PennDOT District 11 is announcing single-lane restrictions on Interstate 79 in Glenfield Borough and Aleppo Township, Allegheny County will occur Friday and Saturday, October 15-16 weather permitting.

Lane restrictions will occur in both directions of I-79 between the bridges over Glenfield Road and the bridges over Deer Run Road.  Restrictions will occur from 7 p.m. Friday night continuously through 11 a.m. Saturday morning.  Crews will conduct crossover work.

Future 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 I-79 in 2022 and 2023 for bridge deck replacement work. The majority of the project will conclude in the fall of 2023.

The prime contractor on this $26.49 million project 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.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane restrictions on Route 51 in Moon Township, Allegheny County will occur Friday night through Monday morning, October 15-18 weather permitting.

Matzie: $2.4 million awarded to fund Beaver County affordable rental housing

AMBRIDGE, Oct. 14 – Beaver County residents will have greater access to affordable housing, thanks to more than $2.4 million in federal funding awarded today, state Rep. Rob Matzie announced.

Matzie, D-Beaver/Allegheny, said the funding to Hudson Companies for the Wayne Court Development in Ambridge includes approximately $1.25 million awarded under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and nearly $1.19 million from the National Housing Trust Fund.

“For low-income families, housing expenses can eat up a huge chunk of the budget, and that problem has been growing as Pennsylvania families are facing rising rents and a shortage of affordable housing,” Matzie said. “The low-income tax credits awarded today will help offset this trend by bringing more low-cost housing options into the mix.”

The federal tax credits are administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and were approved by the agency’s board.

The funding is part of a package of $43.6 million awarded statewide for the construction of 1,974 affordable multifamily rental units. More information on the awards is available here.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“This has been a project years in the making.”

Those were the words of City Manager Charles Jones, who joined several other local dignitaries in the official groundbreaking of the new Library Park located on 7th Avenue next to the Carnegie Free Library. The new park will close the segment of 13th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, and will be constructed by Klavon Design Associates of Pittsburgh. The park is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2022, in conjunction with the to-be-completed Children’s Museum (which will be in the location of the old News Tribune building).

Jones was joined by incumbent Beaver Falls mayor George Quay, Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning, Klavon president Dina Klavon, City Community Development director Bethany Williams, and City Financial Manager Kevin Kunselman, among others.

It was also announced that the building located on 7th Avenue that used to house the WIC offices will be renovated to house an Innovation Hub co-sponsored by Penn State Extensions.

To check out photos from the groundbreaking, take a look here:

Keystone State News Connection

Emily Scott

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — October is usually the best time of year to see the bright, changing leaf colors that ring in autumn in Pennsylvania, but researchers say the wet, warm weather of the last few months may result in muted fall foliage.

When the days get shorter and the temperature drops, chlorophyll, which creates leaves’ green pigment, breaks down, while anthocyanin, which causes the red coloring, is produced. The ideal conditions for this are moist summers and drier fall seasons.

Pennsylvania saw one of the wettest summers on record this year and an unseasonably warm fall so far, which has led to a delay in the changing leaf colors.

Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and tree physiology at Penn State University, said when fall foliage is late, it can lead to a shorter peak period for viewing.

“We might have a sudden frost come about at any time, and when that hits the green or just slightly changing leaves, it will turn them brown rather quickly,” Abrams explained. “All those things could either truncate or be a further negative factor for fall colors this year.”

This summer was the seventh hottest and 11th wettest on record for Pennsylvania, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Abrams pointed out in central Pennsylvania, peak coloration is occurring about half a week later than it did about 40 years ago.

Among the types of trees in Pennsylvania appearing most impacted by the extreme weather are sugar and red maple, both major color-producing species, suffering from a leaf fungus. Even though the foliage has been disappointing so far, Abrams is holding out hope colder temperatures in the next few weeks will create stunning landscape views.

“Fall color can be really resilient and actually overcome a lot of these negative factors,” Abrams noted. “I still encourage people to get out there. Keep an eye on when things are starting to change in your area and take nice drives into wooded areas and try to seek out these really good colors.”

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources also offers weekly statewide reports showing where and when Pennsylvania leaves are at their peak.

WASHINGTON – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected a record number of firearms at airport security checkpoints this year, establishing a 20-year record with three months remaining in the calendar year and fewer passengers traveling due to the pandemic. By October 3rd of this year, TSA officers had stopped 4,495 airline passengers from carrying firearms onto their flights, surpassing the previous record of 4,432 firearms caught at checkpoints in the full calendar year 2019. TSA officers discovered 11 firearms in carry-on bags at airport checkpoints per million passengers screened so far in 2021. This compares to 5 firearms per million passengers in 2019.

“The number of firearms that our TSA officers are stopping at airport checkpoints is alarming,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “Firearms, particularly loaded firearms, introduce an unnecessary risk at checkpoints, have no place in the passenger cabin of an airplane, and represent a very costly mistake for the passengers who attempt to board a flight with them.”

Firearm possession laws vary by state and local government. Passengers can follow proper packing guidance for firearms in checked baggage and declare them to their airline at check-in. TSA advises that travelers know state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure to ensure they transport firearms in accordance with applicable law. Airlines may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition, so travelers should also contact their airline regarding firearm and ammunition carriage policies prior to arriving at the airport.

When passengers bring firearms to airport checkpoints, TSA will assess a civil penalty that varies by number of previous offenses and whether the firearm was loaded at the time.

The complete list of penalties is posted on TSA.gov. TSA PreCheck^® members caught with a firearm at a TSA checkpoint may lose their expedited screening privileges for three years or more. Firearms are not permitted in the passenger cabin of an airplane; this includes travelers with a concealed weapon permit.

Passengers may travel with firearms in checked baggage when they are unloaded and packed in a locked, hard-sided case. The passenger must declare and present the case with the firearm at the airline check-in counter and inform the airline representative of their intention to travel with the firearms. Firearms are transported with checked baggage and are placed in the cargo hold of the aircraft.

The reported data represents the number of firearms caught on passengers or in their carry-on bags at the nation’s airport security checkpoints. Excluded from the data are improperly packed firearms at checked baggage stations, toys, replicas, and BB guns.

Visit the TSA website for details on how to properly travel with a firearm.

(File Photo)

by Sandy Giordano, News Correspondent 

10:36 AM

(Center Twp., Pa.) The Central Valley School Board held its monthly work session Wednesday night, October 13, 2021. The board announced that anyone in attendance must wear masks or other face coverings at all times when in the district. Residents wishing to speak were reminded that they have a three minute time limit, and only speak once, and be respectful of others.