Free rides take $104M toll on Pennsylvania Turnpike finances
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — More than $104 million in Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls went uncollected last year as the agency fully converted to all-electronic tolling. Turnpike records show the millions of motorists who don’t use E-ZPass have a nearly 1 in 2 chance of riding without paying under the “toll-by-plate” license plate camera system. The turnpike says nearly 11 million out of the total of about 170 million turnpike rides generated no revenue for the agency last year and its bad debt expense has more than quadrupled in the past seven years. About 10,000 Pennsylvania vehicle registrations are currently suspended for overdue toll bills, but that doesn’t apply to out-of-state drivers.

(Bridgewater, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are reporting that they initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of Riverside Drive and the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Bridgewater on a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu that was being driven by 53-year-old Robert Irons of Beaver for a traffic violation on September 4, 2021 at 1:50 AM
State Police via release said that during the encounter with Irons he showed signs of impairment and SFST’s were administered. Irons was subsequently placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. Troopers reported that charges were filed accordingly with the local Magistrates Office.

(Beaver, Pa.) The Beaver Borough building is closed to the public due to a rise in COVID-19 Cases.
The borough is stopping operations during normal business hours.

Payments for bills and fines can still be deposited into a drop box near the door.

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Lower; Gasoline Supplies Decrease Nationwide
Gas prices in Western Pennsylvania are two cents cheaper this week at $3.343 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                 $3.343
Average price during the week of September 7, 2021                              $3.321
Average price during the week of September 14, 2020                            $2.555

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

$3.289      Altoona
$3.361      Beaver
$3.390      Bradford
$3.365      Brookville
$3.308      Butler
$3.429      Clarion
$3.323      DuBois
$3.331      Erie
$3.296      Greensburg
$3.299      Indiana
$3.279      Jeannette
$3.324      Kittanning
$3.358      Latrobe
$3.347      Meadville
$3.459      Mercer
$3.257      New Castle
$3.268      New Kensington
$3.459      Oil City
$3.324      Pittsburgh
$3.315      Sharon
$3.273      Uniontown
$3.459      Warren
$3.276      Washington

Trend Analysis:

With the height of summer in the rearview mirror, motorists are seeing some relief at the pump, as the national gas price average dropped by a penny on the week to $3.17. However, the recovery from Hurricane Ida remains slow, with the latest U.S. data showing just under half of the U.S. offshore oil production in the Gulf still idle after companies shuttered production ahead of the storm.

 

Meanwhile, refinery utilization is down almost 10%, causing gasoline stock levels to fall by 7.2 million barrels to 220 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Stock levels are likely to remain tight until Ida-affected refineries resume normal operations. While refineries are reporting progress towards restarting, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said it would release an additional 1.5 million barrels of crude oil held at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help ease tightened supplies brought by Hurricane Ida. This is the second such release, and the DOE said the SPR has now released a total of 3.3 million barrels of crude oil in response to the storm.

The constraint on stocks would typically lead to higher prices, but it has been offset by decreased demand going into the fall. In the week ahead, pump prices may be impacted by Tropical Storm Nicholas, which is expected to bring heavy rains and a storm surge to the Texas coast this week. If the tropical storm puts additional refineries offline, we are likely to see prices increase.

 

Timing is everything, and while supplies have tightened due to the slow recovery after Hurricane Ida, this is also the point when gas demand usually starts its seasonal decline. While there may be some price fluctuation, most motorists should begin to see stability at the pump.

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.

Keystone State News Connection

September 14, 2021

Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvanians will vote this November to elect judges in the state’s three appellate courts, and a virtual candidate forum next week will allow voters to get to know those running for the Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme Court positions who will make influential decisions.

Two seats are up for grabs in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, and one each in its Superior and Supreme courts. Pennsylvania differs from some states in that it votes for judges in partisan elections, rather than by merit selection.

Debbie Gross, CEO of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said it limits the information voters can gather from candidates as they are expected to remain impartial in light of issues that could arise on the bench.

“You can’t ask them how they feel on a controversial topic because all these types of cases could potentially reach the court, even a decision over the pandemic and the masks,” Gross explained. “You can’t ask a judge any of these questions when these are real cases that they may be deciding in the near future.”

You can register online to join the candidate forum at 7:00 p.m. next Monday, Sep. 20. The deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania for the Nov. 2 election is Oct. 18.

In off-year elections, Pennsylvania often sees low voter turnout. During the May 2021 primary, participation was sparse, compared with the record-breaking 70% of the state’s eligible population who voted during the 2020 presidential election.

Meghan Pierce, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, said it’s important for residents to be civically engaged since the elected judges could play a big role in issues such as redistricting in the future.

“I think what a lot of voters don’t realize is, is how much responsibility judges really carry, and how decisions that they make really affect all aspects of their lives,” Pierce pointed out. “Judges are also elected for a really long time. So, it’s really important to do your research on the candidates. Who we elect in November really matters in the long term.”

The forum will be moderated by attorney Maureen McBride, a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Appellate Advocacy Committee.

(Harrisburg, Pa.) The Pennsylvania Game Commission is reminded hunters that earlier this year they authorized that hunters and trappers will be allowed to carry digital versions of there license, though paper harvest tags will still have to be carried and used in certain seasons. That includes tags for deer, bears, turkeys and bobcats.

If you’ve already purchased your hunting license for this season, you can download a PDF copy of it by logging in to your profile on HuntFishPA and accessing the purchase history.

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Under the new proposal, sponsored by Allegheny County council members Bethany Hallam and Olivia Bennett, people would be required to wear masks at all indoor events any outdoor gathering of more than 250 people. Anyone who fails to comply could be fined up to $100.

If passed, it would be effective until Apr. 30, 2022, unless repealed earlier by council

Hallam caused an uproar on social media due to photos she posted on her Twitter account of herself at the Steelers Game in Buffalo over the weekend without a mask on.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(New Brighton, PA) The New Brighton Area School Board met Monday night for their first of two meetings this month.  The board started off by approving a final reading of revisions to multiple policies within the school handbook, as well as a final reading to a new policy to be added titled “Threat Assessment”.  Board members then approved 2022 Pennsylvania School Boards Association candidates President Elect David Schaap, Vice President Allison Mathis, and PSBA Insurance Trust Trustees Richard Francis, William LaCoff, and Nathan Mains.  The board also approved to exonerate 2019 school property taxes for a parcel located at 1120 6th Avenue.  The property is used as a church and the owners are applying to be on the list of tax exempt properties maintained by the Beaver County Assessor’s Office.

PennDOT is announcing the closure of a portion of Hitzel Hill Road (Route 4045) in Bell Acres Borough, Allegheny County, has been extended.