Allegheny County News category, Page 347
Monroeville restaurants struggle with covid restrictions
Layoffs, sickness and changing rules — it’s all part of the game right now if you own a restaurant or bar. In Monroeville, these types of businesses have been hurting. For some, it’s been tempting to scrap the ever-changing rules and regulations to follow their own. But most have chosen...
Mayor Peduto shakes up Pittsburgh police units after escalating clashes with protesters
Pittsburgh Police Special Response Teams trained in traditional crowd-control tactics will no longer be the first line of response during protests, Mayor Bill Peduto announced Friday, two days after police clashed with protesters just blocks from his front door. It’s one of a number of changes Peduto laid out in...
Pittsburgh school board member forgets to turn off camera as she showers during virtual meeting
A Pittsburgh Public Schools board member learned the hard way Wednesday the mishaps that can happen in virtual meetings. Veronica Edwards was accidentally seen disrobing and stepping into the shower during the district’s public online agenda review meeting, which was streamed live. “Hopefully, someone can learn from my experience and...
2 Pittsburgh-area restaurants closing: Larder of East End and Mt. Lebanon’s The Fairlane
Pittsburgh’s restaurant scene continues to endure losses as Larder of East End and Mt. Lebanon’s The Fairlane will close their doors permanently this weekend. Larder is a collaborative venture between chef Justin Severino and his partner Hilary Prescott, and East End Brewing Co. owner and head brewer Scott Smith. The...
Travelers left more than $5,000 behind in Pittsburgh airport security bins last year
Travelers passing through Pittsburgh International left behind more than $5,000 at security checkpoints in one year, part of more than $900,000 that travelers nationwide forgot before their flights during that time. The Transportation Security Administration’s report on cash left behind at security checkpoints runs from fiscal year Oct. 1, 2018,...
Allegheny County’s 7-day average of coronavirus cases drops to lowest since June
Allegheny County’s seven-day average of new covid-19 cases on Friday dropped to 68 as 80 new instances were reported. It’s the lowest average recorded since late June. The seven-day average peaked at 206 on July 17 and has been steadily dropping. The county’s total cases are now 9,756. Of those,...
UPMC East emergency department doubling capacity
UPMC East in Monroeville said Friday it is expanding its emergency department and doubling its capacity to accommodate patients. The hospital will begin using the new space on Aug. 24. The $24 million emergency department expansion adds 30,000 square feet to UPMC East. With the renovation, the number of private...
Giant Sea Scorpion Model Brings Fan Favorite to Life at Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Imagination can be overrated. Visitors to Carnegie Museum of Natural History have long been asked to imagine the creature that made the mysterious tracks on a one-ton block of dark coarse sandstone that greets them at Benedum Hall of Geology. An adjacent label challenges them to visualize the seven-foot-long invertebrate...
Homewood man sentenced to 30-60 years in prison in 2017 attempted homicide, robbery
A Homewood man will spend 30-to-60 years in prison for shooting and robbing a woman in 2017. Jawan Johnson was sentenced Wednesday before Judge Randal Todd. A jury convicted him in February on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and robbery. Police arrested Johnson in July 2017. Johnson was charged...
Students, faculty virtually celebrate Pitt’s 100th Lantern Night
It’s one of the oldest traditions on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Each year for the past century, freshman women have gathered on the eve of the first day of fall classes for Lantern Night, when alumnae symbolically pass the Light of Learning on to the next generation of Pitt...
RK Mellon Foundation allocates more than $2.5 million in grants to Pa. universities
The Richard King Mellon Foundation recently allocated more than $2.5 million in grants to 12 regional colleges and universities. The grants can be used for a variety of expenses to address the covid-19 pandemic, including ensuring testing for students and staff, personal protective equipment, health care costs, enhanced virtual learning...
Man stable after hitting back of PAT bus on motorcycle in Duquesne
A man was in stable condition after crashing his motorcycle into the back of a Port Authority bus in Duquesne Thursday night. The crash happened around 9 p.m. at Route 837 and Library Road, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. The 35-year-old man on the motorcycle was heading in the...
I-79 traffic patterns switching in South Fayette
Motorists traveling along Interstate 79 in South Fayette in southern Allegheny County and in Cecil Township in northern Washington County will experience a shift in lanes beginning Thursday night, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said. Construction crews will begin shifting the traffic lanes at 8 p.m. Thursday and expect to be...
State hands out $50 million for $3/hour raises for frontline workers
Pennsylvania’s process for determining which companies with frontline workers in the battle against covid-19 will be reimbursed for hiking their workers’ wages by up to $3 an hour through late October has left some health care companies wondering how the decisions were made. “There’s not really a rhyme nor reason”...
Turnpike to close Beaver Valley to Cranberry section for bridge work early Sunday
The Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed between the Beaver Valley and Cranberry interchanges early Sunday so that crews can remove the bridge structures for the new Freedom Road Bridge spanning the toll road at milepost 28 in Butler County. The turnpike will be closed in both directions between the Cranberry...
Big Burrito Restaurant Group reopens some locations
Chef Bill Fuller, president of Big Burrito Restaurant Group, has reopened restaurants Kaya, Soba and Umi. The nine Mad Mex locations in the region have stayed open during the pandemic, Fuller said Thursday, because of the Mar-GO-ritas, takeout and outdoor dining. The restaurants Alta Via and Casbah might open soon...
Lane restrictions slated for Route 28 this weekend
Motorists traveling Route 28 between the Millvale and Highland Park Bridge exits will encounter single-lane restrictions in both directions from 7 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday as crews patch the concrete roadway and repair inlets, PennDOT said. The work is part of an $11.5 million project that is being...
Pa. lawsuit alleges Chipotle keeping the change with cash-paying customers
A lawsuit seeking class-action status contends that Chipotle stores in Pennsylvania are not giving proper change to customers and instead are lining their pockets with it. The complaint, filed Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleges hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars in consumer losses....
Trees blamed for record power outages across Pennsylvania in 2019, state commission says
The 52 power outages reported across Pennsylvania in 2019 marked a record high since the state Public Utility Commission began collecting reliability data 27 years ago, the agency reported. The “reportable outage events,” mainly caused by severe thunderstorms that downed trees, interrupted service to about 2 million customers statewide, according...
Police charge Pittsburgh man with assault, riot after protest at Mayor Peduto’s house
A protester arrested Wednesday night after a protest outside Mayor Bill Peduto’s Point Breeze home is charged with aggravated assault and riot after police allege he pushed his bicycle against and struggled with officers. The arresting officer wrote in the complaint that his body-worn camera was knocked off while he...
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium announces 3 new lion cubs
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium announced the birth of three new African lion cubs on Thursday. The cubs — one female and two male — were born at the zoo on July 16. This marks the first African lion births at the Pittsburgh Zoo since 1975, according to zoo...
Module housing project helps redevelop 3 lots in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood
A family with annual income of under $65,000 per year is going to have a tough time finding an affordable, move-in ready house in Pittsburgh. In neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and East Liberty, some homes are selling at more than $600,000. In the Bloomfield-Garfield area. the market value for a new...
Jerome Bettis-owned trucking company sues EQT for race discrimination
A trucking company owned by former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and his brother is suing EQT for race discrimination, contending that it ended contracts with them after a new CEO took over last year. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court includes claims for violating the Civil Rights...
Goats arrive at Frick Park to devour invasive plants
Frick Park welcomed a team of four-legged helpers Thursday to devour invasive plants. The team consists of 11 goats and a donkey named Hobo, provided by Allegheny GoatScape. This is the third consecutive year the goats have deployed to Frick Park to rid the area of non-native invasive plantlife. When...
Kennywood, Idlewild, Sandcastle announce closing dates
Years ago, Labor Day always marked the final day of the season for Kennywood. The park is going back to that time. On Labor Day, Sept. 7, Kennywood will close until spring. “With so much uncertainty with covid-19 and schools going back in session we decided to end the season...
