(Center Twp., Pa.) Center Township Board of Supervisors met Monday night and adopted a resolution to apply for a $250,000 grant from PADCNR to be used for the construction of a park pavilion.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The president of Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union is expressing support for in-person instruction in the fall. Rich Askey is president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. He calls an in-person return to school a “top priority” now that many teachers have been vaccinated and older children have become eligible for the COVID-19 shot. Askey’s statement came days after the leaders of the nation’s two major teachers unions called for a full return to in-person learning. Most Pennsylvania schools have already resumed at least some in-person instruction, though some are sticking with virtual learning at least through the end of the current academic year.
Body found in burned vehicle on western Pennsylvania road
CLAYSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities are trying to identify a body found in a burned vehicle on a western Pennsylvania road over the weekend. The Washington County coroner’s office was called to the scene Sunday in Claysville in East Finley Township. Officials said the remains of the man or woman were officially pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m. Sunday. There was no immediate word on the cause of death or the cause of the vehicle fire. State police are investigating.
Supreme Court throws abortion fight into center of midterms
By DAVID CRARY and JILL COLVIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a potentially ground-breaking abortion case, probably this fall, and the news is energizing activists on both sides of the contentious issue. They’re already girding to make abortion access a high-profile issue in next year’s midterm elections. The case on hand is a Mississippi law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. If upheld by the Supreme Court, it would mark a first step toward the possible demise of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That ruling established a nationwide right to abortion at any point before a fetus can survive outside the womb.
HARRISBURG – Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) on Monday introduced “constitutional carry” legislation, which would no longer require law-abiding citizens to obtain a government-issued license to carry a concealed firearm in Pennsylvania.
Constitutional carry, or permitless carry, allows an individual over 21 years of age who has passed a criminal background check upon purchase of a firearm to legally carry a handgun concealed without first having to obtain government permission.
Current law does not require citizens to obtain a license to openly carry a firearm in Pennsylvania.
Bernstine, a vocal pro-Second Amendment lawmaker, called the current concealed carry process a duplicative abuse of the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners.
“Pennsylvanians who follow the law each day should not be punished or hindered just because they prefer to carry their weapon concealed,” said Bernstine. “Constitutional carry ensures that citizens have the right to protect themselves and their families without seeking a government permission slip.”
Bernstine’s bill, House Bill 659, would make available an optional concealed carry license which would be valid in other states that have a reciprocal agreement with Pennsylvania.
The bill’s introduction comes on the heels of new executive actions on gun control announced at the federal level.
House Bill 659 has 68 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors.
“The broad bipartisan support from my colleagues shows that law-abiding Pennsylvanians are tired of the constant attacks on our firearms rights,” said Bernstine.
Currently, 20 other states have constitutional carry, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Recently, Bernstine was interviewed by Pennsylvania House Second Amendment Caucus Chairman Matt Dowling about his proposed legislation. To view the interview, click here. https://s3.us-east-2.
(Beaver County, Pa.) Today is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. The polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM tonight. There are four questions on the ballot that most republican representatives are telling the voters in their district to vote yes for all four.
Today is election day and polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM tonight. If you have a mail in ballot or absentee ballot they need to be at the elections bureau before 8PM tonight or they don’t count.
The ballot for the May primary will include choices for Justice of the (PA) Supreme Court, Judge of the Superior Court, Judge of the Commonwealth Court, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and various county and local municipality positions.
Also on the ballot will be four statewide ballot questions along with various county or local ones. Most republican representatives are telling the voters in their district to vote yes for all four of the state wide questions. The questions are listed below:
1. QUESTION ONE: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law and increase the power of the General Assembly to unilaterally terminate or extend a disaster emergency declaration—and the powers of Commonwealth agencies to address the disaster regardless of its severity pursuant to that declaration—through passing a concurrent resolution by simple majority, thereby removing the existing check and balance of presenting a resolution to the Governor for approval or disapproval?
2.QUESTION TWO: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to change existing law so that: a disaster emergency declaration will expire automatically after 21 days, regardless of the severity of the emergency, unless the General Assembly takes action to extend the disaster emergency; the Governor may not declare a new disaster emergency to respond to the dangers facing the Commonwealth unless the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution; the General Assembly enacts new laws for disaster management?
3.QUESTION THREE: Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended by adding a new section providing that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of an individual’s race or ethnicity?
4. QUESTION FOUR: Do you favor expanding the use of the indebtedness authorized under the referendum for loans to volunteer fire companies, volunteer ambulance services and volunteer rescue squads under 35 PA.C.S. §7378.1 (related to referendum for additional indebtedness) to include loans to municipal fire departments or companies that provide services through paid personnel and emergency medical services companies for the purpose of establishing and modernizing facilities to house apparatus equipment, ambulances, and rescue vehicles, and for purchasing apparatus equipment, ambulances and rescue vehicles, protective and communications equipment and any other accessory equipment necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the fire companies and emergency medical services companies?
(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondant Curtis Walsh)
(New Brighton, PA) New Brighton Fire Department responded to a smoke detector activation at Haynes Day Care Center on 6th Street in New Brighton. Fire fighters did a sweep of the building and allowed adults and children who evacuated to re-enter shortly after arriving. No injuries occured.
On Tuesday’s Teleforum program host Eddy Crow will be talking about the questionnaire sent from the Blackhawk Teachers Union to all the candidates for Blackhawk school board, including the question that has some Blackhawk residents upset. Teleforum is Monday through Friday from 9 till noon on AM1230WBVP, AM1460WMBA, and 99.3FM presented by St. Barnabas.
Harrisburg, PA – With Tuesday’s municipal primary election just one day away, Acting Secretary of State Veronica W. Degraffenreid today reminded Pennsylvanians that the Department of State’s election night returns website offers up-to-the-minute results.
“The public, candidates and the media can find the most complete picture of how Pennsylvanians voted on our election returns site,” Secretary Degraffenreid said. “We collaborate with all 67 county election offices to consolidate results as soon as they are available.”
The electionreturns.pa.gov site will provide for each race a breakdown of votes cast at polling places on Election Day, votes cast by mail ballot and votes cast by provisional ballot. The department will post unofficial results on the site as it receives reports from counties after the polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Since Pennsylvania’s election laws do not currently permit the pre-canvassing of ballots that most other states allow, counties cannot begin mail ballot counting until 7 a.m. on Election Day. More than 800,000 Pennsylvania voters requested a mail ballot, and the overwhelming majority of all ballots will be counted within a few days after the election.
Visitors to electionreturns.pa.gov can customize searches, receive timely updates, view results on mobile devices, use a location-based service through the “My County” link to instantly bring up their county’s election returns and connect to each county’s election results website.
Secretary Degraffenreid reminded Pennsylvanians voting by mail-in or absentee ballot to return their voted ballot in person to their county election board by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Check votespa.com/county to find ballot drop-off locations and hours for your county. The deadline for county election boards to receive voted mail ballots is 8 p.m. on May 18, Election Day. Postmarks do not count.
Voters who have not voted by mail ballot can vote in person at their polling place on Election Day. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 18.
Voters who applied for and received a mail ballot and then decide they want to vote in person at the polls must bring their entire unvoted mail ballot packet with them to be voided, including both envelopes. If a voter surrenders their entire mail ballot packet, they will be able to vote a regular ballot at the polls.
If a voter applies for a mail ballot but does not return it and does not have the entire packet to surrender at the polling place, they may vote by provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day. Their county board of elections will then verify that they didn’t vote by mail before counting their provisional ballot.
Voters who are registered as Republican or Democrat will choose their parties’ nominees for seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, county Common Pleas Courts, and Philadelphia Municipal Court.
Also on the party ballots will be a wide variety of county, school board, and local seats such as mayor, city or borough council member, township commissioner or supervisor, magisterial district judges, and precinct election officials.
All registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, will be eligible to vote on four ballot questions. Three of the questions are proposed constitutional amendments, and the fourth question is a referendum on making municipal fire departments or companies with paid personnel and emergency medical services companies eligible for an existing state loan program.
In addition, all registered voters in the following four districts, regardless of party affiliation, will be voting in special elections to fill vacancies:
For complete information about voting in Pennsylvania, visit votesPA.com or call 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772).
PennDOT, PSP Focus on Traffic Safety with ‘Click It or Ticket’ Mobilization
Harrisburg, PA – With Memorial Day weekend and the summer travel season approaching, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) are urging drivers to keep traffic safety top of mind when behind the wheel. The agencies will work with municipal police departments and other safety partners across the commonwealth to participate in the national “Click It or Ticket” seat belt education and enforcement initiative from May 17 through June 6, 2021.
“‘Click it or Ticket’ isn’t about citations, it’s about saving lives,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “Buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones in a crash.”
Pennsylvania law requires any occupant younger than 18 to buckle up when riding in a vehicle, as well as drivers and front-seat passengers. Children under the age of two must be secured in a rear-facing car seat, and children under the age of four must be restrained in an approved child safety seat. Children must ride in a booster seat until their eighth birthday.
In addition to adopting a zero-tolerance approach toward violators, troopers certified as child passenger safety technicians will offer car seat fittings and inspections throughout Pennsylvania, helping ensure that car seats are in good working condition, installed properly, and free from recalls.
“State police child passenger safety technicians look forward to hosting dozens of events across the commonwealth to highlight child passenger safety,” said Major Robert Krol, director of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Patrol. “We hope everyone who drives with children in their vehicles will take advantage of this free resource to keep their youngest passengers safe while traveling.”
A complete list of child passenger seat fitting stations is available at psp.pa.gov.
As part of the enforcement efforts, state and local police, along with agencies across the United States, will participate in a one day Border-to-Border initiative on May 24 to provide increased seat belt enforcement at state borders, reinforcing the states’ focus on safety.
PennDOT data shows there were 11,265 crashes in 2020 where at least one occupant was not wearing a seat belt, resulting in 348 fatalities.
As the summer driving period kicks off, we encourage Pennsylvanians to “Know Before You Go” by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles in Pennsylvania by visiting www.511PA.com. The service, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. Motorists can also see active construction projects at www.511PA.com.
For more information on seat belt safety visit, www.PennDOT.gov/Safety.
PennDOT’s media center offers resources for safety organizations, community groups, or others who share safety information with their stakeholders. Social-media-sized graphics highlighting topics such as seat belts, impaired driving and distracted driving can be found online at www.PennDOT.gov in the “Media Center” under the “About Us” footer.
Follow PennDOT on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PennDOTNews, like the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/