Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier was joined by Rep. Patty Kim, Sen. Christine Tartaglione, and Elementary Coffee owner Andrea Grove to call for an increase to Pennsylvania’s outdated minimum wage to $12 an hour with a pathway to $15 by 2027. This increase – the first since 2009 – will benefit working families and local economies and boost the incomes of more than 1.1 million Pennsylvania workers.

“Over the past decade, prices for food, housing, education, childcare, and other critical needs have increased significantly while the minimum wage earned by Pennsylvanians has remained stagnant,” said Acting Secretary Berrier. “While every state surrounding us has recognized this loss of purchasing power and increased their minimum wage, we have continued to fall further behind. Now many Pennsylvanians are facing job loss and have no savings because they were working jobs that paid too little to allow them to set aside money for emergencies. We cannot let this crisis continue – we need to raise our minimum wage now and allow hardworking Pennsylvanians the dignity of
providing for themselves.”

Governor Tom Wolf is proposing to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2027, boosting incomes for nearly 1.1 million workers and put $4.4 billion into the pockets of Pennsylvania workers in the first year. Raising the wage to $12 an hour will inject an additional $116.4 million into Pennsylvania’s economy; an increase to $15 will bolster Pennsylvania’s economy by $320.6 million in 2027.

Pennsylvania follows IRS in delaying tax deadline to May 17
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will delay its tax filing deadline from April 15 until May 17, after the Internal Revenue Service said it is delaying the federal tax filing deadline until May 17. The state Department of Revenue said Thursday that the state’s tax-filing deadline is tied by law to the federal deadline. The IRS announced its decision Wednesday. The move provides more breathing room for taxpayers and the IRS alike to cope with changes brought on by the pandemic. Taxpayers who owe money would not face any further penalties or interest on final 2020 personal income tax returns and payments if they pay by May 17.

Stone tablet marking First Amendment freedoms finds new home
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A four-story, 50-ton marble tablet engraved with the text of the First Amendment will find a new home in Philadelphia now that the Newseum in Washington has closed. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will erect the tablet in an atrium overlooking Independence Hall. That’s where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were adopted. It’s a gift from the Freedom Forum, and a dedication ceremony is planned for later this year. The Freedom Forum was the creator of the Newseum. The Newseum was sold to Johns Hopkins University and closed in 2019.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

With the desire to re-open businesses and the money to do so, County Commissioner Jack Manning sees much more than a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I really think this is a transformational opportunity to reshape and modernize government, and set the Beaver County economy going forward into the next decade,” said Manning at Wednesday’s work session. Manning, prior to his stint as Commissioner, was the head of the County’s Chamber Of Commerce.

“The future of Beaver County is right now,” he added.

The county is receiving $14.8 million in CARES Act Funding, and that doesn’t factor in the multitude of stimulus money being deposited into individual bank accounts across Beaver County and elsewhere.

Manning openly feels that there should be a plan in place to answer the question “How do we best utilize this funding?” and expects input from citizens, county workers, and constituents for putting the plan together.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Ambridge, Pa.) 1-800- SHOP CVS  announced yesterday  that the Ambridge pharmacy is fully booked, there  are no   available vaccine appointments. An official said that the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and , Johnson  vaccines were obtained for the site.

Lawmaker’s departure produces fourth May 18 special election
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A special election to fill a western Pennsylvania state House seat that is vacant because of a lawmaker’s retirement is scheduled for the state primary on May 18. The speaker’s office said Wednesday that voters will choose a new state representative in the district that had been represented until Tuesday by Republican Rep. Jeff Pyle. There will also be special elections on May 18 for open legislative seats held most recently by the late Rep. Mike Reese in Westmoreland County, former state Sen. John Blake of Lackawanna County and the late state Sen. Dave Arnold of Lebanon County.

(Baden, Pa.) A Baden woman is being held in the Beaver County Jail after being charged with drug delivery resulting in death three months after a man was found dead inside a home.

Natalie Robinson, 32, was being held in the Beaver County Jail.
On Dec. 3, 2020, Ryan Fedorka was found dead in a home in Baden with a syringe near his body and stamp bags of heroin nearby.
During an investigation, police interviewed 32 year-old Natalie Robinson, who, according to the criminal complaint, described herself as a “middle man,” buying drugs for Fedorka from a dealer in Aliquippa.

Robinson is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on March 30.