(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)
(Hopewell Township, PA) Beaver County 9-1-1 reported that, before 2:30 p.m. on Monday, they received a report that an unfamiliar pitbull had bitten an 11-year-old girl and another child on West Wind Boulevard in the Autumn Ridge Plan.
The dog was described as a large pit bull mix. The girl suffered puncture wounds and was taken to the hospital, the other child’s injuries weren’t specified.
No other information has been provided at this time.
(Brighton Twp., Pa.) Tune into Beaver County Radio Tuesday at 5PM for the all new “Sports Corner” with Ralph Williams and Smokin Jim Frazier.
Tonight’s guest are Ray Fidepaldo from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Leo Haggerty from Amped Up Sports, and Joey Davis from draft 412.
The show will also be presented via Facebook Live on the Beaver County Radio Facebook Page. Just Click the link below at game time:
If you can’t tune into the show you can click the link below to listen on-line via beavercountyradio.com:
You can also down load our free apps:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Spurred on by train derailments, some states with busy criss-crossing freight railroads are pursuing their own safety remedies rather than wait for federal action amid industry opposition and questions about whether they even have authority to make the changes.
The activity comes after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed on Feb. 3 along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, prompting new legislation and reviving long-stalled efforts as backers voice skepticism that the federal government is capable of helping.
Legislatures in at least a dozen states have advanced measures in recent weeks, including some in states such as Minnesota that have witnessed disruptive derailments.
Some of the new requirements include provisions long resisted by the railroad industry. It contends it’s capable of making improvements and that its growing efficiency — including significantly longer trains and a much smaller workforce — doesn’t compromise safety.
In large part, states want limits on the length of trains that routinely stretch more than 2 miles long and on how much time trains can block road crossings — which can disrupt traffic and block emergency response vehicles.
They are also pursuing rules to maintain the current standard of two-person crews, bolster the trackside detectors used to identify equipment problems and require more notice to local emergency responders about hazardous freight.
The railroads argue that the industry’s overall safety record has been improving even as trains have grown longer and crew sizes shrank over the decades. So Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said in an interview that he doesn’t think it makes sense to regulate those areas.
“We’re going to follow the science and we’re going to follow the data,” Shaw said. “We’re looking for investments in safety that are going to drive favorable outcomes.”
And the state efforts to regulate rail are fraught with legal uncertainty over whether only the federal government can enforce such requirements. And Congress and federal regulators are considering similar measures.
Ohio moved quickly, with the Republican-controlled government enacting a new law within two months of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.
The evacuation from the fiery crash extended into Pennsylvania, where the state House of Representatives approved a wide-ranging safety bill in early June.
The sponsor, Rep. Rob Matzie, a Democrat whose western Pennsylvania district is home to a major rail freight handling hub, said he is satisfied with the state’s legal standing.
He said he is sick of hearing that the East Palestine derailment is an isolated incident, that the rail companies are making improvements or that the federal government will order safety improvements.
“It’s now time for this state to act,” Matzie told colleagues during floor arguments. “We can’t wait for federal regulations, which always seem to be in the works, but never quite get done. Or for federal laws that will never ever see the light of day.”
States maintain that Congress long ago gave them the authority to regulate aspects of rail safety that federal regulations don’t cover and that courts require federal law to be clear about when that responsibility rests exclusively with a federal agency.
Railroads, however, argue that federal law broadly gives federal agencies exclusive jurisdiction to regulate rail transportation and that state laws ostensibly aimed at rail safety often do not actually improve safety.
Prior experiences haven’t exactly inspired confidence that the federal government will act quickly.
For instance, a 2008 law requiring the deployment of positive train control systems — equipment designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments and other accidents — wasn’t fully implemented until almost 2021.
Then in 2018, then-President Donald Trump’s administration dropped a proposed rule that would have required trains hauling highly flammable liquids like crude oil to be fitted with advanced braking systems.
Two rail union officials — Jason Doering and Matt Parker — who have both lobbied for legislation in Nevada for years said it’s important for states to act because they’re not optimistic that Congress will pass meaningful reforms over the strong lobbying of the railroads in a polarized political climate. Plus, they said “the federal government’s approach to rail safety has historically been more reactionary than proactive.”
The Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine spurred legislation in Congress that advanced out of committee in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but its future in that chamber — not to mention the Republican-controlled House — is uncertain amid industry opposition.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who is a lead sponsor, said earlier this month that they are still trying to line up support and predicted “pressure by the rail lobby and, frankly, from some Republican leaders to weaken or kill the bill.”
Even though government data shows that derailments have declined in recent years, there were still 1,049 of them last year — roughly three a day. More than three quarters of them happen at slow speeds in railyards and don’t cause significant damage.
The industry contends that it remains the safest way to transport hazardous materials over land. Norfolk Southern and all the major railroads have announced steps to improve safety— such as by installing more trackside detectors that railroads use to spot problems and prevent derailments — though regulators and lawmakers have urged them to do more.
Investigators are still working to determine exactly what caused the East Palestine derailment. In a preliminary report, they said the likely cause was an overheating bearing on one of the railcars — but wasn’t flagged by a trackside detector early enough to prevent an accident.
Joseph L. Schofer, a retired professor of civil and environmental engineering from Northwestern University, said some rules being proposed at the state and federal level — for instance, minimum crew size — have nothing to do with the East Palestine derailment because that train actually had three people in its crew.
He also said state-to-state rules will result in chaos.
“What one state does to regulate the industry will have impacts on all states,” Schofer said. “Logically we ought to be able to establish a comprehensive, integrated rule set, based on a firm understanding of the rail industry as an integrated whole.”
Some bills were percolating before the East Palestine derailment.
In March, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation creating an Office of Rail Safety, with backers citing disputes with railroads over widening roads at hundreds of rail crossings, but also derailments there.
“This is the most substantive state safety bill for my industry in over 50 years,” a union representative, Danny Brewer, told lawmakers at a February hearing.
The new law empowers state employees to take over the safety inspections otherwise performed by federal inspectors, and also to scrutinize rail crossings and seek federal penalties for trains blocking highway crossings without justification.
New York is advancing wide-ranging legislation that includes standards for more safety equipment after Gov. Kathy Hochul called for rail safety measures, citing the East Palestine derailment.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill that requires railroads to promptly provide information to public safety agencies about hazardous materials being transported.
The Kansas Senate approved a bill to limit trains to 8,500 feet, but it is sitting in a House committee at least until the session resumes in January. Gov. Laura Kelly supports it, her office said.
Some measures have hit roadblocks.
In Nevada, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature on party-line votes that would have capped train length at 7,500 feet. Lombardo said in his veto message that the bill was a “policy overreach” and possibly unconstitutional.
In Pennsylvania, the House-approved bill faces doubters in a Republican-controlled Senate where top Republicans suggest that it goes beyond state enforcement powers.
“There’s some concern that what the House passed lacks enforceability,” Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, a Republican, said in an interview. “And I don’t think we’re ever well-served to pass bills that can’t have proper enforcement.”
(Sandy Giordano/Beaver County Radio)
(Hopewell Township, PA) An Erie County man was arrested in conjunction with a robbery in Beaver County.
33-year-old James Hribar entered the Snowy White Laundromat on West Main Street in Hopewell Township on May 24, 2023. He opened the cash boxes for the lottery machines using a crowbar, according to police, and took the money. He didn’t stop there, according to police, as he went to another business in the township, attempting to use the crowbar to open those machines. He was identified by people to township police, according to Detective Greg Durkos.
Durkos said Hribar is lodged in the Erie County Jail and will be extradited back to Beaver County for his hearing here. Detective Durkos didn’t have information on what Hribar is in jail for in Erie.
He is being charged with theft by unlawful taking and criminal mischief and a preliminary hearing is set for Monday, July 7, 2023 at 8:45 a.m. in Beaver County Central Court.
(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo/AP)
Kris Letang became the latest winner of the NHL’s Bill Masterton Trophy at Tuesday night’s NHL Awards ceremony in Nashville. The award is given to the NHL player voted to “best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey” as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
The longtime defenseman played in 64 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, despite suffering a second stroke in November of 2022. He returned to the ice in December, but then dealt with a broken foot at the turn of the new year, followed by the passing of his father, Claude Fouquet, soon after. Letang scored 12 goals and 29 assists for a total of 41 points on the blue line; three of the 12 goals he scored were game-winners.
Letang joins two other Penguins in winning the award: Mario Lemieux, who won it in 1993, and 1973 winner Lowell MacDonald.
Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed three of Governor Josh Shapiro’s cabinet nominations: Department of Education Secretary Khalid Mumin, Insurance Department Commissioner Michael Humphreys, and Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook.
Secretary Mumin joins the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) with over 25 years of experience in education – previously serving as a teacher, dean of students, principal, and central administrator. He most recently served as the Superintendent of Schools at Lower Merion School District. He also served as Superintendent of Reading School District, where he was named the 2021 Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. His experience promoting student achievement, equity, and access to educational programming for all students and commitment to fiscal responsibility has earned him national recognition as a “School Board Savvy Superintendent.”
Under Dr. Mumin’s leadership, PDE has awarded more than $8 million in competitive Safe Schools Targeted grants to 166 schools to improve school safety, awarded $6.7 million in grant funding to 100 schools to enable more high school students to enroll in dual credit programs, and invested more than $4.1 million in funding for 21 libraries in 15 counties for public library construction and rehabilitation projects. Secretary Mumin also launched a new CTE program to prepare students for careers in education, convened a working group of college and university presidents to develop meaningful reforms to Pennsylvania’s higher education system, and participated in a roundtable discussion with Governor Shapiro and Allentown students about Black Mental Health.
Commissioner Michael Humphreys
Commissioner Humphreys previously served as Acting Insurance Commissioner under Governor Tom Wolf and brings 15 years of insurance experience to his role, previously serving as Chief of Staff for the Insurance Department for more than three years and as Assistant Commissioner for Insurance at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.
Under his leadership in the Shapiro Administration, Commissioner Humphreys has led the Department’s efforts to strengthen enforcement and compliance of mental health parity laws in Pennsylvania to make mental health parity a true reality in the Commonwealth. Commissioner Humphreys has overseen the Department’s efforts to increase and strengthen its review processes of mental health and substance use disorder coverage in 2024 health plans, launched a new round of market conduct examinations targeting insurer compliance with parity laws, and is working to carry out Governor Shapiro’s priority of improved response times for professional licensing and pushing the department to work efficiently and effectively for Pennsylvania’s licensed insurance producers – including already reducing the processing time by half for most producer licensing applications.
Commissioner Cook becomes Pennsylvania’s first Senate-confirmed state fire commissioner and brings more than 36 years of experience in emergency services. Before serving in the Shapiro Administration, Commissioner Cook was the Deputy Fire Commissioner under Governor Tom Wolf. Commissioner Cook previously served as administrator of the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy and assistant fire chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.
In this role, Commissioner Cook leads the development and operation of Pennsylvania’s emergency service training program and supports the Commonwealth’s 2,400 fire departments and personnel. Under his leadership, Cook has modernized training opportunities to improve access to the State Fire Academy, expanded recruitment and retention outreach from the Office of State Fire Commissioner, and made fire prevention/community risk reduction a priority for the office going forward.
Gas prices are a penny lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.642 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average $3.642
Average price during the week of June 19, 2023 $3.655
Average price during the week of June 27, 2022 $4.979
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$3.694 Altoona
$3.731 Beaver
$3.699 Bradford
$3.521 Brookville
$3.669 Butler
$3.654 Clarion
$3.430 DuBois
$3.666 Erie
$3.667 Greensburg
$3.695 Indiana
$3.636 Jeannette
$3.696 Kittanning
$3.676 Latrobe
$3.668 Meadville
$3.709 Mercer
$3.491 New Castle
$3.685 New Kensington
$3.696 Oil City
$3.695 Pittsburgh
$3.503 Sharon
$3.566 Uniontown
$3.699 Warren
$3.609 Washington
Trend Analysis:
As Independence Day holiday approaches, drivers are finding prices significantly lower than last year as low oil costs are keeping gas prices relatively stable. The national average for a gallon of gas remained steady since last week at $3.57. That’s $1.32 less than a year ago and the same as one month ago.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased slightly from 9.19 barrels per day to 9.3 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 500,000 barrels to 221.4 million barrels.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by $.35 to settle at $69.16. Oil prices declined due to market concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve resuming interest rate increases, which could tip the economy into a recession. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased by 3.8 million barrels to 463.3 million barrels last week.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at gasprices.aaa.com
(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
On a rainy and cloudy night in New Brighton, the vision for the upcoming school year became a little clearer.
At Monday night’s school board meeting, the budget for the 2023-24 school year was officially approved. The new $27,907,797.30 budget will feature a real estate millage rate of 73.9627 within the district. Per Capita taxes under School Code 679 and Act 511 were each set at $5.00, as was the Occupational Privilege tax.
The budget was approved despite a continued lack of an announced budget from Harrisburg; a lack of communication not lost on Superintendent Dr. Joseph Guarino. “We have a legal requirement to pass our budget by June 30,” he stated. “We’re meeting our requirement, and of course we’re still waiting on them.”
Also approved by the board at Monday night’s meeting were a trio of contracts with KeySolution Educational Staffing for school psychologist, behavioral therapy, and speech pathology services. These contracts will run through Summer of 2024.
Scott Sullivan was officially hired as School Police Officer for the New Brighton School District, with a three-year contract carrying an annual salary of $65,000.
Several teachers were hired for the 2023-24 school year, including Michelle Keith (special education), Abbey Uebelacker (special education), Lindsay Aley (foreign language), Kaylin Clingensmith (art), Megan Alicandro (English), and Robert Wahl (science). Wahl’s hiring is pending emergency certification from the PDE, which must be sought after by the school district and maintained before the start of the 2025-26 school year.
The board will not meet in July; their next meeting is scheduled for August 14 at 7:30 PM in the Little Theater.
Photo from Beaver Area Heritage Foundation Website
(Beaver, PA) The American Association for State and Local History is bestowing a 2023 Award of Excellence to the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation and Museum for its provocative 2022-2023 museum exhibit and video documentary, “Saint or Sinner? The Complicated Legacy of Senator Matthew Stanley Quay.” The award will be presented on Sept. 8 at the AASLH annual conference in Boise, ID.
It is the second major award the Heritage Museum has received this year for its visually rich examination of the life and practices of Quay, the 19th and early 20th century Pennsylvania State Treasurer, United States Senator and Republican National Committee Chairman from Beaver. In April, in a ceremony in Hershey, the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations bestowed a 2023 Special Achievement Award.
Due to popular demand, the museum will keep the free Saint/Sinner display open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the end of November.
“The Award of Excellence is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history,” said Bethany Hawkins, AASLH chief of operations. “This year, AASLH is proud to confer 51 national awards honoring people, projects, and exhibits which represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history.”
Added Rusty Baker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Federation, “The annual awards are meant to inspire the museum field and impress visitors to museums. The Beaver Museum is one of Pennsylvania’s star performers, and we are proud to recognize its great work along with other museums and historical organizations throughout the Commonwealth.”
More than 1,500 guests viewed the Saint/Sinner display in 2022 and overwhelmingly cast their votes that Quay was more of a sinner than saint in his life’s work. The documentary, produced in association with Pacer Studios, captures the highlights of Quay’s personality and practices through the perspective of his biographer, 100-year-old Dr. James A. Kehl, who unfortunately died midway through the project. The 35-minute, highly entertaining video is posted on the Heritage Foundation’s new YouTube page. https://youtu.be/SjenXmcjdcY
All-new in the museum this year is an interactive video touch-screen presentation featuring 17 expanded clips of Kehl’s best sound bites, including some not shown in the documentary.
“We are grateful that our small community museum has been recognized not only throughout Pennsylvania but also the nation,” said Edwards McLaughlin, chair of the museum’s board of trustees. “It’s exciting to be recognized for our team’s work and thrilling to be counted among all of the great organizations that will receive awards this year.”
(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) is highlighting #SaveInPA opportunities to help millions of consumers manage summer energy usage and utility bills – including shopping with competitive suppliers, which could result in substantial savings on the energy portion of their monthly electric bills, as well as identifying ways to increase energy efficiency and conserve energy, especially during high-usage times.
The PUC’s electric shopping website, PAPowerSwitch.com, currently reflects offers from competitive suppliers in many parts of Pennsylvania well below the electric generation price available from many utilities. Because energy costs typically make up more than half a total utility bill, lower energy prices can have a noticeable impact on the size of monthly bills.
With the summer cooling season underway, now is a prime opportunity for consumers to review their monthly bills, assess energy usage and rates, and evaluate their options to manage energy costs and reduce the potential impact of higher summer usage.
#SaveInPA – Where Can I Save, and How Much?
According to a recent sampling of supplier offers posted on the PUC’s electric shopping website – PAPowerSwitch.com – there are substantial #SaveInPA benefits for consumer energy costs, depending on their utility service territory, potentially benefitting more than 4 million Pennsylvania households which currently do not use competitive energy suppliers.
The Commission noted that the greatest potential savings – ranging from 20% to 40% – are currently available in the service territories for PPL, PECO, and Duquesne Light (subject to changes in market prices). Collectively, those utilities serve many of the state’s largest communities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, along with many of their suburbs, as well as Allentown, Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Scranton.
The top service territories where short-term (three-month, fixed-rate, with no added fees) and long-term (12-month or longer, fixed-rate, with no added fees) supplier offers are substantially below the utility generation rate:
In each of these areas, potential savings are large enough to make a very noticeable impact in monthly electric bills – with estimated savings ranging from $18 to $32 per month for the average customer.
Elsewhere across the state, prices vary between suppliers and region, but average savings are still considerable:
The largest savings are typically available in the areas where current utility generation prices are the highest, but not all offers are available in all service territories.
What is Electric Shopping?
In most areas of Pennsylvania, residents can choose who supplies their electricity, based on price or other factors. For consumers who do not shop for energy supply, the Commonwealth’s electric utilities obtain power on their behalf. This is known as the “Price to Compare” (PTC) and can be used as a baseline to compare with offers from competitive suppliers.
Utilities reset their PTCs two to four times per year, using a procurement process overseen by the PUC. The electric utility in effect “shops” for those customers, and energy costs are passed along to all non-shopping customers. By law, utilities cannot make a profit on electric generation, as generation costs are simply passed through to utility customers.
It is important to note that these energy generation prices are separate from the closely regulated rates that utilities charge for their distribution services – the delivery of electricity to homes.
How Can I Shop?
Consumers can use the PUC’s PAPowerSwitch.com energy shopping website to explore and compare other offers from competitive energy suppliers which may provide savings compared to their utility’s default service rate.
The website provides consumers with valuable information on how to shop for electric supply services – enabling consumers to quickly compare offers from competitive suppliers against the default service rate from their local utility and learn more on switching to a competitive supplier, switching to a different competitive supplier, or returning to default service, should they choose.
Another alternative for default service customers not participating in the competitive electricity market may be their utility’s voluntary Standard Offer Program (Standard Offer) – providing those customers with the option of receiving service from a competitive supplier at a fixed price that is 7% below the utility’s current PTC. The Standard Offer price is fixed for one year and can be canceled by the customer at any time with no early cancellation or termination fees.
Note: Standard Offer may not be always available in all utility service territories. Consumers should contact their utility or visit their utility’s website for more information or to enroll in a Standard Offer program.
What Should I Look For?
It is important for every utility customer to understand what they are paying for electric generation supply, either through default service from their electric utility or a contract with a competitive energy generation supplier.
Key questions to ask include:
Consumers are advised not to sign a contract without knowing the length of the contract, the price, whether it is fixed or variable and if there are any fees. Information on fixed and variable electric rates is available on the PUC’s PAPowerSwitch website.
Consumers who have questions or disputes with an electric generation supplier or their utility may contact the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services at 1-800-692-7380. More information on understanding a contract with an electric generation supplier and electric switching can be found on PAPowerSwitch.com.
Managing Energy Usage
Additionally, consumers are encouraged to learn more about energy savings tips for managing energy costs. Energy usage is a key factor in the size of summer energy bills, and there are many ways that consumers can control that usage. Energy saving tips include:
PAPowerSwitch.com has interactive sections with more easy consumer tips for saving energy.
About the PUC
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.
For recent news releases and video of select Commission proceedings or more information about the PUC, visit our website at www.puc.pa.gov. Follow the PUC on Twitter – @PA_PUC for all things utility. “Like” Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Facebook for easy access to information on utility issues.