Western PA Local News category, Page 2167
Region’s international student enrollment declined with global pandemic
A flood of international students who fueled growth at the region’s colleges and universities for the last decade is waning in the face of the global pandemic. Fall enrollment numbers show international enrollment at nine local universities and Penn State declined by about 2,500, or approximately 12%, this fall as...
Harrison officials, groups work together to install food pantry in NatronaVideo
A new, free community food pantry is available for residents in the Natrona area of Harrison. The pantry, located near the basketball court and concession stand in Natrona Community Park on River Road, is one of two that was the idea of township resident Michele Plocki and built by her...
Unitarian Universalist church tweaks its annual ‘Stone Soup’ Sunday
On East Suburban Unitarian Universalist Church’s annual “Stone Soup” Sunday, there normally is no such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, as parishioners provide the ingredients and kitchen volunteers whip up a big pot for the congregation to enjoy. This year, however, the number of cooks in the...
Why a vaccine won’t end the covid pandemic
With vaccine distribution likely weeks away, spirits have been buoyed at the thought of a literal shot in the arm after months of covid-19 anxiety and fatigue. While that optimism is just fine, experts say, many states face months of continued mitigation measures before vaccination becomes a reality. “Though these...
Pittsburgh public relations group establishes Black Excellence Award
The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), a professional organization for marketing and public relations workers, announced a new award to recognize Black men and women working in the region’s communications field. The $2,000 Black Excellence Award will be given annually to recent graduates of African...
Highlands junior donating hair to charity receives school’s first ‘Student Spotlight’ award
Highlands High School junior Kevin Gonzales is the first recipient of an award created by the school’s senior class officers to recognize students who go above and beyond what’s expected of them and set good examples. Gonzales, 17, of Brackenridge, was selected for the “Student Spotlight” award because he found...
Steelers’ Cam Heyward donates cleats in honor of Tree of Life victims
The Squirrel Hill neighborhood is close to Cam Heyward’s heart. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle used to live there. He was devastated after the Oct. 27, 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue. Helping the area became his focus in “My Cause, My Cleats,” an initiative throughout the National...
‘Dangerous trajectory’ for Pittsburgh area hospitals as covid cases surgeVideo
A region known for its expansive hospital networks is beginning to see alarming trends in covid-19 hospitalizations and facility capacity. “We’re on a very, very, very dangerous trajectory right now,” said Dr. Tom Walsh, an infectious disease specialist at Allegheny Health Network. “We’re seeing rapid, exponential increases and if we...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust launches ‘Keep the Arts Alive’ campaign, projects $500K in pandemic-related losses
Between The Palace Theatre and the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, more than 350 concerts and events have been canceled since March, lending much more weight to the name of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s “Keep the Arts Alive” fundraising campaign. “As an organization whose mission is to bring people together...
New Kensington-Arnold considering how to find a new superintendent
New Kensington-Arnold School Board is meeting with consultants as it considers how to go about finding a new superintendent. The district’s most recent superintendent, John Pallone, resigned at the end of July. Jon Banko, previously assistant superintendent, has been serving as the district’s acting superintendent since late August. In a...
2 men charged with hindering investigation of Jeannette double shooting
Two Westmoreland County men are charged with hindering apprehension and obstruction of justice for helping a Jeannette teenager dispose of two handguns after he allegedly shot and wounded two men last month. Khalil L. Myers, 16, was arrested hours after the shootings at 4:46 p.m. Oct. 20 inside a house...
Fox Chapel’s Adam Rosenberg pleads not guilty to killing Christian Moore-Rouse in preliminary hearing
A Fox Chapel man accused of killing a Verona man will stand trial after pleading not guilty in a preliminary hearing Friday at Pittsburgh Municipal Court. Adam Rosenberg, 22, was charged in May with criminal homicide, robbery, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in connection to the killing...
9 die in covid-19 outbreak at Washington Township nursing home
Nine residents of Quality Life Services nursing home in Washington Township have died since Nov. 11, and the National Guard has been called in to assist, according to Chief Operating Officer Paul Maguire. About half of the deaths occurred at the nursing home formerly known as West Haven Manor and...
Transit authority to reopen refurbished North Huntingdon park-and-ride lot
Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s refurbished park-and-ride lot in North Huntingdon will reopen Monday. The lot, near Carpenter Lane next to a Sheetz location on Route 30, was closed since March for resurfacing and other upgrades. Transit officials said this week the $1.8 million project to pave and line the lot...
Westmoreland County posts record 8 new covid-related deaths
A day after setting a record for new coronavirus cases, Westmoreland County set a single-day record Friday for covid-related deaths with eight. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced the deaths along with 189 new cases of the coronavirus. The new deaths bring November’s total to 55, which is one shy...
Allegheny County breaks 7-day covid case record
Allegheny County added 484 more cases of coronavirus Friday, according to the county Health Department. The latest batch of cases brings the county’s seven-day total to a record 3,398 cases, with a record average in that span of 485 cases per day. Since the pandemic began in March, the county...
Owl be darned — Rockefeller Center Christmas tree survival tale not surprisingVideo
It’s actually not unusual, given the circumstances, that a cute Northern saw-whet owl, found in the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center recently, is healthy and still adorable. The saw-whet owl is so named because its call, not the typical hoo-hoo, but rather a mechanical toot-toot, sounds like the sharpening of...
North Hills closing all school buildings until at least Nov. 30 to counter covid-19 spread
The North Hills School District is closing all of its buildings for the remainder of the month in response to the stay-at-home advisory issued this week by Allegheny County health officials. All district buildings will be shut down today at 4 p.m. and will remain closed until at least Nov....
Washington Twp. police confiscate marijuana, mushrooms, Xanax pills during traffic stop
A traffic stop for a broken tail light resulted in the arrest of a 29-year-old man Thursday after Washington Township police seized nearly 5 pounds of marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, Xanax pills and drug packaging material from his SUV. Patrick C. Meanor, 29, of Worthville, Jefferson County, is charged with four...
New UPMC campus to open near Century III Mall
A new UPMC campus in West Mifflin will open Dec. 1, specializing in outpatient surgery and specialty care, officials said Friday. The 46,000-square-foot clinic will offer more than 20 outpatient services. Specialists from UPMC Magee, the Hillman Cancer Center and the Heart and Vascular Institute, as well as orthopedic and...
Murrysville looks to add housing options for seniors
A few years ago, a development group from Kentucky approached Murrysville officials about the possibility of building a senior high-rise. It was then, municipal officials realized, the existing zoning code doesn’t have any areas that permit such a structure. In the past year, Chief Administrator Jim Morrison and council discussed...
Former Murrysville massage parlor may be getting new tenant
A prime commercial lot and building with a checkered past may soon see a new tenant — and new zoning. The former Tokyo Massage, at the corner of Route 22 and Buena Vista Drive in Murrysville, was the subject of a substantive validity challenge, meaning the new prospective tenant is...
Plum’s Pivik Elementary closed through November after positive covid-19 cases
Plum Borough School District officials have closed Pivik Elementary School and have directed students there to participate in online learning through Nov. 30. In a letter sent to parents Thursday, the district said the decision was made after one teacher and one student at the school tested positive for covid-19....
Pine-Richland School District shifts to full-remote instruction until January
Students in the Pine-Richland School District will return to online learning until after the New Year’s Day holiday to help slow the spread of coronavirus cases, which are increasing countywide, district officials announced. “We have prepared for this transition,” school officials said in a notice posted Thursday on the district...
Pittsburgh Carnegie Science Center’s Buhl Planetarium reopensVideo
See craters on the moon in a much clearer picture. That’s just one of the close-ups you can view inside the Carnegie Science Center’s updated Buhl Planetarium on Pittsburgh’s North Side. A multi-million dollar renovation was unveiled Tuesday. The attraction — the country’s fifth-oldest planetarium — will show more realistic...
