Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 84

A New Kensington woman awaiting sentencing for helping a cousin avoid capture following the murder of a city police officer claims she is at high risk to contract the coronavirus and should be released from jail. In court documents filed this week, Lisa Harrington, 33, claims her pregnancy and a...

Westmoreland County taxpayers will have four additional months to pay county property taxes at a discounted rate. Commissioners said Tuesday they will vote later this week to extend the discount period for property tax payments until the end of August. The discount period was slated to expire April 30. Taxpayers...

A Westmoreland County nursing home already infected with the coronavirus now has tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ Disease. Department of Health officials on Tuesday confirmed that a water sample recently tested at the Loyalhanna Care Center in Derry Township was positive for Legionella, a bacteria that causes...

More than 400 furloughed Westmoreland County government workers will have a meal courtesy of Steelers’ Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu and his wife. County officials said Monday the former Steelers great donated gift cards to local restaurants to help employees who were temporarily removed from the payroll as government services...

Westmoreland County voters won’t automatically get applications for mail-in ballots ahead of the June 2 primary. County commissioners said Monday they opted against a mass mailing based on county’s tenuous financial condition and a reluctance to recommend to voters how they should cast ballots this spring. “At this point, we...

Allegheny County on Sunday reported three more deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the countywide total to 50. The 50 people who have died range in age from 56 to 103 years old, with the most deaths occurring in people over 70, county data show. The county also reported 26 new...

Pennsylvania’s self-employed workers and independent contractors can now file applications for unemployment benefits. The state’s Department of Labor and Industry said Saturday that workers who were previously ineligible for unemployment compensation will be permitted to seek benefits for wages lost because of the coronavirus pandemic. Department officials said state residents...

Allegheny County saw a jump of 62 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours. New data released Saturday morning revealed that a total of 1,009 cases of the virus have been reported in Allegheny County since March 14, when the first positive case was identified. That compares to 22...

Sheetz stores will set aside one hour each on Sunday for customers who are high risk to contract covid-19. Sundays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. will be reserved for those who are at a higher risk to contract the disease brought on by the coronavirus. The program will be...

The third-degree murder conviction of a Jeannette woman serving up to 30 years in prison for the beating death of her live-in boyfriend nearly four years ago will stand. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani this week denied the appeal of Crystal Belle, who contended evidence presented against...

Westmoreland County planners have extended the deadline for residents to participate in a study of local broadband internet needs until the end of April. The online survey is part of an eight-county assessment of infrastructure needs for the service that has become increasingly relevant as more residents have been routed...

A Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus driver has tested positive for the coronavirus. Transit officials learned about the positive test result on Wednesday. They said the driver last worked Saturday and determined the worker had little in-person interaction with other authority employees or riders that day. The bus operated by...

State Rep. Eric Nelson this week proposed an amendment to state law that will ensure police and firefighters continue to be paid should they have to miss work because of the coronavirus. Nelson, R-Hempfield, said the proposed legislation will expand the state’s Heart and Lung Act that requires certain emergency...

Unity lawyer Scott Avolio is the new president of the Westmoreland Bar Association. More than 70 lawyers convened via a virtual gathering earlier this week as part of the association’s annual meeting to select its new leadership. The bar association includes about 500 practicing lawyers in the county, many of...

Westmoreland County has 11 deaths related to coronavirus, according to Coroner Ken Bacha. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health reported one death in the county through Thursday, with that number rising to five in its Friday update. But Bacha said Friday morning that 10 additional fatalities are attributed to covid-19, all of...

The Westmoreland County Courthouse, district courts and other government offices will be closed in observance of the Good Friday holiday. Friday’s closing was previously scheduled and not part of the county’s coronavirus response plan. Government offices are expected to reopen 8:30 a.m. Monday....

Steve and Sarah Zolock knew they were healthy but a quick check as they entered the Westmoreland County Courthouse confirmed their unofficial diagnosis. The Zolocks, who traveled from their Rostraver home on Thursday to renew permits to carry concealed guns, were required to complete a cursory screening before they were...

Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver is expected to remain closed until at least Saturday as work crews clean up more than 65 trees felled during Wednesday morning’s storm. “Many of them were 60-to-80-foot pine trees and it will take a couple of days to clear,” said Greg McCloskey, director of...

Julia Bolkovac has known Jimmy Singer her whole life. When the Murrysville native learned Singer of Greensburg was in desperate need of a liver transplant, Bolkovac couldn’t act fast enough to serve as his donor. But, when Bolkovac’s job as a cardiac nurse at UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh put her...

Shortages of personal protective equipment such as gowns and masks have become dire in Westmoreland County. The county’s supply is dwindling as the number of coronavirus cases rises, infecting staff and residents at two or more local nursing homes, where supplies are desperately being sought, Public Safety Director Roland Mertz...

State Rep. Eric Davanzo and two other victors from last month’s special election were sworn in to office Monday in Harrisburg. Davanzo, R-South Huntingdon, will complete the remaining nine months in the seat previously held by state Rep. Justin Walsh, who resigned in January after he was elected to be...

Westmoreland County paid $678,000 in overtime wages to more than 1,200 employees for nearly two weeks of work in late March during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioners instituted “pandemic” pay for staff required to report in person for work at the courthouse and in other county offices...

Most Westmoreland County courts will remain shuttered through April 30. Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway on Monday extended the current reductions of court functions as part of the state’s coronavirus response plan. The order cancels all trials in April, as well as other basic court functions such as...

The frontline fighters against the coronavirus in Westmoreland County most certainly include medical professionals, first responders and other health care workers treating patients. But workers at Latrobe-based Carclo Technical Plastics are quietly supporting their efforts through the manufacturing of tiny plastic collection tubes used around the globe in coronavirus testing...