Harrisburg, PA – Today, The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania State Police, and motorcycle safety advocates joined forces to promote and encourage the safe operation of all vehicles. Governor Josh Shapiro has proclaimed May Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in Pennsylvania. As rising temperatures bring an increase in the number of motorcycles travelling on Pennsylvania roadways, the Shapiro Administration reminds drivers and motorcyclists to share the road, obey traffic laws and watch out for one another throughout the riding season.

 

“As more and more people enjoy the fun and excitement of motorcycling and the benefits of a more budget-friendly means of transport, it is in the best interest of both riders and drivers to share the road safely,” said PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kurt Myers. “Drivers and riders can work together to help lower fatalities and crashes by staying aware while driving or riding, obeying speed limits, and being responsible while operating any vehicle.”

 

There were approximately 3,369 crashes involving motorcycles on Pennsylvania roadways in 2022, resulting in 217 fatalities. Crashes fell by more than 200 from the 2021 number of 3,578, and fatalities also decreased from 230 in 2021.

 

“Enjoy Pennsylvania’s roadways on your motorcycle, but please do it responsibly and safely,” said Pennsylvania State Police Director for the Bureau of Patrol Major Robert Krol. “Don’t hesitate to seek training if needed, and never ride while impaired.”

 

Through the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program (PAMSP), Pennsylvania residents with a motorcycle permit or license can take advantage of the opportunity to earn a motorcycle license or refresh their skills through a variety of training to help develop safe riding skills, no matter how experienced or inexperienced. The courses include: the Basic Rider Course (BRC); the Intermediate Rider Course (IRC); the Advanced Rider Course (ARC); and the 3-Wheeled Motorcycle Basic Rider Course (3WBRC). Successful completion of a basic or intermediate course waives the requirement to take a skills test at a PennDOT Driver License Center and automatically earns the permit holder their motorcycle license. Motorcycle permit holders who complete a 3-wheel basic course will earn a motorcycle license with restriction prohibiting the operation a of 2-wheel motorcycle.

 

PennDOT contracts several third-party motorcycle training providers to offer these safety training classes free of charge to residents with a motorcycle permit or license. Interested individuals are encouraged to contact training providers directly for class availability, as additional courses may be offered, and providers may offer additional walk-in or waiting list opportunities when individuals fail to report for the training. Class schedules are coordinated by each third-party training provider for their individual locations. To find a local training provider, please visit PennDOT’s PAMSP Training Provider Locations page.

 

To ensure that only properly licensed riders are operating on Pennsylvania roadways, under Act 126 of 2013, after securing their first motorcycle learner’s permit, people may only reapply for a permit up to three times in a five-year period. When a person’s motorcycle leaner’s permit expires, the individual may retake the knowledge test and reapply for a new permit. If a permit holder is unsuccessful in obtaining a motorcycle license after the third permit reapplication, they must wait the entire five years from the initial issuance of the permit to get another one. This law is aimed at preventing the practice of continually extending the permit without retaking the knowledge test or ever taking the skills test and obtaining a motorcycle license.

 

Some safety tips motorists can keep in mind when sharing the road with motorcycles include:

• Watch for Motorcycles: be aware that motorcycles are small and may be difficult to see.
• Check mirrors and blind spots before changing lanes and at intersections.
• Allow more following distance: leave at least four seconds when following a motorcycle.
• Always signal your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic.
• Respect a motorcycle as a full-size vehicle with the same rights and privileges as any vehicle on the roadway. Allow a motorcyclist a full lane width as the motorcyclist needs the room to maneuver safely in all types of road conditions.
• Never drive impaired.

 

Motorcyclists can do their part to help avoid crashes by following some simple safety tips:

• Be seen by wearing reflective clothing and put reflective tape on your protective clothing and motorcycle. Also wear face or eye protection and a DOT-approved helmet.
• Use common sense by riding sober, obeying all speed limits and allowing enough time to react to potentially dangerous situations.
• Know your motorcycle and conduct a pre-ride check.
• Practice safe riding techniques and know how to handle your motorcycle in adverse road and weather conditions.

FILE – A worker rides a rail car at a BNSF rail crossing in Saginaw, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Tens of thousands of engineers remain frustrated with the lack of paid sick time and the demands railroads like BNSF are making in negotiations despite the progress that has been made in 2023 with sick time deals for most of the other rail unions. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tens of thousands of engineers remain frustrated with the lack of paid sick time and the demands railroads like BNSF are making in negotiations despite the progress that has been made this year with sick time deals for most of the other rail unions. The lack of paid sick time and concerns about demanding schedules took center stage during last fall’s contract talks. Several railroads have made deals this year to give some of their workers sick time. But the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen say the railroads are still asking for too much in return for giving sick time, and most railroads still want to penalize workers if they do take sick time.

Upper Darby High School students Rayan Hansali, from left, Tanveer Kaur, Elise Olmstead, Fatima Afrani, Joey Ngo and Ata Ollah, talk in the campus courtyard, Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Drexel Hill, Pa. For some schools, the pandemic allowed experimentation to try new schedules. Large school systems including Denver, Philadelphia and Anchorage, Alaska, have been looking into later start times. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

DREXEL HILL, Pa. (AP) — The idea of later school start times, pushed by many over the years as a way to help adolescents get more sleep, is getting a new look as a way to address the mental health crisis affecting teens across the U.S. Nationally, at least nine states are considering legislation related to school start times, up from four the previous year, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures. For some schools, the pandemic allowed experimentation to try new schedules. Large school systems including Denver, Philadelphia and Anchorage, Alaska, have been looking into later start times.

Shown are lockers at Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne, Pa., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases and bonuses for the beleaguered profession. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases and bonuses for the beleaguered profession. Some are doing it for the second straight year, as others vow to beat out other states competing for educators. Ahead of Monday’s start of national Teacher Appreciation Week, 26 governors are talking about boosting teacher compensation. That’s according to the nonprofit Teacher Salary Project. It’s not clear how far pay raises will go toward relieving the shortages. Some teachers say it’s too little, too late to fix problems that are years in the making.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing an overnight lane closure on the southbound Interstate 79 local lane in Glenfield, Sewickley Hills, and Franklin Park boroughs and Ohio and Aleppo townships, Allegheny County will occur Tuesday night, May 9 weather permitting.

The southbound I-79 local lane (right-hand lane) between I-279 and the Neville Island Bridge will close to traffic from 7 p.m. Tuesday night through 6 a.m. Wednesday morning to allow crews to conduct deck placement work on the bridge over Red Mud Hollow Road. All southbound I-79 traffic will use the crossed over express lane (left-hand lane).

Southbound I-79 traffic will not be able to access the Mt. Nebo Road (Exit 68) and the Emsworth/Sewickley Route 65 (Exit 66) interchanges. Traffic to those exits will be detoured.

Posted Detour

• Southbound I-79 traffic will take the Neville Island (Exit 65) off-ramp
• Turn right onto Grand Avenue
• Take the ramp to northbound I-79
• From northbound I-79 follow to the Emsworth/Sewickey or Mt. Nebo Road interchanges
• End detour

The work is part of the $26.49 million I-79 improvement project. Improvements include four bridge deck replacements, one bridge preservation, milling and resurfacing, preservation work on seven sign structures, installation of five new ITS signs, guide rail improvements, signage updates, and pavement marking installation. Crossovers will occur on southbound I-79 in 2023 for bridge deck replacement work. The majority of the project will conclude in early 2024.

The prime contractor is the Joseph B. Fay Company. Work on this project will be coordinated with other projects in the area.

To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for the I-79 Neville Island Bridge rehabilitation including traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – I-79” in the subject line.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA – Sen. Elder Vogel, Jr. (R-47) has announced that Stephanie Bengoa-Wilson from the Pennsylvania American Legion Veterans Assistance Program will be available on Thursday, May 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at his Cranberry Township District Office, 8001 Rowan Rd, Suite 205, Cranberry Township. No appointment is necessary.

Wilson can help veterans and their families with understanding the benefits they have earned, enroll in the VA health care system, assist with the appeals process, and more. Participants are asked to bring any documentation and paperwork they may need.

For more information, contact Vogel’s Cranberry Township District Office at 878-978-2575.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 8, 2023 11:37 A.M.

(Ambridge, PA) Residents are asked to move their vehicles the night before so streets can be swept. The borough street department has to be able to do the sweeping when the vehicles aren’t parked on the street, according to police.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT district 11 is announcing inspection activities on the Sewickley Bridge (Route 4025) in Sewickley Borough and Moon Township, Allegheny County, will occur  Monday through Friday, May 8-12 weather permitting.

Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on the Sewickley Bridge from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day to allow crews from Mackin Engineering to conduct routine bridge inspection activities.

Motorists should allow extra time if using the bridge.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

The photo above gives a peak into the new WBVP studio under construction in April 2023 (Frank Sparks).
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published May 8, 2023 10:50 A.M.

(Brighton Township, PA) William V. Day, CEO of St. Barnabas Health System and President of St. Barnabas Broadcasting, joined Beaver County Radio General Manager Frank Sparks and “Teleforum” host Eddy Crow on the air Friday to make a special announcement on the future of Beaver County Radio. Mr. Day announced the WBVP & WMBA studios will move into the former Michael Baker building in Brighton Township, which St. Barnabas purchased in 2018.  He says the move to the property “gives us access to do all kinds of things”, and added the relocation is “indicative of what’s happening in Beaver County. It’s a great place to live, great place to work, great place to worship, Beaver County is a great place, if we can further enhance the attractiveness of Beaver County, we want to do it.” A grand opening of the new studios will take place on June 17th, featuring special guests and a car cruise sponsored by Pennsylvania Hot Rod Company at the new studio site located at 4301 Dutch Ridge Road in Brighton Township.
Audio of the announcement can be heard below:

The move takes place as the stations celebrate the 75th Anniversary of WBVP going on the air.  The current studios on 7th Avenue in Beaver Falls have been the home of WBVP since the late 1970s, and WMBA since 2000. WBVP’s first studio in 1948 was located in the upstairs of 1216 7th Avenue (the building where Vocelli Pizza currently is), before moving to the basement of a bank at 1400 7th Avenue in the late 1960s.  WMBA started out with a studio in the upstairs of Action Tire on Duss Avenue in Ambridge in 1957 before making a couple other moves around Ambridge prior to moving in with WBVP. The move will make history, as this will be the first time WBVP has studios that aren’t located in Beaver Falls.
First WBVP studio location seen in background (1940s/1950s):         

 

 

The image above shows a Center Township Police Cruiser at the scene of the Monaca Walmart shooting in 2022 (Keith Walsh).
Story by Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published May 8, 2023 7:28 A.M.  

(Center Township, PA) The family of Kenneth Vinyard, the man who died after a Center Township police officer tackled him while helping a shooting victim at the Monaca Walmart, has agreed to settle their lawsuit for nearly 1 million dollars.

Vinyard was said to be tackled by Officer John Hawk, resulting in him hitting his head on the ground and later dying at the hospital. The lawsuit is reportedly being settled for 950,000 dollars. No other details are available at this time.