Jamie Martines stories, Page 15

High school students in the McKeesport Area School District filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday demanding the right to form a club called the Black Student Union. The lawsuit, filed by 11 students against the district with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, contends that...

School districts in Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties are among the 623 districts nationwide to be recognized as top communities for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation. The designation for “Best Communities for Music Education” is awarded to districts that not only have high participation in...

The Hempfield Area School District received a clean bill of health from the state auditor general’s office, according to a performance audit report released Wednesday. The audit, which reviewed how the district uses state funds and subsidies for areas including transportation, educating nonresident students and meeting bus driver requirements, found...

Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr. is returning to Carnegie Mellon University. And the 5,800 graduates of CMU’s class of 2019, including those receiving bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, will be in the room where it happens. Odom, who is best known for playing Aaron Burr...

The Allegheny County Health Department has levied an additional $707,568 fine against U.S. Steel, bringing the total fines issued since June 2018 to more than $2 million, according to a statement from the health department Monday. The new fine addresses continued emissions problems at the Clairton Coke Works facility during...

A man who said he was abused by a Catholic priest is pushing to change the statute of limitations for sexual offenses in Pennsylvania. Dennis McKeown, who grew up in Ellwood City in Lawrence County, said he met with Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh Diocese Thursday to discuss whether...

Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore has announced special events for April, including an appearance by the music band Blues Traveler on Saturday, April 27. Tickets are $25 and parking is free. The show will take place in the casino’s new event space, which was unveiled in February. The second-floor...

Sunoco said Wednesday it is halting fuel deliveries to an Armstrong County gas station because its owner posted controversial messages to a digital billboard about a quarter-mile away. The fuel giant also started removing Sunoco signage and trademarks from the Worthington station, according to company officials. The digital billboard along...

An online fundraiser established to help former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld pay for his defense raised at least $400 during the first morning of his trial Tuesday. The fundraiser on the site Funded Justice appears to have been started by Rosfeld’s wife, Michelle. “Since Michael is no longer...

Sports books in Pennsylvania didn’t see a bump in wagers in February, though many took the first legal Super Bowl bets in the state. Now, they’re hoping for a March Madness windfall as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament approaches. The state’s six sports books operational by February reported a $31.5...

With repairs said to be coming together ahead of schedule, U.S. Steel on Friday released photos showing some of the damage and repairs to the Clairton Coke Works facility following a Dec. 24 fire. A photo taken Dec. 31, 2018, shows exterior damage to the roof of part of the...

An Allegheny County resident in her mid-80s has died from flu-related complications, according to a statement from the county health department Tuesday. This brings the total number of flu-related deaths in Allegheny County during the 2018-19 flu season to six. Flu cases, hospitalizations and deaths this season are significantly lower...

A county health department order against La Palapa food truck was lifted March 19. The Allegheny County Health Department had ordered the food truck to close until repairs to the truck’s water system were completed, according to an inspection report filed March 9. The report also mentioned that the truck...

Applications are available for the Allegheny County and city of Pittsburgh Learn and Earn Program. Now in its fifth year, the program matches people ages 14 to 21 with a six-week summer job. It’s managed through a partnership among Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Partner4Work, the public workforce development board for...

Hundreds of people are expected to climb 665 stairs at the JLL Center at Tower Two-Sixty in Downtown Pittsburgh later this month to raise money for the American Lung Association. This is the 13th year that the Fight for Air fundraising event, which is held in cities throughout the country,...

A political newcomer’s challenge to a longtime Allegheny County councilman appears to have pushed the council to take up the issue of conversion therapy. Council members Tuesday introduced a ban on the controversial and widely discredited practice used to attempt to remove a person’s feelings of same-sex attraction or to...

The Allegheny County Department of Health has reported three additional flu-related deaths, bringing the total to five deaths of Allegheny County residents this flu season. The residents — two women, one in her mid-40s and the other in her early 60s, and a man in his late 50s — died...

A former dancer at Club Erotica strip club in McKees Rocks is seeking a class action lawsuit against the club and its owners contending she was underpaid. Sonya Jackson, who worked at the club at various times from May 2016 until late August 2018, alleges that club management improperly classified...

Bishop David Zubik, the head of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, will soon issue a pastoral letter that offers an action plan to try and move forward in the wake of the grand jury report chronicling decades of sexual abuse in the church. The letter will address issues related to...

U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities have violated local and federal air quality regulations and must get back in compliance, according to an order issued by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday. The order requires the facilities — which include Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Edgar Thomson Plant in...