Western PA Local News category, Page 2505
Pittsburgh Catholic diocese cancels all funeral Masses, weddings, baptisms due to coronavirus
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has canceled all funeral Masses, weddings and baptisms throughout the diocese after two priests in separate parish groupings were exposed to the coronavirus. The church announced Saturday night that the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) services that have taken place in churches or church parking lots...
Beaver County nursing home confronts covid-19 outbreak; at least 10 residents infected
A Beaver County nursing home is scrambling to contain an outbreak of covid-19 that has infected at least 10 residents, officials said Saturday. The Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center began testing residents Friday night, and the first several results came back negative, the center’s leaders said in a statement. Results...
Pittsburgh Brookline elementary school staffer tests positive for covid-19
A staff member at Pittsburgh Brookline elementary school has tested positive for covid-19, district officials said Saturday. The person is believed to have contracted the highly contagious disease caused by the novel coronavirus outside of school grounds, Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said. School officials alerted all families and...
Sewickley Township man died after being pulled into storm drain
A 38-year-old Sewickley Township man died Saturday evening after being pulled into a storm drain following heavy rains that swept across the region. Rescue crews from several fire departments responded to the incident on Clay Pike in Herminie at about 5:30 p.m., when Nathan D. Roth’s wife called 911, a...
Turzai calls for end to construction stoppage
The speaker of the state House plans to introduce legislation that would allow all construction projects in the state to proceed under Gov. Tom Wolf’s closure of non-life-sustaining businesses. The governor ordered the closures March 19 to slow the spread of covid-19. After failing to change the mind of the...
Flash flood warning issued for Allegheny, Westmoreland counties until 3:15 a.m. Sunday
A flash flood warning issued Saturday night in parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington counties has been extended to 3:15 a.m., the National Weather Service said. Heavy downpours of rain across the region from Pittsburgh south are expected to overflow and cause potential hazards near small creeks, urban areas, highways...
Highland Park family escapes Slovakia as borders close due to coronavirus
John McCarthy was thrilled when he found out he had been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to teach in Slovakia this year. It was the professional opportunity of a lifetime for the Robert Morris University history professor. McCarthy, 44, and his wife Ann, 41, looked forward to life in Bratislava. He...
Day care operators confused over state directives; reopening on holdVideo
Concern over changes in state rules and recommendations guiding child care centers amid the coronavirus scare — and worry over their liability if a child in their care becomes ill with covid-19 — have kept some closed after obtaining state waivers to remain open. “They have been confused and frustrated....
97-year-old Latrobe woman livestreams baking lessons on FacebookVideo
Back in the day, mothers and grandmothers passed down their culinary knowledge to daughters and granddaughters side-by-side in the kitchen, waiting to mix in an egg or lick extra icing from the spoon. On Sunday, 97-year-old Lucy Pollock, of Latrobe, will do the same. The only difference is that her...
Severe thunderstorm watch issued for Western Pennsylvania
The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Western Pennsylvania until 8 p.m. Saturday night. The service also issued a flood advisory for the Ohio River in the Pittsburgh area. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for the highlighted counties until 8 PM tonight....
State reports 11 additional covid-19 cases in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County gained 11 covid-19 cases since Saturday’s numbers were released, state health officials said Saturday. Forty-one cases are confirmed in Westmoreland, according to the latest figures, up from 30 on Friday. There have been no deaths related to the virus in the county. In addition, Gov. Tom Wolf issued...
Pennsylvania reports 12 more deaths, 533 new cases of coronavirus
Twelve more people in Pennsylvania have died from covid-19, increasing the statewide coronavirus death toll to 34, state health officials said Saturday. Confirmed cases now are present in at least 56 of the state’s 67 counties, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We are seeing this virus rear its ugly...
Mt. Pleasant native leads UCLA battle against coronavirusVideo
When the novel coronavirus came ashore on the West Coast two months ago, Johnese Spisso was confident UCLA Health was up for the challenge. The Mt. Pleasant native is president of UCLA Health and CEO of UCLA Hospital System — one of the nation’s largest medical academic research centers and...
Embrace down time, limit social media during covid-19 crisis, say mental health experts
Like just about everyone else these days, Jen Bertolasio finds herself in a situation she could not have imagined even one month ago. Bertolasio, 32, of Carnegie works as a data analyst. But, along with her husband, she is now on Day 13 of working from home with her two...
McKeesport man shot while driving in Penn Hills dies
A McKeesport man shot in the leg Friday night while driving along Bon Air Road in Penn Hills has died. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Chasae Swindle, 42. Penn Hills Police responded around 11 p.m. Friday night to the 100 block of Evaline Street for...
The Stroller, March 28, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Send cancellations to The Stroller The Stroller will publish news of cancellations and events that will still occur in the upcoming days. If your organization is helping people or has to cancel or postpone an event, please send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Feeding Freeport project accepting donations and...
Traffic plummets, business suffers on Route 30 during pandemic responseVideo
Route 30 usually is a place of perpetual traffic jams, but for the last week it’s looked more like a “ghost town,” according to Brandon Irdi, assistant manager at the Advance Auto Parts on Route 30 in Hempfield. Traffic has declined dramatically as the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to...
Allegheny County reports additional 61 cases of coronavirus
Allegheny County health officials reported an additional 61 cases of covid-19 Saturday morning. That is more than twice the 25 new cases reported from Thursday to Friday. Females make up 110 cases, or 50.2%, and males account for 109 cases, or 49.8%. The age breakdown of cases is as follows:...
Lower Burrell parks closed after public doesn’t adhere to social distancing
Lower Burrell parks are closed until further notice because of coronavirus concerns. City police posted the announcement Friday on the department’s Facebook page. “Due to instances in which individuals utilizing our parks have not been following the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) social distancing recommended guidelines, we have to...
Woman hospitalized after motorcycle crash in Tarentum
A woman was taken to a local hospital Friday night with a head injury suffered in a motorcycle crash in Tarentum. Police and EMS responded to the single-vehicle crash in the 400 block of East Seventh Avenue shortly after 9:30 p.m. Police said the driver, a black man, fled on...
Family Video in New Kensington to permanently close
Family Video in New Kensington will permanently close shortly after it, and other non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania, reopen. All Family Video locations companywide were closed Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are about 18 locations in Pennsylvania, four in eastern Ohio and more than 550 in 20 states and...
Giant Eagle employees in New Kensington, North Huntingdon and Wexford test positive for covid-19
Employees at five Giant Eagle stores have tested positive for coronavirus, including stores in New Kensington, North Huntingdon and Wexford, the company announced Friday. All five of the affected grocery stores have been thoroughly sanitized and are open for business, the company said in a statement. “Like other essential businesses,...
Adapting: Harrison family livestreams concerts from their living room to cope with pandemic
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways a global pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. Christa Beck could not stop sharing music. It’s what she has always done as an instructor with Kindermusik, a children’s music education program. The covid-19 pandemic and...
Garbage collection set for Saturday in Pittsburgh
Saturday has been added as a garbage collection day this weekend in Pittsburgh. Crews are working to pick up trash left at curbsides on Wednesday, when pick-ups were suspended over issues related to the covid-19 crisis. The city’s environmental services workers were sent home with pay Wednesday after voicing concerns...
Police: Pittsburgh man robs Hazelwood pizza shop
A Pittsburgh man was arrested in Squirrel Hill after allegedly robbing a pizza shop in Hazelwood. City police have charged Justin Algiere, 27, with robbery in connection with an incident at 5 p.m. Thursday at Italian Village Pizza along the 5000 block of Second Avenue. Police said Algiere was stopped...
