Jeff Himler stories, Page 112
Southern covid-19 hot spots continue to draw local air passengers
Officials in Allegheny County have linked local covid-19 cases with travel to infection hot spots such as Myrtle Beach. That doesn’t seem to have deterred passengers from booking area flights to the South Carolina beach mecca or to other destinations in Florida, where cases also have been on the rise....
Outdoor attractions pushed as Pittsburgh region’s tourism industry copes with covid-19Video
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands is known for outdoor activities in scenic settings. Such outings have taken on an even greater appeal for tourists amid the social distancing guidelines of the covid-19 pandemic. During the health crisis, families and friends “really want to stay together as a close group,” said Ann...
Hempfield road to close for work on railroad crossing
A section of Keystone Road in Hempfield will close beginning Wednesday for maintenance of a railroad crossing. Crews from Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad are scheduled to begin work at 8:30 a.m. The closure, between Eckman Way and Huff Avenue, is expected to continue until 3:30 p.m. Aug. 3. PennDOT has designated...
3 workers test positive for covid-19 at Penn Hills Shop ‘n Save
Three employees at the Penn Hills Shop ‘n Save supermarket tested positive for covid-19 infections Tuesday and Wednesday, according to store officials. A representative said the store remains open for business while the staff has stepped up sanitizing procedures that already were in place. The three employees are quarantined at...
Greater Latrobe approves 1-year contract extension for service employees
Greater Latrobe School Board approved a one-year contract extension with 67 service employees as the district sets a goal of returning to in-school instruction this fall. District business administrator Dan Watson said the extension continues terms in effect during the final year of a three-year labor agreement that expired on...
Pittsburgh SWAT team assists police in standoff with man barricaded in apartment
Pittsburgh police called a SWAT team for assistance Wednesday evening as they negotiated the surrender of a man who barricaded himself in his apartment and threatened to harm himself. Police responded just after 6 p.m. to the apartment in the 400 block of South Fairmount Street in the city’s Friendship...
Organizers cancel Fort Ligonier Days, plan virtual version of festival
The Fort Ligonier Days Board canceled its traditional fall festival, but plans are underway to hold a virtual version. The annual festival, which was scheduled for Oct. 9-11, typically brings thousands of visitors to Ligonier to view a parade, enjoy food and music, browse among vendors and attend battle re-enactments...
Rostraver road to close Monday for slide repairs, remain closed through end of month
A section of Route 201 in Rostraver will be closed beginning Monday while PennDOT crews complete slide repairs. The road will be closed beginning at 6 a.m. between Route 136 and Pollack Run Road. A marked detour will be in place using Routes 136 and 51. Work is expected to...
Greater Latrobe aims for in-person classes to resume this fallVideo
Greater Latrobe School District is planning for students in grades K-12 to return full-time to classrooms when the fall semester begins. In case unpredictable pandemic conditions thwart that goal, district officials developed a hybrid plan that would see students alternating between classroom attendance and online instruction at home. Students completed...
Greater Latrobe OKs 2% tax hike, realigns administrators
Property owners in the Greater Latrobe School District will see a 2% hike in real estate taxes for the coming school year as the district balances a $57 million budget in the face of revenues that have taken a hit during the covid-19 pandemic. The school board on Tuesday approved...
FEMA grant funds protective gear for firefighters, ambulance crews in Western Pa.
Eighteen fire departments and emergency medical service organizations in Westmoreland County will receive personal protective equipment through funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. All told, the FEMA grant of nearly $875,000, coordinated by the Nanty Glo Fire Department in Cambria County, will provide protective gear to 67 first-response agencies...
Hermitage police issue plea, announce DNA probe in 50-year mystery of newborn’s remains
Hermitage police believe they can identify the parents of a newborn girl whose remains were found 50 years ago near a dirt road in Mercer County. They’re also asking the person who left the baby off Lynnwood Drive all those years ago to come forward and explain what motivated that...
Pittsburgh man charged in fatal 2019 shooting in Larimer
Pittsburgh police have arrested a Pittsburgh man for fatally shooting another man last year in Larimer. Isaiah Evans, 22, of the city’s East End, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Daniel Carpenter, 42, of Pittsburgh. The shooting happened on March 17, 2019, near the intersection of Shetland...
Memorial Mass set for Pittsburgh Catholics who died during covid-19 pandemic
Bishop David A. Zubik will offer a memorial Mass Sunday morning for all Catholics in the Pittsburgh Diocese who have died during the covid-19 pandemic. The Mass will be livestreamed at 10 a.m. and can be viewed online. Many who died during the spread of the virus did not have...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit captures $200K Mellon grant to boost virtual learning
The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit will use a $200,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to expand and enhance virtual learning for children age 3 through grade 8 and their families. The intermediate unit’s Learning Equitable Accessibility Network project is among 37 proposals that were granted a total of $5.25...
State awards $49K for environmental education in Allegheny County
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Friday announced the award of more than $49,000 in environmental education grants for six programs in Allegheny County. The grants are included in about $434,000 in state funding approved for organizations in 28 counties and are derived from a fund generated by setting...
Grants offered to small businesses in Pennsylvania, including travel industry
Industry experts predict U.S. travel this summer will experience a 15% dip compared to last year. This news comes as support grows for additional federal stimulus assistance to help the travel industry, one of the economic sectors hardest hit during the covid-19 pandemic, according to a national survey. Regionally, officials...
Westmoreland Cleanways suspends electronics recycling
Westmoreland Cleanways temporarily is halting drop-off of electronics at its Pleasant Unity recycling center because of a covid-19-related shutdown of a company that processes the items. Executive Director Ellen Keefe said Thursday that Westmoreland Cleanways learned the out-of-state electronics processor shut down because of a suspected covid-19 infection. She stressed...
Former Saint Vincent College president elected archabbot of Benedictine community
The Rev. Martin de Porres Bartel, a former president of Saint Vincent College, was elected the 12th archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, a community of Benedictine monks that founded the college in 1846. Bartel, 64, succeeds Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, who resigned upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75...
Work on rail crossing will trigger Sewickley Township detour
A section of Lowber Road in Sewickley Township will be closed beginning Monday for maintenance of a railroad crossing, according to PennDOT. The closure, near the intersection of Sutersville Road, will begin at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to continue through 3:30 p.m. Wednesday as a CSX crew works at...
Casey says blocked GOP police reform bill weak on accountability
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said insufficient accountability is one reason a Republican police reform bill failed to progress Wednesday in the Senate. With a 55-45 tally, Senate Republicans failed to gain the 60 votes needed to proceed to a debate on the bill. Afterward, Casey said an alternate Democratic reform...
Indiana County man charged in robbery, shooting on same day
Police charged an Indiana man with involvement in a drive-by shooting in the borough and an armed robbery in neighboring White Township, both occurring on Tuesday. State police said Thomas Edward Lindsay, 20, was taken into custody without incident Wednesday at a residence in the township. He is charged with...
Latrobe seeks state grant for traffic signal upgradesVideo
Latrobe officials are hoping a state grant program that provided flashing school zone lights at Latrobe Elementary will also help them update a traffic signal on the south end of Ligonier Street. As a PennDOT contractor begins work on improving signals at nine intersections in the heart of downtown Latrobe,...
1 taken to hospital after collision at plaza in Unity
One motorist was taken to a local hospital for treatment following a three-car collision Tuesday at the Mountain Laurel Plaza off Route 30 in Unity. The crash happened at about 12:40 p.m. in an intersection near the plaza’s main entrance. Firefighters used hydraulic tools to remove a jammed door and...
Youngwood firefighters plan Community Night Out instead of carnival
The Youngwood Volunteer Fire Department will host a Community Night Out, a three-day event planned in place of its canceled week-long carnival. Set for July 9-11 at the fire hall, the event will focus on outdoor activities, save for a socially distanced bingo to be held inside. “We have space...
