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ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say one person was shot at a school in northwestern Pennsylvania, but that person’s injuries weren’t life-threatening. Erie city and school officials said shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday that police had been called to Erie High School where the city said “a single individual” was shot. Officials said that person was in good condition and had been taken to a hospital. Erie Public Schools reported that the building was “on hard lockdown” and “evacuation by orderly dismissal” as soon as police cleared the district to begin that process. There was no immediate word on whether anyone was arrested.

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature has failed in a last-ditch effort to block the centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change, a regulation requiring fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a price for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. A 32-17 vote Monday in the state Senate failed to reach a two-thirds threshold to block a regulation written by Wolf’s administration that could make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy. It still could face a legal challenge in the courts from opponents. Otherwise, the compliance obligation on power plants that are subject to the regulation could start July 1.

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Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano
(Ambridge, Pa.) Ambridge Borough Police Chief John A. DeLuca informed residents  late Tuesday, April 4, 2022, that two suspects were arrested in relation to the recent car break-ins in the borough. DeLuca said his department has been working vigorously with extra patrols on all shifts  and several plain clothes details.

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(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Pa State Police at the Rivers Casino are reporting that they have filed charges against a pair of women after they were involved in a fight inside the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.
Troopers said via release that on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 4 AM, 34-year-old Ashley Clarke and 40-year-old Latasha Howard engaged in a verbal argument at one of the gaming tables. The verbal altercation escalated and the pair began to physically assault each other. Troopers said video surveillance showed the pair stand from their seats and threw left-handed punches at each other simultaneously. The pair then continued to throw open and closed hand punches and pulled each others hair. Troopers said the fight continued for approximately two minutes. The pair were separated by Rivers Casino Security Clarke suffered a laceration to her lower lip and irritation to her head. Clarke also ripped some braids out of Howard’s head. Witnesses told Troopers that the pair mutually engaged in the fight. Both Clarke and Howard have been charged with Simple Assault, Harassment, and disorderly conduct at the local magistrate’s office.

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) The Salem Media Group has announced that show host Larry Elder has decided to move on from the Salem Radio Network, after a six year run. The Larry Elder show is heard here on Beaver County Radio from 6-9pm Monday thru Friday.
The network said it will be announcing a replacement for Larry very soon. The change was effective immediately and started yesterday .
During Larry’s run for Governor of California last fall, Salem utilized Carl Jackson, a rising star from Orlando, to sub for Larry. Carl has agreed to resume the host duties for the foreseeable future, until Salem is ready to announce a permanent replacement.

Keystone State News Connection

Emily Scott

A civic-engagement organization based in Harrisburg is hoping to increase voter turnout in Pennsylvania’s capital city through education and meeting people where they are.

Michelle Mardenborough, founder and executive director of 1 Vote Counts, said she has noticed over the years despite being a politically active city, the number of people who vote has remained low. During the 2021 mayoral race, about 7,000 people cast their votes, in a city with just over 50,000 people.

Mardenborough said through what she calls “deep canvassing,” 1 Vote Counts hopes to have more people realize their political power, especially residents of color.

“We actually built relationships with our communities to really get them engaged,” Mardenborough explained. “We serve the most vulnerable communities. Our intention is to wake this city up one vote at a time in the areas that feel they’ve been left behind.”

Mardenborough confirmed they work with a pool of about 15 canvassers but are looking for more volunteers. May 2 is the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania ahead of the May 17 primary election. Mail and absentee ballot requests must be received by county offices no later than 5 p.m. on May 10.

Mardenborough noted their “deep canvassing” includes daily door-to-door connections in Harrisburg neighborhoods along with site locations on Fridays and Saturdays at supermarkets and other high-traffic locations. Mardenborough pointed out volunteers’ local connections to Harrisburg make their interactions with potential voters more authentic.

“When we come to the door, we make it known that, ‘Hey, we’re from the community as well.’ This is our community,” Mardenborough emphasized. “We love our community and that is why we do what we do. We want to see our community thrive. We want to build legacy here, so we connect with them on that level as well.”

Mardenborough added 1 Vote Counts also focuses on getting more people who have been disenfranchised by the criminal-justice system involved in the political process. In Pennsylvania, residents who are being held in jails pretrial are eligible to vote by mail.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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(Slippery Rock Township, Pa.) Route 8 in Slippery Rock Township, Butler County is closed this morning near the intersection of Branchton Road due to an accident involving a logging truck and a car.
Pennsylvania State Police are currently on the scene investigating. No further details were provided.
It’s unclear when the roadway will reopen.

Stay tune to Beaver County Radio as this story continues to develop

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(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Carnegie Mellon University announced yesterday that former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will be joining the Heinz College’s faculty as a Distinguished Executive in Residence.
Peduto will serve in a role as a guest lecturer and will also co-teach a mini course.
He served as the 60th mayor of the City of Pittsburgh from 2013 through 2021 and his term with the Heinz College will run through March 2023.

AAA: Gas Prices Down Nationwide; Oil Prices Ease
Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.283 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $4.283
Average price during the week of March 28, 2022                                   $4.309
Average price during the week of April 5, 2021                                       $2.993

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

$4.256      Altoona
$4.341      Beaver
$4.299      Bradford
$4.286      Brookville
$4.279      Butler
$4.282      Clarion
$4.293      DuBois
$4.259      Erie
$4.262      Greensburg
$4.281      Indiana
$4.249      Jeannette
$4.251      Kittanning
$4.296      Latrobe
$4.276      Meadville
$4.330      Mercer
$4.260      New Castle
$4.278      New Kensington
$4.279      Oil City
$4.281      Pittsburgh
$4.279      Sharon
$4.300      Uniontown
$4.299      Warren
$4.285      Washington

Trend Analysis:

Today’s national average for a gallon of gas is $4.18, which is six cents less than a week ago, 35 cents more than a month ago, and $1.31 more than a year ago. Gasoline prices have been decreasing across the country as crude oil prices have been on the decline for the past several days.

On March 25^th, West Texas Intermediate closed the day at $113.90 per barrel. During the following week, prices fluctuated in the mid to high $100 range until President Joe Biden announced plans to release one million barrels of oil per day for six months (180 million barrels) from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR is a collection of underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast where millions of gallons of crude oil are stored. Created in 1975 and managed by the U.S. Department of Energy, it is said to be the largest supply of emergency crude oil in the world.

The president’s announcement came as OPEC and its allies announced they would maintain a plan to gradually ramp up production with monthly increases. At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by $1.01 to settle at $99.27.

Domestically, dipping gasoline demand is defying seasonal trends for a third straight week, possibly due to higher pump prices and consumers altering their driving habits. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 800,000 barrels to 238.8 million barrels last week while demand decreased from 8.63 million barrels per day to 8.5 million barrels per day. The drop in gas demand, alongside growth in total stocks, also contributed to price decreases. If demand continues to decline as gasoline stocks continue to build, the national average will likely continue to move lower.

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.

Dennis Garrett from Knights Of Columbus Council #604 joins Matt Drzik on Tuesday to talk about the upcoming “Hike 4 Kidz” on April 30 to benefit McGuire Memorial, the St. Anthony School, and Saint Monica Catholic Academy.

Frank Sparks starts your morning with news at 6:30 on Beaver County Radio.