FILE – In this June 27, 2019, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., listens to questions after the Democratic primary debate hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Art in Miami. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

CARNEGIE, PA — Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to Western Pennsylvania today. Together and alongside other elected leaders, they announced Pennsylvania will receive a $200 million investment from President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to improve its water infrastructure and replace dangerous lead pipes in communities.

This Pennsylvania announcement is part of a nationwide $5.8 billion IIJA investment in stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater investments that will help support essential water infrastructure that protects public health and water bodies across the country. Almost half of this funding will be available as grants or principal forgiveness loans, which help underserved communities across America invest in water infrastructure.

“Exposure to any level of lead puts everyone, especially kids, at risk,” said Rep. Deluzio. “I am so glad I can help deliver millions from President Biden’s Infrastructure Law funding for communities in Western Pennsylvania like Millvale to remove dangerous lead pipes and ensure folks have clean and safe drinking water.”

“President Biden and I believe that every person in our country should have a right to clean water no matter where they live or how much money they make. That is why our Administration made clean water a national priority and delivered the largest investment in America’s water infrastructure in history,” said Vice President Harris. “Today, I am proud to announce more than $5.8 billion from our Investing in America agenda for states, Tribes, and territories to upgrade water infrastructure in communities across our nation. With this investment, we are continuing our urgent work to remove every lead pipe in the country and ensure that every American has access to safe and reliable drinking water.”

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda continues to transform communities for the better with this latest infusion of funds for critical water infrastructure projects,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “With $50 billion in total, the largest investment in water infrastructure in our nation’s history, EPA will enable communities across the nation to ensure safer drinking water for their residents and rebuild vital clean water infrastructure to protect public health for decades to come.”

In the greater Pittsburgh area, water utilities are working hard to remove lead service lines from operation and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water. The Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority used State Revolving Fund dollars’ worth over $9.5 million to replace approximately 1000 lead service lines in low-income residential neighborhoods.

The funding EPA announced for Pennsylvania is part of a $5.8 billion investment through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF), one of EPA’s signature water investment programs. This multi-billion-dollar investment will fund state-run, low-interest loan programs to address key challenges, with $2.6 billion going to the Clean Water SRF for wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and $3.2 billion going to the Drinking Water SRF for drinking water infrastructure. Today’s announcement includes allotments for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law General Supplemental funds and Emerging Contaminant funds for SRF programs for fiscal year 2024. EPA anticipates announcing allocations for billions in additional resources in fiscal year 2024 for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Lead Service Line Replacement fund later this Spring.

Since 2022, the IIJA has injected $21.9 billion into water infrastructure projects across the country protecting public health, preserving water resources, and creating jobs. These investments are unprecedented and transformational. As part of today’s announcement, EPA released for the first time an initial list of 124 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded SRF projects that are underway across the country. A full list of the projects can be viewed on EPA’s website. View more stories about how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has impacted communities across the country by accessing the Investing in America’s Water Infrastructure Storymap.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published February 21, 2024 10:42 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) The second annual event will be held at the Aliquippa Elementary  School from  5-7 pm on Tuesday the 27th. There will be games, an Easter Egg Hunt and prizes will be awarded. The annual event is sponsored by the Aliquippa School District, City of Aliquippa, and other related organizations within the city, including the Salvation Army.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published February 21, 2024 10:39 A.M.

(Center Township, Pa) Center Supervisors received an update on the municipal complex renovations at Tuesday night’s meeting from the township engineer Ned Mitrovich.

The project should be complete in July or August, according to township chairman Bill DiCiccio, Jr. the park  improvements should also be complete by then, Mitrovich reported.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says it is preparing additional “major sanctions” on Russia in response to opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death in an Arctic penal colony. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the new package would be unveiled this Friday. He declined to detail the new actions, citing U.S. government policy, or share how they would expand on the already stiff sanctions the U.S. and its allies have put on Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. Kirby said only that the sanctions, which will coincide with the two year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, will be “specifically supplemented with additional sanctions regarding Mr. Navalny’s death.”

Construction continues at a building complex in Mesquite, Texas, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid for Ukraine, he wants voters to understand that nearly $40 billion would actually be going to U.S. factories that make missiles, munitions and other gear. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid for Ukraine, he wants voters to understand that nearly two-thirds would actually be going to U.S. factories, like a munitions plant set to open this summer in a gleaming new industrial park in suburban Dallas. Administration officials combed through the foreign aid in the $95 billion bipartisan supplemental funding bill passed by the Senate. Of the $61 billion for Ukraine, nearly $40 billion would go to U.S. factories that make missiles, munitions and other gear. House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to put the bill up for a vote in the House.

Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are off to a weak start at the beginning of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 was down 0.6% early Tuesday. The benchmark index is coming off only its second losing week in the last 16. Losses in technology stocks were weighing on the market. That helped pull the Nasdaq composite down 1.1%. The Dow held up better, and was mostly unchanged. That was largely thanks to a big gain in Walmart, which rose 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected results for its latest quarter and issuing sales forecasts that came in ahead of what Wall Street was expecting.

FILE – Allegheny County workers scan mail-in and absentee ballots at the Allegheny County Election Division Elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters who put the wrong date on the envelope containing their mail-in ballots should have their votes thrown out. The case argued Tuesday in Philadelphia could be significant in this year’s presidential contest. The NAACP and several voter groups call the mistakes “meaningless” and want them counted. They say that more than 10,000 ballots in the state were rejected in 2022 over mistaken dates. Republican groups are challenging a federal court ruling last year that the votes should count if they are received in time.

Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published February 20, 2024 12:26 P.M.

(Pittsburgh, Pa) Is your name Noah or Charlotte? If it is, you’ve got a popular name. Allegheny Health Network reported their 10 most popular baby names chosen by parents delivering their newborns in 2023. Topping the charts last year were Noah and Charlotte for the top boy and girl names, followed closely by Owen and Olivia for third and fourth place.

The Top 10 Names Selected at AHN in 2023:

1. Noah
2. Charlotte
3. Owen
4. Olivia
5. Henry
6. Luca
7. James
8. Jack
9. Oliver
10. Theodore

• Making the cut: Henry, Luca and James made the 2023 Top 10 list after missing out in 2022.
• Just missing the cut: Among the popular names falling just outside the top 10 last year were Evelyn and Sophia for girls, and Miles and Levi for boys.
• Big jumps: Charlotte rose from No. 4 on the charts in 2022 to No. 2 in 2023, and Noah leaped from No. 13 in 2022 to the top spot in 2023.
• Big drops: Olivia dropped to the fourth spot after being the top-selected name in 2022, while Theodore dropped eight spots from No. 2 to No. 10.
• Off the list: Names that dropped from the 2022 Top 10 list included Amelia, Logan and Emma.

Out of the 3,200 different baby names chosen by parents delivering last year at AHN facilities, over 2,100 were original to the network, being used only one time.

David McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks during a campaign stop in Erie, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Since he became a force in Republican politics, Donald Trump has figured prominently in U.S. Senate races, shaping which GOP contenders get nominated. But that’s not happening in Pennsylvania. There, the likely Republican nominee, David McCormick, and Trump seem to be ignoring each other. McCormick — an ex-hedge fund CEO — is trying to beat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, the best-known political name in Pennsylvania. For McCormick, there’s the additional baggage of Trump’s tongue-lashings as Trump worked to defeat McCormick in Pennsylvania’s 2022 Senate primary race. Theirs is a complicated relationship that Democrats say is fraught with danger for McCormick and pollsters say steepens his uphill climb against Casey.

Keystone State News Connection – Danielle Smith

Pennsylvania’s teachers’ union is voicing concerns that the state’s public school voucher program will negatively affect public education in lower-income families and communities.

The most recent budget proposal would direct an additional $1 billion to K-12 education, affecting more than 1.7 million students, and doesn’t include any specific funding for school voucher programs.

Arthur Steinberg is president of the American Federation of Teachers in Pennsylvania.

He said the Educational Investment Tax Credit programs allow parents to send students to private and religious schools, if they think the public school is underperforming – siphoning funds from public schools.

“They go to schools, which are allowed to – permitted to – discriminate based on any facts, religion, gender, political beliefs, anything they want,” said Steinberg. “There’s no restriction on that money. And there’s no accountability for how it is spent. So, the choice really goes to the schools, not students – so there’s no benefit to them whatsoever.”

Steinberg pointed out that Senate Bill 1057, introduced this month, would fund $300 million in scholarships for students at nonpublic schools – when public schools are underfunded by $5.4 billion, according to a Commonwealth Court ruling.

He added that diverting funds widens gaps, without improving education or equity.

Supporters argue vouchers let children leave under-performing public schools and get a better education at private schools. Test school data does not consistently confirm the argument that voucher students are better educated.

Steinberg said school voucher program do not exclude low-wealth areas, but mostly benefit wealthy people that can afford the private-school tuition.

“It’s really a handout to wealthier individuals that are already in those schools,” said Steinberg. “If you give a family living below the poverty level $7,000 to go to a school where the tuition is $28,000, they can’t afford the difference anyway, so they still can’t go.”

Steinberg emphasized that the Educational Investment Tax Credit program began at $30 million and has ballooned to $550 million – and said 89% is spent on private schools.

But there’s no achievement data available in Pennsylvania to let parents know how well those children are doing compared with other schools.