Shown is the wreckage of Francis Scott Key Bridge as seen from Dundalk, Md., on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

BALTIMORE (AP) — The controlled demolition of the largest remaining steel span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has been postponed because of weather conditions, officials said Sunday afternoon.

Crews have been preparing for weeks to use explosives to break down the span, which is an estimated 500 feet (152 meters) long and weighs up to 600 tons (544 metric tons).

It landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore. Since then, the ship has been stuck amidst the wreckage and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic.

Officials said the demolition had been tentatively moved to Monday evening. They said lightning in the area and rising tides Sunday prompted them to reschedule.

Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths in the March 26 collapse. The last of their bodies was recovered from the underwater wreckage last week. All the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. for job opportunities. They were filling potholes on an overnight shift when the bridge was destroyed.

The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and guided back into the Port of Baltimore. Once the ship is removed, maritime traffic can begin returning to normal, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure.

The Dali’s 21-member crew will stay onboard the ship while the explosives are detonated.

William Marks, a spokesperson for the crew, said they would shelter “in a designated safe place” during the demolition. “All precautions are being taken to ensure everyone’s safety,” he said in an email.

Officials said the demolition is the safest and most efficient way to remove steel under a high level of pressure and tension.

“It’s unsafe for the workers to be on or in the immediate vicinity of the bridge truss for those final cuts,” officials said in a news release Sunday.

In a videographic released last week, authorities said engineers are using precision cuts to control how the trusses break down. They said the method allows for “surgical precision” and the steel structure will be “thrust away from the Dali” when the explosives send it tumbling into the water.

Once it’s demolished, hydraulic grabbers will lift the resulting sections of steel onto barges.

“It’s important to note that this controlled demolition is not like what you would see in a movie,” the video says, noting that from a distance it will sound like fireworks or loud thunder and give off puffs of smoke.

So far, about 6,000 tons (5,443 metric tons) of steel and concrete have been removed from the collapse site. Officials estimate the total amount of wreckage at 50,000 tons (45,359 metric tons), about the equivalent of 3,800 loaded dump trucks.

Officials previously said they hoped to remove the Dali by May 10 and reopen the port’s 50-foot (15.2-meter) main channel by the end of May.

The Dali is currently scheduled to be refloated during high tide on Tuesday, officials said Sunday. They said three or four tugboats will be used to guide the ship to a nearby terminal in the Port of Baltimore. It will likely remain there for a few weeks and undergo temporary repairs before being moved to a shipyard for more substantial repairs.

The Dali crew members haven’t been allowed to leave the vessel since the disaster. Officials said they have been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting investigations into the bridge collapse.

Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn’t get far. Its crew sent a mayday call saying they had lost power and had no control of the steering system. Minutes later, the ship rammed into the bridge.

Officials have said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 13, 2024 12:37 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) St. Elijah Serbian Orthodox Church’s event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19 from noon to 4 pm at the church’s center located at 2200 Irwin Street. Among the food to be served will be oven roasted lamb, gibanica,(cheese casserole), burek, cevapi’s , sarma (pigs in a blanket), roasted chicken, many Serbian style side dishes, soups are beans and sauerkraut, and homemade noodle soup. The noodles are made by volunteers.

Beaver, PA (May 13, 2024) – High school junior girls from across Beaver County will join in Rochester for the Distinguished Young Women of Beaver County program to be held Saturday, May 18 at the Sandy Reigel Theater in Rochester. Participants will compete for cash and in-kind college scholarships and the opportunity to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Pennsylvania for 2025.

The program is open to the public and will begin at 3 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $15, or for purchase ahead of time via Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/886971294017?aff=oddtdtcreator).

The 4 young women competing will be evaluated by a panel of five judges in the following categories: Scholastics (25%), Interview (25%), Talent (20%), Fitness (15%), and Self-Expression (15%). The participant selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Beaver County will advance to the state level at the Distinguished Young Women of Pennsylvania program in Pittsburgh, Penn.., on July 27, 2024, where she will join with other representatives from across the state in competing for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent the program at the 68th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile, Ala. In June of 2025.

Distinguished Young Women of Beaver County celebrates the following participants:

Emmarson Anderson of Beaver Falls (Blackhawk); Aubrey Bowman of Beaver Falls (Blackhawk); Emily Cochran of Beaver Falls (Blackhawk); and Danica Purtell of Beaver (Beaver). 

For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Beaver County or to set up an interview with the current representative ahead of this year’s program, please contact Mackenzie Longo at beaver@distinguishedyw.org. 

About Distinguished Young Women

Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is a free program that encourages participants to reach their full individual potential. Our mission is to empower young women by providing over $1 billion in scholarship opportunities, connecting with a nationwide network of women, developing their self-confidence, and participating in our Life Skills Workshops that prepare them for success after high school. National sponsors include Barbara Barrington Jones Family Foundation, Mobile County, City of Mobile, Alabama Power Foundation, Master Boat Builders, Shoe Station and the Barkin Family, Gant Travel Management, the Coffeen Family, Regions Financial Corporation, Jostens and Alabama Media Group.

For more information about Distinguished Young Women, contact Brittany Otis, National Headquarters Marketing and Communications Director, at 251-438-3621 or Brittany@DistinguishedYW.org or visit www.DistinguishedYW.org. 

(File photo of federal court in Pittsburgh)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, was charged in federal court with securities fraud, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Frank T. Poerio Jr., 62, was charged by criminal Information with four counts of securities fraud.
According to the Information, Poerio used sensitive, material non-public information
(MNPI) obtained from a Dick’s Sporting Goods employee to engage in nearly 200 trades of the company’s securities on the New York Stock Exchange, including the purchase of individual shares and call option contracts. The trading allegedly occurred between August 2019 and May 2021 when the insider worked in a data analytics role at the company’s corporate offices in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania. The trades allegedly netted approximately $823,000 in profit for Poerio. As alleged, Poerio knew the Dick’s employee and spoke often with the employee about finances and investing.
Several of the alleged trading incidents occurred in the days immediately preceding Dick’s release of periodic earnings statements—so called “blackout” periods, when Dick’s employees were prohibited from trading in the company’s securities.
At each count, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a $5 million fine, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed by the court would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant, among other factors.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Poerio.
A criminal Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The filing of an Information generally indicates that the defendant intends to enter a guilty plea.

(File image provided by Penn Dot)

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is advising motorists that line painting operations on various roadways in Beaver county will occur Monday through Saturday, May 13-18 weather permitting.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing utility work on Golf Course Road (Route 3014) in the City of Aliquippa and Hopewell Township, Beaver County will begin Monday, May 13 weather permitting.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on Route 551 (Wallace Run Road, Market Street, Fifth Street, Hollow Road) and Route 168 (Market Street) in various municipalities in Beaver County will begin Monday, May 13 weather permitting.

CARNEGIE, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) announced that Allegheny and Beaver Counties will collectively receive more than $13.7 million in federal funding to build, renovate, and modernize the public housing stock. This funding is from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to all public housing authorities across America.

“I am proud to announce that HUD awarded more than $13.7 million to improve public housing facilities in Allegheny and Beaver Counties,” said Rep. Deluzio. “With housing costs out of reach for so many, investments like these can help make sure that public housing in Pennsylvania’s 17^th Congressional District is safe, up-to-date, and serving the needs of our community.”

Specifically, Allegheny County Housing Authority is slotted to receive $7,785,864 and the Housing Authority of the County of Beaver will receive $5,924,032. Eligible residents can apply for public housing through the Allegheny County Housing Authority or through the Housing Authority of the County of Beaver.

FILE – Violent insurrectionists loyal to then-President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two men on opposite sides of the metal barricades during the riot at the U.S. Capitol are running for Congress on the same day. Derrick Evans served three months in federal prison on a felony civil disorder charge. He’s challenging Rep. Carol Miller in Tuesday’s West Virginia Republican primary. Harry Dunn was a Capitol Police officer who defended lawmakers from attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Dunn is part of a crowded field seeking the Democratic nomination for a congressional seat in Maryland. Their candidacies at least raise the possibility that they could serve alongside one another while holding starkly different views of the violence and destruction of Jan. 6.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will sign legislation to criminalize the misuse of a powerful animal tranquilizer called xylazine that is showing up in supplies of illicit drugs and contributing to a growing number of human overdose deaths. Shapiro received the bill Wednesday after it received approval from the state House of Representatives and the Senate in the past week. Under the bill, Xylazine will be listed as a “schedule III” drug under Pennsylvania’s controlled substance law, formalizing an order that Shapiro issued last year when Pennsylvania joined a growing list of states that were moving to restrict access to Xylazine. It will remain legal for its intended use by veterinarians.