Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Beaver Grade Road (Route 3077) in Moon Township, Allegheny County will begin Monday, August 5 weather permitting.

Single-lane alternating traffic controlled by flaggers will occur weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through late November on Beaver Grade Road between Montour Run Road and University Boulevard in Moon Township.

Improvement work on this $5.63 million group paving job includes drainage work, milling and paving operations, and other various construction related activities.

Crews from A. Liberoni Inc. will conduct the work.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), and U.S. Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) released the following statement calling on the Biden Administration to include Marc Fogel in any prisoner swap made with Russia. Fogel, detained in Russia since August 2021, is currently serving a 14-year sentence for possession of medical marijuana used to treat his severe back injury.

“As news of a potential prisoner exchange is being reported, we urge that any swap include Pennsylvania’s Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich,” said the lawmakers. “Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressio

Harrisburg – Following Governor Shapiro’s signing of House Bill 829 and Senate Bill 688 into law as Acts 57 and 86 of 2024, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) released summaries of each new law and pledged its commitment to successful implementation of liquor reforms including expansion of the network of retailers allowed to sell ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDC) to go to include restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, convenience stores, beer distributors, and others.

The Summary of Act 86 details all the privileges and obligations of the new RTDC permit, which will authorize permittees to sell spirits-based RTDC ranging from 0.5% alcohol beverage by volume (ABV) to 12.5% ABV in original containers up to 16 ounces for off-premises consumption (to go).

RTDC permits will be available to retail liquor licensees eligible for wine expanded permits (restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, convenience stores, etc.) and to distributors and importing distributors of brewed and malt beverages, all of which must be certified in the Responsible Alcohol Management Program.

Highlights of the new law include the following:

• Retail RTDC permit holders (not distributors/importing distributors) will be able to sell RTDC to go in quantities up to 192 fluid ounces per transaction, and that allowance is in addition to up to 192 fluid ounces of brewed or malt beverages and up to 3 liters of wine per transaction – all three can be maxed out in a single sale, but only to retail customers (not licensees).
• Distributors and importing distributors will be able to offer samples of RTDC and sell RTDC in any quantities to retail customers, but not to licensees. They will also remain prohibited from selling wine or other forms of spirits.
• The PLCB currently has a catalogue of more than 100 RTDCs, but RTDC permit holders are not allowed to procure RTDC through Special Order for sales for on-premises or off-premises consumption. The PLCB will also entertain permittees’ requests to bring new RTDCs into the market, if suppliers are willing to make them available through regular product listing processes.
• Pennsylvania licensed manufacturers producing RTDC may sell them directly to retail customers and permit holders, in any quantities, at prices equivalent to or more than what the PLCB charges, if the PLCB carries the same or substantially similar products.

The PLCB is currently working to develop RTDC permits, applications, and regulatory processes. The agency will announce when it will begin accepting applications.

Act 86 of 2024 becomes effective Sept. 16.

The Summary of Act 57 of 2024 includes the following highlights, as well as additional detail. Act 57 becomes effective Sept. 13.

• Happy hours for qualifying retail liquor licensees are extended from a maximum of 14 hours per week to 24 hours per week.
• Quantity discounts, or case discounts are allowed as follows:
  • Distributors and importing distributors can offer case discounts to licensees and retail customers.
  • Limited wineries can offer case discounts only to retail (non-licensee) customers.
• The Board’s authority to issue immediate operating authority for outdoor temporary extensions of premises, which was set to expire Dec. 31, is now permanent. Outdoor temporary extensions can be renewed at the end of validation and renewal periods, with submission of an application and filing fee.
• Pennsylvania breweries, limited distilleries and distilleries can now stay open until 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Previously they were required to close at 11 p.m. or midnight, depending on the day of the week. They can also pay $50 to stay open until 2 a.m. one additional day each year, with advance notice to police.
• Clubs now have their licenses treated like other licenses (restaurant, hotel, distributor, etc.) for purposes of safekeeping, and they can use an extended hours food permit as often as they want.
• The PLCB can offer additional financial incentive for large-volume licensees selling wine and RTDCs to obtain product from the PLCB by dropping trailers at the PLCB’s distribution centers for fulfillment, rather than requiring PLCB delivery. Trailer-drop fulfillment to licensees is currently free, and trailer-drop credits of 75 cents per case or $1.25 per case, depending on order build, will go into effect Sept. 16.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane restrictions on Route 51 (Pennsylvania Avenue) in Darlington Borough, Beaver County, will occur Monday through Thursday, August 5-8 weather permitting.

Single-lane restrictions on Route 51 in each direction between Cannelton Road and Lemp Way will occur Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. 3 p.m. Crews from Green Acres Contracting will conduct the washing operations on the bridge above the roadway.

Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns. Please use caution when driving through the area. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Christopher Lynch, music historian with the Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh, holds a piece of sheet music written by Charles Henry Pace, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Tickets are now on sale for the 2024 Beaver Valley Musicians Hall of Fame dinner that will take  place at The Fez, 2312 Brodhead Road, Hopewell Township on Sunday, October 13. Doors  open at 5pm, with buffet dinner at 6pm. 

Five musicians will be honored that evening – Cissy Rebich; Arnie Steinberg; Gene Testa; Bob  Vallecorsa and Gene Vallecorsa Sr. 

Ticket orders can be placed online at www.bvmusicianunion.org by completing an order form.  Adults age 13 and older — $45.00; children ages 6 to 12 — $30.00; children younger than age 6  are free.  

Payment must be received by Friday, September 13, 2024. The adult ticket price increases to  $55.00 if orders are placed on or after Saturday, September 14. Ticket sales deadline is Friday,  September 27.  

PITTSBURGH, PA (August 1, 2024)…To celebrate the International Big Mac Day TOMORROW, local McDonald’s restaurants will offer $2 Big Mac sandwiches thru August 11.  The offer is available only on the MyMcDonald’s Rewards app.

The annual celebration of International Big Mac Day is held on the birthdate of Jim Delligatii, the world-famous sandwich’s inventor.

Delligatti began test-marketing the seven-ingredient sandwich at his restaurant in

Uniontown on April 22, 1967.  Customer response was so good, he soon introduced the sandwich at three more of his restaurants in Pittsburgh.  It debuted nationally in 1968.

Approximately 550 million Big Mac sandwiches are now sold each year in America alone. The sandwich is currently sold in more than 100 countries around the world.

Perhaps Delligatti’s most tasteful addition to the Big Mac was the famous secret sauce.  Having worked in the restaurant business for many years, he was familiar with the typical Russian dressing used for many sandwiches.  However, he knew the sauce for the Big Mac had to be something special.

“I would make the sauce in the restaurant by hand, mixing all the ingredients together myself.  It was hard work, but the customers loved it,” Delligatti once explained.

Many Americans today can still recite (in under four seconds) the seven-ingredient, tongue-twisting jingle featured in a 1974 Big Mac television ad campaign:  Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun.

The sandwich also inspired The Economist Magazine’s “Big Mac Index,” an annual comparison of foreign currency values against the U.S. Dollar.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane closures on I-376 (Beaver Valley Expressway) in Chippewa Township, Beaver County, will occur Monday through Thursday, August 5-8 weather permitting.

Single lane closures on I-376 each direction near the Chippewa/Route 51 (Exit 31) interchange will occur Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. 3 p.m. Crews from Green Acres Contracting will conduct the washing operations.

Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns. Please use caution when driving through the area. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published August 1, 2024 12:06 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Bids were opened for the Fifth Avenue project at Wednesday night’s work session by engineer Ron  Riizzo, and the decision will be announced at the regular meeting on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, which is council’s regular session.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio with contributions by Sandy Giordano. Published July 31, 2024 4:30 P.M. 

(Beaver, Pa) Heritage Valley Health System performed an organizational downsizing Wednesday. Numerous employees were let go and multiple branches of the system have been shut down. It is unclear how many employees were terminated.

Beaver County Radio obtained a letter that was sent to employees Wednesday. The letter states “the workforce reduction was given careful consideration, and the affected employees were provided a severance package”. The letter goes on to say “while such descions are painful for all of us, they are unfortunately unavoidable in order to preserve the future viability of the health system.”

Locations that were closed as part of the reorganization are a pediatric facility in Calcutta, Ohio, and an MRI facility in Robinson Township. BusinessCare in Center Township will close on September 30th.

Heritage Valley cites operational and financial challenges as the cause of the downsizing.

President and CEO Norm Mitry told Beaver County Radio that the system is exploring all of their options when asked about the possibility of a merger with Allegheny Health Network.

The letter that was sent to employees can be viewed below.

FILE – People play slot machines at Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack, June 25, 2007, in Bensalem, Pa. The owners of twelve Pennsylvania casinos have asked the state’s highest court to declare that a tax on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because the state doesn’t impose it broadly on cash-paying electronic game terminals known as skill games that can be found in many bars and stores. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The owners of twelve Pennsylvania casinos have asked the state’s highest court to declare that a tax on slot machine revenue is unconstitutional because the state doesn’t impose it broadly on cash-paying electronic game terminals known as skill games that can be found in many bars and stores.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, could endanger more than $1 billion in annual tax revenue that goes toward property tax rebates and economic development projects.

The state’s collection of the roughly 54% tax on casinos’ revenue from slot machines, but not on revenue from skill game terminals, violates constitutional guarantees designed to ensure that taxation is fair, the casino owners contend.

“There is no basis for requiring licensed entities to pay about half of their slot machine revenue to the Commonwealth while allowing unlicensed entities to pay no tax on such revenue,” they argue in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks the court to force the state to apply the same tax rate to skill games or to bar it from collecting taxes on slot machines.

The casinos’ owners include dozens of principals, as well as major casino companies such as Caesars Entertainment Inc. and Penn Entertainment Inc.

The state Department of Revenue declined comment on the lawsuit. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it had just learned of lawsuit and was evaluating it.

Pennsylvania brings in more tax revenue from casinos than any other state, according to American Gaming Association figures.

The fate of the lawsuit, filed by the owners of 12 of the state’s 17 licensed and operating casinos, is likely tied to the outcome of a separate lawsuit that the state Supreme Court is considering.

That case — between the state attorney general’s office and Pace-O-Matic Inc., a maker of skill games — could decide whether the skill games that have become commonplace in nonprofit clubs, convenience stores, bars and elsewhere are unlicensed gambling machines and, as a result, must be shut down.

A lower court found that the Pace-O-Matic games are based on a player’s ability and not solely on chance, like slot machines and other traditional gambling games that are regulated by the state.

For years, the state has maintained that the devices are unlicensed gambling machines that are operating illegally and subject to seizure by police. Machine makers, distributors and retailers contend that they are legal, if unregulated, games that are not subject to state gambling control laws.

Lawmakers have long discussed regulating and taxing the devices, but any agreement has been elusive.

It’s unclear exactly how many skill game terminals there are in Pennsylvania, but the American Gaming Association estimates there are at least 67,000, which would be more than any other state.

Casinos operate roughly 25,000 regulated slot machines on which gamblers wagered almost $32 billion last year and lost just over $2.4 billion. The state and casinos effectively split that amount.