A small crowd assembled in front  of the Beaver County Court House at noon yesterday to protest Senate Bill  166, it is called the right to work Law.  The bill, according to Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano,  would prohibit payroll deductions for  political contributions to be used out of the worker’s union dues. Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker was keynote speaker, and was met with cheers  H said theyl  want to pass a bill that  is a determent to us.”He said, “My dad’s a steelworker , and the bill would stop you from  paying voluntary union dues.” He added, ” they want to infringe on our paychecks, what else? Denise Cox, representing the health care union said :”The bill is wrong for Beaver County.” Mitch Cates, political director of the state Democratic Party  said statewide  rallies are being held protesting  the bill’s passage. Al Smithm representing SEIU LOCAL  668 said, “unions forever.” PSEA   representative  Matt Edgelfor Western PA said, “Our teachers are our future”, and they must be protected.” He worked at J&L for 2 summers while in college and earned $12,000.  He’s a New Brighton graduate , and graduated from Howard University where he studied   history and economics, and had a teaching career. in Pittsburgh for 22 years. Cates told the groups we need more Dwan Walkers and Matt Edgels in PA. State Senator Camera Bartolotta is a co-sponsor of the bill, and represents part of the county that includes Aliquippa.

Ambridge residents and business owners packed council chambers to hear  Hancock Architecture’s presentation on the Merchant Street   STREETSCAPE PROJECT, according to Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano.  Council and a Beaver County CDBG grant would pay for the project which includes sidewalk and curb replacement ADA curb ramps, storm inlets,removal of utility poles /existing overhead electrical infrastructure.  The other facets of the project  include ornamental street lanterns with electrical outlets , street trees/tree pits, landscaping street amenities, benches, trah receptacles, bike racks, planters, decorative crosswalks, and public art. Council president Mike Mikulich said council  floated a bond issue for $1.5 million in 2015, and received $1 million from the county for the project. Kathy Bingle, a managing partner in the Hancock Group has been working with  the Main Street projects in the county  for 20 years.  She has been with the firm 23 years Principal partner is Edward J. Hancock.  He said alot of the work has been with the Main Streets and streetscapes. The area to be part of the streetscape is from 8th St. to 4th St. Early next year the project would be put out for bid, and possibly start in June , Mrs. Bingle said. Many residents that spoke were pleased with the presentation, one resident  suggested planting fruit trees, too.

Tim Ishman from the Beaver County Recreation and Tourism Department and the project manager for Walsh Construction will join guest host Frank Sparks on Teleforum Friday morning, March 24, 2017 at 9:10 a.m. to discuss the bridge at the entrance of Brady’s Run Park being closed for replacement following the Maple Syrup Festival. Topics of discussion are what work will be done, how long it will take, suggested detours and any questions you may have.  The phone lines will be open during the interview at 724-774-1888 and 724-843-1888.

The Beaver County Prison Board met as scheduled today at 2:30 p.m. at the courthouse. As Beaver County Radio’s Greg Benedetti reported, County Commissioner Dan Camp – who serves as the chairman of the Prison Board –  wasn’t consulted before commissioners Sandie Egley and Tony Amadio fired county Solicitor Andrea Cantelmi Wednesday, a move that prompted cancellation of the commissioners meeting this morning. The commissioners also said they canceled the Prison Board meeting, again without consulting Camp. Camp said in a memo (which Beaver County Radio News has obtained) to the Prison Board members today that any legal issues that come up “will be tabled for a future meeting” because the county lacks legal representation. Camp said, “I will not allow the above mentioned crisis to delay the safety and well-being of our jail”.

The Beaver County Commissioners fired solicitor Andrea Cnatelmi yesterday. According to Beaver County Radio’s Greg Benedetti, the move by commissioners Andie Egley and Tony Amadio, was made after the public portion of Wednesday’s work session. No reason was given for the move, and the commissioners declined to provide details about what precipitated it. Benedetti suggested to Teleforum guest host Frank Spark on today’s show that Egley and Amadio may have felt that Cantelmi wasn’t up to the task of handling the large number of legal matters facing the county, including the issue surrounding the audit of Friendship Ridge.