(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Western Pennsylvanians are getting a present at the pump this Christmas season, as AAA East Central’s latest report shows a seven-cent decrease in the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas. This week’s $3.46 average is down from last week’s average of $3.53 by seven cents, and down 34 cents from the average of $3.80 one year ago.

The Butler area matches the regional average of $3.46, with Pittsburgh coming in a few cents higher at $3.50 a gallon. Beaver County is higher still, with an average of $3.54 for an unleaded gallon this week.

Here’s the full numbers from AAA East Central’s report:

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                         $3.456
Average price during the week of December 11, 2023                                      $3.528
Average price during the week of December 19, 2022                                      $3.795

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.286      Altoona
$3.539      Beaver
$3.644      Bradford
$3.407      Brookville
$3.459      Butler
$3.471      Clarion
$3.431      DuBois
$3.388      Erie
$3.511      Greensburg
$3.458      Indiana
$3.485      Jeannette
$3.656      Kittanning
$3.468      Latrobe
$3.339      Meadville
$3.451      Mercer
$3.219      New Castle
$3.466      New Kensington
$3.423      Oil City
$3.496      Pittsburgh
$3.366      Sharon
$3.473      Uniontown
$3.602      Warren
$3.461      Washington

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
(Photo/AP)

As was reported yesterday, Pittsburgh based U.S. Steel was acquired by Japan-based Nippon Steel in a multi-billion dollar all-cash deal. Following the sale, Senator Bob Casey released a statement showcasing his concern about the deal:

“The United States’ marquee steel company should remain under American ownership. From initial reports, this deal appears to be a bad deal for Pennsylvania and for Pennsylvania workers. I’m concerned about what this means for the Steelworkers and the good union jobs that have supported Pennsylvania families for generations, for the long-term investment in the Commonwealth, and for American industrial leadership.”

The acquisition of U.S. Steel was reported to be for $14.1 billion, which nearly doubled the offer from rival Cleveland Cliffs earlier this year. U.S. Steel will keep its name and its headquarters in Pittsburgh, where it will become a subsidiary of Nippon.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins went a month between power-play goals, a funk that sent them plummeting toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

They preached patience even as they searched for answers and more importantly, goals.

The goals are finally starting to come. The wins, too.

Pittsburgh’s star-laden power play scored twice, including Sidney Crosby’s flip from in close 6:20 into the third period to break a tie and the Penguins edged the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Monday night.

Crosby added an assist to move past Hall of Famer Mark Recchi and into 13th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list as Pittsburgh won for the third time in four games. All three wins have come in games in which the Penguins have scored at least one power-play goal following their 0-for-37 stretch.

“It’s tough when you go that long without scoring, it’s kind of human nature to squeeze the stick a bit,” Crosby said, who added an assist and now stands at 1,535 career points, four shy of Joe Thornton in 12th. “And now I think we’re playing a little bit more (instead of thinking), which is nice.”

Jake Guentzel scored his 14th goal for the Penguins. Evgeni Malkin and Reilly Smith also scored, Valtteri Puustinen and Marcus Pettersson each added two assists and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 24 shots as Pittsburgh rebounded from an ugly shutout loss in Toronto on Saturday.

“No one likes to go through that experience we went through in Toronto,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s a humbling experience and I’m glad we responded the right way.”

Ryan Hartman, Jake Middleton and Vinni Lettieri scored for the Wild, who scored three times in less than 10 minutes across the second and third periods to rally from a 3-0 deficit and briefly pull even.

Filip Gustavsson, given the nod over former Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in perhaps his final visit to Pittsburgh, made 26 saves. However, he couldn’t stop Crosby’s eventual game-winner as the Penguins beat Minnesota for the ninth time in their last 10 meetings.

“I don’t know why we came out so weak today,” Gustavsson said. “Didn’t help when they got some power plays too. You have to restart after those ones. We were always on the back foot today.”

(Photo from Morgan Gruber’s Facebook Page)

(Brighton Twp., Pa.) American Idol contestant and Beaver County resident Morgan Gruber will be joining an already impressive line-up for the 5th Annual “Notes on Entertainment” Christmas Show on Thursday  December 21, 2023 from 9AM to Noon.

Morgan is planning on singing  her newly released Christmas song  “O’ Come All Yee Faithful” She will also be singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “White Christmas” along with her recently released single “What Ever Gets You Through It”.

Local Band the Hoot Owls will get the show started at 9:10 AM. Gruber will perform at 10:10 AM right after the news. After Morgan Beaver County Radio’s Curtis Walsh and his band “Better Think Twice” will perform. Next up will be Beaver County Radio’s JD Merkel. At 11:00 AM the big guy himself, Santa Claus will be in the house. After that at 11:35 The Beaver Valley Choral Society will perform and we will finish the show up with New Brighton native and country singer Dawn Savage.

(Brighton Township, Pa.)  Dale Reckless from MRS Physical Therapy in Bridgewater will have special Guest Matt Diesel, Owner of Diesel Sports Complex on the show to make a special announcement on MRS Physical therapy  joining his company in the delivery of Sports Physical Therapy in his indoor/outdoor sports facility.  Tune in at 9:10 AM Wednesday, December 19th, 2023.

The phone lines will be open throughout the show to answer your questions about knee pain or any other ailment you made need advice about at 724-843-1888 and 724-774-1888.

The show is presented on 99.3 FM along with 1230 WBVP and on-line at beavercountyradio.com.

You can also click on the Facebook Logo below at show time to watch the show streaming live on the Beaver County Radio Facebook Page.

In the meantime before Wednesday’s show check out the latest MRS Physical /Therapy Newsletter at :http://mrsphysicaltherapy.com/

(File Photo taken by Frank Sparks)

PITTSBURGH, PA – After deliberating for two days, a federal jury found companies operating two Pittsburgh-area nursing homes, Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services, LLC, d/b/a Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center (Brighton) and Mt. Lebanon Operations, LLC, d/b/a Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center (Mt. Lebanon), guilty of making false statements in connection with the payment of health care benefits and for the purpose of obstructing
and impeding the investigation and proper administration of a matter within the jurisdiction of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Brighton was convicted of six counts and Mt. Lebanon was convicted of four counts. Brighton and Mt. Lebanon were tried before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Additional individual defendants were acquitted.
Evidence presented at trial established that Brighton and Mt. Lebanon falsified staffing information provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and CMS to show that the facilities were in compliance with the conditions of participation in Medicare and Medicaid. The false certifications were provided to evade penalties that the government regulators could have imposed for failing to meet those conditions, including the condition that the facilities provide sufficient staffing to meet the needs of the residents.
Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for a date to be set in May, 2024. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of five years’ probation, a fine of $500,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen R. Kaufman, Nicole A. Stockey, Karen Gal-Or, Jacqueline C. Brown, and Robert S. Cessar, along with Special Assistant United States Attorney Aaron McKendry.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General conducted the investigation that led to the convictions of the nursing
facilities in this case.

(Brighton Twp., Pa.) On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, Tom Young from 1st Consultants, Inc. in Beaver will join Eddy Crow on “Teleforum” and co-host a guest segment on 99.3 FM and 1230 WBVP to talk about Macroeconomics and thinking rightly equals success. Scoundrels of Finance discussion. Tune in to find out the answers to your questions. The special show starts at 9:10 A.M. as part of an ongoing monthly series of multi media forums.

Change your mindset and you change the future.

Tune in on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. The special multi media presentation begins at 9:10 A.M. on Beaver County Radio.

You can participate in the show by calling 724-843-1888 or 724-774-1888. You can also ask your questions on Facebook Live.

Click the picture below on Tuesday’s showtime of 9:10 A.M. to be directed to the WBVP and WMBA Facebook page where the special multi media simulcast will be streamed on Facebook Live.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published December 18, 2023 9:33 A.M.

(Chippewa Township, Pa) An accident occurred along Darlington Road in Chippewa last night. Emergency responders were called to the scene around 9:30pm. The dispatch call stated that a vehicle struck a pole and that there were injuries. We have no additional information at this time.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio News Director. Published December 18, 2023 9:31 A.M.

(Beaver Falls, Pa) Emergency crews were called to the 11th Street Hill in Beaver Falls Sunday. Initial reports indicate that the vehicle rolled over and had entrapment. There is no additional information at this time.