany-Wald says a fistfight ensued until Fleming restrained Gupta. They later realized he wasn’t breathing. A judge denied a request to release Fleming or reduce his $250,000 bail.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

The Big Beaver Falls School District held their monthly board discussion meeting tonight.  They started off by discussing a real estate auditor contract that was recommended by business manager Gary Ceccarelli.  It would be a three year contract to have real estate audits for 2020 through 2022 at a cost of $13,900 for 2020, $14,325 for this year, and $14,760 for 2022.  The board then went on to speak on 2 recommendations by the administration.  The first was for the approval of sports and voluntary student accident insurance for the 2021/2022 school year at an annual premium of $6,300.  The second recommendation  was for the approval of the Beaver County Career & Technology 2021/2022 operating budget to be $6,234,249, $81,965 less than last year.  The board of education also recommended the approval of a resolution to remove the Midland Borough School District from membership with the Beaver County Career and Technology Center.

On Friday’s A.M. Beaver County, Matt Drzik throws open the phone lines at (724) 843-1888 & (724) 774-1888.

And we’ll be talking about the Biden administration’s attempt at gun control and the Pirates’ home opener against the Cubs…among other things.

6:30 to 9:00 on Beaver County Radio.

Harrisburg, PA – Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel signed a Notice of Execution setting May 14, 2021, for the execution of Paul Gamboa Taylor, who was sentenced to death in York County.

The law provides that when the governor does not sign a warrant of execution within the specified time period, the secretary of corrections has 30 days within which to issue a notice of execution.

HARRISBURG – Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced today that Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc., of State College, has been charged with four counts of theft relating to violations of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act and the federal Davis-Bacon Act. Hawbaker is one of the largest contractors to complete projects on behalf of the Commonwealth, receiving an estimated $1.7 billion in funding as of 2021.

“This is the largest prevailing wage criminal case on record — under Pennsylvania prevailing wage law and across the United States under federal law,” said AG Shapiro. “My focus now is on holding Hawbaker accountable for breaking the law, and getting these workers their money back.”

“Employers across this Commonwealth, you are on notice: if you steal from your employees, if you misclassify workers, if you violate our labor laws, we are going to find out, we are going to hold you accountable, and we will do all we can so Pennsylvania workers receive the wages and benefits owed to them under the law,” said Shapiro.

The Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act and the Davis-Bacon Act were enacted to level the playing field and protect workers by ensuring that all contractors working on projects that receive state or federal funding pay the same wage rates, which are determined by state and federal agencies. Contractors are permitted to satisfy a portion of the required wage by providing fringe benefits to employees. This portion is referred to as a “fringe benefit credit,” and is calculated by determining the hourly equivalent of the value of the benefit to the contractor.

While Hawbaker boasted that it provided great employee benefits, in actuality, the company was stealing its workers’ retirement, health, and welfare money. As a result of Hawbaker’s conduct, individual workers lost tens of thousands of dollars from their retirement. Hawbaker used its workers’ fringe benefit funds to lower their costs, and thereby increase profits for the Hawbaker family.

“This is the third in a series of prosecutions related to wage theft and misclassification over the last few months – and it isn’t the last. Too often, the workers that get stolen from are underpaid, have been denied benefits, and have been put into dangerous situations without appropriate training. My Office is committed, with our partners in law enforcement, to keep fighting until workers are treated right,” said Shapiro.

These charges conclude a three-year investigation into the company’s practices for calculating and claiming fringe benefit credits. Investigators discovered that the company stole wages from its workers by using money intended for prevailing wage workers’ retirement funds to contribute to retirement accounts for all Hawbaker employees – including the owners and executives. As a result, workers received less money in their retirement accounts than what was owed.

Hawbaker also stole funds intended for prevailing wage workers’ health and welfare benefits and used them to subsidize the cost of the self-funded health insurance plan that covers all employees. The company disguised its scheme by artificially inflating its records of benefit spending by millions of dollars each year and claiming credit for prohibited costs. Those measures created the appearance that it provided employees with benefits that far exceeded the cost of those that it actually did.

Although investigators determined that the complex and well-disguised sleight of hand had gone on for decades, Hawbaker could only be charged for the last five years due to the statute of limitations.

Attorney General Shapiro recognized the people on the ground who noticed the theft taking place and thanked them for sounding the alarm.

“I recognize that thousands of people across Pennsylvania are finding out for the first time that they were a victim to this company’s crimes. If you are a worker and you believe that you may have lost out on benefits because of this company’s actions, we want to hear from you,” concluded Shapiro. “We’ve set a hotline for workers to reach out: 814-746-3518.”

The charges were filed by Supervisory Narcotics Agent Thomas Moore. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Philip McCarthy and Lisa Eisenberg, Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Forray, and Chief Deputy Attorneys General Nancy A. Walker and Kirsten Heine.

Biden tightens some gun controls, says much more needed
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE, AAMER MADHANI and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Joe Biden’s first notable gun control measures, he has announced executive actions aimed at addressing what the White House calls a “gun violence public health epidemic. In his actions announced Thursday, Biden is tightening regulations for “ghost guns” — homemade firearms that usually are assembled from parts without serial numbers — and tightening regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces, like the one used by the Boulder, Colorado, shooter in a rampage last month that left 10 dead. Gun-control advocates praised the actions but said much more must be done in Congress — where chances are much dimmer.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano 

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Aliquippa City Council, via ZOOM last night approved  a letter of support  submitted by MWAA  ‘s application  for a Community Project Funding  Request for FY22 Appropriations  for $15,000,000 for construction of the  new water treatment plant .