Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published September 23, 2024 10:49 A.M.

(Londonderry Township, Pa) Constellation Energy announced Friday that they have plans to restart the idled Three Mile Island Reactor 1 by 2028, as long as the Nuclear Power Commission gives approval.

The TMI restart could create 3,400 direct and indirect jobs, bring in more than $3 billion in taxes annually, and add 800 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to the power grid, according to a report produced by The Brattle Group.

A 20 year agreement was made between Microsoft and Constellation Energy for Reactor 1 to serve as power for Microsoft data centers supporting Artificial Intelligence. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Bobby Hollis, Vice President of Energy for Microsoft said “This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft’s efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative. Microsoft continues to collaborate with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the grids’ capacity and reliability needs.”

Constellation plans to rename the reopened plant to “Crane Clean Energy Center”, paying respect to their former CEO Chris Crane. Constellation says they are also pursuing a license renewal from the Nuclear Power Commission to extend operation until at least 2054. President and CEO of Constellation, Joe Dominguez, says the plant is in good shape and will be a reliable power source.

“Before it was prematurely shuttered due to poor economics, this plant was among the safest and most reliable nuclear plants on the grid, and we look forward to bringing it back with a new name and a renewed mission to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania.”

Constellation has also committed an additional $1 million to the Middletown region over the next five years for community needs and workforce development.

Pennsylvania 16th District State Representative Rob Matzie says he is in favor of the restart as it would boost clean power generation while generating billions in revenue and thousands of jobs.

“Pennsylvania is a net exporter of power generation, but our power grid is facing demands like never before in our history. Restarting Reactor 1 at Three Mile Island gives us more capacity and more flexibility to face demands – it’s not just clean power generation, it’s billions in tax revenue and thousands of good-paying jobs to boot, with even more jobs created in supporting industries.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has also weighed in on the announcement stating “Under the careful watch of state and federal authorities, the Crane Clean Energy Center will safely utilize existing infrastructure to sustain and expand nuclear power in the Commonwealth while creating thousands of energy jobs and strengthening Pennsylvania’s legacy as a national energy leader.”

TMI Reactor 1 was shut down in 2019 with plans to decommission it when former owner Exelon Generation experienced financial struggles operating the facility. The reactor was transferred to Constellation Energy in 2021. Reactor 2 ceased operations in 1979 when it was the site of a partial meltdown ranked as the worst United States nuclear power accident in history. It is now owned by EnergySolutions, who plans to continue to fully decommission and demolish the separate plant in coming years.

Nuclear power is nothing new to Beaver County residents, as the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant began operations in 1957 at the now decommissioned Shippingport Atomic Power Station, next to the current Beaver Valley Power Station.

(File Photo)

Story by Frank Sparks, Beaver County Radio

09/20/24 @ 12:30 PM

(Ellwood  City, Pa.) 31-year old Timothy Woods of Ellwood City was taken into custody by police. He is accused of shooting and killing 36-year old Tim Bollman of Fombell, pa on Thursday evening.

Pa. State Troopers in New Castle are reporting via release that that the Ellwood City Police Department responded at 6:36 PM to Ellwood City Forge for a shooting that occurred within the facility. Upon arrival of several municipal police departments Bollman was found deceased from apparent gunshot wounds in one of the facilities buildings.  Police found out that the shooter had fled the scene on foot. Through investigation police were able to identify the shooter as Woods.

Woods was later taken into custody by the North Sewickley Police Department.

Criminal charges were prepared on Woods to include, Criminal Homicide, Firearms not to be carried without a license, and recklessly endangering another person. Woods was then transported to the Lawrence County Jail for await arraignment.

State Police are continuing to invstigate.

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 20, 2024 at 10:16 A.M.)

(Pittsburgh, PA) A bill that can protect people with medical marijuana cards against discrimination is advancing forward thanks to a decision from the Pittsburgh City Council. The council could approve an amendment that would exempt jobs covered by union contracts that cover drug testing, but employers within Pittsburgh city limits would be restricted from testing workers for marijuana use. The city council is expected next Tuesday to have a final vote for approval of this bill. 

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 20, 2024 at 10:14 A.M.)

(Beaver County, PA) Detectives and police in Beaver County are removing items from two shops that sell marijuana after an investigation that confirmed the shops are selling their products to children. Sam’s Mini Mart store clerk Sanjay Mehra faces charges of drug dealing, possession and corruption of minors after a guidance counselor confirmed after an investigation that took almost a year that marijuana in a vape pen was sold to a child from the store. Another store, Habitual Glass is also facing scrutiny with similar charges given to their owner, manager, and three employees. Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible is hoping parents who notice vape pens report the information to the police, and Bible confirms that the police are charging the businesses, not the minors for these incidents. 

(Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News Correspondent, Published on September 20, 2024 at 10:05 A.M.)

Police are looking for Kenneth Lindsey, a 73-year-old black male, who was identified as the male who emerged from a vehicle, firing shots in the direction of 2 juveniles playing basketball at the playground at Third Avenue and Jefferson Street on Sunday in Aliquippa. A warrant was just issued  for his arrest, and Lindsey is charged with a felony count of possessing a firearm without a  license, two counts of simple assault and terroristic threats.  If his whereabouts are known, please contact Aliquippa Police at 724-775-0880.

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 20, 2024 at 9:48 A.M.)

(Moon Township, PA) According to a letter from the superintendent of Moon Area High School, police were informed that a student brought a weapon into the school on Wednesday, but no immediate threat was identified. Moon Township police do not believe that the incident happened because of threats on social media that were brought up last week. After police intercepted the weapon, police presence increased at the school. It is not clear if the student will face charges at this time. 

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remains well below the national average.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for August 2024.

For the 11^th consecutive month, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate in August remained unchanged over the month at 3.4%. The rate remained well under the U.S. unemployment rate which fell by one-tenth of a percentage point from its July rate to 4.2%.

The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate was one-tenth of a percentage point above its August 2023 level of 3.3%, while the national rate was up four-tenths of a percentage point over the year.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was down 22,000 over the month to 6,581,000 in August. Resident employment (-20,000) accounted for the majority of the labor force decline.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 8,000 over the month to a record high of 6,200,000, setting the 13^th consecutive record high for Pennsylvania’s jobs count. Jobs increased from July in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest supersector movement was a gain of 4,500 jobs in education & health services which reached a record high for the 15^th consecutive month.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs were up 102,600 with gains in nine of the 11 supersectors. Education & health services (+59,600) had the largest volume over-the-year gain.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 20, 2024 at 9:02 A.M.)

(Ambridge, PA) After buses have been consistently late for picking up and dropping up students, frustrated parents at Ambridge Area School District have found out the reason for the late arrivals. Representatives from the ABC Transit at Wednesday’s board meeting confirmed that the delays happened because of the change to updated software from old software to make bus routes. Those using the software also accidentally used demo versions of the bus route software by mistake. Vice President of Operations at ABC Transit Kristen Anthony also noted that some members of staff will be hired to make exclusive routes for the district. 

Source for Photo: Students catch their bus near Ambridge Area Senior High School, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in Ambridge, Pa. Pennsylvania school districts will soon be allowed to modify or end the mask mandate for K-12 students in January, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 saying it is “time to prepare for a transition back to a more normal setting.” (Andrew Rush /Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 20, 2024 at 8:35 A.M.)

(Beaver Falls, PA) A car crashed into a pole in Beaver Falls overnight Thursday and left a good amount of homes without power. Beaver County 911 said the pole that was hit knocked down some power lines on Route 18. Duquesne Light crews came to fix the pole, which caused the road between 40th and 38th Street to be closed. According to Duquesne Light, people in Beaver Falls that lost power that night totaled three hundred and thirty-six.