(File Photo of the AAA East Central Logo, Provided with Release Courtesy of AAA East Central)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Hermitage, PA) An event will be held this Wednesday, July 15th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., weather permitting, at the AAA branch office in Hermitage and local law enforcement will distribute free steering wheel lock devices to only Hyundai and Kia owners to deter vehicle theft.
There has been an increase that is significant in the theft of these vehicles that are manufactured between 2011 and 2022.
AAA and its partners will be distributing the locks on a first-come, first-served basis and those that attend this event will be asked to show their insurance card or vehicle registration.
(Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services, Caption for Photo: Gov. Josh Shapiro signs the state’s 2026-27 budget alongside Lt. Gov. Austin Davis on Sunday.)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Fulton) said yesterday that the Fiscal Year 2026-27 state budget and related legislation passed the Pennsylvania General Assembly and headed to Governor Josh Shapiro for his signature.
Topper released a statement yesterday on the budget passing:
“The budget passed by the General Assembly today continues our recent history of scouring every corner of state government for existing taxpayer dollars to avoid tax increases, cuts to government services or tapping into the Commonwealth’s Rainy Day fund. I am also glad to see important investments in education where we are combatting the ongoing issue of growing waitlists at career and technical centers, expanding the successful GROW PA program to ensure Pennsylvania’s graduates have incentive to stay here, and ensuring our largest state-related universities receive funding based upon meeting new performance metrics and accountability provisions.”
He expressed that the budget prioritizes improvements that are in rural Pennsylvania by adding:
“The state budget we just passed makes critical investments in our transportation infrastructure so we can move ahead shovel-ready road and bridge projects in areas across Pennsylvania.”
However, Topper gave a warning that work still remains on reversing troubling fiscal trends in Pennsylvania to avoid tough budgetary decisions in the future despite the passage of the budget as he continued:
“While revenues higher than budget estimates have shown some of the Republican-led policy wins in prior budgets are starting to have an impact, we must continue the work of providing pathways for significant economic growth and development in Pennsylvania if we stand any chance at reversing the challenging demographics of our ever-shrinking population. Pennsylvania must use the tools at our disposal to create an environment welcoming to investment while getting government out of the way of job creators so we can continue righting the ship of economic growth and development in Pennsylvania.”
(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Ralph and Kathy Bischak)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver Borough, PA) There will be a plaque dedication ceremony celebrating America 250 at the Fort McIntosh Park in Beaver Borough.
This event will be held on July 25th at 11 a.m. and it is presented by the General Anthony Wayne Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.
The ceremony will honor Revolutionary War Patriots.
Colonial era music will play over a speaker system starting at 10:20 a.m. and a Bugler will sound attention at 10:42 a.m.
The Ceremony begins at 11 a.m. with Speeches by the Sons of American Revolution. The event will feature a performance from the Beaver Valley Choral Society, a color guard and an appearance from The Daughters of the American Revolution.
The keynote speaker will be Captain Robert Mercer and descendants of patriots who were at Fort McIntosh will speak.
The public can attend this ceremony so they can honor the Patriots who established the freedom for them to enjoy in the United States of America.
(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Brighton Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver reported today that forty-eight-year-old Jaime Mullen of Monaca was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs in Brighton Township on May 20th.
According to police, Mullen was stopped for committing a vehicle violation in the area of 374 I-376 West at 11:15 a.m., and she was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Aliquippa, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver reported today that twenty-nine-year-old Bryant Henson of Aliquippa was arrested for possessing drugs in Aliquippa on May 22nd.
According to police, Henson was found in possession of drugs in the area of Englewood Street and Elm Alley at 12:29 a.m., which was where they conducted a traffic stop.
(Photo Courtesy of the City of Beaver Falls Fire Department, Posted on Facebook on July 12th, 2026)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Beaver County, PA) The City of Beaver Falls Fire Department had their 3rd Smoke Detector Blitz with the American Red Cross on Saturday.
They installed 50 smoke detectors in ten houses which are located in Beaver Falls and West Mayfield to prevent tragic events from happening.
That department also has more detectors at their firehouse, and you can call them at 724-843-1135 to schedule a time for them to install either carbon monoxide detectors or smoke detectors in your house.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes won his second straight start after going winless for nine in a row as the Pittsburgh Pirates scored 10 runs in the fourth inning to rout the Milwaukee Brewers 14-5 Sunday and head into the All-Star break with a three-game sweep.
What was slated to be a high-profile matchup lost some of its luster when Milwaukee scratched hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski on Saturday because of arm fatigue. While Skenes and Misiorowski are All-Stars, both will skip pitching in Tuesday’s showcase.
Skenes (8-8) allowed two runs and three hits over 5 1/3 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts — including four among his final five batters. He had been 0-6 in nine starts before beating Atlanta on Tuesday, and the Pirates lost all nine of those games.
Robert Gasser (2-4) gave up seven runs and eight hits in three-plus innings.
Pittsburgh (50-47) took a 4-2 lead into the fourth and scored seven runs before making an out.
Marcell Ozuna homered, Henry Davis had an RBI single and Jared Koenig hit Bryan Reynolds with a pitch with the bases loaded, forced in a run by walking Esmerlyn Valdez and allowed Ryan O’Hearn’s run-scoring single that boosted the advantage to 9-2.
Nick Gonzales greeted Grant Anderson with a two-run double, Triolo hit a two-run single and, after a video review reversed the call at first on what appeared to be an inning-ending double-play grounder by Davis, Jake Mangum hit an RBI triple.
Skenes tossed three perfect innings before giving up back-to-back doubles starting the fourth to Christian Yelich and Chourio. Gary Sánchez hit into a run-scoring forceout.
Brice Turang hit a two-run homer in a three-run eighth.
Up next
Brewers: Start a home series Friday against Miami.
Pirates: Open a three-game series Friday at Cleveland.
(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services, Caption for Photo: Gov. Josh Shapiro signs the state’s 2026-27 budget alongside Lt. Gov. Austin Davis on Sunday.)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) Governor Josh Shapiro signed the 2026-2027 Budget for the state of Pennsylvania into law in Harrisburg yesterday.
This will invest $50.85 billion to support students, grow the economy, expand the workforce and make communities safer in the Commonwealth.
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. July 13, 2026 1:00 A.M.
(Beaver County, PA) Thousands of spectators lined the tracks over the weekend in anticipation of a potentially once in a lifetime opportunity. Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 was the star of the show, making his local appearance as part of a long tour across America.
The historic most powerful and largest steam engine ever built is the only one of it’s kind to be in operation. The last time a Big Boy engine ran was in 1962. Most assumed the legendary locomotive type would never be seen anywhere except a few select museums ever again.
That changed in 2019 when Union Pacific completed a massive, thought to be impossible, 5 year project to restore one.
Big Boy 4014 was built in 1941 and weighs 1.2 million pounds. One of eight remaining Big Boys, it was previously on display at a museum in Wyoming prior to restoration.
In honor of America’s 250 celebration, Union Pacific decided to allow the country to see 4014 for themselves, embarking on a cross country trip from California to New York.
Following a short stop attended by thousands in Leetsdale Saturday, Big Boy entered Beaver County around 7pm and took a rest for the night at the Conway Yard, once the biggest rail yard in the world.
A private invite only event was held at the yard to celebrate the arrival of the train. The event was mostly attended by Norfolk Southern employees and their families. Beaver County Radio was invited to share in the festivities and witness the event.
4014 rolled in blowing his whistle and ringing his bell at approximately 7:15pm. Attendees gazed in amazement and cheered at the massive locomotive while
children blew their wooden train whistles that were handed out.
Beaver County Radio had the opportunity to speak with Brian Barr, the Chief Operating Officer for Norfolk Southern. Barr himself is familiar with area, saying that Conway Yard is “kind of a special place for me”, noting he received a good bit of training at Conway when he was first hired by Norfolk Southern in the 1990s.
When asked about the success of the Big Boy trip so far, Barr relayed “I want to thank all the volunteers, the community, the mayor’s here from Conway. You know, it’s been an enormous turnout. It’s been an enormous support from all of our employees, all of our volunteers, and really all of the communities we operate through to be here in Conway for America’s 250th birthday, with the steam engine, the two railroads coming together. Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific to operate this through our communities, you know, is something that’s really special for America’s birthday”.
We asked Barr if he has had a chance to ride on the historic train. The answer was yes.
“I rode it from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. I had the opportunity to ride it and we
got to spend some time on all of the UP (Union Pacific) cars and the NS (Norfolk Southern) cars there. It’s kind of, you think of where we’re at in 250 years for America’s birthday, 200 years for the railroads are coming up for Norfolk Southern, to be able to ride in a car that had such history was, you know, really a powerful situation, especially with the audiences that we’re seeing coming through and celebrating the railroads. It’s, it’s really a special thing”.
Brian Barr and Dawn Benton of Norfolk Southern
One of the special cars Barr was referring to was is called the Marco Polo.
Barr tells us “It was commissioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was the governor of New York. When he became president, he took it with him to DC. In his presidency, the car was parked at the Amtrak station in Washington for three decades. The car was brought back to the railroad and was donated to a museum down South because he used to take the train from New York to hot Springs, Georgia to get polio treatments. We brought that car out of the museum. We brought it up to Altoona, Pennsylvania, reconditioned it with the wheels, with the plumbing and the air conditioning.
And, it’s still in its historical presence”.
Big Boy departed Conway at 9am Sunday morning.
A popular viewing spot by many was to see the train chugging through New Brighton.
Beaver County Radio witnessed spectators lining the town in nearly any place that had visual on the tracks. New Brighton Police assisted in making sure the tracks were clear and crowds were keeping a safe distance.
Beaver County Radio got a final view of 4014 as it came out of the tunnel at the edge of Big Rock Park and proceeded to head north to it’s next destination.
(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Esmerlyn Valdez (55) celebrates with Bryan Reynolds (10) after hitting a two-run home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Shane Drohan during the fourth inning of the second game of a baseball doubleheader in Pittsburgh, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Esmerlyn Valdez hit his third home run of the day, and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Saturday to sweep a doubleheader.
The Pirates won the first game 7-6, as Valdez hit two home runs — including a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning — and drove in six runs.
The rookie right fielder had eight RBIs in the two games and now has homered 10 times and driven in 26 runs in his first 27 career games.
Valdez’s two-run shot in the fourth inning of the nightcap opened the scoring. Brice Turang’s two-run double in the fifth pulled the Brewers even.
Bryan Reynolds singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth off rookie left-hander Shane Drohan (4-3), who allowed three runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings while striking out six and walking none.
Yohan Ramirez (6-2) pitched a scoreless sixth. Mason Montgomery protected a one-run lead in the ninth inning for his first save of the season and the second of his career.
Pirates rookie starter Bubba Chandler lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits. He struck out six and walked three.
The Brewers missed the chance to win their 60th game of the season, a feat they have never accomplished before the All-Star break.
The doubleheader was necessitated by Friday night’s scheduled game being rained out.
Up next
The three-game series concludes on Sunday with a matchup between LHP Robert Gasser (2-3, 4.15) against Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (7-8, 3.58)
(Scheduled Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski was scratched from his scheduled start because of arm fatigue.)
