(Credit for Photo: <p>Pennsylvania has long been a leader in energy innovation and remains a major energy producer but sustaining its position will require a realistic view of what the fossil fuel industry can deliver going forward as neither significant job creation nor increased tax revenue is expected from the sector, a new report showed. (Adobe Stock)</p>

(Reported by Danielle Smith, Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) A new report warns Pennsylvania’s budget is headed for a crisis, and the fossil fuel industry won’t be able to bail it out. Researchers say the sector’s long-term decline and years of generous tax concessions have deepened the state’s fiscal pressures. Trey Cowan with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says Pennsylvania faces a demographic crunch involving an aging, slow-growing population that’s driving spending up. He explains that the fees that Pennsylvania producers pay on natural gas extraction are a tiny fraction of the state’s budget. Cowan argues the report reveals that, structurally, fossil fuels are restricted from becoming a tax revenue generator that could help out the Pennsylvania economy. Backers of the fossil fuel industry, including the Trump administration, argue the continued expansion of fossil fuels ensures energy independence, grid reliability and economic growth.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of the Beaver Valley Regional Police Department, Posted on Facebook on June 17th, 2026)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Baden, PA) Beaver Valley Regional Police made an arrest yesterday after responding to a report of an assault involving a female victim in the Borough of Baden. Officers determined during an investigation that a man who was unknown to the victim allegedly restrained her and attempted to force her into a residence. Several residents nearby intervened and assisted the victim until officers arrived. Twenty-four-year-old Kevin Alexander Flores of Baden was taken into custody as a result of this incident. He faces charges of criminal attempt (kidnapping), disorderly conduct, false imprisonment, harassment, public drunkenness, simple assault and unlawful restraint. Flores was identified by multiple witnesses and the victim. The victim is recovering after sustaining minor injuries from the assault. 

(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of AAA East Central)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) AAA projects that 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for Independence Day between Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, July 5th. The domestic travel forecast this year surpasses the record of 71.8 million travelers last year, but this increase is smaller than recent gains year-over-year. The statistics are relatively flat compared to last year regarding the number of travelers that are driving and flying to their destinations. Travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, is the category seeing the largest increase.

(File Photo of the Cranberry Township Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) Cranberry Township Waterpark will host Luau Lagoon on Thursday, June 25th from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

This event is a family-oriented day of interactive activities and entertainment that are island-inspired.  

Activities include hula hoop and limbo contests, a craft station, lawn games and a photo booth.  

Guests can design their own bookmarks and learn more about the Cranberry Public Library’s summer reading program called “Unearth a Story” at the craft station. 

Children can also meet the island characters Lilo and Stitch at the water park that is situated at North Boundary Park during the event. 

You can go to cranberrytownship.org/waterpark for more information. 

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Lower Providence Township, PA) A man from Pennsylvania is facing more than 600 charges related to an AI-generated pornography investigation. 

Forty-one-year-old John Ohler, Jr. of Montgomery County, is facing over 200 counts of videotaping or depicting on a computer a child engaging in sexual acts, and over 200 more counts of possession of child pornography. 

The criminal complaint includes allegations of secretly recording videos of people in public places and allegations of creating AI-generated sexual videos of many people, which included minors.    

His wife said that the alleged actions all started in October of 2025 when she reported to police that Ohler had sent a sexually explicit photo of her to an unknown person. 

According to the criminal complaint, when Lower Providence Township police started investigating, they found more than 100 digital storage devices, hidden cameras and recording devices, along with multiple AI-generated sexual videos. 

Court documents confirm that Ohler was arrested in April and he posted bond. July is when he is due back in court.

(File Photo of the Seal of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania state House passed a bill yesterday in Harrisburg that would make “gas station heroin” illegal in the Commonwealth. Officials say that it is a dangerous and highly addictive substance which is popping up across the country. Tianeptine is a highly addictive opioid-like drug not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said that the substance has been linked to hundreds of deaths and overdoses. Representative Charity Grimm Krupa is co-sponsoring House Bill 377, which would prohibit the delivery, manufacture or possession of the drug with intent to manufacture or deliver. This bill would make that crime a felony with up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $15,000 and the legislation now heads to the state Senate. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: The wreckage of a plane crash burns in a field in Butler, Mo, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (Mid America News Review via AP Photo )

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Bates County, MO) Authorities said that a man from Pennsylvania was one of the 12 people that were killed when a skydiving plane crashed on Sunday in Missouri. 

The private plane crashed moments after it took off from Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, approximately 60 miles south of Kansas City. The Bates County Coroner’s Office identified the twelve victims yesterday, and one of them was sixty-nine-year-old Kurt John Roy of Windber. 

The Somerset County man was part of the victims ranging in age from 23 to 69. The others were five people from Missouri, four people from Kansas, one person from Colorado and one person from India. 

(File Photo of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Two significant changes will be coming to Medicaid in Pennsylvania.  

The first change is that some adults from ages 19-64 will need to have their Medicaid eligibility checked by completing a renewal every six months instead of every year beginning on January 1st, 2027.  

This means that if you apply for Medicaid after or on January 1, 2027, you need to renew your Medicaid in six months.  

You need to complete a Medicaid renewal in July 2027 if your coverage begins in January of 2027. 

The second change is that some adults from ages 19-64 who do not have a dependent child that is under 14 years old must show that they are meeting work and community engagement requirements beginning on January 1st, 2027. 

That will be reviewed during the application or renewal. If the requirement is met, but you do not report to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services or follow the new rules, you will lose Medicaid coverage.  

Some people may be exempt from this requirement. You can read more about potential exemptions by clicking here.