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.

HARRISBURG-Attorney General Josh Shapiro alerted school districts today they are required to maintain criminal history background checks from the statewide child abuse database after a recent investigation revealed local districts may not be following Pennsylvania law.

“In the course of a criminal investigation, we learned that some public schools in Pennsylvania may not be properly checking the statewide child abuse database and maintaining records for every employee,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “The law requires that school districts check and keep these records because we need them to help keep children safe. We shared our findings with every district as a warning call so that Pennsylvania children are better protected in the future.”

State law requires that school districts obtain a clearance from the statewide child abuse database, and consult the Pennsylvania State Police and FBI for criminal history information on all school employees and volunteers. Every district is also required to maintain this information without exception.

“Our children look to their teachers, principals, coaches and school secretaries with respect and trust, and districts need to show they have performed their due diligence to uphold that trust and protect their students,” Attorney General Shapiro said in the letter sent to all Pennsylvanian School Districts. “My office works every day to uphold the law, and Title 23 is one law that cannot be ignored. It must be followed and this is why I’ve sent this letter to our 500 districts.”

Regardless of education, training or background, Shapiro said any employee or volunteer within Pennsylvania’s schools must submit the appropriate clearances to the schools and those schools must maintain all required clearances as mandated by law.

“Exceptions to this requirement should not be made for anyone – police officers, judges, attorneys, doctors, elected officials, clergy or anyone who serves in a position of authority or trust are not entitled to special exception. The law applies to everyone equally,” the Attorney General said.

Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel J. Dye is leading this effort within the Office of Attorney General.

(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)

Last night Center Township’s Board of Supervisors adopted a DROP ordinance for a police pension for a 1 year term. Terms and conditions of the pension will be established, according to the supervisors.

INDUSTRY – Rep. Jim Marshall (R-Beaver/Butler) today announced a more than $226,000 grant has been awarded to replace storm sewer pipes along Lindsay Drive and south of Darlington Avenue in Patterson Township. The project will address flooding concerns within the area.

“This grant will help to protect residential properties that are being impacted during storms. It will also strengthen the system for everyone who uses it by better protecting it against the impact of storms,” Marshall said.

After a hydraulic analysis, it was observed that there were only a few inlets along the project route which would not have the capacity to capture the overland flow that is draining onto Lindsay Drive. This is resulting with the runoff bypassing the existing storm sewer system and washing out residents’ property. Additionally, the existing storm system does not have capacity to convey the runoff delivered from the watershed during a one-year storm event.

The funding will be used to install 1,010 linear feet of storm sewer pipe, add nine additional inlets and three new manholes. Once completed, the new storm sewer system will be able to withstand a 100-year storm.

The total cost of the project is $266,034.

The grant was awarded through the CFA and its Small Water and Sewer Grants program. The program awards grants to municipalities and municipal authorities for water, sewer, storm water and flood control projects with a cost of not less than $30,000 and not more than $500,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from changing its operations or level of service. Her decision comes amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic as states expand mail-in voting options. The legislation would prohibit the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on Jan. 1. A vote could come next Saturday. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, says he’s not recalling senators to Washington.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania plans to launch a coronavirus exposure-notification app in early September in an effort to more quickly break chains of transmission by using the new technology to notify people who may have been exposed. Officials told The Associated Press on Monday that the app was developed by NearForm Ltd, the Ireland-based company whose app there has been downloaded by more than one-fourth of that country’s residents. The app is based on smartphone technology developed by Apple and Google, and will undergo a pilot project next week, using state government employees and public health students, staff and faculty. It’s use will be limited to people 18 and over.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The group that oversees Pennsylvania school sports is signaling again that it’s seriously considering moving ahead with the fall season despite the governor’s recommendation that schools bail on athletics until 2021. Melissa Mertz, associate executive director of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, said Monday in a radio interview that “we feel fairly confident that we can get school sports up and running.” The PIAA board plans to make a final decision on fall sports when it meets Friday. The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf says that youth sports increase the risk of spreading the virus and should be canceled for now.