(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Since the changing of the guard in January–where Sandie Egley succeeded Connie Javens as Treasurer and Jack Manning succeeded Egley as County Commissioner–one of the big pushes by the Treasurer’s office is to add online dog licensing in Beaver County. The Commissioners have considered it, but have also debated whether its worth the cost–roughly $3,000 per year–and whether other organizations such as the Beaver County Humane Society could take over the role of dog licensing headquarters.

The conversation continued into the March 4 meeting, where Egley addressed the idea of using the Humane Society for licensing by reasserting that the Treasurer’s office is the main agent and that the Humane Society is a sub-agent. Egley continued by stating the importance of having online dog licensing for the citizens:

 

Meanwhile, County Solicitor Garen Fedeles gave an update involving Tyler Technologies and their reassessment plans for Beaver County:

 

The next Commissioners’ work session will be on March 11 at 10:00 AM.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The invasive spotted lanternfly is continuing its westward march across Pennsylvania. State agriculture officials are nearly doubling the number of counties in a quarantine zone. A dozen counties were added to the list Tuesday, including Beaver and Allegheny  counties. Twenty-six of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are now under quarantine, requiring businesses that move products, vehicles and other items in and out of the quarantine zone to obtain a permit. Native to Asia, the large, colorful planthopper sucks sap from valuable trees and vines, weakening them.

Hillary Clinton said yesterday she still thinks her onetime rival Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is “baloney” four years after defeating him for the Democratic Party’s nomination. The former secretary of state appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to discuss “Hillary,” a four-part docuseries that will premiere on Hulu later this week, and made her commentary on the Sanders efforts while responding to a clip from the documentary. In that clip, she describes Sanders as a “career politician” who was in Congress for years, but that “nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done.” She added that his campaign was “all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.” On Tuesday when asked if her opinion has changed, Clinton responded that it “was my authentic opinion then. It’s my authentic opinion now.”

CHICAGO (AP) — From Hawaii to Pennsylvania, states are scrambling to curb the impact of a new Trump administration rule that could cause nearly 700,000 people to lose food stamp benefits. They’ve filed a multi-state lawsuit, expanded publicly-funded job training, created pilot programs and doubled down on efforts to reach vulnerable communities, including the homeless, rural residents and people of color. Social service agencies say they won’t be able to keep up with the growing need, making increased homelessness and more hospital visits the biggest concerns. Experts say they’ve already seen troubling signs in states that have voluntarily made similar changes.

UNDATED (AP) — Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time. It’s a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases. The company that makes the treatment said Wednesday a patient recently had it done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University for an inherited form of blindness. It may take up to a month to see if it worked. The treatment uses CRISPR to delete a mutation that is preventing a gene from making a protein that’s needed for sight.

(Photos of Aliquippa house damaged by fire, taken by Sandy Giordano)

Crews were called to the scene of a house fire this morning…just one block away from Aliquippa High School. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano was there. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

The Hopewell School District is moving forward with a renovation and consolidation project that’s expected to have a hefty price tag…and as Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano reports, it could also result in higher taxes for residents in the district.  Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, but there’s an extra reason to celebrate in Pittsburgh. According to WalletHub.com, Pittsburgh ranked fourth out of 200 U.S. cities in a report on the best places to celebrate the holiday. The report looked at holiday traditions in each city, as well as holiday costs, safety and the weather. Chicago took the top spot for the second straight year, with Boston and Philadelphia finishing ahead of Pittsburgh. Tampa rounded out the top 5 with Brownsville, Texas coming in at 200. Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade will be Saturday, March 14.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The leader of Pennsylvania’s system of 14 state-owned universities told lawmakers that it is urgent they act to help the schools in the face of sinking enrollment, rising student debt and a lagging commitment of public tax dollars to higher education. The system’s chancellor urged the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to approve a package of legislation that would deliver cash and greater authority to the system over how it spends money and administers the schools. The chancellor has rejected calls to close struggling schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and says Pennsylvania needs to greatly increase the number of adults with degrees for its economy.

A statewide program to protect crews in work zones from drivers breaking the speed limit goes into effect today. Drivers caught speeding will get a warning for speeding and if they continue to violate the speed limit, the penalties will go up from there. The “Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement” program was a collaborative effort between the Turnpike Commission, PennDOT, and Pennsylvania State Police. It uses systems mounted to vehicles that can detect and record a driver’s speed. It will only operate in active works zones. The goal isn’t to just get people to slow down but to change drivers’ habits and make it safer for workers. If caught speeding, drivers will first get a warning letter. If they continue to violate the speed limit, a second offense is a $75 fine and third is a $150 fine. The enforcement begins today in the eastern part of Pennsylvania but is expected to come to the Pittsburgh area.