(File Photo of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, the company released its preliminary employment situation report for February 2025 today. In February, the unemployment rate was at 3.8 percent, which is below the unemployment rate of the United States which went up to 4.1 percent. An estimate of 6,539,000 people that are trying to find work or working in Febraury are in the civilian labor force of Pennsylvania.

(File Photo of the American Airlines Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) American Airlines is giving travelers in Western Pennsylvania an opportunity to travel to Punta Cana from the Pittsburgh International Airport on flights beginning on December 6th, 2025. According to officials, nonstop service will occur every Saturday until April 11th, 2026 between the two airports. An official for the airline confirmed that performance is the key to the flights to Punta Cana from American Airlines going past 2026.

(File Photo of the PennDOT logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) May 7th, 2025 is the deadline to get a real ID in Pennsylvania so you can fly commercially in the state. Several PennDOT Driver’s License Centers across the state will be offering days to obtain a Real ID this Monday, several Mondays in April and the first Monday in May. According to the website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the PennDOT Driver’s License Center on Constitiution Boulevard in Beaver Falls has Real ID Days from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on April 7th, 14th and 28th as well as May 5th.

REAL ID Days | Driver and Vehicle Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

(File Photo of Aliquippa Junior and Senior High School Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) State Representative Rob Matzie made an announcement Thursday that a grant for food service worth $22,252 let the Aliquippa Junior/Senior High School buy an electric tilt skillet. This skillet will be for the cafeteria of the school and the grant is from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. According to a release from Matzie’s office, Matzie said the new equipment will mean greater efficiency, lower costs and quicker service for students.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that on Monday, March 31st weather permitting, roadway improvement work will continue at Tuscarawas Road in Brighton Township. From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through the middle of September of 2025, single-lane alternating traffic will occur between Yost Drive and Fairview Road on Route 168. Crews will conduct miscellaneous activities involving construction and weekend work will also be performed.

(File Photo of Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Honululu, HI) A former UPMC doctor who was charged with second-degree murder was in court for the first time on Thursday. Forty-six-year-old Gerhardt Konig struck his wife with a rock near a hiking trail in Hawaii and was held on his charges. According to a report from KGMB-TV, court documents confirm that Konig hit his wife when she did not take a selfie near the edge of a cliff. His wife also spoke to police and said he attempted to inject an unknown liquid into her. She also stated that her face was hit into the ground after Konig grabbed her hair along with hitting her ten times in the head with a rock. The preliminary hearing for Konig is on March 31st and his $5 million bail has not been posted. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Twenty dollar bills are counted on June 15, 2018, in North Andover, Mass. The number of Americans who do not have a bank account fell to a record low last year, as the proliferation of online-only banks and an improving economy is bringing more Americans into the traditional financial system, according to a report Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Amid a severe teacher and staff shortage, school support workers and their union allies rallied Tuesday in Harrisburg for a better living wage. The group says House Bill 777 would raise wages for more than 41-thousand school staff members. More than 100 people gathered on the Capitol steps and met with lawmakers to gauge their support for the bill. Aaron Chapin with the Pennsylvania State Education Association says it would raise the pay for support staff in public schools to a living wage of at least 20 dollars per hour. Chapin says it would raise support staff wages by about 3 dollars an hour. A PSEA survey from last fall found four out of five Pennsylvania voters would support a 20 dollar minimum wage for school support staff.

(File Photo of Handcuffs)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Honolulu, HI) A former UPMC doctor and former professor at the University of Pittsburgh was arrested Monday after attempting to kill his wife in Hawaii. According to Honolulu Police, forty-six-year-old Gerhardt Konig tried to push his wife off a hiking trail and hit her in the head with a rock. According to a police document, Konig has been charged with attempted second-degree murder. Konig has a bond of $5 million and his wife is in critical condition at a hospital.

(File Photo of Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that a doctor who used to work at UPMC Children’s Hospital pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography. Fifty-three-year-old Ashok Panigrahy knew that in November of 2022, he had material that showed a minor being sexually exploited. Panigrahy will be sentenced on July 17th, and he could receive up to twenty years in jail, a $250,000 fine, or both.