Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Beaver, Pa.) Commissioners Chairman Dan Camp told the commissioners that the Board of Elections has been getting calls  from registered voters  regarding pre-printed ballots from a non-profit called Center for Voter Information.  .  The mailing lists the voter’s name and address and asks for personal information. He  said the county didn’t send the mailings to residents, and voter’s info was retrieved from a state database. The state made the Board of Elections   aware of the mailings by the state. She said the county is neither encouraging or discouraging voters to vote by mail.The county just wants voters to come out and vote however they choose.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Students in grades k-12 will  be taught virtually when classes begin on September 8, according to Aliquippa School District Superintendent Dr. Peter M. Carbone. The  board approved the program at last night’s meeting.The program is for the  first nine weeks until November 9. The plan is subject to review and change as needed.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Ambridge, Pa.) JoAnn Hoover, principal at State Street Elementary School in Baden announced that the Pre-K Counts signups  for 3 and 4 year old children  is  under way.  Classes start on Monday, August 31, 2020.

HARRISBURG―Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that his office sued a Philadelphia company called M & B Multi Services Inc (“M&B”) for illegal price gouging on Amazon.com marketplace. After the Governor’s March 6, 2020 Disaster Declaration, M&B sold at least 83 bottles of 8-ounce Purell hand sanitizer for as much as $75.80 each.

“It’s illegal to rip off Pennsylvanians during a pandemic, and we’re holding price gougers accountable,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “During a time when millions are out of work and millions more are struggling to pay for food and medicine, playing off people’s fears to rip them off is wrong, and illegal. M&B charged outrageous markups for hand sanitizer at the height of public anxiety, was asked to provide refunds, and refused. We are seeking nearly $1 million in penalties for their actions.”

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General sued M&B after the Office received information from Amazon alleging that the online seller was selling Purell Advanced Formula Green Certified Hand Sanitizer, Gel 8 oz Pump Bottle for unlawful prices. The Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and Amazon had previously announced they would coordinate to crack down on price gouging earlier in the year. The Office learned that M&B charged $75.80 per bottle for 49 of the bottles. M&B charged $65.80 per bottle for 34 of the bottles. M&B may have sold many more bottles of Purell at these illegally inflated prices through other outlets, including its own store and website.

Under the Price Gouging Act, a price increase of more than 20 percent during a declared state of emergency is considered price gouging. The Complaint asks the Court to order M&B to pay restitution to consumers and civil penalties of $10,000 per violation to the Commonwealth. The Complaint also requests an injunction to prevent M&B from violating the Pennsylvania Price Gouging Act and Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law moving forward.

Consumers who purchased hand sanitizer from M&B on or after March 6, 2020 are encouraged to file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection, email at scams@attorneygeneral.gov or call at 1-800-441-2555.

Chief: 5 fires in Pennsylvania’s capital ‘intentionally set’
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Officials say five fires in Pennsylvania’s capital city were “intentionally set.” The fires broke out in Harrisburg’s South Allison Hill section early Wednesday. Firefighters first responded to a small trash fire. Fires also broke out in an abandoned home, an abandoned building and an abandoned garage. Firefighters then had to extinguish flames from the upper floors of a home on Market Street. A woman was taken to a hospital. The extent of her injuries is not known. A police officer was treated for smoke inhalation. Investigators are combing the scenes for clues.

At DNC, Jill Biden pledges husband Joe will ‘make us whole’
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jill Biden has offered a deeply personal and hopeful endorsement of her husband as a man who can lead the nation through adversity. During the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, she pledged to the nation that if Joe Biden is elected president, America’s classrooms “will ring out with laughter and possibility once again.” Jill Biden’s remarks capped off the second night of the convention. In her speech, the presidential nominee’s wife drew parallels with Joe Biden’s experience leading his family through personal adversity and what she described as his ability to lead the nation through its current crises.

San Francisco blanketed in smoke as California fires rage
By JULIET WILLIAMS Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thousands of people are under orders to evacuate regions around the San Francisco Bay Area as nearly 40 wildfires blaze throughout the state. Smoke has blanketed the city of San Francisco and California is coping with a blistering heat wave. State fire spokesman Will Powers says the entire state is stretched thin for firefighting crews because of the scope of the fires. Police and firefighters went door-to-door early Wednesday as a fire encroached on Vacaville. It’s a Northern California city of about 100,000 people located between San Francisco and Sacramento. Fire officials said at least 50 structures were destroyed and 50 damaged. Four people were injured.

(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)

At a hearing in Beaver County Central Court before District Justice Ed Howe this morning, a criminal homicide charge was dropped against Michael Barbuto, 18, of Center Township, in connection with his brother’s death on the evening of July 15 in Hopewell Township. A key witness was to testify and refused, and was held in contempt of court.

The investigation is continuing. Stay tuned to Beaver County Radio for further development on this ongoing story.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’ll pardoned Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women’s suffrage movement, who was arrested for voting in 1872 in violation of laws permitting only men to vote. Anthony was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely publicized trial. Although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action. Trump says he’ll issue the pardon later Tuesday. That’s 100 years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which ensures the right of women to vote and which is named for Anthony.