Harrisburg, PA. March 9th – This morning standing in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Auditor General and challenge Republican Tim DeFoor for the powerful oversight role in 2024. At launch, he boasted the support of a majority of Pennsylvania’s Democratic congressional delegation (full list below), PA House and Senate leaders, Mayor Ed Gainey, and organized labor.

In his announcement, he discussed the critical nature of the role and his belief that “we need an underdog to be the watchdog for working families.”

He talked about his work in Harrisburg and how it prepares him to do this job. “As a State Representative for nearly five years, I have worked to protect workers’ rights, pass common-sense gun safety policies, and root out government corruption and waste. I’ve held multiple legislative leadership roles: as a member of the powerful State Government Committee with oversight on state agencies and elections, minority Chair of the Subcommittee on Campaign Finance and Elections, minority Chair of Automation and Technology in the Committee on Commerce, and a member of the Finance Committee.”

He also discussed his personal story growing up in a working poor family and outlined a bold agenda to reform the office and use it as a tool to “keep Pennsylvania families from being screwed.”

He highlighted a three-point agenda for the office that includes: Rebuilding the department of school audits (which was closed under Tim DeFoor), Creating a worker liaison and using the power of the office to take on wage theft, employee misclassification, and union busting, and Using the office to measure and support efforts to make communities healthier and safer.

Some of his day one endorsers released the following statements:

Speaker Joanna McClinton:
Malcolm is exactly what we need in the next Auditor General: tenacious, honest, and mission driven. I’ve watched him throughout his life and career center the needs of working Pennsylvanians. I know he will continue that work in this critical statewide role. I’m proud to endorse him.

Congressman Dwight Evans:
I’m proud to endorse Rep. Kenyatta to be our next Auditor General. I’ve served in Harrisburg and Washington. I know what it takes to deliver for people and so does Malcolm. As Auditor General I’m confident he will be a powerful and independent voice for common sense, good government, and fairness. He has worked hard around our commonwealth for years now — he can win and he will win.

Congressman Matt Cartwright:
Malcolm Kenyatta is unmovable in his support for working families and implacable in standing up to special interests. I’m supporting Kenyatta for Auditor General because I know he’ll be an independent voice for a government that works for us. He has the intellect, experience, and character to do this job. Malcolm is the Auditor General we need.
Mayor Ed Gainey:
I had the opportunity to serve with Malcolm and I’ve seen firsthand his commitment to working people. He doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walks. We need an Auditor General that is fearless and focused on making government work better. I have his back and I urge folks to join me.

Arthur Steinberg, President AFT Pennsylvania:
Malcolm believes deeply in the power of education and our public schools. He doesn’t just say it, he fights for it everyday in Harrisburg. The current Auditor General simply disbanded the entire school audits division to the detriment of students, families, and communities. When Rep. Kenyatta becomes Auditor General Kenyatta he will rebuild that office and hold all our schools accountable including cyber charter schools. We at AFT Pennsylvania are proud to have his back.

UFCW: We are proud to be amongst the first to endorse Malcolm Kenyatta for auditor general. Malcolm has been a steadfast supporter of our members and has always shown up when it mattered most. We know Malcolm has what it takes to ensure your taxpayer dollars are being put to good use, and we look forward to electing him as Pennsylvania’s next Auditor General.

Full list of endorsements:
Dwight Evans, Congressmember

Matt Cartwright, Congressmember

Madeleine Dean, Congressmember

Susan Wild, Congressmember

Summer Lee, Congressmember

Joanna McClinton, Speaker of the PA House

Jay Costa, PA State Senate Democratic Leader

Ed Gainey, Mayor of Pittsburgh

UFCW 1776
AFT Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) Time will jump forward this weekend as the annual Daylight Savings Time period begins at 2 a-m Sunday morning. Residents should turn their clocks ahead one hour before they go to bed Saturday night. Daylight Saving Time will run until November 5th. Safety experts recommend that people use this clock shift as a reminder to also check batteries in their smoke detectors.

(Beaver, Pa.) The Beaver County Chamber of Commerce has announced Friday morning that they have extended registration for their annual Gala to Friday March 17, 2023. The cost of the Gala and Silent Auction is  $80.00 for a member of the chamber and $100.00 for a non-member. The gala and auction is being held in Saturday, March 25, 2023 from 5-7 PM.  If you would like more information or to register click on the photo below to be directed to the Chamber Registration page.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro enters the House floor before his first budget address to a joint session of the state legislature, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (Dan Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s nominees for attorney general and state police commissioner received unanimous approval from the Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate. Wednesday’s vote confirmed Michelle Henry to be attorney general and fill the last two years of Shapiro’s elected four-year term in that office. The 54-year-old Henry was Shapiro’s top deputy for all six years while he served as attorney general. Before that, she was a career prosecutor from Bucks County. The new state police commissioner is Col. Christopher Paris, a lawyer and career state police trooper. He rose through the ranks of the state police in northeastern Pennsylvania to become one of four area operations commanders.

A view of the scene Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday, March 6, 2023 that Norfolk Southern has pledged several million dollars to cover the cost of the response and recovery in Pennsylvania after last month’s derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals just across the border in Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Norfolk Southern’s CEO is apologizing to Congress and pledging millions of dollars to help East Palestine, Ohio, recover from last month’s fiery train derailment. Senators are investigating railway safety and the Biden administration’s response to the disaster. In remarks prepared for Thursday’s hearing, CEO Alan Shaw says he is “deeply sorry” for the impact of the derailment. He says the railroad will “do the right thing” and commit $20 million to the response and voluntary safety upgrades. But a bipartisan group of senators wants to impose new regulations on railroads.

Harrisburg, PA – The Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) filed public assistance fraud charges against 52 individuals during January 2023. The restitution owed to the Commonwealth in these cases totals $349,835. Additional cost savings will be realized as the defendants will be temporarily disqualified from receiving public benefits in the programs they allegedly defrauded.

“We must protect the integrity of Pennsylvania’s public assistance programs, and that’s why OSIG is working to make sure only Pennsylvanians who qualify receive assistance,” said State Inspector General Lucas M. Miller. “I am proud of OSIG’s investigators who help ensure accountability with the Commonwealth’s public assistance programs.”

OSIG investigates and prosecutes public assistance fraud and conducts collection activities for the public benefits programs administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS).

During January 2023, OSIG filed felony charges of fraudulently receiving public assistance against a total of 49 individuals and misdemeanor charges against three separate individuals. It is alleged that these individuals misrepresented themselves and fraudulently received taxpayer-funded public benefits to which they were not entitled.

If convicted, the maximum penalty defendants face for public assistance fraud is seven years in prison and a fine of $15,000. In the case of SNAP, Cash Assistance, or Subsidized Day Care fraud, defendants also face a mandatory disqualification period from the benefits program they allegedly defrauded.

All persons charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Anonymously report suspected welfare fraud on the OSIG website or call the Welfare Fraud Tipline: 1-800-932-0582.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published March 9, 2023 10:27 A.M.

(Center Township, PA) The contractor for the project was present at Wednesday night’s works session  and  gave the board  an update, and one of the key points was that the electrical work is done in the building, he explained the progress is being made in the other areas of the school.

AMBRIDGE, March 9 – State Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Beaver, issued the following statement today in response to news that Texas energy company Vistra Corp. will acquire the Beaver Valley Power Station nuclear power plant:

“Vistra Corp. has a strong track record of success and a demonstrated commitment to Pennsylvania. They have been a good corporate citizen, not just in Beaver County but across our commonwealth.

“I look forward to working with them to ensure the continued safe and successful operation of Beaver Valley Power Station for our county and our region.”

Pittsburgh, Pa (March 9, 2023) – Allegheny Health Network (AHN)’s Allegheny General (AGH) and Forbes hospitals have earned distinguished three-star ratings from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) for their lung cancer resection surgery program. The award is a top honor in the field of lung cancer surgery, making AHN Forbes and AGH the highest-ranked programs in Pennsylvania, and placing AHN among just 27 centers in the United States to receive the three-star designation.

Evaluated every six months, the network has received the three-star designation consecutively for 18 months.

“Our use of innovative, minimally-invasive techniques to treat lung cancer, paired with our remarkable clinical care teams, have once again earned us top honors from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons,” said Benny Weksler, MD, System Director of Thoracic Surgery at AHN. “Public reporting of STS rankings empowers patients to educate themselves on how their local lung surgery programs perform, and we’re beyond proud of our proven track record of the best possible patient outcomes and clinical excellence throughout Western Pennsylvania.”

The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of U.S. and Canadian thoracic surgery programs. The star ratings are derived by testing whether the participant’s scores on quality outcomes are significantly different from the overall STS average for resection for lung cancer performed by other GTSD participants.

“On behalf of the entire Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute at AHN, we want to congratulate Dr. Weksler and the team of skilled clinicians that make this achievement all possible,” said Stephen Bailey, MD, Chair of the AHN Cardiovascular Institute and System Chair of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. “Their strategic multidisciplinary approach, advocacy for early detection and commitment to pioneering new medical advancements results in remarkable outcomes for lung cancer patients and their families, allowing them to return to their activities sooner with a better quality of life.”

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women, and cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer linked to roughly 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths.

Resection surgery is a common treatment for lung cancer, with treatment regiments also often including chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiation therapy. Types of resection surgeries may include lobectomy, segmentectomy, and wedge resection, depending on the size and location of the tumor.

At AHN and under the direction of Dr. Weksler, patients have access to a wide range of surgical therapies and detection approaches many of which are minimally invasive and assisted by the latest robotic technologies.

In October 2020, AHN announced it was the first healthcare provider in the Pittsburgh area to offer the Ion robotic lung biopsy system, an innovative new technology that helps physicians diagnose cancer at its earliest stages, when it is most curable. If patients are diagnosed and meet the appropriate criteria, they may also qualify for a da Vinci robot-assisted, minimally-invasive resection. This less invasive approach allows more than 95 percent of patients to return home in less than three days.

“Although AHN is known for its innovative therapies and advanced technology in surgical applications, it’s critical to emphasize that our network also collectively recognizes that adhering to consistent screenings and early detection remains critically important,” continued Dr. Weksler. “Approximately 80% of people who get screened and found to have lung cancer early can be cured.”

In its commitment to early detection, AHN hosts numerous free cancer screening events throughout the year which include lung cancer screenings for those aged between 50-80 years with a prior history of smoking. The most recent event was held in Monroeville last month.

According to the latest data from the American Lung Association, the rate of new lung cancer cases in Pennsylvania is significantly higher than the national rate and less than 10 percent of those considered to be high-risk were screened in 2022.