Education advocates are praising the new regulations and legislation proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf to reform Pennsylvania charter schools. On Tuesday, the governor announced his plans to improve the financial accountability and academic performance of charters. According to Raynelle Brown Staley, policy director at the Education Law Center, many charter schools have failed to live up to their promise of improved services for students who may need more help to succeed. The governor is directing the Department of Education to develop regulations targeting academic accountability and enrollment, and says he’ll propose funding-reform legislation in the fall.

In a ruling in a lawsuit against Beaver County in late 2017, it was determined that Beaver County would undergo its first property reassessment since 1982. The county is required to reassess by 2022, in a process that could cost as much as 10 million dollars. However, that cost will not include the 166,000 dollars that was incurred through litigation and expert fees by the plaintiff, developer Charles Betters, as it was ruled that the county never acted in bad faith.

A former employee at the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter to the Beaver County Times, concerning most of the staff had left as a result of no longer feeling safe. Emily Konecheck, the former events and programming director, chose to leave after an outburst from Executive Director, Jack Manning left her and her office manager feeling threatened. Last week, it was announced that Manning would no longer lead the chamber at the end of August, allowing him more time to campaign for County Commissioner.

On Thursday, Beaver County received a notice from the IRS that the 261,040 dollar civil penalty levied on the county for misfiled paperwork in 2016 had been exonerated, but the county is still waiting on word concerning a similar situation in 2018 and another 117,000 dollars in fines. Conor Lamb has written letters to both the President and the IRS in an attempt to get the penalties removed.

SANTA ANA, California (AP) — A 7-year-old migrant child who says he was repeatedly molested in foster care and the father who was separated from him at the border are one of potentially hundreds of lawsuits that could be filed against the federal government by migrant families. A review of just 38 legal claims obtained by The Associated Press shows taxpayers could be on the hook for more than $200 million in damages from parents who said their children were harmed while in government custody.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s attorney general says a company has been shut down after it falsely claimed it to be a charity that sent care packages to U.S. service members overseas. In a statement Wednesday, Attorney General Mark Herring’s office identified the company as Hearts 2 Heroes of Bunker Hill, West Virginia.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say the criminal history of a man suspected of barricading himself inside a Philadelphia rowhome should have prevented him from legally owning the firepower he used to wound six police officers in a standoff that carried deep into the night. Maurice Hill, who authorities say had at least a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun when he opened fire on officers Wednesday, has on his record arrests in Philadelphia and adjacent Delaware County between 2001 and 2012.

Friday August 16,2019

Today- Areas of patchy fog early then a mix of clouds and sun in the afternoon. High 84.

Tonight- a few clouds and a low of 66

Tomorrow- Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 85.