Giant Eagle Issues Recall Of Gourmet Pretzels

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Giant Eagle has issued a voluntary recall of its Market District Gourmet Pretzel platters and Gourmet Pretzel bags.

The products included in the recall have “sell by” dates through 04/03/21 and can be identified by price lookup (PLU) numbers 25206 and 45505, located in the upper right corner of the item’s scale tag.

The recalled products were sold at the Sweet Shoppe department in the Township of Pine Market District and the Setttler’s Ridge Market District in Robinson and could contain an undeclared pecan allergen.

In a statement Giant Eagle said a guest who bought the product informed them about the issue. Giant Eagle stated that they learned the issue was caused by an error in the packaging at the store.

No one has reported an illness associated with the recalled product.

A WARMUP ON TELEFORUM MONDAY

On the Teleforum Monday Eddy will have the a full recap of  biggest stories of the weekend, and plenty of reactions to go along with the stories. And rumor is…Monday will start a warming trend in Beaver County; great news after the last couple weeks of snow, frozen, and yuck. Teleforum is 9 til noon every weekday on Beaver County Radio!

Democrat Pa. State Rep. Kenyatta Announces Candidacy for Toomey’s U.S. Senate Seat

(Philadelphia, Pa.) A Philadelphia Democrat Pa State Representative said Thursday that he is running for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat in next year’s election.

Thirty-Year-old Malcolm Kenyatta is in his second term in the Pa. State House of Representatives.

The grandson of the late civil rights activist Muhammad I. Kenyatta.

Kenyatta is jumping in a race that Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has also declared for on the Democratic ticket. On the Republican side Jeff Bartos, the GOP’s unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018, has filed paperwork to run. There are numerous first-time candidates running on both parties tickets.

The seat up for grabs is Senator Pat Toomey’s who announced in October that he would not be seeking a third term.

Beaver County Radio Increases News Coverage

Beaver County Radio has expanded its local news coverage! Tune in to Beaver County Radio and find out what is happening in your local community, municipality, and local school board meetings. Beaver County Radio has expanded our local coverage and now has two news reporters covering your town. Check out the news coverage with Sandy Giordano, and our newest news reporter Curtis Walsh. Plus, regular monthly coverage from the county’s commissioner meetings at the Beaver County Court House with Matt Drzik.

 

Sandy Giordano
News Correspondent
Curtis Walsh
Local News Reporter
Matt Drzik
Beaver County Show Host/Producer

Man Assaulting Woman, Who Later Died, Shot and Killed by New Wilmington Police

Story by Beaver County Radio Staffer Frank Sparks

(New Wilmington, Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle via press release say they responded to a call on South New Castle Street in Wilmington Borough Thursday morning to assist New Wilmington Police Department in an Officer involved shooting.

Upon preliminary investigation Troopers determined that a 24-year-old transgender female was assaulted by a male with a blunt instrument. When the New Wilmington Police arrived, the man was seen assaulting the victim with the blunt instrument. The suspect was given a command to stop by the officer and the suspect ignored him and continued the assault. The officer then fired hos weapon at the suspect killing him. The transgender female was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown where she later died from her injuries.

Neither the suspect or the victim’s names have been released and the officer is on administrative leave as police continue to investigate.

BEAVER COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE TO CELEBRAT BLACK VOICES

Rochester, Pa.—In celebration of Black History Month, the Beaver County Democratic
Committee is hosting an evening of spoken word and poetry to honor the voices of the Black community in Beaver County. The theme is “All the Bridges We Have Made.”
The event will take place on Monday, February 22, 2021, at 7 pm online using Zoom. Those interested in attending can sign up by going to www.BeaverCoutyDemocrats.com/BHM-poetry

“There is a lot of excitement about this event,” said Committee President Terri Mitko. “People in the community were thrilled to see that we are celebrating Black History Month in a safe and creative way, especially after Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman read her beautiful poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ at President Biden’s Inauguration.”

Participants include:
• Mtume Imani, President, Beaver County NAACP
• Alexus Shaw reading from her book “Black Woman: A Poetry Book About Life From A Black
Woman’s Perspective”
• Ariana Suggs
• Andreena Williams
• Shalmai Hall
• Felicia Mycyk reading her poem “We”
• Nadia Knecht
• Unique Writez reading from her book “Hidden Thoughts”

About the Committee: The Beaver County Democratic Committee promotes government leaders at the local, state, and federal levels that are committed to serving with integrity and in the best interests of all people. Our mission is to elect and support Democratic government officials who listen to the people they serve and reflect the interests and priorities of Beaver County citizens.

Groups Call for Regulating Smaller Sources of Methane

Keystone State News Connection

February 19, 2021

Andrea Sears

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Environmental groups say actions in Washington and Harrisburg to curb methane emissions are major steps forward, but they see a big loophole in regulations that still needs to be closed.

In his first week in office, President Joe Biden directed the Environmental Protection Agency to have a proposal by September to address methane leaks from existing oil and gas facilities. Pennsylvania already regulates emissions from new facilities, and the Department of Environmental Protection is working on the rule-making for existing sources.

But Dan Grossman, senior director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the DEP proposal needs to be strengthened to include existing wells that produce only small amounts of gas.

“If Pennsylvania exempts low-producing wells, as they do in their proposal, it’ll leave that gaping loophole in its regime,” said Grossman. “The signal that it sends to Washington is that it’s okay to leave these off the table.”

Pennsylvania has nearly 10,000 oil and gas wells in the lowest-producing category. Experts say many of those are releasing more methane into the air than is being captured for sale.

Reducing methane emissions is critical to slowing the climate change that’s already having major impacts. Michael Kovach, vice president of the Pennsylvania Farmers’ Union, pointed out that includes agricultural production.

“Annual precipitation’s coming in heavier events,” said Kovach. “Pest populations that affect both crops and livestock are exploding, and our ability to produce the foods that feed our Commonwealth and our nation is being challenged like never before.”

He said the national Farmers’ Union was the first major agricultural membership group to acknowledge that human activity is a major contributor to climate change.

Grossman praised Gov. Tom Wolf as a leader in promoting policies to bring methane emissions under control. But until leaks from abandoned and low-producing wells are addressed, he said the job will not be done.

“We simply won’t be able to meet our climate goals unless we address methane in a wholistic fashion and get as much of those emissions under regulation as we can,” said Grossman.

Brother Arrested after Two People Found Dead in Stowe Twp. Home

(Stowe Twp., Pa.) Allegheny County police said 60-year-old Timothy Gumm is being charged with homicide in the death of his 55 year old brother Christopher and his brother’s 47 year old girlfriend, Sally Sines after the two were found dead in a Stowe Township home on Thursday.

Police responded to the home in the 900 block of Liberty Street for a welfare check on Thursday morning and when they arrived, they found Sines and Christopher Gumm dead and there bodies in a state of decomposing. Police were able to determine the victims were shot but were not able to verify their cause of death.
Gumm was also charged with tampering with evidence and a firearms violation. He was taken to the county jail to await arraignment.

PennDOT Announces ‘Major Bridge P3 Initiative’ Next Steps, Private-Sector Opportunities 

Harrisburg, PA – As part of its study to explore sustainable transportation funding methods and completing critical projects, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced the bridges being considered for its PennDOT Pathways Major Bridge Public-Private Partnership (P3) Initiative, and the coming industry opportunities to participate.

“Our reliance on funding models from the last century leaves us especially vulnerable to fund losses stemming from volatile economic conditions and the increasing transition to alternative-fuel or electric vehicles,” PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said. “This initiative will help us make much-needed improvements without compromising the routine projects our communities and industry partners rely on.”

To support PennDOT Pathways, an alternative funding Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study is underway to identify near- and long-term funding solutions for the overall transportation system and establish a methodology for their evaluation. One of the early findings of the PEL study is that tolling of major bridges in need of replacement or rehabilitation appears to be a viable near-term solution. To advance this funding alternative, PennDOT is pursuing the first initiative of the PennDOT Pathways Program: The Major Bridge P3 Initiative.

The Pennsylvania P3 Board approved the Major Bridge P3 Initiative on November 12, 2020, which allows PennDOT to use the P3 delivery model for major bridges in need of rehabilitation or replacement, and to consider alternative funding methods for these locations. Through the P3 model, PennDOT can leverage private investment to rebuild critical bridges during a period with historically low interest rates and a favorable labor market. This initiative can provide a dedicated source of revenue for these infrastructure improvements and could create significant savings over the life of the program while ensuring the vitality of the state’s transportation system and economy.

The bridges being considered for tolling through the Major Bridge P3 Initiative are structures of substantial size that warrant timely attention and would require significant funds to rehabilitate or replace. Additionally, these bridges were selected based on the feasibility of construction beginning in two to four years to maximize near-term benefits, and with the intention that their locations are geographically balanced to avoid impact to just one region. Projects being considered, and for which a public involvement process begins this spring, include:

Each bridge’s project scope, surrounding roadway network, and traffic flow is being evaluated for inclusion in one or more project bundles to be advertised this spring. PennDOT is analyzing potential structures for project bundles to ensure fair, competitive, and local participation in the P3 procurement to replace these bridges and anticipates issuing a Request for Information to industry partners in the week of February 22 to gather industry feedback on the project, with a Request for Qualifications anticipated this spring. Private-sector partners can find a presentation outlining the anticipated process and project benefits on the Major Bridge P3 project page.

Bridge tolling provides funds to reconstruct or replace these costly bridges without depleting PennDOT’s ability to deliver its current program of projects, thus allowing existing funding to continue to be used for needed roadway and bridge safety and operational improvements. Tolling would be all electronic and collected by using E-ZPass or license plate billing. The funds received from the toll would go back to the bridge where the toll is collected to pay for the construction, maintenance and operation of that bridge.

Over the next year, PennDOT will evaluate these candidate bridges through individual environmental documents being prepared or re-evaluated for each bridge. More information on each individual bridge project, and when the public will have an opportunity to engage on those projects, can be found at www.penndot.gov/funding and on the project pages.

As Pennsylvania’s mobility needs have grown, the amount of funding required to support our highway and bridge network has continued to increase. PennDOT’s current highway and bridge budget for construction and maintenance is about $6.9 billion per year – less than half of the $15 billion needed to keep Pennsylvania’s highways and bridges in a state of good repair and address major bottlenecks on our roadway network.

These are the latest in the agency’s efforts to support and grow the state’s transportation network in the face of growing needs and shrinking resources. Much of PennDOT’s current highway and bridge funding comes from gas taxes, which are declining due to alternative fuels and fuel efficiency. PennDOT Pathways aims to identify reliable, future-focused funding solutions that will meet the overall transportation system’s growing needs while serving communities. The PennDOT Pathways PEL study will evaluate additional alternative funding solutions and will be available for public comment in the spring.

For more information about PennDOT Pathways and the Major Bridge P3 Initiative, visit www.penndot.gov/funding.

Subscribe to statewide PennDOT news and traffic alerts at www.penndot.gov/news or choose a region under “Regional Offices.” Information about the state’s infrastructure and results the department is delivering for Pennsylvanians can be found at www.penndot.gov/results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.

Follow PennDOT on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PennDOTNews and like the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot/.

New Brighton Borough Council Hold February Meeting

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

The New Brighton Borough Council held their February meeting tonight and talked about a few different topics and issues involving the community. A New Brighton resident voiced his concern over improper curbs and sidewalks on 5th Avenue and Borough Manager Tom Albanese explained that the reason for the curb issues is that the hired contractor walked off the job last year.  He assured that steps are being taken to get the work completed. Another resident says he wants to bring a community center/gym into the town and is looking into available properties.  Also discussed at the meeting was a list of properties that are slated to be demolished this year. These properties are 519 8th Avenue, 706 13th Street, and 909 Harmony Avenue.  Valerie McElvy also gained approval for a road closure of 3rd Avenue from 8th Street to 13th Street on Friday, June 25th, for a wine walk that is being organized by the New Brighton Public Library.  Audio from the meeting can be heard below.

Tom Albanese on curbs and sidewalks:

Community Center resident idea:

Valerie McElvy on road closure: