Keystone State News Connection (Photo provided with release)

October 12, 2022

Danielle Smith

With the holidays quickly approaching, the U.S. Postal Service is hiring 28,000 seasonal workers in the Keystone State and across the country. The Postal Service also plans to add 1,000 more truck drivers, letter carriers, and processing team members.

Kimberly Miller, president of the Postal Workers Union Keystone Area Local 1566, said the hiring blitz is necessary to keep up with demand.

The USPS was also affected by the pandemic and its workforce is logging massive numbers of hours.

Miller added the worker shortage means some post offices are closing their windows early, and could also experience delays in processing and on-time mail delivery.

“We’re struggling to maintain the hours, especially in the Harrisburg area,” Miller said. “We had Carlisle Post Office last year that went weeks without delivery – and until the union got involved and said, ‘Hey, look, this is an unsafe work condition. You need to clear the floor, you need to bring people in and get this mail to the customers.’ ”

This month, three Pennsylvania Congressional members sent a letter with a list of demands to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, asking him to address ongoing mail-service problems in the state. The letter detailed instances of late or inconsistent deliveries, wrongfully delivered mail, lost packages, as well as opened and stolen mail.

Peter Rachleff, labor historian and co-executive director of the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul, Minnesota, said as the country sees a comeback in union participation and organizing, it seems clear a younger generation of workers at the Postal Service will keep pushing for a better job environment.

“I think they’ve looked at what the previous generation experienced,” Rachleff said. “Which was ever-diminishing returns and for ever harder work, and they’re realizing that they need to take action if their lives are going to be better than the lives that their parents had experienced.”

Rachleff explained the U.S. has some strong workplace protection laws on the books, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, but he added that the agencies responsible for enforcing these laws are underfunded and understaffed.

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Wednesday evening, June 30, 2021, as final decisions of the term are anticipated. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is invalidating a lower appeals court decision regarding how rules for mail-in ballots had been applied in a Pennsylvania election. The decision Tuesday came four weeks ahead of the state’s high-stakes elections for governor and U.S. Senate. Pennsylvania’s top-ranking elections official says state court precedent means ballots from improperly dated exterior envelopes should still be counted. The U.S. Supreme Court effectively overturned a May decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had said mail-in ballots without a required date on the return envelope must be allowed in a 2021 Pennsylvania judge race.

(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News
(Hopewell Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) The Hopewell Township Police Department reported Wednesday morning that a vehicle struck  the Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery’s fence along Brodhead Road in Hopewell Township, Beaver County. Officers say that one person was injured and taken to the hospital for evaluation. Firefighters from Aliquippa assisted Hopewell at the scene. The accident is under investigation, according to police.

(Photo of the damage from an early Wednesday morning fire at EB McNitt Apartments in New Brighton.) (Photos Taken by Frank Sparks, Beaver County Radio)

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent, Sandy Giordano
(New Brighton Pa.) New Brighton Fire Chief Paul Bock reported to Beaver County Radio that the New Brighton Fire Department was dispatched at 12:50 AM Wednesday morning to a reported fire at the E.B. Mc Nitt Apartments in the 800 block of Allegheny Street in the Borough.  Chief Bock said the fire started in one apartment causing extensive damage. He said there is water damage to the building due to the sprinkler system that was activated. A resident  and a firefighter sustained a minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

Firefighters from Beaver Falls, Bridgewater, Beaver, and Rochester assisted at the scene. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
The Red Cross is assisting the residents who were displaced because of the fire.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

At the Beaver Falls City Council Meeting on Tuesday, the council approved its first reading of the agreement between the Beaver Falls Police Department and the Beaver County Housing Authority.

“This is just basically a renewal of an existing agreement, where we patrol extra duty patrols for the Housing Authority in all the housing areas of the city,” stated Beaver Falls police chief David Johnson. The fiscal agreement runs from September 2022 until September 2023, and the agreement is not to exceed $57,000.

The council also approved General Fund expenditures of $898,188.89, the approval for the Beaver County Behavioral Health Early Intervention to hold its “Trunk Or Treat” event on October 22 at the Human Services Building from 11:30 to 12:30, and for the repository purchase of 1303 9th Avenue. There were only four resolutions on the October 11 agenda.

Community Development director Rochelle Burks announced the first published edition of “Beaver Falls Buzz”, a community newsletter operated by the city council. The publication features stories and news regarding Beaver Falls, an events page, and commentary from local leaders. The newsletter is in digital format for the public at the moment: “We are working towards securing funding to print more [copies] moving forward,” Burks said; the only physical copies printed were to those in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. A digital copy of the newsletter can be seen by clicking here.

The next Beaver Falls City Council meeting is scheduled for October 25 at 7:00 PM at the City Building.

(File Photo)
(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Gas prices are eight cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.968 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $3.968
Average price during the week of October 3, 2022                                  $3.887
Average price during the week of October 11, 2021                                $3.466

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

$3.852      Altoona
$4.052      Beaver
$3.994      Bradford
$3.740      Brookville
$4.009      Butler
$3.982      Clarion
$3.790      DuBois
$3.933      Erie
$3.986      Greensburg
$3.992      Indiana
$3.992      Jeannette
$3.991      Kittanning
$3.991      Latrobe
$3.998      Meadville
$4.074      Mercer
$3.905      New Castle
$3.993      New Kensington
$3.999      Oil City
$4.006      Pittsburgh
$3.995      Sharon
$3.991      Uniontown
$3.999      Warren
$4.010      Washington

Trend Analysis:

The national average pump price for a gallon of gas rose 12 cents over the past week to hit $3.91. Today’s national average is 19 cents higher than a month ago and 65 cents more than a year ago. Higher crude prices and increased domestic demand are the main factors currently affecting gas prices.

The OPEC+ recent announcement that the group of oil-producing nations would slash output by 2 million barrels per day led to the price of oil creeping above $90 a barrel for the first time in several weeks. At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $4.19 to settle at $92.64. Additionally, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic crude inventories declined by 1.4 million barrels to 429.2 million barrels.

EIA’s latest weekly report also showed gas demand increased nationally from 8.83 million barrels per day to 9.47 million barrels per day last week. Total domestic gasoline stocks decreased significantly by 4.7 million barrels to 207.5 million barrels. High gasoline demand, amid tight supply, has led to higher pump prices nationwide.

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

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 71 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.

Emergency responders work on the scene of a carbon monoxide leak at a day care center in Allentown, Pa. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. (Zach DeWever/WFMZ-TV via AP)

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — An apparent carbon monoxide leak at a Pennsylvania day care center has sent about two dozen children to the hospital. Officials say none of the injuries are considered serious. Emergency responders went to the Happy Smiles Learning Center in Allentown on Tuesday morning on reports of an unconscious child. Authorities say the building was evacuated after air quality detectors worn by firefighters were triggered. The 25 children were being evaluated at the hospital, and all were listed as stable. Eight staffers were also in the building. The cause of the leak is under investigation.

(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio Staff
(Wilmington Township, Lawrence County, Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are investigating after a 46-year-old Volant man reported that over $2500.00 worth of tools were stolen from his garage.
Troopers said in a release that the burglary occurred in the area of Fayette Neshannock Falls Road in Wilmington Twp., Lawrence County, sometime between 10 PM on Sunday, October 9, 2022 and 6 AM, Monday, October 10, 2022.
State Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at the New Castle Barracks, 724-598-2211. The investigation is currently ongoing.