(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News Correspondent
(Aliquippa, Pa.) PA State Police in Beaver  have identified the second  person shot  early Sunday morning  at the intersection of  Main and Meadow Streets in Aliquippa. Tyquan Cornell Johnson  was found in the 1200 block of Franklin Avenue with multiple gunshot wounds . He told  police he was shot at the same  location where the homicide occurred. Isaiah Alston 22, died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to Coroner David J. Gabauer.

AAA: Gas Prices Lower in PA; Oil Prices Still Declining
Gas prices are four cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.249 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $4.249
Average price during the week of April 4, 2022                                       $4.283
Average price during the week of April 12, 2021                                     $3.000

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

$4.178      Altoona
$4.315      Beaver
$4.268      Bradford
$4.269      Brookville
$4.247      Butler
$4.242      Clarion
$4.276      DuBois
$4.246      Erie
$4.241      Greensburg
$4.244      Indiana
$4.205      Jeannette
$4.227      Kittanning
$4.238      Latrobe
$4.260      Meadville
$4.298      Mercer
$4.236      New Castle
$4.239      New Kensington
$4.262      Oil City
$4.240      Pittsburgh
$4.268      Sharon
$4.261      Uniontown
$4.262      Warren
$4.204      Washington

Trend Analysis:

The cost of gasoline has continued to slide due to falling oil prices. The global oil market has seen lower prices since the U.S. and its allies agreed to significant releases of oil reserves. Also weighing down oil prices is the fear of resurgent COVID-19 infections in China and its potential for an economic slowdown in one of the world’s largest oil-consuming nations. Domestically, the national average for a gallon of gas has fallen to $4.11. This is seven cents less than a week ago, 22 cents less than a month ago, and $1.25 more than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 2 million barrels to 236.8 million barrels last week. Gasoline demand increased slightly from 8.5 million barrels per day to 8.56 million barrels per day. Although less supply and more demand would typically support higher prices, the fluctuating oil price continues to be the main factor influencing pump prices. Pump prices will likely face downward pressure if oil prices remain below $100 per barrel.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $2.23 to settle at $98.26. Overall, crude prices declined last week following EIA’s weekly report, which showed U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels to reach 412.4 million barrels.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 72 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

(Photo Provided with release)

(GROVE CITY, Pa.) Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) Grove City Hospital is now offering training in the Stop the Bleed® program to area organizations through its Level IV Trauma Center. Stop the Bleed® was developed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) to raise awareness and educate the public on the importance of controlling bleeding in someone who has sustained a life-threatening injury.

The number one cause of preventable death after a critical injury is blood loss, which can be minimized by taking three quick actions. To date, over 1.5 million people worldwide have learned how to perform these actions to stop the bleeding in a severely injured person. “As a trauma center, one of our main priorities is to prevent trauma in the first place, but also to prevent loss of life when trauma does occur,” said Heather Erickson, trauma coordinator for AHN Grove City. “Instructing everyone we possibly can on how to perform Stop the Bleed® is one of the most effective ways to do that.”

Stop the Bleed® emphasizes that anyone can find themselves that person who is closest to a bleeding victim due to an accident or disaster, and the one who’s most likely to save him or her from bleeding to death. By teaching people how to address an actively bleeding wound through proper placement of a makeshift tourniquet, application of direct pressure or packing, bystanders become empowered first responders.

For interested organizations, AHN Grove City will provide a Stop the Bleed® training course as well as a Public Access Bleeding Control Kit of life-saving bleeding control equipment, such as tourniquets, pressure dressings and gauze bandages. There is no charge for the kit or the training course, which will be conducted by a certified Stop the Bleed® instructor, and may be scheduled by contacting Heather Erickson at heather.erickson@ahn.org.

(File photo from Pa Media Services)

(Harrisburg, Pa.) Pa Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a statement about President Jo Biden’ s announcement of closing the ghost gun loop hole
Shapiro said via release that “For years now, violent, convicted felons have been able to go to a gun show, buy an 80% receiver, and have it fully assembled and on the street in under an hour — all without a background check. I have long sounded the alarm that ghost guns are quickly becoming the weapon of choice for criminals and tried to shut the ghost gun loophole in Pennsylvania – only to be tied up in litigation for years by the gun lobby and ghost gun manufacturers. I have called on the Biden Administration to take action and today, those calls were answered. While I know this is only one part of the solution, having these kits and parts regulated will make it illegal for them to be sold to criminals and will assist law enforcement in investigations into crimes committed with these guns.”

(File Photo)

(Beaver County, Pa.) The deadline to file your taxes is under one week away and if you haven’t started working on yours, you’re not alone!
A new report from IPX 1031 shows nearly a third of Americans wait until the last minute to file their taxes and more than half of Americans (56%) don’t know the deadline falls on a different day this year.
32% procrastinate because they don’t think they will get a refund and 25% say the process is too complicated/stressful
Nearly a quarter will receive a smaller refund this year compared to 2021
The report also shows Millennials are the most likely to procrastinate filing their taxes compared to other generations, despite having the largest expected refund this year.
States with the most tax procrastinators: Nevada, Hawaii, Georgia.
Pennsylvania ranks 39th on the list.

You can see the full report by going to:

https://www.ipx1031.com/americas-biggest-tax-procrastinators-2022/

(File Photo)

(HARRISBURG, Pa.)  In response to Russia’s regional aggression and continued attempts to expand its geopolitical influence, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Monday passed a package of legislation that would invest in freedom by expanding Pennsylvania energy production, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) said.

“Pennsylvania has the ability and resources to invest in freedom by contributing to American-led energy independence for ourselves and our allies by increasing natural gas production and transmission capabilities to help end Russia’s energy dominance in Europe and other parts of the world,” Benninghoff said.

The package of bills passed by the House today that would invest in freedom by expanding Pennsylvania energy production include:

• House Bill 604 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would establish a permitting framework at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to ensure that decisions on permits are rendered reliably and in a timely manner.
• House Bill 2450 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would amend the Delaware River Basin Compact (DRBC) to reapportion the voting rights within the DRBC based on the amount of the basin territory that is within each state. Pennsylvania would have six votes under this plan, New Jersey would have three votes, New York would have two votes, Delaware would have one vote, and the federal government would have one vote.
• House Bill 2451 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz, R-Wayne/Susquehanna): Would amend the Delaware River Basin Compact (DRBC) to make it clear that it is not within the DRBC’s authority to ban fracking.
• House Bill 2461 (Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga/Potter/Bradford): Would require the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to establish a program to lease the subsurface rights under state lands for oil and gas development.

House Bill 637, legislation introduced by Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana), which would require legislative approval before Pennsylvania could enter into a multi-state carbon tax program like RGGI, is also part of the package and passed the House on March 30, 2022.

Passage of the legislative package comes on the heels of the Biden administration entering into an agreement with the European leaders to significantly increase domestic natural gas exports to these countries.

“Forty percent of the Russian government’s budget comes from its oil and gas industry, meaning the more petroleum products Russia exports, the more it can wage war and finance its pursuit of regional and global influence. Currently, the world buys between $5 billion and $7 billion worth of Russian oil and gas per week. While the United States recently banned the import of Russian petroleum products, European countries—currently receiving over 40% of their natural gas from Russia—have been unable to do so,” Benninghoff said.

“Increasing Pennsylvania energy production and transmission capacity can increase supply and exports to help our allies make the decision to join us in ending their reliance on Russian petroleum products,” he concluded.

House Bill 2458, introduced by Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia), which would establish the Philadelphia LNG Export Task Force is also part of the package and is scheduled to be considered on the Floor later this week.

(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News Correspondent

(Hopewell Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that a sudden onset of bad weather caused a three vehicle accident on I-376 in Hopewell Township Saturday.  Delbert V. Howze, 64 of Aliquippa  was  travelling east during a burst of bad weather and another vehicle operated by Vincent W. Harmon, and a third vehicle operated by Khalil Lamis, 32 , of Southfield, MI were all eastbound when they came across  a single vehicle crash.  Traffic slowed and came to a stop, according to  state police.  Lamis, vehicle, swerved to avoid stopped traffic , and left the roadway coming to rest in the median .Harmon’s vehicle  was able to stop and  was struck by Howze’s vehicle  Howze’s vehicle left the roadway, ricocheted off a guard wire  before coming to rest against Lamis’s vehicle. Lamis’s vehicle sustained  minor damage  from Howze’s vehicle. Lamis  reported no injuries. Harmon’s vehicle sustained  rear end  damage  and both juveniles in the vehicle were transported to Heritage Valley  Sewickley for head, neck, and back pain. Howze’s vehicle had disabling damage and he had to be extricated from the vehicle, he also sustained, head, neck, and back pain  and also was transported to HV Sewickley. Howze and Lamis’s vehicle had to be towed from the scene.

(Photo Provided with Release)

Keystone State News Connection

Emily Scott

With Pennsylvania’s primary election nearly a month away, older adult advocates want to ensure state residents are aware of major changes to the electoral process.

After the results of the 2020 census, Pennsylvania lost one congressional seat because of population decline. Officials also redrew state House and Senate districts to better reflect population changes.

Bill Johnston-Walsh, state director for AARP Pennsylvania, which put together an election guide, said the organization is focused on utilizing its 500 volunteers to ensure residents know how and where to vote.

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride this year for Pennsylvania voters,” Johnston-Walsh acknowledged. “AARP volunteers can help them figure out where your polling place is, make sure they don’t miss any important dates before the primary, and also figure out if they need a ride to the polling place.”

This primary Election Day, Pennsylvanians will vote for their party nominees for U.S. Senate and governor, with Sen. Pat Toomey retiring and Gov. Tom Wolf’s two-term limit up. All 203 state House seats and 25 out of 50 state Senate seats are up for election as well.

In 2019, Pennsylvania passed no-excuse mail voting, which now faces legal challenges after a Commonwealth Court judge sided earlier this year with some Republican lawmakers who say it violates the state Constitution. It now awaits a decision by the state Supreme Court.

Johnston-Walsh pointed out it has helped make voting more accessible for older adults and people with disabilities.

“We’ve been able to utilize the mail-in balloting aspect so that people could feel comfortable being able to vote,” Johnston-Walsh explained. “It’s their right to vote. People have realized that I don’t need to go to my voting place to be able to vote. I can do it from the comforts of my own home.”

While awaiting a decision from the state’s top court, no-excuse mail voting will be in place for the primary election. The deadline to request an absentee or mail ballot is Tuesday, May 10, by 5 p.m.

The featured image above shows a lion painting in the New Brighton High School Gymnasium.
Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published April 11, 2022 9:44 P.M.

(New Brighton, PA) The New Brighton Area School Board met for a committee meeting Monday night.  One citizen voiced their ongoing concern for a book that is currently a part of curriculum for 9th grade students by reading an excerpt of a mature situation to the board.  The novel, Speak, has been brought up at meetings previously for being seen as inappropriate by some parents, while the intended audience is for young adults.  Superintendent Dr. Joseph Gaurino commented that the district has no intentions of removing the book from curriculum and assured that students have optional alternatives if they are not comfortable with the novel. Another citizen had concerns over students being involved in suicide prevention programs, suggesting that the programs should be opt-in rather than opt-out.  Members of the board assured that the programs are state required and parents are given information about the programs beforehand.