Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 13, 2024 2:14 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) A Pitt student has organized a fundraiser for Juan Hall’s dog Mazie  who was attacked with a hatchet causing injury to the dog’s ear and other injuries last month. The incident occurred at the corner of Main Street and Maratta Road at a school bus stop in February. David Askew, of Aliquippa is in the Beaver County Jail on felony and misdemeanor charges connected with the attack. The fundraiser will be held at the Marathon Gas Station on Brodhead Road in Aliquippa from noon to 6 pm on Saturday, March 16.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro is unveiling a plan to fight climate change. Shapiro says he’ll back legislation to make power plant owners in Pennsylvania pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would also require utilities to buy more electricity from renewable sources. Shapiro made the announcement Wednesday in Scranton. Such legislation would make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel-producing state to adopt a carbon-pricing program. However, it is likely to draw fierce opposition from business interests wary of paying more for power and will face long odds in a Legislature that is protective of the natural gas industry. Shapiro’s proposal comes as environmentalists are pressuring him to do more to fight climate change.

Smoke fills the sky after an empty CSX coal train hit a rockslide along tracks causing a fiery derailment, March 8, 2023, in a remote area just south of Sandstone, W.Va. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has reiterated his concerns about railroad safety and scolded the industry for not doing more to improve since last year’s fiery Ohio derailment. (Jenny Harnish/The Register-Herald via AP, file)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has reiterated his concerns about railroad safety and scolded the industry for not doing more to improve since last year’s fiery Ohio derailment. In a new letter to the freight railroads’ main trade group, Buttigieg acknowledged that the railroads say they are committed to safety. He also gave them credit for providing sick time to nearly 90% of their workers, and for investing in an extensive network of detectors to help prevent derailments. But he said that too often regulators encounter resistance when they try to get the industry to do more to improve safety, and the latest statistics show the industry’s track record hasn’t improved significantly despite the railroads’ efforts.

The results are in for Kennywood’s Vote for the Most A-peel-ing New Ride Name Sweepstakes to name the all-new Potato Patch® fries themed bumper cars.  Potato Smash comes out as the clear winner claiming half of the total votes submitted. With deep-fried determination, Kennywood fans cast almost 20,000 votes during the week long spud-tacular sweepstakes with one lucky winner receiving a 2024 Gold Season Pass and a year supply of Potato Patch® fries.

Potato Smash is well on its way to welcoming guests for this one-of-kind experience this upcoming season. The most appetizing attraction around is getting the total ‘tuber’ treatment during this off-season. Park teams have painted the Potato Smash marquee an eye-catching red and yellow with the iconic symbol of the Potato Patch® eatery. Brand new artwork now covers the walls around the bumper car track with imaginative Potato Smash designs that perfectly showcase the mash up of both beloved brands. Even better, more families can enjoy Kennywood’s cheesiest ride together – with the new experience comes a lower height requirement, too. Potato Smash permits riders at 42 inches tall and drivers at 48 inches tall. The logo for the new ride can be found here.

There’s even more newness in store in 2024 as the park gears up for Opening Day on Saturday, April 20. Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of all that’s new and improved for Kennywood’s upcoming season on April 3. RSVP through this link to secure your spot today.

FILE – U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks before President Joe Biden about his infrastructure agenda while announcing funding to upgrade Philadelphia’s water facilities and replace lead pipes, Feb. 3, 2023, at Belmont Water Treatment Center in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) joined U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce the Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act to curb the unsustainable levels of Mexican steel imports into the United States. The Mexican government is violating a 2019 agreement with the U.S. and threatening the jobs of steelworkers in Pennsylvania and across the Nation.

“When foreign governments cheat on trade, Pennsylvanians lose their jobs,” said Senator Casey. “It’s past time to make Mexico play by the rules. Just as I pushed the previous administration, I am going to keep pushing the Biden Administration to hold trade cheats accountable and level the playing field for American workers.”

In December 2023, Casey joined a bipartisan group of senators to call on the Biden Administration to take action to stop an unsustainable increase in Mexican steel imports. In the letter, Senators demanded the Administration set a clear deadline to enforce its 2019 agreement with Mexico and urged the Administration to take aggressive action to counter the increase in Mexican steel imports if the country refuses to comply. Casey previously pushed the Trump Administration to protect the American steel industry from trade cheats.

The Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act would reinstate 25 percent Section 232 tariffs on Mexican steel imports for no less than one year and empower the president to impose quotas or tariff rate quotas on specific goods where there have been major surges. The administration may only lift these tariffs once the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative certify that Mexico has adopted policies bringing it into compliance with the 2019 agreement and are confident that Mexico will maintain these policies.

In addition to Casey, Brown, and Cotton, the Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Boozman (R-AR), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).

(Brighton Twp.) Tune into 99.3 FM, 1230 WBVP AM, and beavercountyradio.com this Friday, March 13, 2024, at 11:10 for a new segment hosted by DJ Frye, from Frye Transportation, titled “Bus Talk With DJ Frye”.

The show will highlight the superintendents of Beaver County school districts. This Friday DJ’s guest will Dr. Jeff Beltz the Superintendent of the Hopewell Area School District.

Dr. Beltz graduated from Freedom High School and was a two sport athlete at Geneva Collège. He possesses over 20 years of experience in education. 

The show will also be streamed live on the WBVP-WMBA Facebook Page. If you click the Facebook Logo at show time it will direct to the Facebook stream.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 13, 2024 11:15 A.M.

(Crescent Township, Pa) The names of the victims in Tuesday’s house explosion in Crescent Township have been released. The incident claimed the lives of Helen H. Mitchell, 87, and her husband David L. Mitchell, 89. Mrs. Mitchell was pronounced dead at 9:16am, her husband at 9:29am, according to the Allegheny County Fire Marshal.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 13, 2024 9:19 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Uncommon Grounds, located at 380 Franklin Avenue in Aliquippa is hosting a free breakfast for military veterans on Saturday, March 16, 2024 from 9-11am. All non-veterans are being  asked for a $5 donation for their breakfast.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 13, 2024 9:15 A.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) Dan Engen of Draw Collective was present at Tuesday night’s works session and reported that 60 residents and a dozen on-line, participated in a community meeting recently concerning the possibilities of consolidating district schools to 3 buildings. Some concerns were addressed at that meeting included bussing students, is there enough land, playground space, and traffic. A  PowerPoint Presentation was presented options outlining what the district can do if consolidation is done.

AMBRIDGE, March 12 – Center Township and Rochester Borough were awarded $33,000 in combined grant funding to help hire and train new police officers, state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Beaver, announced today.

Matzie said the funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency – which includes $28,000 to Center Township and $5,000 to Rochester Borough – will help departments ensure that any gaps in staff or training do not compromise public safety.

“The funding is going to give our local departments more resources for officer recruitment and retention,” Matzie said. “More police on the beat means safer streets and communities, keeps individual officers safer and helps ease workload and burnout. It’s a smart investment that also benefits taxpayers.”

The funding is part of a package of grants awarded statewide to support Act 120 mandatory training and recruitment activities for law enforcement officers.

Eligible law enforcement agencies that do not cover the costs of Act 120 training may request up to $7,000 per new officer to support costs associated with the training, or – if they currently hire officers that are already Act 120-trained or the agency already covers training costs – may apply for up to $5,000 per new officer to support stipends, signing bonuses or marketing efforts.