Western PA Local News category, Page 2503
New Kensington’s Animal Protectors works through coronavirus constraintsVideo
Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley is temporarily off limits to walk-in traffic because of coronavirus concerns, but the New Kensington shelter is continuing to do adoptions by appointment. Construction of the shelter’s nearly completed new home along Church Street, however, has ceased because of the state’s orders to stop nonessential...
Hundreds of cars line up for help from Pittsburgh food bankVideo
Hundreds of cars lined up Monday waiting to receive boxes of food from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank amid the covid-19 crisis. Unlike last week, the cars were not lining up to get into the Kennywood parking lot but across the street from the food bank’s headquarters in Duquesne....
Solitary scenes from Mt. Pleasant amid coronavirus pandemic
Mt. Pleasant Borough, like all of the small towns across the region, has seen a marked decrease in activity since Gov. Tom Wolf issued stay-at-home orders for Westmoreland County as part of the state’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order mandates that people may leave their...
2 Beaver County nursing home residents with covid-19 have died, medical director says
Two residents of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center who tested positive for covid-19 have died, its medical director confirmed Monday. Dr. David Thimons said the two residents had advanced dementia and were in hospice care when they died. They were in a unit that was converted specifically to treat the...
State seeks person who illegally shot deer near Boswell
The state Game Commission is looking for information related to the illegal shooting of several deer in the Jenner Township area of Somerset County, between Boswell and Acosta. Based on an investigation into the shootings, the Game Commission said in a statement that it believes the deer were shot last...
Westmoreland officials say first responders are running out of personal protection equipment
Westmoreland County’s first responders could run out of personal protective equipment by next week, public safety officials said Monday. Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said the county’s stockpile of masks, gloves, medical gowns and other equipment used by first responders is quickly drying up, a situation made worse by the...
Western Pa. clergy send signs of hope to their communitiesVideo
As churches refrain from holding gatherings during this time of coronavirus precautions, we asked clergy for messages they would like to send to their parishioners. Rev. James Arter of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Leechburg, Msgr. Michael Begolly of Mount Saint Peter in New Kensington and Rev. Greg Spencer of...
Port Authority’s new electric buses take the road for first time
The Port Authority of Allegheny County’s two new electric buses were on the road for a first time Monday, hauling passengers from Pittsburgh’s Downtown to Point Breeze and back, an authority official said. Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said officials chose the 88 Route to test performance on a fairly...
More than 844,000 unemployment claims filed in Pa. in 2 weeks
Pennsylvania has seen 844,684 new unemployment claims since March 15, state Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said Monday. “That eclipses anything we’ve experienced for a weekly total, and maybe even a yearly total,” Oleksiak said. That number is up from about 650,000 claims reported Thursday for a...
UPMC: Employees will be paid at current rate through May 9
UPMC employees will be paid at their current rate for their normally scheduled hours even if they are assigned to a different job during the covid-19 pandemic, officials said Monday. UPMC said it is implementing a staffing and pay protection program so that staff who may be assigned to do...
Gov. Wolf closes Pa. schools and businesses indefinitely, extends stay-at-home order
Gov. Tom Wolf extended school and business closures indefinitely and also extended the stay-at-home order in place for some Pennsylvania counties until at least April 30. “Until now, I’ve been saying ‘another two weeks, another two weeks,’ ” Wolf said during a virtual news conference Monday. “Now I’m going to...
Pittsburgh pothole patching on hold during coronavirus pandemic
Pittsburgh’s usual spring pothole patching blitz is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a city official. The Department of Public Works is operating with skeleton crews, but will respond to emergencies and fix large damage-causing potholes when notified, according to Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto....
Police searching for missing 12-year-old last seen in Hazelwood
Pittsburgh police said they need help finding a missing 12-year-old girl who was last seen in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood on March 29. Police described Davicia Thomas-Wright as being 5 feet tall, 155 pounds with black eyes and black hair worn in a ponytail/bun. She was last seen wearing a...
Woman arrested after Jeannette police try to disperse group involved in fight
Jeannette police tried to avoid arresting a group of girls who were yelling about a fight in the street Sunday, but took one into custody after several residents started exiting their homes, according to court papers. Four to five females were walking in and out of traffic at the intersection...
8 new coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County, state total tops 4,000
Westmoreland County reported eight new coronavirus cases between Sunday and Monday, according to state health officials. The total number of cases rose to 55, up from from 47. The state recorded 693 new cases of covid-19 and now has 4,087. Eleven more people have died from the virus, bringing that...
North Huntingdon closes park playgrounds
North Huntingdon has closed playgrounds in township parks because of the concern over the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19, officials announced Monday. Parks will remain open for non-organized recreation. Dan Miller, director of the township’s parks and recreation department, could not be reached for comment. The township has...
Pa. sees 10 more deaths, 693 new coronavirus cases as total tops 4,000
Ten more people have died from the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, and the state added nearly 700 new cases of the virus between Sunday and Monday, state health officials said. Deaths in the state now total 48, and 693 new cases bring the statewide total to 4,087. It’s the largest one-day...
Pittsburgh closing basketball courts, city overlooks
Pittsburgh is closing outdoor basketball courts in parks and city overlooks and suspending its street sweeping program to further guard against the spread of covid-19. The city on Monday reported that groups of people failed to follow social distancing guidelines to remain at least six feet apart while enjoying warm...
Landslide shuts Route 906 between I-70 and Monessen
A landslide forced the closure of a section of Route 906 between Rostraver and Monessen on Monday. The road, which runs along the Monongahela River, will be closed until Thursday, weather permitting, while debris is cleared, according to a PennDOT spokeswoman. The road was closed at 2 a.m. Monday between...
Covid-19 spreads to Penn Hills, Monroeville, other Allegheny suburbs
As covid-19 spreads to Allegheny County’s suburbs, officials in those areas are encouraging residents to adhere to the governor’s stay-at-home order and practice social distancing. A map that displays where the virus has spread shows cases now have touched Penn Hills, Monroeville, Plum, Oakmont, Churchill and Wilkinsburg, among others. Of...
Allegheny County adds 25 coronavirus cases, total reaches 290
Allegheny County reported 25 new cases of the coronavirus Monday, bringing the countywide total to 290. That total does not include two Allegheny County residents who have died from complications from covid-19. More than 37,000 people across Pennsylvania have been tested for covid-19, according to figures released by the state...
Scottdale expands existing curfew to anyone under 18
Scottdale extended its normal 9 p.m. curfew for children during the school year to include anyone under 18, according to borough manager Angelo Pallone. The altered curfew will remain in effect as long as the coronavirus pandemic continues, he said. “It’s going to be enforced as long as the emergency...
Food Podcast: How Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank assists during the coronavirus pandemic
As the coronavirus outbreak wears on and businesses in Pennsylvania and around the country remain closed, staving off hunger is becoming an increasingly monumental task. Brian Gulish of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank gave an update on this week’s food podcast. The organization’s efforts to feed those who need...
North Shore police memorial vandalized
A memorial to law enforcement officers near Heinz Field was vandalized. A profane anti-police message was spray painted in yellow on the Allegheny County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on North Shore Drive, according to Pittsburgh police. The vandalism was on the part of the memorial facing the Allegheny River. The...
Pittsburgh police seek suspect in fatal Homewood shooting
A woman was found shot in Homewood early Monday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to a 911 call for a person shot in the 7000 block of Monticello Street just before 2:20 a.m. The woman was found inside a residence with a gunshot wound. Medics pronounced her dead...
