Keystone State News Connection

March 25, 2022

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Emily Scott

With COVID cases waning, more employers are asking workers to return to the office for the first time since the pandemic began, and mental health professionals said there are ways to manage the stress and anxiety from this big change.

Rates of anxiety and depression among U.S. adults were four times higher between April 2020 and August 2021 than they were in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Hillary Ammon, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, said a change in routine, like where you work, can be a stressor, but there are ways to manage those feelings.

“What I would recommend is for people to start to try to get into some of those routines that might look similar to the workplace,” Ammon advised. “So if that really is, you know, you have a very structured day at your work, and you had more flexibility working from home, can you try to structure your day so that it looks more similar to that work environment?”

Ammon suggested practicing driving or taking public transportation to help ease back into your commute, along with meal planning and preparation.

Dr. Nicole Brady, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare’s employer and individual business in Wisconsin and Michigan, said fears around catching COVID at the office can also be a trigger for stress. She urged having an open line of communication with your employer about what protocols are in place to prevent spreading the virus.

“We all know that masks are effective and certainly are reasonable at any time, despite what the levels may be in your community at that time,” Brady pointed out. “We know that vaccines are highly effective at preventing infection.”

Other tips include suggesting staggered work hours or days to your manager, to limit the number of people in the office at one time. The CDC recommends employees experiencing COVID symptoms notify their supervisors, get tested, and stay home until they feel better.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

On March 24, 2022, the push to “close the digital divide” in Beaver County was made official.

The Beaver County Office of Planning and Redevelopment launched “Connect Beaver County” on Thursday at a press conference at the Western Beaver School District in Industry. BCOPR President Lance Grable was joined by several fellow county leaders and state representatives at the conference; all of whom were firmly enthusiastic about the launch of this program.

“What Beaver County is doing is amazing,” remarked State Representative Pam Snyder of Greene County. “I have never felt so good about an issue as I do with what we have done here and what we are gonna be able to do for every Pennsylvanian.” Snyder co-sponsored House Bill 2071 to develop the PA Broadband Development Authority. The bill was advanced to become Act 96 with the help of Beaver County State Representatives Jim Marshall and Rob Matzie, who were in attendance.

The Connect Beaver County program will focus on five key issues regarding broadband:

1. Creating new broadband service
2. A new digital navigator program
3. Connecting towers owned by the county
4. Establishing a broadband utility connection fund
5. Continued analysis and data collection towards digital equity

The immediate actions of Connect Beaver County are the launch of their website–connectbeavercounty.com–and the start of two broadband service installations in northern Beaver County. One will be in Hanover Township covering Hanover Kendall Road, Airline Drive, and Hanny Beaver Road–the other will be along Route 551 (along with Stitt Road) covering Big Beaver, South Beaver, and Darlington Townships.

“This is exciting to us,” said Lew Vilotti of the Beaver County Corporation for Economic Development, “because not only can we say that Beaver County is on the forefront, but it will also provide an essential service that allows us to grow our companies, start new ones, to keep them here, and to attract them.”

Also in attendance were Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp, State Representative Josh Kail, EMS director Eric Brewer, Jeremy Jurick of Michael Baker International, and  Dr. Eric Rosendale of the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit.

Along with the new website, Connect Beaver County can be reached through email or by calling (724) 495-4300.

Keystone State News Connection

March 24, 2022

Emily Scott

The United States and Britain have struck a deal to remove U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum along with U.K. tariffs on U.S. bluejeans, whiskey and motorcycles.

Some Pennsylvania lawmakers said the steel tariffs have been key to leveling the global playing field. In 2018, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act was used to impose 25% and 10% tariffs, respectively, on some steel and aluminum imports to stabilize domestic production.

Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, co-chair of the House Steel Caucus, said we should be cautious as the U.S. eases these tariffs on some countries.

“If we relax the Section 232 majors, foreign steel production in other countries that have little or no environmental regulations will stand to capture more market share,” Burns explained. “And put our workers in jeopardy because they’ll continue to dump cheap foreign steel into the United States.”

Pennsylvania’s steel industry employs more than 34,000 people, who earn $3.14 billion in wages and salaries annually.

Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Allegheny, the other co-chair of the House Steel Caucus, said one concern is some countries do not follow the same strict regulations American steelworkers and companies do.

“China’s government heavily subsidizes its companies, most of which are in fact state-owned or controlled, meaning that they can price their goods far below market value,” Mihalek asserted. “Companies here in the United States and in Pennsylvania, our workers face tougher labor and environmental laws than the competitors abroad.”

China is the number one producer of steel globally, according to the World Steel Association, although its production outstrips domestic demand. Last month, the U.S. announced it was relaxing the Section 232 tariffs on Japan and the European Union.

(Oil drilling derricks at desert oilfield for fossil fuels output and crude oil production from the ground. Oil drill rig and pump jack. Photo provided by Keystone State News Connection)

Keystone State News Connection

March 24, 2022

Emily Scott

As gas prices across the country are at record levels due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, elected officials who are also military veterans are calling on the Biden administration to invoke the
Defense Production Act to accelerate a clean-energy transition.

The rise in gas prices is connected to the ban on the importation of Russian oil as a result of Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.

Joel Hicks, a city council member in the Borough of Carlisle and a 20-year Navy veteran, said during a news conference hosted by Elected Officials to Protect America, U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a threat to national security and to the planet.

“The only way to free democratic countries from the grip of autocratic oil-producing nations is to accelerate this transition,” Hicks argued. “To free ourselves from the corrupt nature that petrostates yield and wield as we see quite dramatically in the last several weeks.”

Hicks added his also supports the Build Back Better Act’s clean-energy provisions, which include $555 billion for renewable energy and clean transportation incentives.

As of Wednesday, the average gas price in Pennsylvania was $4.31 a gallon, nearly 10 cents more than the national average.

Julia Nesheiwat, a member of the Consensus for American Security network who served as a military intelligence officer in the Army, said through the Defense Production Act, the Biden administration could increase the domestic supply of renewable energy, while also weakening the power of fossil fuels such as crude oil in shaping geopolitical issues.

“Clean energy certainly can be a part of our energy security when it comes to being safe, and reliable and affordable,” Nesheiwat contended. “It can create jobs, it can grow our economy, and it certainly can protect lives. If we’re able to really feed these diverse energy sources into our grid, it can insulate us from the fluctuations of fossil-fuel prices.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report released last month said without a major reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels, 3.5 billion people around the world are highly vulnerable to megafires, droughts, sea-level rise and flooding associated with climate change.

(File Photo)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A scramble to collect enough signatures over a week and a half to make it onto the primary ballot is underway, kicking off what is certain to be a year of political change in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The state Supreme Court cut in half the normal three-week petition-gathering period last week. That’s when the court gave final approval to new General Assembly maps. The new schedule leaves in place the May 17 primary date but gives candidates a tight schedule to find enough valid signatures. Candidates need 500 signatures for state Senate and 300 for the House. At least 22 Republicans and seven Democrats in the House are not seeking another term. Five state senators are also bowing out.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Madeleine Albright, a child refugee from Nazi- and then Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe who rose to become the first female secretary of state, has died at age 84. Her family says she died of cancer on Wednesday. Albright was a mentor to many current and former American statesmen and women. President Bill Clinton chose Albright as America’s top diplomat in 1996, and she served in that capacity for the last four years of the Clinton administration. At the time, she was the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Albright the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

(File Photo of Waitress Janice Wagner moves chairs in the outdoor seating area at Agolino’s Restaurant in West Pittston, Pa., Tuesday, June 16, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. (Christopher Dolan/The Times-Tribune via AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Tipped employees in Pennsylvania will soon have to make more than four times as much money in tips to be paid below the state’s minimum wage. That’s under a new regulation approved Monday. It could take effect in the coming months. Currently, employers can pay tipped employees less the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, to as low as $2.83 if they make at least $30 a month in tips. Under the newly approved rule, that monthly tip threshold will rise to $135 a month. The rule also says an employee must spend at least 80% of their time on tipped work to be classified as a tipped employee.