FILE – This aerial photo shows the movie set of “Rust” at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. Prosecutors have dropped the possibility of a sentence enhancement that could have carried a mandatory five-year sentence against Alec Baldwin in the fatal film-set shooting, according to new court filings made public Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

A weapons supervisor charged with felony involuntary manslaughter for her alleged role in the shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie has made her first formal court appearance. While the judge did not take Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s plea of not guilty Friday, she set conditions of release that allow Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to keep a gun at home for self-defense. A defense attorney says Gutierrez-Reed received threats after the October 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by actor Alec Baldwin. Separately, producers of “Rust” have agreed to pay a $100,000 fine to settle allegations of workplace safety violations.

FILE – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks, Feb. 15, 2023, at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. Gov. DeSantis has signed a bill to give himself control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district, punishing the company over its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The bill requires DeSantis, a Republican, to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services that the Disney district provides in its sprawling theme park properties in Florida. The governor signed the legislation on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, file)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district, punishing the company over its opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The bill requires the Republican DeSantis to appoint a five-member board to oversee the government services that the Disney district provides in its sprawling theme park properties in Florida. The governor signed the legislation on Monday. The move comes as DeSantis gears up for an expected presidential run and marks a high-profile legislative victory for a governor whose leveraging of cultural and political divides has pushed him to the fore of national Republican politics.

Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published February 27, 2023 1:01 P.M.  

(Beaver County, PA) The Shapiro Administration, with help from Sen. Elder Vogel, Sen. Camera Bartolotta, and Rep. Jim Marshall have announced a Health Resource center will open in Darlington Township Tuesday, February 28th at the Darlington Township Building, 3590 Darlington Road, at 10am and will be open weekdays from 10am to 8pm through March 10th.
The following press release was issued Monday:

Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration announced today that the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) is opening a Health Resource Center in Darlington Township, Beaver County for residents of Beaver and Lawrence counties who have health concerns following the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, OH on February 3, 2023. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will also be on hand at the Center to help interested residents sign up for free, independent water testing and to provide guidance on food and animal safety, respectively.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) is working with local leaders and healthcare providers to open the center starting Tuesday, February 28 at the Darlington Township Building, 3590 Darlington Rd., Darlington, PA 16115. The Center will be open weekdays from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and is scheduled to operate through March 10.

“Today, my Administration is taking another step to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of every Pennsylvanian affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment,” said Governor Shapiro. “Starting Tuesday, Pennsylvanians who are concerned about the impacts of the derailment on their health will have an additional resource to turn to, where they can talk to public health experts right in their own community from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Department of Human Services, to receive treatment should they need it. From the beginning of our response to Norfolk Southern’s derailment, my Administration has worked hand-in-hand with first responders and emergency management personnel, our partners in Ohio, and the federal government to ensure our citizens in Western Pennsylvania have the resources and information they need to be safe and healthy.”

The Shapiro Administration has been working closely with leaders from both parties to help protect Pennsylvania communities affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment — and the input and support from Sen. Elder Vogel, Sen. Camera Bartolotta, and Rep. Jim Marshall has been critical in opening this Health Resource Center.

This week, DOH is inviting healthcare providers in the region to join an educational webinar to provide information on what they should be looking for in patients who visit their offices, and how to address any health concerns from residents affected by the derailment aftermath. Healthcare providers, including family/primary care physicians and nurses, emergency department staff, and urgent care providers who are seeing patients with health concerns related to the derailment – and who are interested in joining the webinar – can register online here.

On Sunday, February 26, DOH began partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct door-to-door visits, starting with residents who were evacuated within the one-mile radius of the train derailment. They are conducting Assessment of Chemical Exposure (ACE) surveys that include discussing symptoms, experiences, and concerns about the impact of the train derailment. If residents aren’t available, information will be provided, and clinicians will schedule a follow-up visit. The ACE surveyors are expected to reach other residents in the coming days and weeks, including residents who visit the Health Resource Center.

Health, environmental, and safety officials from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and multiple federal agencies are working together to continually monitor air and water quality in the region. Monitoring has been in place since the incident began. Pennsylvania continues to see no concerning air or water quality readings following this incident.

Two weeks ago, the Shapiro Administration announced DEP will conduct its own independent water sampling to closely monitor water contamination risks.

Visit the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s (PEMA) online train derailment dashboard for details about the derailment response.

A view of the scene Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Federal environmental authorities say shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment will resume Monday to two Ohio sites. An Environmental Protection Agency administrator said Sunday that some liquid waste will be taken to an underground injection well in Vickery, while solid waste will go to an incinerator in East Liverpool. The agency had ordered a ‘pause’ in shipments a day earlier after material was taken to sites in Michigan and Texas. A state official said all rail cars except for those held by federal transportation officials had been removed, allowing collection of more contaminated soil and installation of monitoring wells.

FILE – The Pennsylvania state Capitol is seen on Dec. 14, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

WHO: House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia), Rep. Kristin Marcell (R-Bucks), Others.
WHEN: Monday, February 27, 2023, starting at 1:15 p.m.
WHERE: Ryan Building Atrium, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg.
LIVE WEBSTREAMING: Will be available, barring technical difficulties, at www.PAHouseGOP.com.

FILE – Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert, talks about his work at his studio in Dublin, Calif., on Oct. 26, 2006. Adams experienced possibly the biggest repercussion of his recent comments about race when distributor Andrews McMeel Universal announced Sunday, Feb. 26 it would no longer work with the cartoonist. In an episode of his YouTube show last week, Adams described people who are Black as members of “a hate group” from which white people should “get away.” Various media publishers across the U.S. denounced the comments while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

The Dilbert comic strip distributor Andrews McMeel Universal has announced it will no longer work with the strip’s creator, Scott Adams. Andrews McMeel Chairman Hugh Andrews and CEO and President Andy Sareyan say in a joint statement issued Sunday that the syndication company is severing its relationship with Adams because his recent comments on race were not compatible with the company’s core values. In the Feb. 22 episode of his YouTube show, Adams described people who are Black as members of “a hate group” from which white people should “get away.” Various media publishers across the U.S. denounced the comments as racist, hateful and discriminatory while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work.

PITTSBURGH – Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today that the United States has finalized a Settlement Agreement with James L. Luketich, M.D., University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (“UPMC”), and University of Pittsburgh Physicians (“UPP”), to resolve the lawsuit the United States filed against those Defendants in September 2021.
As part of that Settlement Agreement, Dr. Luketich, UPMC, and UPP agreed to pay $8.5 million to the United States to resolve the claims against them. The Defendants also agreed to create and effectuate a Corrective Action Plan for Dr. Luketich, and to submit to a year-long, third-party audit of Dr. Luketich’s physician fee services billings to Medicare. Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, UPMC, in turn, has the ability to request information, guidance, assurance and/or an advisory opinion from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding certain Medicare regulations pertaining to the types of surgeries at issue in the case.
The United States’ lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729, et seq., and was based on a two-year investigation into allegations originally brought by Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D., a former UPMC surgeon. In its Complaint, the United States alleged that Dr. Luketich – the longtime chair of UPMC’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery – regularly performed as many as three, complex surgical procedures at the same time, failed to participate in all of the “key and critical” portions of his surgeries, and forced his patients to endure hours of medically unnecessary anesthesia time, as he moved between operating rooms and attended to other patients or matters.
According to the United States’ Complaint, those practices amounted to violations of the statutes and regulations which prohibit “teaching physicians” (like Dr. Luketich) from billing the United States for “concurrent surgeries,” were well known to UPMC leadership, and increased the risk of surgical complications to patients.
In June 2022, the Court denied the Defendants’ attempt to dismiss the Government’s Complaint. The Settlement Agreement provides that it is neither an admission of liability by the Defendants nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded. Instead, in order to avoid delay and the expense of protracted litigation, and in consideration of the promises and obligations of the Settlement Agreement, the parties agreed to resolve the case.

“This is an important settlement and a just conclusion to the United States’ investigation into Dr. Luketich’s surgical and billing practices, and UPMC and UPP’s acceptance of those practices,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rivetti. “This Office is committed to safeguarding the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and to protecting those programs’ beneficiaries. No medical provider – however renowned – is excepted from scrutiny or above the law.”
“The Complaint alleged that Dr. Luketich used his position as a trusted doctor to defraud the health care system,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “Health are fraud costs our country billions of dollars each year. This money is not just absorbed. It is passed down to the consumer. The Settlement Agreement provides that UPMC will implement a Corrective Action Plan for Dr. Luketich, and he will now have to undergo close scrutiny of his work.”
“Ensuring physicians and other health care entities provide honest and accurate information to their patients and government health care programs, is of the upmost importance,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the HHS-OIG Philadelphia Regional Office. “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate health care fraud allegations to protect the safety of patients and the integrity of taxpayer-supported health care
programs.” The False Claims Act is one of the most powerful tools in the United States’ continued efforts to combat health care fraud. The Act’s whistleblower (or “qui tam”) provisions authorize private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery, and permit the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, either in its entirety, or in part (as it did here). Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800 HHS TIPS (800-447-8477).
Assistant United States Attorneys Lee Karl and Adam Fischer litigated this case on behalf of the United States. Prior to the filing of the Government’s Complaint, this matter was investigated by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of
Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Pennsylvania’s Office of the Attorney General.
The case is captioned United States of America ex rel. Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D. v. James Luketich. et al., No. 19-cv-495 (W.D. Pa.).

The Girls Scouts will be out selling cookies in the county starting this upcoming weekend. The following list contains locations and starting dates to get your cookie fix!

Foodland, New Brighton, PA 15066
Saturday, Mar. 4th
Sunday, Mar. 5th

Giant Eagle
Rochester and Chippewa, PA 15074
Saturday, Mar. 4th

Rochester Area School
Rochester, PA 15074
Sunday, Mar. 5th

Hostess Gift Shoppe
Beaver, PA 15009
Saturday, Mar. 4th

Sts Peter & Paul Church
Beaver, PA 15009
Sunday, Mar. 12th

Neely Dental
Monday, Mar. 13th
4.1 Miles

Beaver Valley Mall – Boscovs, and JC Penney
Monaca, PA 15061
Friday, Mar. 3rd

Lowes-Monaca
Monaca, PA 15061
Saturday, Mar. 4th

Rural King
Monaca, PA 15061
Saturday, Mar. 4th

Photo of the planets Saturday night from Beaver County (Frank Sparks – Beaver County Radio General Manager
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published February 27, 2023 10:55 A.M.

You may have noticed some bright stars aligning with the moon in the night sky recently. Well, those stars are actually planets! The National Weather Service says “Those “stars” are actually the planets Jupiter and Venus, and they will gradually appear closer through mid next week. We should have enough clearing here and there where you can see this, if you are able.”