Deb Erdley stories, Page 26

Although the tentative settlement reached Monday of a federal opioid crisis lawsuit stopped short of a global agreement, it triggered growing optimism that communities devastated by drug abuse and overdose deaths may soon see relief. Shortly after the Associated Press reported that the nation’s three largest drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen,...

Gene Vittone has seen the toll opioid addiction has exacted on his community up close and personal. The Washington County district attorney, who is also a paramedic, has seen law enforcement, family services and first responders struggle under a tsunami of illicit drug use that once triggered 16 overdoses on...

The Greensburg Catholic Diocese paid $4.35 million to settle claims with 57 adults who suffered child sexual abuse at the hands of clergy, church officials announced Thursday. Greensburg was among five Pennsylvania dioceses and one archdiocese that established compensation funds for survivors of clergy child sexual abuse following last year’s...

Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation had a rare moment of near unity this week when members came together to vote 354-60 to condemn President Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from Syria. The 18-member delegation, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, largely ignored the partisan divide that has polarized the nation. They voted 16-2 in...

Citing the growing role of fentanyl in drug overdoses, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to legalize fentanyl test strips. The call was among the top recommendations DePasquale released in a new report, “A Deadly Dose: Fentanyl’s Impact on Pennsylvania.” The two-term auditor general, who...

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is launching a national online campaign asking Americans to join the league and #FightHateForGood to commemorate the victims who died in last year’s mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. ADL, a international organization founded in 1913 to combat anti-Semitism and bigotry,...

The University of Pittsburgh isn’t calling this one fright night at the library, but officials are promising “a ghoulish good time,” when Pitt opens part of its George A. Romero collection to the public at the Hillman Library from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Oct. 23. University officials said the free...

Not ready for winter? The calendar puts the start of winter more than two months away, but meteorologist Scott Harbaugh of WPXI News predicts the first snowflakes of the year likely will fly Thursday in the Laurel Highlands, specifically in the mountains of Somerset County and nearby Garrett and Preston...

A retired Greensburg Diocese priest, suspended from his Uniontown parish 14 months ago following the first of two abuse allegations, died Sunday, Oct. 13, at the diocesan residence for retired priests, a spokesman for the Greensburg Diocese said Monday. Monsignor Michael Matusak, 69, was on administrative leave from his duties...

Rose Ann Fullerton didn’t have a title, but children in Trafford knew that she was queen of the crossing guards, a guardian angel who saw them safely on and off the school bus. Every school day morning for 42 years, rain, snow or shine, Mrs. Fullerton was at the corner...

More than 300 Pennsylvanians a day were hospitalized for mental illness in 2018, leaving mental health professionals in many instances struggling to find beds for them in a system plagued by limited resources. The numbers, detailed in a new report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, found the...

Pennsylvania communities harmed by downturns in the coal industry will reap $8 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission to bump up local economic initiatives. The grants from the federal agency will go toward projects in 10 counties, including four in Western Pennsylvania. “These projects will enable affected regions...

Opponents of the Marsy’s Law amendment filed a last-minute lawsuit in Commonwealth Court on Thursday challenging the constitutionality of the question on the November ballot which asks voters to approve or reject amending the state constitution to include a crime victims rights amendment. The question would establish more than a...

Responding to a growing list of haulers who no longer accept glass in curbside recycling containers, the Pennsylvania Resources Council will host a pop-up glass collection event in Murrysville this month. Earlier this year, residents in communities across the region began seeking alternatives after being informed the market for glass...

A new law that stripped school police officers of the authority to make arrests and issue detention and citation orders may be on its way out the door. The law, intended to enhance school security, passed earlier this year and accidentally stripped school police officers of powers they have had...

Enrollment at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities continued an overall slide this fall for the ninth consecutive year. A new census taken on the 15th day of class at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities showed an enrollment decline of 2.6% between 2018 and 2019. Overall, enrollment has fallen...

Former KDKA news anchor Jennifer Antkowiak will be the new face of community relations for the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese as it works to move forward from last year’s scathing grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse. Bishop David Zubik announced Thursday that Antkowiak has been hired to fill the newly...

A Westmoreland County boarding school announced Wednesday that it will lower tuition by more than 20 percent next year. Christopher Brueningsen, headmaster at The Kiski School, said trustees at the all-boys boarding school in Loyalhanna Township recently approved a tuition “reset” that will lower the sticker price from $61,300 this...

A week after Lt. Gov. John Fetterman urged Pennsylvanians with low-level, nonviolent marijuana convictions to apply for expedited pardons, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday cautioned that such pardons will not be automatically approved. Fetterman, who chairs the board of pardons, joined Wolf last week in announcing their support for decriminalizing...

The Pennsylvania Department of Education will take public input on its plans for career and technical education through 2024, at a series of hearings in Harrisburg, Hempfield and West Grove this month. Department representatives will be on hand to take testimony from 1 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 17 in...

Voters might be excused if they are confused when they scan the ballot in Pennsylvania next month and see a question asking to amend the state constitution to include a crime victims rights amendment. The proposed amendment, dubbed Marsy’s Law, seems to echo Pennsylvania’s Crime Victims Act. That law first...

Patients of a Fayette County physician who was arrested last month and charged with swapping opioids for sex found themselves at odds when they tried to retrieve their medical records from his shuttered practice. But authorities said Tuesday that they have set up a process for patients to retrieve their...

A Johnstown-based nonprofit is reaching out to provide an extra resource for parents, students and teachers looking to counter school-based bullying. The Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, boasting a staff of health, mental health and education professionals, took more than 1,000 calls from public and private schools in...