HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today encouraged Pennsylvania consumers to learn more about the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) that was started by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the important role that affordable broadband plays in education, employment, health and other purposes as people are now relying on broadband access to the internet more than ever and EBB plays an important part in that affordability effort,” said PUC Chairman Gladys Dutrieuille.

 

The EBB uses $3.2 billion in federal funding Congress approved in December 2020 and gives qualifying households money to buy internet service or equipment to use the internet if they are eligible.

 

How Much is the Average EBB Support?

• The program will provide eligible households with discounts of up to $50 a month for broadband service.
• Eligible households can also get a one-time discount of up to $100 on equipment to use the internet. Equipment includes a computer or tablet if they contribute $10-$50 toward the price for the equipment.
• The benefit is limited to one service discount per month and one device discount per household; multigeneration households may each qualify separately although consumers should check the FCC’s webpage at GetEmergencyBroadband.org or the provider of this EBB program.
• This EBB is in addition to, not in place of, the current Lifeline Program that provides $5.25 a month to support affordable broadband service.

Who is Eligible for the EBB?

 

The program is income based. For example, it is open to Lifeline subscribers and households that currently participate in Lifeline, including consumers whose income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines or who receive Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, Federal Housing or Veterans benefits. Consumers who receive free or reduced-price school lunch, or have received a federal Pell grant, are also eligible.

 

Eligibility for EBB also includes individual households with annual income up to $100,000 or dual households making up to $198,000 a year if they are impacted by COVID through a substantial loss of income since Feb. 29, 2020.

 

How Can Consumers Apply for the EBB?

 

Households should contact their broadband providers and ask if they participate in EBB or visit the FCC’s webpage at GetEmergencyBroadband.org for more information. Consumers also can visit the FCC website to see a list of participating Pennsylvania providers approved by the FCC if their broadband provider is not participating or if they would like another provider for EBB.

 

Enrollment has started on May 12, 2021. The program will end when the fund runs out of money, or six months after the U.S Department of Health and Human Services declares an end to the COVID-19 health emergency, whichever is sooner.

 

The PUC is participating in a public presentation on the EBB program by the FCC and hosted by Penn State Extension on May 19, 2021, from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. To register, you may click on this link.

 

About the PUC

 

The PUC balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

 

Visit the PUC’s website at www.puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

(New Beaver Borough, Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are reporting that they were dispatched to a vehicle accident on State Route 168 in New Beaver Borough Lawrence County. The collision occurred in the area of Galilee Road yesterday around 8:30 AM.

Troopers said after arriving on the scene and investigation they found out that a 2012 Toyota Camry operated by Kimberly Hovanec of New Castle was traveling South on 168 when she struck a vehicle driven by 18-year-old Talia Mango of New Galilee head on as she was attempting to avoid the collision with Mango’s vehicle.

Troopers are reporting that both women were injured and transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital. Troopers stated that Hovanec’s injuries were suspected to be serious as they continue to investigate.

(Perry Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are reporting that they were dispatched to a location on Van Gorder Mill Road in Perry Twp. Lawrence County for a report of a power washer being stolen from a building owned by a 78-year-old Ellwood City woman.

The theft occurred sometime between March 10 and May 1 of this year.  State Police say the Karcher power washer is valued at 450.00 and that the investigation is ongoing.

Credit: UPMC

Alejandro Hoberman, M.D.

PITTSBURGH, May 12, 2021 – There is no long-term benefit to surgically placing tympanostomy tubes in a young child’s ears to reduce the rate of recurrent ear infections during the ensuing two years compared with giving oral antibiotics to treat ear infections, a randomized trial led by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh pediatrician-scientists determined.

The trial results, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, are among the first since the pneumococcal vaccine was added to pediatric vaccination schedules, providing updated evidence that may help shape pediatric guidelines on treating recurrent ear infections. Importantly, despite their greater use of antibiotics, the trial found no evidence of increased bacterial resistance among children in the medical-management group.

“Subjecting a young child to the risks of anesthesia and surgery, the possible development of structural changes of the tympanic membrane, blockage of the tube or persistent drainage through the tube for recurrent ear infections, which ordinarily occur less frequently as the child ages, is not something I would recommend in most instances,” said lead author Alejandro Hoberman, M.D., director of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at UPMC Children’s Hospital and the Jack L. Paradise Endowed Professor of Pediatric Research at Pitt’s School of Medicine.

“We used to often recommend tubes to reduce the rate of ear infections, but in our study, episodic antibiotic treatment worked just as well for most children,” he said. “Another theoretical reason to resort to tubes is to use topical ear drops rather than systemic oral antibiotics in subsequent infections in the hope of preventing the development of bacterial resistance, but in this trial, we did not find increased resistance with oral antibiotic use. So, for most children with recurrent ear infections, why undergo the risks, cost and nuisance of surgery?”

Next to the common cold, ear infections are the most frequently diagnosed illness in U.S. children. Ear infections can be painful, force lost time at work and school, and may cause hearing loss. Tympanostomy tube placement, which is a surgical procedure to insert tiny tubes into a child’s eardrums to prevent the accumulation of fluid, is the most common operation performed on children after the newborn period.

Hoberman and his team enrolled 250 children ages 6 to 35 months of age at UPMC Children’s Hospital, Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Kentucky Pediatric and Adult Research in Bardstown, Ky. All of the children had had medically verified recurrent ear infections and had received the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. They were randomly assigned to receive “medical management,” which involved receiving oral antibiotics at the time of ear infections, or the surgical insertion of tubes and antibiotic ear drops. The children were followed for two years.

Overall, there were no differences between children in the two groups when it came to the rate or severity of ear infections. And, though the children in the medical management group received more antibiotics, there also was no evidence of increased antimicrobial resistance in samples taken from the children. The trial also didn’t find any difference between the two groups in the children’s quality of life or in the effect of the children’s illness on parents’ quality of life.

One short-term benefit of placing tympanostomy tubes was that, on average, it took about two months longer for a child to develop a first ear infection after tubes were placed, compared with children whose ear infections were managed with antibiotics.

Another finding of the trial was that the rate of ear infections among children in both groups fell with increasing age. The rate of infections was 2.6 times higher in children younger than 1 year, compared with the oldest children in the trial, those between 2 and 3 years, regardless of whether they received medical management or tube insertion.

“Most children outgrow ear infections as the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle-ear with the back of the throat, works better,” Hoberman said. “Previous studies of tubes were conducted before children were universally immunized with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which also has reduced the likelihood of recurrent ear infections. It’s important to recognize that most children outgrow ear infections as they grow older. However, we must appreciate that for the relatively few children who continue to meet criteria for recurrent ear infections—three in six months or four in one year—after having met those criteria initially, placement of tympanostomy tubes may well be beneficial.”

Additional study authors are Diego Preciado, M.D., Ph.D., and Daniel E. Felton, M.D., both of Children’s National Medical Center; Jack L. Paradise, M.D., David H. Chi, M.D., MaryAnn Haralam, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., Diana H. Kearney, R.N., C.C.R.C., Sonika Bhatnagar, M.D., M.P.H., Gysella B. Muñiz Pujalt, M.D., Timothy R. Shope, M.D., M.P.H., Judith M. Martin, M.D., Marcia Kurs-Lasky, M.S., Hui Liu, M.S., Kristin Yahner, M.S., Jong-Hyeon Jeong, Ph.D., Jennifer P. Nagg, R.N., Joseph E. Dohar, M.D., and Nader Shaikh, M.D., M.P.H., all of Pitt; Norman L. Cohen, M.D., and Brian Czervionke, M.D., both of UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics; and Stan L. Block, M.D., of Kentucky Pediatric and Adult Research.

This research was funded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders grant NCT02567825.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Route 351 (Fairlane Boulevard) in Big Beaver Boulevard, Beaver County will begin Monday, May 17 weather permitting.

Improvement work, including milling and paving, drainage upgrades, base and shoulder repairs, and other various construction related activities, will occur on Route 351 between Route 18 and Shenango Road (Route 4001). To allow the work to occur the roadway will close to traffic beginning at 7 a.m. Monday continuously through Friday, June 11. Through traffic will be detoured.

Posted Detour

West of the Closure

• Take Route 351 to Route 18
• Take Route 168 south
• Turn left onto Route 551
• Turn left onto Route 18
• Follow Route 18 back to Route 351
• End detour

East of the Closure

• Same detour in the opposite direction

The project is part of a $2.95 million group paving job in Beaver County.  A. Liberoni, Inc. is the prime contractor.

(Moon Twp., Pa.) Amazon Air touched down at Pittsburgh International Airport for the first time Wednesday night, adding Pittsburgh to its expanding U.S. cargo network.

Amazon Air packages will arrive once daily into Pittsburgh via a Boeing 737-800F freighter. The first departure from PIT, packed with cargo, will leave Thursday morning.

It is the latest—and biggest—cargo win for the airport.

“We are excited that Amazon is continuing its investment in the region with the addition of Amazon Air operations at our airport,” said Pittsburgh International Airport CEO Christina Cassotis. “We welcome Amazon Air and look forward to building our partnership. This announcement is a major milestone in positioning PIT as an international logistics center.”

Amazon Air has grown quickly to increase speed and selection for customers around the country, now flying to more than 40 U.S. airports. Its new operation at PIT will allow the company to serve a growing logistics network in Western Pennsylvania.

“Growing the network of sites where Amazon Air flies is essential to supporting fast, free shipping for our customers,” said Chris Preston, Director, Amazon Gateway Operations. “Today, with Pittsburgh International Airport as part of our Amazon Air network, we are closer to our customers and can support fast shipping for the items they rely on. We are proud of the investments Amazon has made in the Pittsburgh region and look forward to continued growth.”

Through a partner lease agreement, Amazon Air will use 50,000 square feet of space at PIT. The facility will include an onsite area to sort packages bound for their next destination and will be managed by an Amazon logistics partner, Trego-Dugan Aviation. The site is expected to support approximately 70 jobs.

Local leaders applauded the arrival.

“We are delighted to welcome Amazon Air to PIT. To have a major logistics company like Amazon locate here reflects confidence in our region and the opportunities at the airport,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “This development, along with the Finnair announcement, really underscores the fact that PIT is becoming a significant cargo and distribution hub.”

Cargo service carries huge economic benefits for regions like Western Pennsylvania because of the downstream economic impact, including handling companies and often trucking.

Cargo has become a bigger part of PIT’s business plan as officials look to build the airport into an international logistics center, capitalizing on its abundant space and ideal geographic location. The arrival of Amazon Air comes as PIT continues to see an increase in demand for air freight amid the pandemic.

In March, the most recent month available, the airport saw a 29 percent increase in cargo compared to 2020. Air freight rose by 27 percent while mail increased 37 percent. The spike in air freight is attributed to cargo carriers utilizing larger aircraft and increasing the number of operations at PIT.

Last month, PIT welcomed international cargo carrier Finnair, which operated short-term nonstop cargo flights from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Finland. The carrier was transporting automotive parts from Asia to North America.

Supply chain challenges during the pandemic have prompted airlines like Finnair to look beyond their traditional networks. Airline officials compared PIT to their Helsinki hub, saying smaller airports can be faster, agile and flexible.

In December, Qatar Airways resumed its cargo operations at PIT and continues its weekly flight on a converted Boeing 777-300ER. Additionally, Cathay Pacific used a similar aircraft for cargo flights between Pittsburgh and Hong Kong that ran twice weekly from September to November of last year.

FedEx and UPS also have upped their operations at PIT, with the carriers increasing year-over-year flights by 46 percent and 83 percent, respectively, in March.

At congested cargo gateways like New York and Chicago, airlines and freight forwarders often have to wait days to get their products offloaded and on the road. At PIT, that can happen in a matter of hours. Cargo carriers have consistently referenced that speed as a major selling point to utilize PIT.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(Chippewa Township, PA) The Blackhawk School Board held a virtual meeting tonight.  The board stated that the district is going to hold an outdoor graduation ceremony at their stadium with standard commencement admission, which is 6 tickets given out per student. If weather becomes an issue, the ceremony will be held indoors and students will only be given 4 tickets.  The meeting then progressed into a heated discussion over a new proposed tax increase.  While the board ultimately approved a one mill increase, there was opposition among the board to whether or not they could increase revenue and funds by eliminating teaching positions and certain classes. One board member suggested the school needs to be run more as a business, to which he proposed that certain classes and teachers such as in the music and art departments be eliminated since some of those classes have only 6 students, while suggesting those students could just join another elective.  This prompted an argument with other board members stating that they have absolutely no interest in taking those classes away from students.  The board went on to approve a temporary road agreement with Penn Power, as well as to allow a dance academy to rent the high school auditorium for a recital.  Also approved were the positions of three middle school basketball coaches, and the resignations of 2 athletic trainers and a paraprofessional. The district will also continue to require mask wearing, until the PA Department of Education says otherwise. You can hear audio from the meeting below.