Pelosi, top House progressive give Biden twin endorsements
By BILL BARROW Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has received endorsements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House progressive leader Pramila Jayapal. The pair of announcements Monday underscores Biden’s effort to unify disparate factions of the Democratic Party as he takes on President Donald Trump. In video remarks, Pelosi said Biden would be a “voice of reason and resilience” amid the coronavirus pandemic, and she cited the former vice president’s past experience in key legislative deals on Capitol Hill. Jayapal had previously backed Biden’s last remaining rival, Bernie Sanders, but she and Pelosi both said a Biden presidency could advance liberal policies.

Stocks rally as governments plan to ease virus lockdowns
By STAN CHOE, DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers
Stocks are rising around the world as governments prepare to gradually lift restrictions they imposed on businesses to slow the sweep of the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 added 1.2% in afternoon trading Monday at the start of a week chockablock with market-moving events. Several major central banks are meeting, including the Bank of Japan, which announced its latest stimulus measures to prop up markets. A slew of the biggest U.S. companies are also scheduled to report how much profit they made in the first three months of 2020. Bond yields rose and the price of oil fell.

Virus is expected to reduce meat selection and raise prices
By DAVID PITT Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices. Industry leaders acknowledge that the U.S. food chain has rarely been so stressed and that no one is sure about the future, even as they try to dispel concerns about shortages. On Sunday, the meat processing giant Tyson Foods ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers outlining the difficulty of producing meat while keeping more than 100,000 workers safe and shutting some plants.

New York nixes Democratic presidential primary due to virus
New York has canceled its Democratic presidential primary originally scheduled for June 23 amid the coronavirus epidemic in an unprecedented move. The Democratic members of the State’s Board of Elections voted Monday to nix the primary. New York will still hold its congressional and state-level primaries on June 23. New York City-run health clinics will soon take a new tack on coronavirus testing. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that the clinics will begin using a procedure that lets people collect samples themselves at a health care worker’s direction. He says the “self-swab” tests would allow for more and easier testing and make it safer for test-seekers and health care workers alike.

(McKees Rocks, Pa.) Investigators are reporting that A 24-year-old man was shot and killed along a McKees Rocks street Saturday night. Police were called to the scene at 11:42 p.m. to the 300 block of Shingiss Street for a man who had been shot. When officers arrived, they found Kwame Washington who was pronounced him dead at the scene.

Reports say a man and woman were sitting in a parked Chevrolet Equinox when a man they did not know approached the passenger side and started shooting into the vehicle. The gunfire hit Washington.

Police said they are still investigating.

Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477). Callers can remain anonymous.

(Harrisburg, Pa.) The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board today announced it will expand its recently introduced curbside pickup service to 389 more Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations across the commonwealth on Monday, April 27, to serve more customers seeking wine and spirits while maintaining social distancing practices in the interest of public health and safety.

Most stores will support curbside service Monday through Saturday – taking a limited number of orders on a first-call, first-served basis beginning at 9:00 AM each day and scheduling pickup appointments between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM those days – but some stores will operate on more limited days and hours.

Each store has its own unique inventory and staff will guide callers through the products available for purchase before finalizing each order and taking payment by phone. At pickup, customers will be required to present identification before the order is delivered.

Curbside pickup orders will be limited to up to six bottles per order, and credit cards are the only accepted form of payment. Orders will also be limited to one order per caller, per store, per day, and all curbside pickup sales are final.

Stores will continue to accept the first 50 to 100 orders placed each day, on a first-call, first-served basis, until fulfillment capacity grows to accept more orders per day. Orders will only be accepted by the store’s published phone number; no orders will be accepted by email or voicemail.

The Following Locations in Beaver County will be offering this service:

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0402 Green Garden Shopping Center 3113 Green Garden Road Hopewell Township, PA 15001 (724) 419-3010

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0403 999 Merchant Street Ambridge, PA 15003 (724) 251-2150

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0405 508 Midland Avenue Midland, PA 15059 (724) 643-0400 Limited Pickup Hours: Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0408 816 Third Avenue New Brighton, PA 15066 (724) 847-5284

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0409 Chippewa Center 2580 Constitution Boulevard Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (724) 847-5286

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0410 Aliquippa Shopping Center 2719 Brodhead Road Aliquippa, PA 15001 (724) 857-5002

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0412 Northern Lights Shoppers City 1603 State Street West Baden, PA 15005 (724) 869-6170 Limited Pickup Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0414 1476 Old Brodhead Road Monaca, PA 15061 (724) 773-7401

Fine Wine & Good Spirits #0415 Rochester Plaza 730 Ohio River Boulevard Rochester, PA 15074 (724) 728-5405

HARRISBURG― Attorney General Shapiro today announced the arrest of a Cambria County doctor for his role in the death of his former patient. Dr. Richard Green, of Windber, was charged with one count of Drug Delivery Resulting in Death; one count of Delivery by Practitioner in violation of the Controlled Substances, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act; one count of Involuntary Manslaughter, and related charges.

“The defendant was trusted by his community to use his position as a physician to save lives, but instead, he stands charged for prescribing his patient a fatal cocktail of drugs despite knowing of and enabling her history of drug abuse,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “Communities across Pennsylvania are being ravaged by the opioid crisis that is being fueled by people like Dr. Green. My Office will continue to hold individuals accountable who recklessly put the lives of others at risk for profit, wherever those individuals are found.”

An investigation by the Office of Attorney General revealed that on May 28, 2018, a patient of Dr. Green was found dead in a hotel.  Autopsy and toxicology reports showed that she died of acute drug toxicity caused by Oxycodone, Alprazolam and Quetiapine, all of which were prescribed by Dr. Green.  A review of the victim’s medical file by a Commonwealth expert revealed that the patient had a history of drug overdoses, but that Dr. Green failed to take any steps to address her addiction. During the time that Dr. Green treated the patient, he learned that she was a recovering alcoholic, had mental health issues, and had overdosed four times prior to her death. Three of her overdoses were from the substances Dr. Green prescribed and the fourth was as a result of heroin.  Despite his knowledge of these incidents and her misuse of prescriptions he prescribed, Dr. Green continued to provide the victim access to highly addictive drugs with fatal consequences when used together.

The arrest was conducted by Special Agent Al Rivardo of the Medicaid Fraud Control Section, and Narcotics Agent Matt Massaro of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Baxter. This investigation is ongoing.

Wolf Administration Announces Second Round of State Funding for Pennsylvania Businesses

$13.5 Million in New COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program Funds Awarded 

Harrisburg, PA – Today, on behalf of Governor Tom Wolf, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced that 160 companies in 43 counties have received $13.5 million in funding during the second round of the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program (CWCA). Funds awarded under the program to date total more than $23 million awarded to a number of diverse businesses like restaurants, wellness centers, wineries and breweries, consulting firms, and salons and spas.

“These loans will help businesses in the commonwealth quickly access capital to address their critical needs while we continue to follow the governor and health secretary’s orders,” said Sec. Davin. “Small businesses are the fabric of our commonwealth, and the Wolf Administration is committed to supporting them to the fullest extent during this unprecedented time.”

A list of approved projects can be found here. New disbursements are highlighted in yellow.

On March 25, 2020, Governor Wolf announced that the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) authorized the transfer of $40 million to the Small Business First Fund for CWCA. PIDA authorized making $61 million available to provide loans of $100,000 or less to for-profit businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees.

PIDA staff continue to review submitted applications for approval and are actively working with DCED’s Certified Economic Development Organizations (CEDOs) to disburse CWCA loan funds at the time of approval. Information on future awardees will be released as it becomes available.

DCED continues to update its website with financial and other resources.

Businesses seeking further guidance and clarification from DCED can also contact its customer service resource account at ra-dcedcs@pa.gov. For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, Pennsylvanians should follow www.governor.pa.gov and www.doh.pa.gov.