Yesterday, Governor Tom Wolf hosted a roundtable discussion on how to maximize Shell’s influence in Western Pennsylvania at Penn State Beaver. Wolf met with county government, educational and business leaders focusing on how the county is preparing for the plant and what support Harrisburg could offer. Shell officially announced it will build a cracker plant  in Potter Township on June 9th.

Governor Tom Wolf announced yesterday that Amazon plans to expand in the state and eventually create five thousand new jobs. Wolf says the online retailer will put fulfillment and distribution centers at new locations throughout Pennsylvania with the first in Northampton County.

Former state treasurer Barbara Hafer is charged with lying to federal agents about seven hundred thousand dollars in consulting fees. Hafer, who was also an Allegheny County Commissioner, is accused of concealing from investigators the consulting fees.

Donald Trump made his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last night. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, has promised Republican convention delegates that her father will fight for equal pay for women and affordable childcare for parents.

Those are two issues that Trump has rarely if ever addressed during the campaign.

After a slow start, big money is flowing into efforts to help Trump. Republican officials say that super PAC side meetings during the convention have yielded millions of dollars in financial commitments.

The Beaver County Commissioners and Sheriff Tony Guy continue to haggle over the sheriff’s budget. At the commissioner’s work session yesterday, the sheriff returned for a second straight week and asked the commissioners for a budget increase to promote four part time deputies to full time and hire and additional five part- timers.

The sheriff says he needs the additional manpower to conduct the functions of the sheriff’s department. Commissioners told budget director Ricardo Luckow to compile a financial workup to determine the additional cost. Last week, Luckow said the sheriff was about 100 thousand dollars short of balancing his department’s 3.1 million dollar budget. Tony Guy’s request for more manpower would sharply increase that deficit.

During their work session yesterday, Beaver County Commissioners noted that the service workers union that represents the court house workers have rejected the latest contract proposal from the commissioners. In other business, the commissioners said they intend to increase the hotel tax to five percent and not consider a five dollar registration fee. Also, the commissioners said they plan to approve five thousand dollars from the tourism budget to provide security for the Beaver County Regatta.

In Cleveland, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says “it’s no big deal” that his former rival, Senator Ted Cruz did not endorse him last night at the Republican National Convention. Cruz drew boos as he told delegates “to vote your conscience.” Trumpj and Cruz engaged in bitter battles during the primaries with Trump calling Cruz “Lying Ted” and Cruz calling Trump “a pathological liar.”

Southwest Airlines flights across the country are being held up today while the airline works to fix technology problems. Southwest began having intermittent problems with several systems after an outage. A Southwest spokesman says the systems are gradually coming back, but that it might take time before the airline could resume normal operations. By last night, Southwest cancelled 17 flights and delayed more than six hundred.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has approved a toll increase that will take effect next year.

Beginning in January  tolls will increase 6 percent for both E-Z Pass and cash customers.

The most common toll for passenger vehicles trips is one interchange and the toll would go from around $1.16 to $1.23 for E-Z Pass customers and from $1.80 to $1.95 for cash customers.

Registered nurses from Heritage Valley Beaver and the Family Medicine Center had a one day strike yesterday against hospital management.

A series of events were held yesterday beginning with a morning picket line outside Heritage Valley Beaver Hospital in Brighton Twp.. A solidarity rally with other labor officials at noon, followed by a community rally and dinner at Irvine Park in downtown Beaver

About 500 nurses are in the bargaining unit.