(File Photo of Poverty Lane and Prosperity Lane Graphic)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) A new report warns that the end of pandemic-era relief programs has reversed historic child poverty reductions in the Keystone State and nationwide. The Pennsylvania supplemental child poverty rate averaged 11-percent between 2022 and 2024, raising soon after relief programs were cut, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation report. Leslie Boissiere, vice president for external affairs with the foundation, says when the expanded Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program were widely available, they cut child poverty to a record low, but those gains have now vanished. Boissiere notes poverty has a direct impact on the well-being of children. She says anti-poverty programs lift 8-point-5 million children out of poverty. Just the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit keep 5-point-3-million kids above the poverty line.

(File Photo of Open for Business Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Rochester, PA) Renovations have started to turn the former Rite-Aid on Brighton Avenue in Rochester into a Dollar Tree store. A Dollar Tree sign was installed officially at that location at the end of October. The opening date for the new store has not been announced yet, but a sign on the front of it says that it is “coming soon.” According to its website, Dollar Tree already has 366 locations in Pennsylvania, including stores in Center, Chippewa, Cranberry, Hopewell and Moon townships and Economy, Ellwood City and Leetsdale.

(File Photo of Handcuffs)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Darlington Township, PA) Forty-nine-year-old Chris Shutack of Darlington is facing charges of aggravated assault and related charges after police confirm he shot Anna Vellone of Columbiana, Ohio in her leg during a verbal altercation in Darlington Township on Saturday. The incident occurred at 102 Moffett Drive at around 5 a.m. Police also note that Shutack allegedly choked and pushed Vellone before shooting her in the lower leg and Vellone was taken to a Pittsburgh area hospital and is expected to recover. Records show that Shutack is in the Beaver County Jail and online court records state that he is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, strangulation, tampering with or fabricating evidence, simple assault and having a firearm while prohibited. The bail for Shutack is set at $200,000.

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of abundance-creative.com)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Bedford, PA) According to a release on Friday from abundance-creative.com, the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative (NEBPI) and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) have launched the second annual Beef’s Best Concession Stand Contest, which invites schools across Pennsylvania to show off their most creative and crowd-pleasing beef menu items. The Pennsylvania Beef Council through the NEBPI, will continue its partnership with the PIAA for the fourth year in a row. The winning school will receive a cash prize of $250, a display banner, and Beef’s Best T-shirts and a commemorative plaque, and the first 10 schools to enter will receive a swag kit that is beef-themed. Entries close tomorrow, but they are open now. The link to enter can be found below, or you can scan the QR code on the headline photo to apply.

Click here to enter the 2025 Beef’s Best Fall Concession Stand Contest.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published October 31, 2025 5:31 P.M.

(Beaver Falls, Pa) A yearly community free Christmas dinner will not be returning for 2025. Care Ministries, who hosts the annual event, made the announcement Friday on Facebook.

Organizers Stephen and Rebecca Ficca Salopek stated ongoing health issues as the reason for discontinuing the dinner. They added that “it has been a heart-wrenching decision” and thanked everybody for their support over the years.

The dinner was hosted annually for the last 31 years at the Beaver Falls High School.

(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Potter Township, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver reported via release today that twenty-three-year-old Giovanni Hupp-Thompson of Beaver was charged for careless driving after causing a single-vehicle crash in Potter Township on the morning of October 13th, 2025. Hupp-Thompson was driving on I-376 West at 4:48 a.m. and hit a metal barrier off to the right side of the road, which caused his vehicle to flip multiple times. Hupp-Thompson was transported because of his injuries, which are unknown at this time, but police suspect them to be serious. The vehicle of Hupp-Thompson sustained damage on its drivers side panels, passenger side panels, hood and roof.

(File Photo of Police Siren Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials recently, a seventy-one-year-old man died on Wednesday afternoon after he was hit by a car in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh the previous day. Officers were dispatched to the Forbes and Oakland Avenue intersection on Tuesday at around 4:45 a.m. First responders discovered a man with a head injury lying in the road and he was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Bobby Paige of McKeesport was the man that was identified as the victim by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The driver who hit Paige remained on the scene and it is unknown if that driver will be facing any charges at this time. Police confirm that the investigation into this incident remains ongoing and active.

(File Photo of the American Flag)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Veterans Day in 2025 is on Tuesday, November 11th, when Beaver County and the United States of America will thank military veterans for their service. According to the Beaver County Times, here are a few of the events around Beaver County for Veterans Day:

• The Beaver County Veterans Day parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 11 at the Beaver County Courthouse along Third Street in Beaver. The parade is organized by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 862.
• The third annual Veteran Appreciation Day is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 8 at the B.F. Jones Memorial Library, 663 Franklin Avenue, Aliquippa. Free event for veterans features food, coffee, live music, free activities for kids, storytime, resources for veterans and giveaways.
• Our Lady of the Valley Parish confirmation class will host a Veterans Day breakfast for veterans and a guest from 10-11:30 a.m. Nov. 9 at the Holy Family Catholic Church social hall, 521 7th St. in New Brighton. Reservations are due by Nov. 5; email jconnelly@olotv.org or call 724-775-4111 Ext. 222.
• Findlay Township is hosting a light lunch and entertainment for local veterans and their families at 11 a.m. Nov. 10 at the Findlay Township activity center, 310 Main St., Imperial. Reservations are required by calling 724-695-0500 Ext. 241.

Veterans Day is also a federal holiday, so both the Beaver County Courthouse and other government offices will be closed. There will also be no mail delivery in the United States on Veterans Day and many banks locally will also be closed.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad in Baltimore on March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

(AP) YouTube TV viewers can no longer see Disney channels including ABC and ESPN after the two sides failed to agree on a new content distribution deal.

Other channels that vanished from Google’s pay TV platform include the Disney Channel, FX and Nat Geo.

Google’s pay TV platform said in a blog post late Thursday that Disney had followed through on a threat to suspend its content amid the negotiations.

The breakdown could impact coverage of some college football games on Saturday, as well as NBA, NFL and NHL games.

YouTube is the largest internet TV provider in the U.S. with more than 9 million subscribers. Hulu, owned by Disney, is next, with about half that many subscribers.

Viewers have become aware of the dispute in recent weeks because of warnings being scrolled across their screens.

YouTube said Disney used the threat of a blackout as a negotiating tactic that would have resulted in higher prices for its subscribers. Disney’s move to take down its content also benefits its own streaming products Hulu + Live TV and Fubo, YouTube said.

“We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV,” it said.

YouTube said it would give subscribers a $20 credit if Disney content unavailable “for an extended period of time.” YouTube TV’s base subscription plan costs $82.99 per month.

Disney said that YouTube TV is refusing to pay fair rates for its channels and has chosen to “deny their subscribers the content they value most,” pointing out the number of Top 25 teams playing this weekend.

“With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor,” Disney said. The company said that it was committed to reaching a resolution as quickly as possible.