Big Sewickley Creek Road Bridge Replacement Starts Today, 6/9/20

Big Sewickley Creek Road Bridge Replacement Starts Tuesday in District 11

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing the start of a bridge replacement project on Route 4036 (Big Sewickley Creek Road) in Franklin Park, Allegheny County and Economy Borough, Beaver County will begin Tuesday, June 9 weather permitting.

Beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, single-lane alternating traffic controlled by temporary traffic signals will occur around-the-clock through mid-December on the bridge over Big Sewickley Creek between Hopkins Church Road and Amsler Ridge Road. A single 11-foot lane will be maintained throughout the project.

The temporary traffic signals will be installed today and put in flash mode until Tuesday morning.

J.F. Shea Construction, Inc. will conduct the replacement work for the $2.38 million bridge project.  Additionally, the project includes utility relocation, roadway and bridge widening, pavement reconstruction, guide rail updates, and pavement marking installation.

Please use caution when traveling through the area.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway 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 950 traffic cameras.

Hopewell 2020 Grad Jake McGovern Earns Full Scholarship

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano
(Hopewell Twp.) Jake McGovern, a  2020 Hopewell High School graduate and son of Tiffany Piroli, and stepson of Chuck Piroli said following Hopewell’s parade  he received a 4 year full scholarship to Gulf Coast State College in Panama City Florida. He said, “I’ll major in business management,”  I want to go into sales.” Principal Michael Allison said Jake lettered in baseball, football, and basketball.

Old Darlington Road Guide Rail Improvements Underway in South Beaver

Old Darlington Road Guide Rail Improvements Underway in South Beaver

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing guide rail improvement work is underway on Old Darlington Road (Route 4013) in South Beaver Township, Beaver County.

Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on Old Darlington Road between Chippewa Township and Route 551 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through mid-September. Flaggers will assist motorists through the work zone.

Crews from Lindy Paving will conduct the guide rail improvement work. Please use caution when traveling through the area.

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 950 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.

Missing West Aliquippa 3 Year Old Found Safe.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.)  Late yesterday Beaver County Emergency Service sent out a release of a missing  3 year-old West Aliquippa boy. Maddox Maritch, the missing boy,  was found safe in a neighbor’s kitchen by the resident about 8:30 p.m. last night. Assistant Emergency Services Director Kevin Whipple said that Police called in a tracking dog from White Oak Search and Rescue to assist Aliquippa Police in the search.  According to Aliquippa Police Officer Nicco D’Arrigo, the  search took about 2 hours.

 

California sheriff: Gunman ‘very intent’ on killing police

California sheriff: Gunman ‘very intent’ on killing police
By MARTHA MENDOZA and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — An Air Force sergeant and leader in an elite military security force was armed with homemade bombs, an AR-15 rifle and other weapons and had a desire to harm police when he launched a deadly attack on unsuspecting officers. Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a Santa Cruz sheriff’s sergeant and wounding two other officers. The FBI also is investigating if Carrillo has any links to the shooting death of a federal officer outside the U.S. courthouse in Oakland more than a week ago. Both involved shooters in a van.

Amid US tension, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack

Amid US tension, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack
By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills. This comes as tensions remain high between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. The target is seen in satellite photographs that were obtained on Tuesday by The Associated Press. It resembles the Nimitz-class carriers that the U.S. Navy routinely sails into the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz. The ship’s appearance also comes as Iran announced it will execute a man authorities accuse of sharing details on the movements of a top Iranian Revolutionary Guard general whom the U.S. killed in a January drone strike in Baghdad.

McDONALD’S RESTAURANTS IN BEAVER COUNTY OPEN 100+ NEW POSITIONS FOR IMMEDIATE HIRE

Beaver, PA (June 8, 2020)…McDonald’s restaurants in Beaver County are offering  more than 100 new employment opportunities for displaced workers.

Beginning on Monday, June 8, all seven local restaurants will begin a quick-hire initiative to provide immediate crew and manager positions for local residents who are facing financial hardship.

“We are in a very difficult and uncertain time,” said Owner/Operator Meghan Sweeney. “Because the local economy has taken a major hit, we are announcing this initiative to immediately provide work for those who need it most.”

She noted that because McDonald’s restaurants are both essential and popular among local residents, they provide stable, full- and part-time employment opportunities.

“We offer flexible scheduling, competitive pay and terrific scholarships for all employees who want to continue their education,” she said. “In fact, in the first quarter of this year, McDonald’s awarded more than $24,000 in scholarships to employees at the Beaver County locations.”

To apply, go to www.mcdonalds.com/careers.

Key Democrats spurn push to defund police amid Trump attacks

Key Democrats spurn push to defund police amid Trump attacks
By STEVE PEOPLES, ALAN FRAM and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, are rejecting liberal calls to “defund the police” as President Donald Trump and his allies point to the movement as a dangerous example of Democratic overreach. The Republican president is struggling under the weight of mounting national crises that threaten his reelection. Supporters of the “defund the police” push say it’s a symbolic commitment to end systemic racism and shift policing priorities rather than an actual plan to eliminate law enforcement agencies. But confusion over the proposal has created a badly needed opportunity for Trump, who has struggled to navigate the delicate debate over racial justice.

Gov Wolf backs off demand for weekly testing in nursing homes

Wolf backs off demand for weekly testing in nursing homes
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf is backing off its demand that nursing homes test all residents and staff for the new coronavirus weekly. It instead ordered them Monday to complete a single baseline test. Last month, Wolf had vowed that weekly testing would start June 1. He said his administration had a plan in place to accomplish it. Health experts were skeptical and cited logistical, operational and financial hurdles. The state health secretary also ordered nursing homes and other facilities that care for older adults to test all residents and staff “at least once” by July 24.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday backed off its demand that nursing homes test all residents and staff for the new coronavirus weekly, instead ordering them to complete a single baseline test.
Wolf had vowed last month that weekly testing would start June 1, saying his administration had a plan in place to accomplish it. Health experts were skeptical, citing logistical, operational and financial hurdles to an ambitious testing regime that would have involved well over 100,000 people in long-term care homes statewide.
Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary, on Monday ordered nursing homes to conduct a baseline test of all residents and staff by July 24. The Health Department also issued revised testing guidance that recommends universal testing only if a facility has a new confirmed infection.
In that case, testing of all residents and staff should continue once a week until the home has gone 14 days without a positive test, the guidance says.
“Our goal with implementing this testing in nursing homes is to rapidly detect asymptomatic positive residents and staff in order to manage their care and prevent further transmission of COVID-19, ” Levine said at a news conference.
More than 75 nursing homes have widely tested residents and staff. But other facilities have lacked the capability, and officials acknowledged that routine weekly testing at all homes statewide was too ambitious.
“As we have worked with and heard concerns from facilities, we realized that testing in that amount of time may not be feasible,” Levine’s spokesman, Nate Wardle, said Monday.
Care homes struggled for months to contain the virus, with many lacking the trained staff, testing supplies and personal protective equipment in the early going that could have helped them slow the spread, public health experts say.
Residents of long-term care homes account for more than two-thirds of the statewide death toll of about 6,000, a higher proportion that in most other states. Infections and deaths at nursing homes peaked in late April and have been trending down ever since.
In other coronavirus-related developments Monday:
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SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS
Wolf announced details of a $225 million grant program for small businesses affected by COVID-19.
The money will come from Pennsylvania’s share of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in late March. State lawmakers approved the grant program last month.
The grants will be administered by 17 community-based lenders, and may be used to cover a businesses’s operating expenses during the pandemic, as well as for technical assistance.
Eligible businesses will include those that had a loss as a result of Wolf’s closure of all “non-life-sustaining” businesses, for whom $100 million has been set aside. Another $100 million was designated for minority-owned businesses that likewise sustained losses during the pandemic. The remaining $25 million will be used to shore up community-based lenders and allow them to offer forbearance to struggling businesses.
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NEW CASES TRACED TO BEACH
A dozen new coronavirus cases in the Philadelphia area have been traced to someone who attended gatherings at beach houses at the Jersey Shore, according to the health department in suburban Bucks County.
The department said 11 cases reported Saturday were linked to a New Jersey resident who was at gatherings in the past two weeks. One case reported Friday also was traced to the same person.
“There are likely to be additional infections among family members of the new cases,” said Dr. David Damsker, the health director in Bucks County.
He did not disclose further details, including exactly where the gatherings were.
“This is exactly why we can’t let our guard down now, even if it feels safe to be at the beach,” Damsker said. “One unlucky exposure can lead to a large cascade of cases down the line.”
It is important to wear face coverings when attending small gatherings of people who are not members of the same household, Damsker said.
Nearly 5,000 residents of Bucks County, which borders Philadelphia to the south and New Jersey to the east, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
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MASKS ON TRANSIT
Passengers on mass transit in the Philadelphia region Monday once again had to don masks on the system serving 4 million people in five counties to help contain the virus.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority reinstated a policy requiring riders to put on masks or other face coverings on buses, trains and trolleys as the region transitions to the middle “yellow” phase of Pennsylvania’s plan to reopen as the pandemic eases.
SEPTA had eased the requirement to a recommendation in April after police removed a rider who tried to board a bus without a mask. Employees will now engage riders to remind them about the requirement, SEPTA said.
“Riders have made it clear that requiring everyone to wear face coverings would help make them feel safe returning to transit,” said SEPTA general manager Leslie Richards.
Customers can use any type of cloth material that covers the mouth and nose, SEPTA said.
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CASES
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday reported 10 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, raising the statewide total to 5,953.
State health officials also reported that 351 more people have tested positive.
Since early March, infections have been confirmed in about 76,000 people in Pennsylvania.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
___ This story has been corrected to show that Bucks County borders Philadelphia to the south, not to the north.

Legislators commandeer House to demand action on policing

Legislators commandeer House to demand action on policing
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Black Democrats in the Pennsylvania House preempted the day’s business in an effort to force action on changes to police. They commandeered the podium for about 90 minutes at the start of voting session Monday. They hung a Black Lives Matter banner from the speaker’s dais. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta took the podium to ask for police reform. The protest was paused if not halted after the Republican speaker said he would meet with leaders of both parties and supported holding a special session on police reform.