(Caption for Photo: State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Bridgeville, shown here during a press conference in November 2021 in South Fayette, is sponsoring a bill that would expand the investigation and prosecution of internet crimes against children. Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Nate Guidry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Legislation to improve the ability of the state of Pennsylvania to investigate and prosecute internet crimes against children was unanimously approved this week by the General Assembly, according to the bill’s Senate sponsor, Senator Devlin Robinson (R-37).

This bill authorizes up to $5 million to be used annually for grants to support the program. 

House Bill 1098, which is sponsored by Representative Jason Ortitay (R-46), would provide critical resources to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who are working to protect children from online exploitation and abuse by expanding the Investigation and Prosecution of Internet Crimes Against Children Program within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). 

This bill is designated as “Alicia’s Law,” which is in honor of Alicia Kozak (Kozakiewicz), a Pittsburgh-area resident who was abducted, sexually assaulted, and tortured at the age of 13 by a man that she met online in what is recognized as first known internet-facilitated child abduction cases in the nation.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Blue Sky News/ Pittsburgh International Airport)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh International Airport opened a new airside terrace on Tuesday, which joins just a handful of airports that are around the country that offer outdoor airside spaces for travelers. 

This new airside terrace is designed as part of the airport’s modernization program and is just one of four outdoor spaces at the airport.

However, only two terraces are now open to travelers.

The other two spaces will launch in the future. 

The airport’s new airside terrace is located across from the Dick’s Sporting Goods display which is near the beginning of Concourse D.

This area spans over 1,000 square feet and features built-in bench seating, as well as tables and chairs, a pet relief area and native plants.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – United States Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa. is shown on Feb. 26, 2019. U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh steel producer that played a key role in the nation’s industrialization, is being acquired by Nippon Steel in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $14.1 billion. The transaction is worth about $14.9 billion when including the assumption of debt. Nippon, which will pay $55 per share for U.S. Steel, said Monday, Dec. 18, 2023 that the deal will bolster its manufacturing and technology capabilities. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Braddock, PA) U.S. Steel is set to invest over $2 billion in a new hot strip mill at the Mon Valley Works Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock. 

U.S. Steel, which is owned by Japan-based Nippon Steel, made an announcement of its capital investment of up to $2.5 billion in Mon Valley Works on Wednesday.  

According to U.S. Steel, the new hot strip mill is designed to “deliver improved yield, reduced energy consumption, and enhanced product quality.” 

The facility in Braddock will replace the hot strip mill at the Irvin Plant in West Mifflin. The production of this is targeted for the late part of 2029. 

(Caption for Photo: Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato signs the legislation for the new countywide family and sick leave policy, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 at the Allegheny County Health Department, Downtown. Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Alexandra Wimley, Post-Gazette))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) A policy for paid parental leave in Allegheny County was signed by Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato into law yesterday and it will go into effect in one year. 

This legislation calls for businesses that have 15 or more employees to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave. 

Allegheny County becomes the first county in the state of Pennsylvania to pass paid parental leave and it is now the first county in the country to mandate a paid parental leave independently. 

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) Two men who are accused of abusing almost two dozen dogs in an alleged dogfighting ring will head to trial. 

Ronald Kidder and Rahman Terry were charged after police found 23 dogs that were left alone in a home in Aliquippa during a snowstorm earlier this year. 

They faced a judge for the first time yesterday. 

According to police paperwork, officers were called to the 100 block of Penn Street on January 25th, 2026 for reports of multiple dogs left out in freezing temperatures. 

Investigators confirmed that some of the dogs that police seized were found tied up outside in the snow without adequate shelter, food, or water.

Two of the dogs were puppies that were found in what police stated was a dog fighting pit in the home. 

Police also noted that some of the dogs had serious injuries. 

The cases against both Kidder and Terry will head to trial. 

(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Gavin Thunberg)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Industry, PA) Industry Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the 100 block of Coal Street yesterday at around 8:40 p.m. for a caller reporting that the house across the street was on fire.

Multiple calls came in reporting that the fire was fully involved and that it was unknown if the home was occupied.  

Firefighters worked to strategically control the fire and they worked on extensive overhaul until after 1 A.M.

There were no reported injuries. 

(File Photo of a Beaver Falls Police Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver Falls, PA) A shooting incident occurred in Beaver Falls on Tuesday.

City of Beaver Falls police officers were dispatched to the McDonald’s restaurant on 7th Avenue at approximately 2:45 p.m. because they received a report of a loud bang, which was believed to have possibly been a gunshot. 

Officers talked with a caller that reported that there may have been a bullet hole in the sign of the restaurant, which was then confirmed as a strike with a bullet to this sign. 

After an interview and investigation occurred, twenty-six-year-old Benjamin Sanderbeck of Wampum was charged by Beaver Falls Police with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, and recklessly endangering another person. 

Sanderbeck is the same suspect who was accused of a shooting in New Brighton on Tuesday in which a single gun shot hit a vehicle that was going south on 5th Avenue and he owned the vehicle where the gun shot came from. 

Members of both New Brighton Police and the Pennsylvania State Police New Castle Barracks executed a search warrant on Wednesday on the suspected vehicle at Sanderbeck’s residence on Newport Road in Wampum. 

A subsequent interview led New Brighton police to file separate charges against Sanderbeck for criminal mischief, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, propulsion of missiles into an occupied vehicle, and recklessly endangering another person. 

Sanderbeck was arrested and was taken to the Beaver County Jail after the shooting in New Brighton. 

According to a release from the City of Beaver Falls Police Department, there is no indication of a further threat to the community regarding this incident. 

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A self-proclaimed influencer from Pittsburgh will spend almost four years in jail after being convicted on charges of cyberstalking and threats.

The Department of Justice announced yesterday that thirty-one-year-old Michael Dadig was sentenced to forty-six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Dadig pleaded guilty earlier this year after he was accused of stalking eleven women across multiple states, which included Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, and New York.

He was accused of harassing, intimidating, and threatening the women in person, on his podcast and through social media.

(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) Chairman Steve DeFrank was recently elected president of the Organization of PJM States, Inc. (OPSI).

DeFrank will help lead the collaboration among state utility regulators across the PJM region in this position.

His leadership will assist in ensuring that Pennsylvania and other states have a strong voice in the regional decisions about the costs that are ultimately borne by consumers, electric markets and investment in infrastructure.

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced a settlement today with Gillece Services, LP, Gillece Plumbing and Heating, Inc., Thomas Gillece Sr., Thomas Gillece Jr., and two former Gillece technicians to resolve allegations that these defendants misled Pennsylvania consumers into paying for unnecessary home improvement work, particularly, sewer pipe replacements, and engaged in scare tactics, amongst other allegations.

This settlement was filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in the form of a Consent Order, and it consists of $700,000 in consumer restitution, $50,000 in costs, and $250,000 in suspended civil penalties.

The settlement also bans two former Gillece technicians who were named as defendants, James F. Hackwelder and Joseph A. Nikoula, from the plumbing industry for a five year period.