Regional category, Page 241
Week in review: Wolf’s ordered deemed unconstitutional, Westmoreland sheriff switches partiesVideo
A federal judge in Pittsburgh on Monday found that orders issued by Gov. Tom Wolf restricting the size of gatherings and closing non-essential businesses to protect against the spread of covid-19 were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV wrote in his 66-page opinion that, even though the actions...
Braddock-based SCO drug-dealing gang member gets 9 years in federal prison
A former Braddock man who was part of a drug-dealing operation was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Pittsburgh to nine years in prison, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh said. Jaymare Jackson, 30, was identified as being part of the self-titled Braddock street gang, “SCO,”which dealt drugs in the Braddock...
Federal lawsuit alleges bounty hunters harassed CEO of Concordia over estranged son’s whereabouts
The president and CEO of Concordia Lutheran Ministries on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the state police and a bail bonds agency contending that they illegally searched his Butler County home and ransacked another while looking for his estranged son. Keith Frndak, along with his wife Diane, who teaches...
Trump heads to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for airport rally
Like he did at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe earlier this month, President Donald Trump is holding another airport hangar rally. This one is Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township, the campaign announced Thursday. The president’s rally at Atlantic Aviation, 300 Horizon Drive,...
Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Beaver Valley Interchange to close on weekdays for 3 weeks
The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Beaver Valley Interchange (Exit 13) will be closed on weekdays for three weeks starting Sept. 21, the Turnpike Commission said. Crews will be reconstructing the road shoulders and resurfacing the ramps leading to and from the highway, according to a news release. Work is scheduled to stop...
Western Pa. nonprofit turns to public for diaper donations during pandemicVideo
Anna Joyner is hoping to collect 5,000 diapers by next week, and she got at least halfway to her goal on Thursday. The Greensburg resident is the outreach coordinator in Westmoreland and Fayette counties for the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank, an organization started eight years ago to help get diapers...
Gov. Wolf urges legislature to give $225 million to frontline workers’ hazard pay
Gov. Tom Wolf urged the legislature Thursday to allocate an additional $225 million to the Hazard Pay Program, which offers temporary pay increases for frontline workers during the covid-19 pandemic. Wolf announced the first wave of Hazard Pay Program funding in July. The program distributed $50 million in hazard pay...
Another man wounded in Masontown shooting files federal suit for negligence
A Uniontown man filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against a Fayette County magistrate judge and the estate of a man who shot him there two years ago. Scott A. Furlong Jr. said in his federal complaint that he was shot in the wrist about 2 p.m. on Sept. 19,...
Growing older: Number of centenarians on the rise in U.S.
Sounds of honking horns, cheering crowds and bouts of “happy birthday” wafted through normally quiet neighborhoods this year as friends and family, not letting the coronavirus pandemic stop them, celebrated loved ones turning 100. The number of centenarians around the world is on the rise, data show, a generation of...
Pair accused of trafficking 400 ‘bricks’ of fentanyl
A Philadelphia woman and Dominican Republican man arrested by the state police in a traffic stop along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant Township have been charged by the federal government with possessing about 400 “bricks” of fentanyl, a powerful painkiller that is mixed with heroin to make a deadly...
Jeannette native helping students of military personnel killed or disabled
A Jeannette native is spearheading efforts to raise money for educational scholarships for families of military service people who have died or have been disabled while on active duty. Michael Popella of Grove City founded the Folds of Honor of Western PA Chapter after meeting the national organization’s founder, Lt....
Pa. has record-breaking sportsbook wagers in August
August was Pennsylvania’s best month yet in sportsbook revenues, making the state a contender for the second largest legal sports betting market in the country. The state generated almost $365 million in sports betting wagers, up from $109 million recorded during the same period last year, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control...
Beaver County woman arrested for allegedly luring Illinois boy, 15, from his home to hers
A Rochester woman accused of taking a teenage boy from his home to Beaver County last month was arrested Wednesday night in McKeesport by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, police said. The suspect, Lilandra Redman, 20, was found at a home in the 2900 block of Versailles Street, McKeesport, at...
Trib Total Media CEO Jennifer Bertetto named to international board
Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto has been named to the board of directors of the World Association of News Publishers, an organization representing media organizations internationally. The World Association of News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, is headquartered in Paris and Frankfurt, Germany. The organization, founded in 1948, is...
Gov. Wolf argues ‘life and death’ while seeking stay in pandemic restrictions rulingVideo
Attorneys for Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Wednesday asked to stay the federal court decision from earlier this week in which a district judge ruled unconstitutional the state’s shutdown orders over the covid-19 pandemic. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case said they will vigorously oppose any motion to stay...
CoGo’s to become Coen Markets as part of rebranding
People accustomed to buying gas and coffee at one of the 38 CoGo’s locations in the region will soon see a new logo, as Canonsburg-based Coen Markets Inc. moves forward with rebranding its stores. The gas will carry the Amoco brand and the stores will be known as Coen Markets....
Smoke from Western wildfires intensifies in the region
The first plumes of smoke from the massive wildfires burning on the West Coast began reaching Pittsburgh on Aug. 25, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. But Tuesday was the day people began to notice, as the massive smoke plume from some of California’s largest-ever wildfires, along with...
Massive bird migration over Pittsburgh was spectacular — if you had binoculars
Waves of tens of thousands of birds passed through the region Monday night, as they do each fall on big migration days, delivering a variety of species that are heading south after summering in the northern United States and Canada. But the trees weren’t dripping with birds as they would...
State police asking public’s help in arsons in Indiana and Westmoreland counties
The state police fire marshal is asking the public’s help on three intentionally set fires last weekend, including one that gutted a vacant bar-restaurant in Indiana County and two fires that destroyed a home in Bolivar early Sunday. Trooper Keith Sobecki of the Greensburg barracks said the Clarksburg Valley Inn...
Giant Eagle pledges $500K to feeding students, with $125K for Greater Pittsburgh food bank
With many schools beginning virtual instruction, some students and families are facing the dilemma of how to provide healthy meals for their children this year. Businesses and local organizations are coming together to help ensure those students are fed. Giant Eagle pledged $500,000 to regional Feeding America food banks with...
Business owners endorse judge’s ruling on Wolf orders, but say damage already done
David Magill said Monday he felt Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown orders were unconstitutional from the start, but he didn’t think a federal judge ruling them as such would change much because the governor is appealing and many businesses already have suffered. “I think that he should concede his loss, and...
Family of Butler County man killed by police files lawsuit claiming civil rights violations
The family of a 73-year-old Butler County man, who was having a mental health crisis before he was killed two years ago by the state police, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state police. Walter Wiemann was killed on Sept. 18, 2018, in the yard of his home...
Pitt researchers discover antibody that could be key in covid cure
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh say they have isolated a tiny molecule that neutralizes the coronavirus and could be the foundation for a drug to prevent and combat covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. Researchers from Pitt’s School of Medicine published their findings today in the journal Cell....
Pa. warns jobless: Apply for $1,800 checks before money runs out
For some of Pennsylvania’s 616,000 jobless workers, an $1,800 lump-sum check for six weeks of unemployment may never be in the mail because the special unemployment aid could be used up before they get the money, state Labor department officials warned Monday. The likelihood the state will be unable to...
Schools allowed to extend free meals to students for rest of the year
Students across the country will continue to receive free meals throughout the remainder of the year in an attempt to help families struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. Several local school districts are taking advantage of programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, allowing students from age 2 to 18...
