(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The Commissioners’ work session at the Beaver County Courthouse ran through a bevy of notable topics during their delayed session on Wednesday; delayed due to a prior 8:30 meeting with the Beaver County Conservation District running late due to an extended public participation.

When the Commissioners did arrive and Chairman Dan Camp called the session to order, the BOC was presented with an update on the County Budget by financial advisor Corey Troutman. Troutman said that though the County is still in solid shape financially, more work needs done in order to be comfortable:

 

Also discussed at the meeting was the new storage area in the County Courthouse for confiscated guns seized in arrests and indictments. Commissioner Sandie Egley had some concerns about the necessity for such an area as well as which guns would be confiscated; such concerns were echoed by Commissioner Tony Amadio as well. But District Attorney David Lozier reaffirmed the necessity of the new gun storage area, as well as clarifying a couple concerns:

 

Towards the end of the meeting (instead of the usual middle), Solicitor Garen Fedeles addressed his report, including the possibility that Beaver County could be heading to court with several other Pennsylvania counties in an ongoing lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson:

 

The announcement by Fedeles comes on the heels of the ruling earlier this week against Johnson & Johnson in Oklahoma that will cost the company over $500 million dollars (pending appeal).

At the National Press Club this morning, Dr. Jerome Segal announced his presidential candidacy as the nominee of the newly formed Bread and Roses Party, (www.BreadandRoses.US), and Dr. Segal also articulated the basics of a new political outlook called: Bread and Roses Socialism.

Dr. Segal is a philosopher and internationally known conflict resolution practitioner. In 1987 he was part of the first delegation of Jewish-Americans to open dialogue with Yasser Arafat and the PLO leadership in Tunis. In 2006 Segal carried a message of moderation from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to President George Bush, in which the Hamas leader sought an opportunity to govern, having just won the Palestinian elections.

At the press conference, Segal revealed that he has been in dialogue with the Iranian government, including a long meeting with Iran’s foreign minister and believes it is possible to achieve a re-set in US/Iran relations and US/Israeli relations. He said, “The key is achieving a just peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” He then laid out a detailed policy proposal that included a US defense treaty with Israel, admission of Palestine to the UN, and a US Embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem. He would end aid to Israel in the advent of an annexation of the West Bank.

Segal’s academic work has centered on the intersection of philosophy and economics, and he is the author of Graceful Simplicity: The Philosophy and Politics of the Alternative American Dream.  In 2018, he challenged Senator Ben Cardin in the Maryland primary and then went on to found The Bread and Roses Party.

Segal characterizes himself as a utopian socialist. Speaking of his candidacy he said, “We are a party of ideas. We do not expect to supplant either of the two parties, but rather to change the American conversation. We see electoral politics as the primary free speech arena in America. It is the time when Americans are listening and thinking. We hope to be intellectual yeast.”

“Based on my experience in the Senate campaign, I am convinced that Americans are deeply hungry for a new way of thinking of our economic life and how it relates to the deeper aspects of human happiness. Most of us understand that what we are doing to ourselves and our children does not make sense, yet we feel caught.”

“For most people, their American Dream is not to get to the top of the pyramid. It is to have very secure income sufficient for meeting basic needs, and to have the ability to choose meaning over money, and to have more leisure to do those things in life that are most important.”

The Bread and Roses policy agenda includes:

– A major redistribution of income and wealth leading to broad equality of condition.

– Democratic ownership of the means of production, whereby the bottom 90% of Americans would own 75% of corporate America.

– A guarantee of employment.

– Income sufficient to meet the needs of a simpler lifestyle, no matter how one made one’s living.

– Increased leisure.

Segal said, “We can bring these goals together with a new definition of economic progress as the sustained decline in Need Required Labor Time – that is, how many hours someone has to work in order to meet basic needs.”

“If we can secure the minimum for a simple life, people will choose meaning over money, and we will re-purpose schooling towards education in history, humanities and the arts, and free our children from the ever-worsening competition for a limited supply of so-called good jobs. We can ensure a right to a childhood.”

The Bread and Rose perspective is detailed at www.SegalforPresident.org

NEW YORK (AP) — A fossil from Ethiopia is giving scientists their best look yet at a presumed ancestor of the famed ancient skeleton nicknamed Lucy. It’s 3.8 million years old, and it contains much of the face and skull. The find was reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (AP) — A Trump administration program forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico has evolved into a sweeping rejection of all forms of migrants. Both countries are working to keep people out of the U.S. despite threats to their safety. The results serve the goals of both governments, which have targeted illegal immigration at the behest of President Donald Trump. He threatened Mexico with tariffs to force action. Some people sent to wait in Mexican border cities say they never requested asylum.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia says he’ll retire at the end of 2019, citing what he calls “health challenges.” The three-term senator was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013 and suffered a fall in July, according to his office. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will appoint someone to fill the seat when Isakson steps down in December. That’ll set up a rare situation in November 2020 when both of Georgia’s Senate seats will be on the ballot.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico is facing its first major test of emergency preparedness since the 2017 devastation of Hurricane Maria as Tropical Storm Dorian nears the U.S. territory at near-hurricane force. And forecasters say it could grow to Category 3 status as it nears the U.S. mainland as early as the weekend. The U.S. and British Virgin Islands are also in its path, with landslides, widespread flooding and power outages possible in Puerto Rico.

 

 

 

Chamber Community Message: Meet ALICE!

Did you know that there is an ALICE in 2 out of 5 households in Beaver County?

Even though ALICE is a traditional name and is making a comeback with newborn babies, the ALICE mentioned above might not be known by many of us.

ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – households that earn more than the Federal Poverty Level, but less than the basic cost of living for Beaver County. Combined, the number of ALICE and poverty-level households equals the total population struggling to afford basic needs. You might say they are the working poor.

We always hear the phrase “Living paycheck to paycheck”. The ALICE study truly identifies those people. They are the 24% that are one major car repair or major illness away from either keep them an ALICE statistic or maybe even worse, force them to fall into the 12% in Beaver County that live below the poverty level. This same group is frustrated because they just cannot seem to save for retirement, higher education or even a down payment on a new house.

The Pennsylvania network of United Ways has come together to raise awareness of the challenges faced by ALICE and to assist in the mobilization of organizations and individuals to support strategies and policies that move ALICE to a level of financial stability.

The Beaver County United Way has been raising funds for almost sixty years to support non-profits groups who work directly with clients who almost entirely are part of the ALICE group. We all know ALICE, they welcome our children at daycare each morning or take care of our elderly parents. They serve us when we stop for a meal or run the checkout at our favorite supermarket. These are the people that work hard every day but just need a little help to get above that survival level to the stable level of life.

The Beaver County ALICE statistics through 2017 have just been released and present many challenges for all of us. Every borough and municipality is broken down and have a range of 15% – 58% of ALICE households. Overall 36% of Beaver County households live at or below the ALICE survival threshold; which for a single person is $20,448/year or $62,940 for a family of four.

 
 

There are 71,005 households in Beaver County. 32,300 are single of cohabiting, 16,418 are families with children and 22,287 are 65 and over. The family group has the highest poverty level and the plus 65 group have the highest ALICE number.

The above data is real and very important to have and should be a guiding light to the leadership of Beaver County to assist in creating programs and providing assets in areas that have the greatest impact.

What can we do as individuals with this information?

The answer to that question is in your heart! However, knowing that ALICE is someone you meet every day and often more than once a day, we may be motivated to smile when we say hello, share our talents and treasures, knowing that a little kindness can make a big difference to so many.

Beaver County has always been a great place to live. Every person who spends time here comments on the friendliness of the people. The renaissance of Beaver County has begun. It will be so important to realize that those who work so hard but still struggle, may need a hand-up to join the journey to better days.

The Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Beaver County Partnership, believe that strong communities enable strong and vibrant business development. We are working to grow the population and raise the prosperity of every portion of Beaver County society. Understanding the challenges and opportunities we face, backed by data, is very important.

That is why we are so grateful to the Beaver County United Way and the United Way of PA for providing this important data and for all the work their agencies do throughout the region. Soon, you will be able to access more details of the United Way of PA ALICE study on the Beaver County United Way website; www.UnitedWayBeaver.org

This important community update is brought to you by Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, 1st Consultants, Strassburger, McKenna, Gutnick & Gefsky, Ambridge Regional Chamber of Commerce, Skerlec Contracting, and NovaCare! 

Billionaire Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager, would appear to be an unlikely messenger for a Democratic Party debating racial and gender diversity, generational change, and inequalities in society, but his status as a one-man “super PAC” is setting him up to be a deeply disruptive figure in the primaries, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. Steyer has spent $12 million on digital and television ads in only six weeks — more than any other Democrat has spent all year, which has made him a familiar face to many.