The Pa Turnpike is reporting a crash this afternoon, Tuesday July 13, 2021, on the turnpike I-76 West at milepost 14.1 between Cranberry Exit # 28 & Beaver Valley Exit # 13. The right lane is blocked. Stay alert in this area.
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Second Quarter Drug Seizure Totals
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Drug
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Total Seized
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Total Value of Amount Seized
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Cocaine
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281.13 lbs.
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$6,184,860
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Crack Cocaine
|
4.08 lbs.
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$65,280
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Heroin
|
22.18 lbs.
|
$754,120
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Fentanyl
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306.49 lbs.
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$4,903,840
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LSD
|
1,219 doses
|
$24,380
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|
Marijuana THC – Liquid
|
71.05 pints
|
$476,035
|
|
Marijuana THC – Solid
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365.79 lbs.
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$1,828,950
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Marijuana Plants
|
130 plants
|
$21,450
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|
Processed Marijuana
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831.3 lbs.
|
$2,493,900
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Methamphetamines
|
167.73 lbs.
|
$1,677,300
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MDMA – Ecstasy
|
2.38 lbs.
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$7,854
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MDMA – Pills
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2,601 pills
|
$39,015
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Other Narcotics
|
42.57 lbs.
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$85,140
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Other Narcotics (Pills)
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41,577 pills
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$1,039,425
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Total Value
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$19,601,549
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PITTSBURGH (July 13, 2021) — For the seventh consecutive year, Highmark Health has been named a “Best Place to Work” for individuals with disabilities in the Disability Equality Index® (DEI®), a national benchmarking survey administered jointly by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN®. The DEI is the world’s most comprehensive benchmarking tool for the Fortune 1000 and Am Law 200 to measure disability workplace inclusion against competitors.
For its comprehensive efforts to attract, develop and retain people with disabilities in its workforce, national blended health organization Highmark Health has earned a top score of 100. In 2021, 319 corporations utilized the DEI to benchmark their disability inclusion efforts. Out of the 319 participants, 191 companies received a score of 100; 58 companies received a score of 90 and 23 companies received a score of 80.
“It’s an honor for Highmark Health to have been recognized by the DEI every year since its inception in 2015,” said Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew; MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG; senior vice president; chief clinical, diversity, equity and inclusion officer of the Enterprise Institute of Equitable Health; Highmark Health. “Supporting an inclusive workforce and providing disability accommodations are more than the right thing to do. These actions make the health care industry stronger, because we are able to better serve customers, members and patients with knowledge, experience and empathy.”
This year’s recognition measures culture and leadership; enterprise-wide access; employment practices (benefits, recruitment, employment, education, retention and advancement, accommodations); community engagement; supplier diversity; and non-U.S. operations (non-weighted). Following the global pandemic, the DEI was modernized to add new non-weighted questions about innovative technology to advance digital and remote accessibility; mental wellness benefits; services for Deaf and hard of hearing employees, and flexible work options.
“We are so pleased to partner with 319 companies this year on the Disability Equality Index. Part of corporate commitment to disability inclusion is recognizing your stance and using it as an ‘aha moment’ to drive the business investments needed to scale change,” Jill Houghton, President & Chief Executive Officer, Disability:IN. “Inclusion and accessibility cuts across the enterprise, from cultural representation in the workforce, to technology acceleration, to incorporating supply chain diversity. These are tangible opportunities that leading companies can leverage to create sustainable impact for their business and brand.”
Among those practices earning Highmark Health the “Best Place to Work” recognition are programs and partnerships that help to recruit people with disabilities, including the Rooney Rule; a centralized accommodation process; support and leadership of organizations in the community that advocate for people with disabilities; executive sponsorship of the business case for recruiting, hiring and developing people with disabilities; supplier diversity and provider diversity programs; and enterprise-wide support of business resources groups (BRGs) through which employees with disabilities get involved in workplace, marketplace and community-wide programs.
Globally, people with disabilities represent over one billion people. Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and it crosses lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion.
“The Disability Equality Index shines a spotlight on companies that believe they have a stake in creating a more equitable society for people with disabilities,” said Maria Town, President and CEO of AAPD. “It is a conduit for our work championing disability rights for the 60 million Americans with disabilities and knocking down barriers to employment, technology and healthcare, and we’re thrilled to see the progress being made today.”
Highmark Health’s Abilities BRG raises awareness about the needs of, and offers support to, people with disabilities and their caregivers in the workplace, marketplace and community. The Abilities BRG encourages workplace inclusion, equality of opportunity and best practices in recruitment. Its members also build community partnerships through educational-to-career experiences for students with disabilities, advocate accessibility to Highmark Health facilities, act as a champion for customers with disabilities, and serve as a voice for those who care for or support people with disabilities.
The DEI was launched in 2015 by Disability:IN and the AAPD and is acknowledged today as the most robust disability inclusion assessment tool in business. Now in its seventh year, the DEI exists to help businesses make a positive impact on the unemployment/underemployment of people with disabilities.
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers faced a third straight monthly surge in prices in June, the latest evidence that a rapid reopening of the economy is fueling pent-up spending for goods and services that in many cases remain in short supply. Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices in June rose 0.9% from May and 5.4% over the past year — the sharpest 12-month inflation spike since June 2008. Excluding volatile oil and gas prices, so-called core inflation rose 4.5% in the past year, the largest increase since November 1991.
(Brighton Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that they were dispatched to the scene of a one vehicle accident Monday, July 12, 2021 at 7:37 PM on Interstate 376 east bound in Brighton Twp.
The responding Trooper reported that 28-year-old Nithya Rajendran of Beachwood Ohio was traveling eastbound on the I-376 when she lost control of the 2019 Nissan Altima that she was driving on the wet roadway. Her vehicle crossed over the left lane and struck the guide wire causing disabling damage to the vehicle. Rajendran was not injured in the accident and the vehicle was towed from the scene.
(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Pa State Police at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh are reporting via release that they have filed Defiant Trespass charges against 43-year-old Michelle Viviano of Sewickley for an incident that occurred at the Rivers Casino early Saturday morning, July 10, 2021, around 12:50 AM.
Troopers said via release that Viviano entered the Casino knowing that she was not licensed or privileged to do so, entered or remained in place as to which notice of trespass was given by actual communication to the defendant.
(Photo Courtesy of Heritage Valley Health System)
Moon Township, PA, (July 13, 2021) – Heritage Valley OB/GYN Associates of Sewickley welcomes Wenjun Zong, M.D., Ph.D. to the practice. He joins Rebecca Welch, M.D., FACOG and Tara Degnan, PA-C at OB/GYN Associates of Sewickley, which is located on the first floor of Heritage Valley Sewickley hospital, 720 Blackburn Road, Sewickley, PA.
Before joining Heritage Valley OB/GYN Associates of Sewickley, Dr. Zong earned his medical degree and completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency at Chongqing Medical University in China. He also completed a fellowship in gynecologic oncology and earned a Ph.D. in molecular oncology and biology at West China Medical University. Dr. Zong additionally had senior specialist training in gynecologic endoscopies in France. He finished a U.S. OB/GYN residency in New York. Dr. Zong was a research faculty member in urogynecology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Zong is accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment, call 412-749-8317.
HARRISBURG – As policymakers prepare to undertake redrawing U.S. Congressional districts, Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), State Government Committee Chairman Seth Grove (R-York) and Rep. Wendi Thomas (R-Bucks) announced a series of hearings will be held, and a website has been launched, to garner public feedback.
“Engaging in redistricting is one of the most important processes the legislature will undertake. From the beginning, at both the state and federal levels, the House Republican Caucus has said we are committed to a fair, open and legal process to draw new district lines to preserve our ideal of ‘one person, one vote’,” Benninghoff said. “The coming slate of hearings, the publicly accessible website and the ability for Pennsylvanians to submit their own maps and communities of interest clearly makes this effort the most transparent Congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania history. The work that will be put into this by the House State Government Committee shows our caucus’ commitment to a process-oriented approach that is reflective of the people’s voice.”
To give Pennsylvanians the opportunity to deliver their input on the reapportionment process, www.PaRedistricting.com has been launched. In addition to receiving public comments, the site will also be a source for information on the upcoming hearings and archives on hearings once they are held. In the near future, the site will allow the public to submit proposed Congressional district maps.
“Government should be transparent and that starts with how district maps are drawn,” Grove said. “At a time when public trust in government is low, it is vital that the voices of the people are heard. In that vein, the Congressional Reapportionment process being undertaken by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will be the most transparent in Pennsylvania history.”
The hearings will begin on Thursday, July 22, at the Capitol in Harrisburg with an overview of reapportionment from 9-11 a.m., followed by a hearing to receive stakeholder input from 1-3 p.m. Further hearings will be held in August, September and October in all regions of the Commonwealth. Additional details will be released closer to the dates of the hearings.
“The people of the Commonwealth, for the first time, will be able to give their input on how the seats are drawn,” Thomas said. “They will be able to make their suggestions in person at a series of hearings or online. In these divisive political times when many people have lost faith in their political systems, it’s critical that we open the system as much as possible.”
Every ten years, information collected through the U.S. Census determines the number of U.S. Representatives each state is entitled based on population. Once in receipt of that data, states are responsible for redrawing the geographic area of their congressional districts to ensure equal and fair representation, and the physical manifestation of the constitutional principle, “one person, one vote.” This process is commonly referred to as redistricting.