A package of bills designed to bolster career and technical education and increase the number of family sustaining jobs in the Commonwealth have been approved by the Pennsylvania House and are on their way to the Senate for consideration. The Good Jobs for PA initiative is designed to help students prepare for the changing job market, while offering employers an avenue to help develop educational programs that will yield workers who have the skills Pennsylvania businesses need. State Representative Aaron Bernstine says this legislation will create a collaboration between business and education…

The mother of a slain and dismembered 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl has testified that she told her daughter she had no interest in helping her as she was being attacked. When her daughter Grace looked at her for help as Jacob Sullivan punched her in the face, Sara Packer said she told her, “I can’t help you anymore. This is your life now.” Sara Packer said she wanted her daughter dead. She testified Wednesday at a sentencing hearing near Philadelphia for Sullivan, her boyfriend.

THE ALIQUIPPA SCHOOL BOARD HAS APPROVED A  3-YEAR SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

WEATHER FORECAST FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 21ST, 2019

 

TODAY – CONSIDERABLE CLOUDINESS WITH OCCASIONAL
RAIN SHOWERS. HIGH – 48.

TONIGHT – OVERCAST. A FEW FLURRIES OR SNOW
SHOWERS POSSIBLE. LOW – 34.

FRIDAY – SNOW DURING THE MORNING WILL TAPER OFF
DURING THE AFTERNOON…BUT IT WILL REMAIN
CLOUDY WITH INCREASING WINDS. SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN ONE INCH. HIGH
NEAR 40.

SATURDAY – SOME CLOUDS IN THE MORNING WILL GIVE
WAY TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES FOR THE
AFTERNOON. HIGH – 43.

SUNDAY – CLOUDY SKIES. HIGH – 52.

The Best of Beaver County is easy to discover; it’s right on your radio!  Tune in this and every Thursday from 11 to 11:30 am  for “the Best of Beaver County”, a new show on WBVP and WMBA presented by St. Barnabas. The show is hosted by Jim Roddey and is dedicated to shining light on the great things going on right here in your neighborhood, and the people that are making it happen.  This Thursday, enjoy conversation and insight with Dr. Joseph Maroon, renowned neurosurgeon, clinical professor and vice chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery and Heindl Scholar in Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  Dr. Maroon is also a sports medicine expert, health and nutrition expert, and Ironman triathlete.

You can also watch a live video stream of the show on the WBVP-WMBA Facebook page, plus the radio broadcast will be replayed each Sunday from 11:30 am to Noon on Beaver County Radio.

As the special counsel investigation into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign winds down, a new poll finds that most Americans are at least moderately confident that Robert Mueller’s probe has been fair and impartial. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that most Americans have some concern that Trump’s campaign had improper connections to Russia, though fewer than half say the president has done something illegal in his ties to Russia.

The mother of an unarmed black teenager who was fatally shot by a white former police officer is urging prosecutors to show what a “kind, loving and funny” person her son was. Michelle Kenney’s letter to prosecutors was released Wednesday, as the second day of the trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld resumes in a Pittsburgh courtroom.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The recent report released regarding the building permits obtained by each area of the county by the Planning & Redevelopment Office became a hotbed of conversation at the Commissioners’ weekly work session on Wednesday. The report said that neither Aliquippa nor South Heights had any building permits throughout all of 2018–in fact, the city of Aliquippa hasn’t had one submitted since 2012, and the borough of South Heights hasn’t had one since 2006.

Commissioner Sandie Egley pointed this out during the work session, and pointed out the loophole this creates for citizens of those areas and why she’s disgusted by it:

 

Solicitor Garen Fedeles responded to Commissioner Egley’s concerns by notifying the Board of Commissioners that there was prior communication with the top persons in those areas about rectifying the situation:

 

Meanwhile, Commissioner Egley also brought forth a request from the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce asking the Commissioners to send a letter of recommendation to Governor Tom Wolf asking that the Bruce Mansfield Plant in Shippingport stay in operation. However, Commissioner Tony Amadio rebutted the request–not because he opposes the power plant’s operation–but rather because actions already had been taken, and the future of the Mansfield Plant is no longer in their control:

 

The initial announcement of the closing of the Power Plant came in August of 2018.

PennDOT and the Department of Environmental Protection are seeking volunteers for this year’s Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania. The statewide community cleanup begins now and runs through May 31. Volunteers can organize a local event and register it at gacofpa.org, or sign up to participate in an already-registered event. Gloves, trash bags and safety vests will be provided by PennDOT, DEP and the Glad Products Co., a national sponsor.

 

The state Game Commission is reporting Pennsylvania deer hunters just had their most successful year since 2005. The recent 2018-2019 harvest, which closed in January, saw 374-thousand, 690 deer taken in. That’s about ten-percent more than last year, and the most since the 2004-2005 season. Hunters using bows or crossbows harvested about a third of the deer, scoring about 50-thousand more than they did the prior season when unseasonably warm weather and rain impacted many bow-hunting days.