Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing a single-lane restriction on the Sewickley Bridge (Route 4025) in Moon Township and Sewickley Borough, Allegheny County will occur Saturday, June 15 weather permitting.
Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on the Sewickley Bridge from 7 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m. Saturday to allow crews to conduct sealing and sidewalk plate installation work. Flaggers will assist motorists through the work zone.
Pedestrian access will be maintained.
FILE – Second-grade students select their meals during lunch break in the cafeteria at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File)
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced two bills that would expand access to free or reduced-price meals for millions of American children. When children experience food insecurity, they face unique barriers that affect their ability to do well in school. The bills expand criteria for individual students to receive free or reduced-price school meals, lower the threshold required for districts to offer free school meals for all students, and increase reimbursements for schools to cover meal costs without compromising students’ access to meals.
“Children should be able to focus on learning without worrying about where their next meal is going to come from. Senator Fetterman and I are introducing these bills to fight for the 13 million children in our Nation who lack consistent access to food,” said Senator Casey. “I will keep pushing to ensure that all children have enough to eat.”
“Ensuring that our children have enough to eat is one of the most fundamental responsibilities we have,” said Senator Fetterman. “It’s simply unacceptable that children in our nation suffer from food insecurity because of excessive red tape and petty political games in Washington. We must do more to cut through bureaucratic hurdles and improve our nutrition programs. Both of these bills would go a long way to create a healthier, more equitable future for all of our children. I’m proud to partner with Senator Casey on this critical issue.”
The School Hunger Elimination Act would expand student access to free or reduced-price school meals on both the individual and district levels. Direct certification—a process used to identify and enroll students in free or reduced-price meal programs—would expand so that a broader number of students could qualify. The bill would also work on a district level by amending the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)—a tool that allows schools in high-need communities to provide free school meals to all students. For a district to qualify for CEP, a certain percentage of the student population must be individually eligible for direct certification. The bill would also require that districts that adopt CEPs be reimbursed at a higher rate to help schools cover the costs of free meals.
The Nutrition Red Tape Reduction Act would reduce the threshold for districts to qualify for CEP from 50% of student participation in the district to 25%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ruled to expand the CEP to 25% in 2023. This bill would put the USDA’s ruling into law and increase the number of schools who are eligible to provide free meals to all students.
Both bills work together to address the critical child hunger issue by expanding access to free or reduced-price meals while also providing districts with sufficient reimbursement to cover costs of providing more meals at a reduced rate.
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published June 13, 2024 12:23 P.M.
(Aliquippa, Pa) Sarah Eileen McDowell was hired to be the Aliquippa School District’s new Special Education Director. She will begin her duties on July 1, 2024. The board approved her salary that will be $82,500.00 a year.
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published June 13, 2024 12:21 P.M.
(Aliquippa, Pa) An Aliquippa house fire caused extensive damage yesterday evening. Aliquippa Fire Chief Tim Firich reported that the department received a call for a house fire about 5 p.m. on Tuesday in the 1700 block of Grant Street on Sheffield Terrace. Firefighters from Ambridge Crescent Township, Center Township and the county’s strike team assisted Aliquippa. The chief told Beaver County Radio the fire was under control in about 20 minutes. No one was injured, and the cause was not reported.
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published June 16, 2024 11:03 A.M.
(Ambridge, Pa) Merchant Street’s streetscape project’s first payment in the amount of $97,918.97 was approved at Tuesday’s council meeting. A $500 donation was made to the fireworks committee.
Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service
Pennsylvania ranks in the middle among states for the well-being of its children, at 23rd overall in the new Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The annual Data Book ranks states in four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and community and family.
Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said the report found significant dips in the percentage of children who were reading proficiently by the end of fourth grade and in the percentage of students who were proficient in basic math.
“We know both those skills are critically important not only to academic success, but to make sure that young people are prepared for the workforce,” Boissiere emphasized.
Pennsylvania ranks 16th in education and showed improvement in high school students not graduating on time. From 2018 to 2019, it was14% and decreased to 13% from 2020 to 2021.
Boissiere noted the pandemic is not solely to blame for the country’s worsening educational outcomes. Educators, researchers, policymakers, and employers who track students’ academic readiness have been ringing alarm bells for a long time.
“For example the pandemic erased decades of increases in math scores,” Boissiere pointed out. “However, if you look over those 35 years that we’ve produced the Data Book we’ve never seen a significant percentage of children who were either proficient in fourth grade reading or basic math.”
The reported encouraged states and communities to examine several approaches to help improve the well-being of children and address some of the pandemic’s effects.
“We know some of the things that work,” Boissiere stressed. “Both in remediating or providing additional supports for kids who may have fallen behind such as high dosage tutoring, creating environments within schools where all kids feel like they can belong, and looking at evidence-based curriculum approaches.”
Boissiere added some states have delayed spending their share of the $190 billion in critical federal pandemic funding known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, which could help boost achievement. The deadline to allocate — not spend — the funding is Sept. 30, 2024.
File – Tesla vehicles charge at a station in Emeryville, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
DETROIT (AP) — Just before 2 a.m. on a chilly April night in Seattle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup stopped at an electric vehicle charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking lot.
Two men, one with a light strapped to his head, got out. A security camera recorded them pulling out bolt cutters. One man snipped several charging cables; the other loaded them into the truck. In under 2½ minutes, they were gone.
The scene that night has become part of a troubling pattern across the country: Thieves have been targeting EV charging stations, intent on stealing the cables, which contain copper wiring. The price of copper is near a record high on global markets, which means criminals stand to collect rising sums of cash from selling the material.
The stolen cables often disable entire stations, forcing EV owners on the road to search desperately for a working charger. For the owners, the predicament can be exasperating and stressful.
Broken-down chargers have emerged as the latest obstacle for U.S. automakers in their strenuous effort to convert more Americans to EVs despite widespread public anxiety about a scarcity of charging stations. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe EVs take too long to charge or don’t know of any charging stations nearby.
If even finding a charging station doesn’t necessarily mean finding functioning cables, it becomes one more reason for skeptical buyers to stick with traditional gasoline-fueled or hybrid vehicles, at least for now.
America’s major automakers have made heavy financial bets that buyers will shift away from combustion engines and embrace EVs as the world faces the worsening consequences of climate change. Accordingly, the companies have poured billions into EVs.
Stellantis envisions 50% of its passenger cars being EVs by the end of 2030. Ford set a target of producing 2 million EVs per year by 2026 — about 45% of its global sales — though it has since suspended that goal. General Motors, the most ambitious of the three, has pledged to sell only EV passenger cars by the end of 2035.
Any such timetables, of course, hinge on whether the companies can convince more would-be EV buyers that a charge will always be available when they travel. The rise in cable thefts isn’t likely to strengthen the automakers’ case.
Two years ago, according to Electrify America, which runs the nation’s second-largest network of direct-current fast chargers, a cable might be cut perhaps every six months at one of its 968 charging stations, with 4,400 plugs nationwide. Through May this year, the figure reached 129 — four more than in all of 2023. At one Seattle station, cables were cut six times in the past year, said Anthony Lambkin, Electrify America’s vice president of operations.
“We’re enabling people to get to work, to take their kids to school, get to medical appointments,” Lambkin said. “So to have an entire station that’s offline is pretty impactful to our customers.”
Two other leading EV charging companies — Flo and EVgo — also have reported a rise in thefts. Charging stations in the Seattle area have been a frequent target. Sites in Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Pennsylvania have been hit, too.
Stations run by Tesla, which operates the nation’s largest fast-charging network, have been struck in Seattle, Oakland and Houston. So far this year, Seattle police have reported seven cases of cable thefts from charging stations, matching the number for all of 2023. Thieves hit Tesla stations four times this year compared with just once last year, the Seattle police said.
“Vandalism of public charging infrastructure in the Seattle metro area has unfortunately been increasing in frequency,” EVgo said.
The company said law enforcement officials are investigating the thefts while it tries to repair inoperable stations and considers a longer-term solution.
The problem isn’t confined to urban areas. In rural Sumner, Washington, south of Seattle, thieves cut cables twice at a Puget Sound Energy charging station. The company is working with police and the property owner to protect the station.
Until a month ago, police in Houston knew of no cable thefts. Then one was stolen from a charger at a gas station. The city has now recorded eight or nine such thefts, said Sgt. Robert Carson, who leads a police metal-theft unit.
In one case, thieves swiped 18 of 19 cords at a Tesla station. That day, Carson visited the station to inspect the damage. In the first five minutes that he was there, Carson said, about 10 EVs that needed charging had to be turned away.
In very large cities like Houston, charging stations typically contain an especially large number of plugs and cables, so thefts can be particularly damaging.
“They’re not just taking one,” Carson said. “When they’re hit, they’re hit pretty hard.”
Roy Manuel, an Uber driver who normally recharges his Tesla at the Houston station hit by thieves, said he fears being unable to do so because of stolen cables.
“If my battery was really low, I’d have quite an issue with operating my vehicle,” he said. “If it was so low that I couldn’t get to another charger, I might be in trouble. Might even need a tow truck.”
The charging companies say it’s become clear that the thieves are after the copper that the cables contain. In late May, copper hit a record high of nearly $5.20 a pound, a result, in part, of rising demand resulting from efforts to cut carbon emissions with EVs that use more copper wiring. The price is up about 25% from a year ago, and many analysts envision further increases.
Charging companies say there isn’t actually very much copper in the cables, and what copper is there is difficult to extract. Carson estimates that criminals can get $15 to $20 per cable at a scrap yard.
“They’re not making a significant amount of money,” he said. “They’re not going to be sailing on a yacht anywhere.”
Still, the more cables the thieves can steal, the more they can cash in. At $20 a cable, 20 stolen cables could fetch $400.
The problem for the charging companies is that it’s much costlier to replace cables. In Minneapolis, where cables have been clipped at city-owned charging stations, it costs about $1,000 to replace just one cable, said Joe Laurin, project manager in the Department of Public Works.
The charging companies are trying to fight back. Electrify America is installing more security cameras. In Houston, police are visiting recycling centers to look for stolen metal.
But it’s often hard for the scrap yards to determine conclusively whether metal came from a charging cable. Thieves often burn off the insulation and just sell strands of metal.
The Recycled Materials Association, which represents 1,700 members, is issuing scrap-theft alerts from law enforcement officials so that members can be on the lookout for suspects and stolen goods.
Because charging stations are often situated in remote corners of parking lots, Carson suggested that many more security cameras are needed.
In the meantime, Electrify America said Seattle police are trying to track down the thieves in the video. And Carson said the Houston police are pursuing leads in the Tesla theft.
“We’d like to get them stopped,” he said, “and then let the court system do what they’re supposed to do.”
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AP Video Journalist Lekan Oyekanmi contributed to this report from Houston.
FILE – Joey Chestnut, center left, celebrates winning the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in Coney Island on July 4, 2022, in New York. Organizers announced on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, that Chestnut won’t compete in this year’s competition due to a contract dispute. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the reigning champion of the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, will not participate in this year’s event after signing a deal with a rival brand, organizers said Tuesday.
Chestnut, 40, has long been the face — not to mention the mouth — of the competition. He has vied for the dog-downing contest’s coveted Mustard Belt since 2005 and has won it almost every year since 2007, with the exception of a rare loss in 2015. In 2021, the Westfield, Indiana, resident ingested 76 franks and buns in 10 minutes, a record that still stands.
But Major League Eating event organizer George Shea says Chestnut is moving away from the contest due to a contract dispute.
“We love him. The fans love him,” Shea said, adding: “He made the choice.”
Chestnut disputed who made the choice, saying on the social platform X, “I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with.”
In a thread posted Tuesday night after the news broke, Chestnut said he had been training to defend his title at this year’s Independence Day event and only learned through media reports that he wouldn’t be allowed to compete.
“I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years Im banned,” Chestnut said on X. “To my fans, I love you and appreciate you. Rest assured that you’ll see me eat again soon!! STAY HUNGRY!”
Shea says Chestnut struck a deal with a competing brand — a red line for the Nathan’s-sponsored event. He wouldn’t say which brand but told the New York Times that Chestnut will be repping Impossible Foods, which makes vegan sausages. The company declined to comment on the deal. So did Chestnut.
Shea said the dispute came down to exclusivity, not money.
“It would be like Michael Jordan saying to Nike, ‘I’m going to represent Adidas, too,’” Shea said.
In response, Impossible Foods released a statement that didn’t address a deal with Chestnut but said that the company supports him in “any contest he chooses,” adding “Meat eaters shouldn’t have to be exclusive to just one wiener.”
In May, the company announced an ad campaign aimed at engaging meat-eaters who want to supplement their diet with more plant-based proteins, even if they don’t want to give up meat entirely.
The yearly bun fight, which dates back to 1972, sees large crowds of fans in foam hot-dog hats gather in front of the original Nathan’s Famous’ restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn, to cheer on the the competitors as they chow down. The contestants are allowed to dunk the dogs in cups of water to soften them up, creating a stomach-churning spectacle.
Those vying for second place in the past might have renewed hope to chomp their way to victory this year, including international competitors on the eating circuit.
Last year’s second-place winner was Geoffrey Esper from Oxford, Massachusetts, who downed 49 dogs to Chestnut’s 62. Third place went to Australia’s James Webb with 47.
This isn’t the first time the contest has parted ways with one of its biggest stars.
In 2010, Japanese eating champion Takeru Kobayashi, Chestnut’s then-rival, also stopped competing in the annual bun fight due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating. Kobayashi crashed the contest in a T-shirt reading “Free Kobi” and was arrested. He was sentenced to six months’ probation. Kobayashi announced his retirement from the sport last month.
FILE – Roquel Payton, from left, Alexander Morris, and Ronnie McNeir of the Four Tops perform at the All In Music & Arts Festival in Indianapolis on Sept. 3, 2022. Morris filed a lawsuit Monday against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, Mich. He is claiming racial discrimination and other misconduct during a 2023 visit for chest pain and breathing problems. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — The lead singer of the Four Tops said a Detroit-area hospital restrained him and ordered a psychological exam after refusing to believe that he was part of the Motown music group.
Alexander Morris, who is Black, filed a lawsuit Monday against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, alleging racial discrimination and other misconduct during an April 2023 visit for chest pain and breathing problems.
Hospital staff “wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill when he revealed his identity as a celebrity figure,” the lawsuit says.
The Four Tops started in the 1950s and had hits such as “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)″ and “It’s The Same Old Song.” The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Morris is not an original member, but he joined the group in 2019.
The lawsuit says a nurse finally believed Morris was in the Four Tops and the psychological exam was canceled.
The hospital offered a $25 gift card as an apology, but Morris refused to accept it, the lawsuit says.
“We remain committed to honoring human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all persons and the community,” the hospital said in response to the lawsuit. “We do not condone racial discrimination of any kind. We will not comment on pending litigation.”
Morris talked publicly about the incident last year, saying he had returned to Detroit, his hometown, and was “being told that I’m insane or schizophrenic.”
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Dontae Blackshear, 25, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and cocaine between May 2021 and October 2022.
Blackshear was charged as part of a drug-trafficking crew operating in Mercer and Lawrence counties in the Western District of Pennsylvania. As part of his plea agreement, Blackshear stipulated that he was responsible for conspiring to distribute 20 grams of fentanyl and 100 grams of cocaine. Blackshear has a prior state court felony drug-trafficking conviction from 2021 involving fentanyl and heroin, for which he was sentenced to one to two years in prison and was on parole
when he committed the federal drug-trafficking crime.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for October 16, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $2 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based on the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant. Blackshear remains detained pending sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Lawrence County Drug Task Force, Mercer County Drug Task Force, New Castle Police Department, Sharon Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the conviction of Blacksjustice