Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing inspection activities on Route 65 ramps in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, will occur Monday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 13 weather permitting.

Inspection activities will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day according to the following schedule:

• Monday, March 11 – A traffic shift will occur on the ramp from southbound Route 65 to northbound I-279
• Wednesday, March 13 – A single-lane restriction will occur on the northbound Route 65 ramp at the end of the Fort Duquesne Bridge

Crews from the Larson Design Group will conduct routine inspection activities.

Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published March 8, 2024 11:00 A.M.

(Brighton Township, Pa) State Police in Beaver report that a Darlington Township man resisted arrest. Troopers say 21 year old Gavin Mann was taken into the State Police barracks for a Megan’s Law update and troopers informed him he had a warrant during the update. Mann attempted to flee on foot before Troopers took him to the ground and into custody. No injuries were reported.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 8, 2024 10:55 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) On Thursday night, the Aliquippa Zoning Board met and approved 2 height variance requests from 72 Steel for the new steel mill in Aliquippa. The mill is under construction on the old J&L site. Groundbreaking for the mill was on May 16, 2023.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published March 8, 2024 10:51 A.M.

(Pittsburgh, Pa) Jim Roddey, a name known by many in the Pittsburgh region and beyond has passed away at the age of 91. Roddey, who was a Marine Corps Veteran, had a long career in business and politics, in addition to using his talents on the radio, including with the St. Barnabas Radio network on WBVP, WMBA, and WJAS. Jim Roddey served as the first Chief Executive of Allegheny County, a position he held from 1999 through 2004. He was also the chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Committee. Roddey was the former host of “The Best of Beaver County”, and most recently “Heroes” on the St. Barnabas Radio Network.

FILE – Pittsburgh Steelers safety Keanu Neal (31) celebrates after the Steelers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 23-18 in an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Steelers released Neal on Thursday, March 7, 2024, after he failed a physical. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers have released safety Keanu Neal after he failed a physical with the team. Neal played in nine games for the Steelers in 2023, eight of them starts. He suffered a rib injury in a win over Green Bay on Nov. 12 when he was hit at the end of a 32-yard interception return in the fourth quarter. The team placed Neal on injured reserve on Nov. 18. The 28-year-old Neal signed a two-year, $4.25 million deal with the Steelers last March. He had 50 tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception with Pittsburgh.

FILE – A view of the scene Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)

Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled.

The decision issued Wednesday threw out the railroad’s claim that the companies that made chemicals that spilled and owned tank cars that ruptured should share the cost of the cleanup.

An assortment of chemicals spilled and caught fire after the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023. Three days later, officials blew open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride because they feared those cars might explode. Residents still worry about potential health consequences from those chemicals.

The Atlanta-based railroad has said the ongoing cleanup from the derailment has already cost it more than $1.1 billion. That total continues to grow, though EPA officials have said they expect the cleanup to be finished at some point later this year.

U.S. District Judge John Adams said that ruling that other companies should share the cost might only delay the resolution of the lawsuit that the Environmental Protection Agency and state of Ohio filed against Norfolk Southern. He also said the railroad didn’t show that the derailment was caused by anything the other companies could control.

“The court notes that such arguments amongst potential co-defendants does not best serve the incredibly pressing nature of this case and does not change the bottom line of this litigation; that the contamination and damage caused by the derailment must be remediated,” Adams wrote.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on Adams’ ruling.

The railroad had argued that companies like Oxy Vinyls that made the vinyl chloride and rail car owner GATX should share the responsibility for the damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said the crash was likely caused by an overheating bearing on a car carrying plastic pellets that caused the train to careen off the tracks. The railroad’s sensors spotted the bearing starting to heat up in the miles before the derailment, but it didn’t reach a critical temperature and trigger an alarm until just before the derailment. That left the crew scant time to stop the train.

GATX said the ruling confirms what it had argued in court that the railroad is responsible.

“We have said from the start that these claims were baseless. Norfolk Southern is responsible for the safe transportation of all cars and commodities on its rail lines and its repeated attempts to deflect liability and avoid responsibility for damages should be rejected,” GATX said in a statement.

Oxy Vinyls declined to comment on the ruling Thursday.

The chemical and rail car companies remain defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed by East Palestine residents, so they still may eventually be held partly responsible for the derailment.

HARRISBURG, March 7 – The Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee heard testimony Tuesday about legislation that would facilitate the use of mechanical insulation by electric distribution companies, Majority Chairman Rob Matzie announced.

Matzie said H.B. 491 clarifies that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission may not disapprove an EDC’s required energy efficiency and conservation plan solely because it contains mechanical insulation.

“Mechanical insulation is a key component when you’re talking about energy conservation,” Matzie said. “This is a fairly simple bill that would create an opportunity to expand the use of mechanical insulation, and we think we’re finally in a position to get it across the finish line.”

At the hearing, Jim Cassidy, business manager for the Insulators Union Local No. 2, testified that mechanical insulation – which is used to insulate pipes, equipment, machinery and industrial processes – provides cost savings, prevents burns, inhibits mold growth that causes sick buildings and keeps equipment running longer.

Act 129 of 2008 requires electric distribution companies to complete an energy efficiency and conservation plan that is approved by the PUC. Although the commission does not prohibit the use of mechanical insulation, the bill’s sponsors say that several plans are still waiting for PUC approval due to inclusion of mechanical insulation and that legislation is needed to ensure that including this material does not cause plan delays or disapprovals.

Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Connection

Postal union workers from Pennsylvania will head to the nation’s capital in early May for a national rally to raise awareness about the challenges faced by the U.S. Postal Service.

The workers say staff shortages, consolidations and office closures all are affecting mail delivery. The U.S. Postal Service’s goal is 95% on-time delivery across its vast network of 167 million addresses nationwide.

Kimberly Miller, president of the American Postal Workers Union Keystone Area Local 1566, said the worker shortage means some post offices close their facilities early and see delays in processing the mail. Miller pointed out rural customers often are hardest hit.

“We are operating on minimal staffing, many customers are experiencing it at the front lines,” Miller observed. “Post Offices are trying to curtail hours instead of hiring adequate staffing. There’s always been a shortage and now it seems to get worse and worse. And the mail, there’s a real delay in getting it to your door.”

Miller noted she is not a fan of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to move letter sorting and distribution from local offices into large, regional hubs. In 2020, DeJoy put a plan into effect known as “Delivering for America,” to minimize employee turnover by converting more part-time staff to career status.

Miller acknowledged the Postal Service is hiring, but emphasized the issue seems to be employee retention.
Miller, who refers to career postal workers as “the craft,” suggested increasing training and treating workers with respect could also lead to improved retention.

“They did a couple of investigations on allegations of who we said, ‘Hey, look this supervisor is abusive,’ and it just got worse,” Miller recounted. “It’s so abusive that people don’t know how to talk to people. The craft fights back. It said, ‘Hey, treat me with dignity and respect. Talk to me like an adult.'”

She stressed the importance of Pennsylvanians working with lawmakers to require the Postal Service to return its service standards to what they were five years ago, requiring local delivery of mail within one to two days.