HARRISBURG, Aug. 26 – Today, state Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler, Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato announced plans to introduce legislation to help keep people in their homes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Citing concerns over Monday’s expiration of the foreclosure and eviction moratorium, the lawmakers emphasized urgent action to prevent mass evictions and foreclosures across the state.

The legislation would provide Pennsylvania’s governor express powers to place a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in the commonwealth or specific counties during a disaster emergency.

“Everyone deserves a place to call home. This legislation will help keep our communities intact, and make sure our neighbors have more time to apply for financial relief programs, plan for the short- and long-term, and save money. The impact of being pushed out of your home can be traumatic, especially for children, and we need to do everything possible to prevent it from happening, especially during a pandemic.” said Fiedler, D-Phila.

 “The legislature must act now to prevent the man-made disaster that will unfold if the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures is lifted,” Lee, D-Allegheny, said. “Failure to do so will create a humanitarian crisis among the very people who have already been victimized by this crisis, who are asked daily to put their and their families’ health on the line for the rest of society. The legislature’s leadership can take action to stop human suffering, or they can blindly look away as they have many times during this crisis, prioritizing politics over human lives.”
“So many of our neighbors have suffered so much during this pandemic, losing loved ones, jobs, opportunities, or simply the stability of the daily routine that so many of us had taken for granted just a few months ago,” said Innamorato, D-Allegheny. “At a time of historic unemployment and broken safety nets, with a virus that continues to spread across our commonwealth, to allow the moratorium to expire without action is immoral and unconscionable. I call on my fellow legislators to do the right thing – to put aside partisan differences and to help the people the Pennsylvania.”

Their bill was circulated today for co-sponsorship and is part of a comprehensive package of bills by a statewide Housing Emergency and Lessee Protectors work group, House Democrats HELP.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Aliquippa City Council met for its monthly work session last night  and approved  the purchase of several properties in the city.   that have been in the county repository.  Valerie Hicks purchased a home at 1030 Main Street, Jeffrey Milliner purchased  4 vacant lots at Sutton and Montini Streets. Sean and Virginia Moore  3 vacant properties that are next to each other, and 1 separate  located on 4th and 5th Avenues. Code and zoning officer Jim Bologna said Moore wants to  build low-income housing in the city. He said the homes will be pre-fabs on a cement slab. The new property owners have to pay this year, and 2018 and 2019 taxes on the properties they purchased.

Single-lane restrictions on the Interstate 79 Neville Island Bridge in Glenfield and Robinson townships is to begin Thursday. Single lanes will begin in each direction that  will occur weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the bridge over the Ohio River. There will be overnight lane restrictions and long-term shoulder closures set to begin in early September. The project includes structural steel repairs, full structure painting, bearing and deck joint replacements, deck repairs, overlays, bridge barrier repair, substructure concrete work and drainage improvements. Motorists will see ramp closures, single-lanes and shoulder closures in each direction on I-79 during daylight off-peak and overnight hours. The overall project time frame is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023.

The trial has begun for a central Pennsylvania man accused of having killed and burned the body of his wife, who disappeared more than eight years ago. PennLive.com reports that 66-year-old Hap Seiders of Silver Spring Township was charged seven years after prosecutors allege he killed his 53-year-old wife, Rabihan, and incinerated her body in the fireplace of their Cumberland County home. Chief Deputy District Attorney Courtney Hair LaRue alleges that he killed his wife because he could no longer control her. But defense attorney George Matangos called the allegation of Rabihan’s death shaky and said she stole millions from him before disappearing.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency invites your comments on a proposed hazardous waste permit for Heritage Thermal Services, Inc. in East Liverpool, Ohio. The permit would set air emission standards for equipment leaks, tanks, containers, and other miscellaneous units at the Heritage site. The comment period runs from August 28th to October 16th of this year. For more information, contact U.S. EPA Project Manager Jae Lee at 312-886-3781 or email at lee-dot-jae, that’s j-a-e, at epa-dot-gov.”

Laura gains power, could come ashore as Category 4 hurricane
By JEFF MARTIN, JOHN MONE and STACEY PLAISANCE Associated Press
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Laura is rapidly gaining strength and raising fears that it could come ashore as a Category 4 hurricane in Texas and Louisiana. Forecasters say the system could deliver a 20-foot storm surge that would be “unsurvivable” and capable of sinking entire communities. Authorities implored coastal residents to flee. The storm grew nearly 70% in power in just 24 hours to reach Category 3 status, and it continued to draw energy from the warm Gulf of Mexico waters. Laura was on track to arrive late Wednesday or early Thursday as the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. so far this year.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(South Beaver Twp., Pa.) Tuesday  morning’s fire  in the  700 block of Old Blackhawk Road in South Beaver Twp.  that destroyed a home is under investigation . South Beaver Police Chief Daniel Petrich said that the investigation of the cause has been turned over to the Pa State Police Fire Marshall.

AP Exclusive: Inmate beaten to death at federal lockup
By JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press
The FBI is investigating the killing of an inmate who was beaten to death at a federal lockup in Indiana. An autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press shows the May death of 59-year-old Jose Nieves-Galarza was a homicide caused by “blunt-force injuries” that caused him to bleed to death in his cell. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons did not respond to questions about whether any inmates or staff have been disciplined in the attack, which nearly ruptured the man’s aorta. The killing is at least the third in recent months inside a federal prison. The killings are among the latest security issues for the federal Bureau of Prisons, which has been plagued by chronic violence, serious misconduct and persistent staffing shortages.