Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Constitution Boulevard (Route 51) in Hopewell and Center townships, Monaca Borough, and the City of Aliquippa, Beaver County will begin Monday, May 10 weather permitting.

Single-lane restrictions in both directions will occur Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday through Thursday nights from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. through early October. Work will occur between 17^th Street in Monaca Borough and approximately 1½ miles north of the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge. Improvement work includes milling and micro surfacing, drainage improvements, guide rail upgrades, curb and sidewalk work, bridge preservation, concrete repairs, and other various construction related activities.

Northeast Paving is the prime contractor on this $4.05 million project. The overall project will conclude in October 2021.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, 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.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website

Harrisburg, PA – Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier today announced that the next phase of a customer service improvement initiative for unemployment compensation begins Monday.  Approximately 230 new customer service representatives will answer incoming calls to the Unemployment Compensation Service Center, while existing highly trained staff members will shift to exclusively work on resolving outstanding claim issues.

The additional staff will allow for individuals receiving unemployment benefits to more easily reach a customer service representative by phone, while also increasing the speed at which staff members can resolve claim issues. This is part of a larger effort to improve the customer experience and prepare people receiving unemployment payments for the transition from a 40-year-old mainframe system to an easier-to-use modern computer system in June.

“We’re aware that unemployment program enrollees have experienced frustration in trying to reach us, particularly by phone,” said Acting Secretary Berrier. “While we’ve been steadily hiring staff since the pandemic’s surge in demand, this customer service initiative is a more comprehensive approach to significantly increase our capacity to answer questions and rapidly resolve outstanding issues. Being unemployed is already a stressful time. By improving our ability to respond, we can allow workers to focus on successfully returning to the workforce.”

The benefits of the improve customer service initiative include:

• More customer service representatives will be answering calls and providing answers to basic questions.
• If a caller has a more complex question or needs assistance with their specific claim, the customer service representative will create an “inquiry” that will be sent to the claims staff.
• The claims staff will work on inquiries in the order they are received, and callers will be provided with a tracking number that can be used to see where their inquiry is in the queue.
• Callers will choose to get a phone call or email from claims staff, or to simply have claims staff resolve an outstanding issue.
• An additional 200 customer service representatives are completing onboarding and training and will begin answering calls on May 17.
• L&I will continue adding customer service representatives until all calls to the Unemployment Compensation Service Center are answered or until 1,000 total customer service representatives are staffing the phones.

To staff this initiative, L&I is working through UniqueSource with its vendor InspiriTec, an award-winning vendor that specializes in combining customer service solutions with affirmative employment of professionals with disabilities, veterans, and disadvantaged individuals.

“It’s a privilege to work with UniqueSource along with L&I’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), and PA CareerLink to make sure customers know they are being heard, valued, and served well,” said InspiriTec CEO John Connolly. “Working entirely from home, our new customer service representatives will make it a point to exceed expectations. Our growing partnership with OVR now extends to 16 OVR offices across the Commonwealth.  Over 230 job candidate referrals, many of whom are persons with disabilities, came to us in one month from OVR and PA CareerLink, reflecting the power of that partnership.”

Hiring for the customer service improvement initiative is ongoing. Individuals interested in working for the Unemployment Compensation Service Center are encouraged to reach out to their local PA CareerLink location for more information.

In addition to calling, unemployment program enrollees can also reach the Unemployment Compensation Service Center by emailing uchelp@pa.gov or using the live chat service. L&I also offers a variety of self-assistance resources on its website, including FAQs, videos, infographics, and guides.

For the latest updates on unemployment programs, visit L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or following L&I on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Documents obtained by The Associated Press show a New Hampshire man now charged with holding down a teenage boy during a rape at a youth detention center had been fired years earlier. But 66-year-old Bradley Asbury got his job back under an agreement that kept his termination out of his file. Asbury was one of 11 men arrested last month as part of an ongoing investigation into the Youth Development Center in Manchester. More than 200 people allege in a lawsuit that they were abused there as children from 1963 to 2018. Asbury’s lawyer declined to comment.

WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Justin Layne has reached a plea deal to resolve charges stemming from a traffic stop in Ohio last month where authorities said they found a loaded gun in his car. The 23-year-old Layne was arrested on a fourth-degree felony charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle following the April 23 stop in Willoughby Hills. That charge was dropped when he pleaded guilty Wednesday in Willoughby Municipal Court to a misdemeanor charge of possessing criminal tools and two traffic violations. He received a suspended 180-day jail sentence, must serve six months probation and perform 32 hours of community service.

(File Photo of 3rd Ave. in New Brighton)

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(New Brighton, Pa.) New Brighton Police Chief Ron Walton reported this morning that a 27 year -old male in a wheelchair  was   struck by a pickup truck  at 12th Street and 3rd Avenue in the borough  on Tuesday, April 27 The unidentified male sustained moderate injuries and is still in the hospital, the chief reported.

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press
MILAN (AP) — The Netflix series “Zero” that premiered globally last month is the first Italian TV production ever to feature a predominantly Black cast. That is being seen as a bright spot in a bleak Italian television landscape where the persistent use of racist language and imagery is sparking new protests. Comedy teams in Italy are asserting their right to use racial slurs and make slanty-eye gestures as satire. Italy’s main state broadcaster RAI is advising against — but not banning — the use of blackface in variety skits. Antonio Dikele Distefano, who co-wrote the “Zero” series, says “the battle is to live in a place where we all have the same opportunity.”

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a sweeping elections bill into law that he and other Republicans said would place guardrails against fraud, even though there were no signs of voter irregularities in the November presidential election. Thursday’s signing is being denounced by Democrats and voter rights advocates. Democrats and voter advocates have assailed the law as an un-American and anti-democratic effort to impede access to the polls that will unfairly target Blacks and Latinos and raise barriers to disabled voters in an attempt to regain a Republican advantage. The Republican governor also soon plans to announce he’s running for reelection.

(Photo by Sandy Giordano)

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Mayor Dwan B. Walker announced at last night’s Aliquippa Council meeting that  John Lane is now officially the city’s police chief. : “I recognize John” The mayor added, “We will support him   in this move.” Chief Lane became acting chief on March 26, 2020 when  Chief Robert Sealock became ill while on duty, and died on April 11, 2020.