(Harrisburg, Pa.) Pennsylvania’s attorney general is suing to block a Republican-approved subpoena to state election officials in what Republicans call a “forensic investigation” of last year’s presidential election. The lawsuit from state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is the second thus far targeting a subpoena approved last week by the Republican-controlled Senate committee. Shapiro’s office broadly asked the court to block the subpoena because, it said, it serves no legitimate legislative purpose. The suit also says granting the subpoena’s request for voter information would violate a person’s constitutional right to privacy.

On Friday morning’s show, Matt Drzik will be talking about the roadwork being done along Route 18 in northern Beaver County, the Wave Pool in Beaver Falls that is still under construction, and Geneva College football as Coach Geno DeMarco calls in around 8:15 to talk about the 1-2 Golden Tornadoes.

Last show of the week kicks off at 6:30 AM on Beaver County Radio.

Inflation forces homebuilders to take it slow, raise prices
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rising costs and shortages of building materials and labor are rippling across the homebuilding industry, delaying construction and prompting many builders to pump the brakes on how many homes they put up for sale. Lumber futures hit their lowest level in more than a year last week after vaulting nearly fivefold to an all-time high in May. The roughly 64% drop since then reflects an uptick in production and a pullback in demand from builders as prices skyrocketed. Still, the decline has yet to translate into lower costs for many builders. Meanwhile, the industry is contending with a bevy of other elevated costs for windows, doors, flooring, roofing and other types of construction products.

Beaver, PA – Lifesteps Child Check program will provide FREE developmental and autism  screenings for children birth to age five at the Lifesteps Beaver County Program Center on: 

Thursday, October 7, 2021 

Lifesteps Beaver County Program Center 

138 Friendship Cir. 

Beaver, PA 15009 

1 p.m. – 3 p.m. 

The early years are a critical time in a child’s development. As such, Lifesteps urges families to  proactively have children assessed for developmental delays. Notable milestones in a child’s  development include certain aspects of hearing, talking, seeing, playing and basic social skills.  By ensuring milestones are met at age appropriate benchmarks, children are far more likely to  reach their potential.  

Through Lifesteps Child Check program, parents are provided with knowledge on their child’s  current state of development and guided to resources when delays are detected. The  screening is a brief assessment using games and activities to determine a child’s current level  of development.  

A Child Check screening takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and the results are discussed immediately with parents/guardians. Appointments for in-person or online  screenings are required and can be scheduled by calling Lifesteps at 724-283-1010 or  1-800-225-2010. 

PITTSBURGH, PA (Sept. 22, 2021) – Breast surgeon Suzanne B. Coopey, MD, FACS, has joined Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Cancer Institute from Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was Breast Surgery Program Director at Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center.

Dr. Coopey will serve as Director of the Breast Program at the new AHN Wexford Hospital. AHN Wexford will offer a full spectrum of cancer care, including surgical, radiation and medical oncology, with the most advanced technologies, and in an environment designed for patient comfort. In addition to her role at AHN Wexford, Dr. Coopey will also serve as Co-Strategy and Growth Officer for AHN Cancer Institute’s Breast Program.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Suzanne Coopey to our growing cancer team. She brings to AHN Cancer Institute an outstanding combination of surgical skill, compassionate, patient-centered care and innovative leadership, and we look forward to the difference she will make in our breast program, and ultimately in the lives of our patients,” said David L. Bartlett, MD, Chair, AHN Cancer Institute.

A graduate of Penn State University, Dr. Coopey received her M.D. degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. She completed a general surgery residency at the Cleveland Clinic and a breast surgery fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Her areas of research and clinical expertise include nipple-sparing mastectomies, the treatment of high-risk breast lesions, lumpectomy margins, patient-reported outcomes after mastectomy and reconstruction; the use of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols that allow potential same-day discharge for mastectomy patients, and axillary downstaging/targeted axillary dissection of lymph nodes, a method that improves staging accuracy and allows some patients to avoid a more invasive procedure that can produce lifelong side effects.

Dr. Coopey serves on the editorial board of the Annals of Surgical Oncology (Breast Oncology Section) and as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of other preeminent medical journals including New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Surgery, and Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

For more information, or to make an appointment with Dr. Coopey, call 878.332.4387.

(Ambridge, Pa.) Krisinda Bright, the mother who is accused of killing her two children inn their Maplewood Ave. home earlier this year,  entered  a not guilty plea to two counts of homicide in their deaths on February 22, 2021. There will be an in-chambers status conference  set for November 1, 2021.  The court is expected to set a specific date for a trial late next year, according to Beaver County District Attorney  David J. Lozier.

WASHINGTON — The rate of unruly passenger incidents on commercial flights has dropped sharply since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched its Zero Tolerance campaign but the rate remains too high, according to new data released today.

“Our work is having an impact and the trend is moving in the right direction. But we need the progress to continue. This remains a serious safety threat, and one incident is one too many,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “The FAA will continue its Zero Tolerance policy, keep its public awareness campaign going, and keep pushing and partnering with everyone in the aviation system to do more. We appreciate the tremendous work of all our partners in the airline, airport, labor, and law enforcement communities.”

As of last week, unruly passenger incidents were occurring approximately six times per every 10,000 flights. That’s an approximately 50 percent drop from early 2021, but it’s more than twice as high as the end of 2020. Since the FAA launched its public awareness campaign with memes and two public service announcements, the rate has fallen approximately 30 percent. View a graphic with the data. 

Using its full legal authority to deter this dangerous behavior, the FAA adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward unruly passengers in January 2021. Under this policy, the FAA no longer issues warning letters. Instead, it moves directly to fines, which have totaled $1.1 million to date. In addition to its public service announcement videos and memes, the agency has asked airports to help educate passengers that they cannot consume alcohol on board that they purchase at restaurants and shops in the airport or that is not served by a flight attendant.

Later this month, the FAA plans to host unruly-passenger working sessions with key aviation stakeholders. The FAA will ask members of the aviation system to share best practices and to identify additional steps they and the U.S. government can take to reduce the unruly incident rate further.

Detailed current data on these incidents is available on our unruly passenger website. Press releases about individual cases, and the work the FAA has done to get the word out about the consequences passengers face, is available in our unruly passenger toolkit.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that fatalities, injuries, and crashes decreased overall at 26 roundabouts at 23 locations in the time since they were built, according to department data.

“The modern roundabout is simply safer than the traditional intersection,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “Though not the right option for every intersection, data shows that when installed, roundabouts save lives and reduce crash severity.”

PennDOT recently reviewed data for 26 roundabouts on state routes at intersections that were previously stop or signal controlled. These roundabouts were selected based on having at least three years of crash data available before and after the roundabouts were built. Department data based on police-submitted crash reports spanning the years 2000 through 2020 shows that fatalities at these locations were reduced by 100 percent and the total number of crashes decreased by 22 percent. Additionally:

• Suspected serious injuries were reduced by 81 percent;
• Suspected minor injuries were reduced by 36 percent;
• Possible/unknown severity injuries were reduced by 76 percent; and
• Property damage-only crashes increased by 13 percent.

In addition to the 26 roundabouts meeting the selection criteria, 36 other roundabouts have been built on state routes with 19 more in construction and 20 in final design.

The roundabouts included in the review are at the following intersections:

• Allegheny County: Route 3070 (Ewing Road) and Business Route 0376 Ramp, opened in 2011;
• Beaver County: Route 0068 (Adams Street), Route 1034 (Brighton Avenue) and Route 6018 (Brighton Ave./Rhode Island Ave.), opened in 2011;
• Bucks County:
  • Route 2043 (Trevose Road) and Somerton Road, opened in 2012,
  • Route 213 (Bridgetown Pike/Maple Avenue) and Route 2010 (Bridgetown Pike), opened in 2016;
• Butler County: Route 3024 (Glen Eden Road), Powell Road and Freshcorn Road, opened in 2015;
• Chester County:
  • Route 0082 (Doe Run Road) and Unionville Road, opened in 2005,
  • Route 52 (Lenape Road), S. Wawaset Road and Lenape Unionville Road, opened in 2014,
  • Route 3062 (Strasburg Road), Romansville Road and Shadyside Road, Opened in 2017;
• Crawford County:
  • Route 6/19 (Main Street) and Route 0198 (South Street), opened in 2017;
  • Route 6/19 (Main Street) and Route 0198, opened in 2017;
• Cumberland County: Route 0034 (Spring Road), Route 1007 (Sunnyside Drive) and Mountain Road, opened in 2014;
• Dauphin County:
  • Route 0039 (Linglestown Road) and Route 3019 (Mountain Road), opened in 2011,
  • Route 322 (Governor Road) and Homestead Lane, opened in 2016,
  • Route 322 (Governor Road) and Meadow Lane, opened in 2016;
• Delaware County:
  • Route 1023 (N. Newtown Street) and Route 1046 (St. Davids Road), opened in 2008;
  • Route 0320 (Chester Road), Rutgers Avenue and Fieldhouse Lane, opened in 2014;
• Erie County: Route 19 (High Street) and Route 97, opened in 2014;
• Luzerne County: I-81 Exit 178 (three roundabouts), opened in 2015
  • Route 315 (Airport Road) and Williams Street and SB Ramp,
  • Route 315 (Airport Road) and NB Ramps and Terminal Road and Navy Way Road,
  • Williams Street and SB ramp;
• Luzerne County: Route 2008 (Middle Road) and Espy Street, opened in 2017;
• Montgomery County: Route 0029 (Gravel Pike) and Route 0073 (Big Road), opened in 2009;
• Washington County: Route 519 (two connected roundabouts) – Route 0519 and Brownlee Road, and Route 519 and Thompson Eighty Four Road, opened in 2015;
• York County:
  • Route 116 (Main Street) and Hanover St. and Roths Church Road, opened in 2007;
  • Route 74 (Delta Road) and Bryansville Road, opened in 2008.

Roundabouts are frequently installed to address intersections with safety issues but may also be installed to improve traffic flow as well as other reasons such as traffic calming, and to facilitate pedestrian mobility.

Although roundabouts are safer and typically more efficient than traditional signalized intersections, they may not always be the best option due to topography or other reasons, such as property impacts, capacity issues and proximity to other intersections.

Roundabouts are recognized by the Pennsylvania State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) as an innovation that has become standard practice within the transportation community.

The Pennsylvania STIC facilitates the rapid implementation of proven, well-researched and documented state, regional, national and international technologies, tactics, techniques and other innovations that are new to Pennsylvania. The STIC also supports the implementation of the Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts (EDC) Initiatives.

To educate Pennsylvanians on how to navigate a roundabout, the department created a video

on how to use both single and multi-lane roundabouts whether in a vehicle, on a bicycle or on foot. The video can be accessed by visiting the roundabout page on www.penndot.gov or by visiting the department’s YouTube channel.