Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1191
Penguins’ Lower Hill redevelopment minority workforce plan approved
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ plan to create more jobs for minorities and women as part of the Lower Hill redevelopment project finally appears to be a reality. The Penguins and their development partner Buccini Pollin on Thursday announced their minority and women business enterprise participation plan was unanimously approved by the...
Small pharmacies ‘beyond frustrated’ as Pennsylvania locks them out of vaccine process
As Pennsylvania officials work to roll back the number of covid-19 vaccine providers in an effort to streamline the process, several businesses across the region have learned they are slated to no longer receive first doses. Efforts to curtail the number of providers began in February, when Acting Secretary of...
Western Pa. districts welcome new student social distancing guidelines
News of updated student social distancing guidelines was met with enthusiasm Friday at Burrell School District, where Superintendent Shannon Wagner said about 70% of students have chosen in-person learning throughout the school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines will allow schools to relax social distancing measures in...
You’ll need more cash to play Pa. Lottery’s Cash 5
It will take double the cash to play Cash 5, the Pennsylvania Lottery’s longest-running jackpot game. The base ticket price will jump from $1 to $2, and Cash 5 will offer a revised game with a chance to win more prizes, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced. The changes will begin with...
Ex-Greensburg attorney disbarred by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
A Greensburg attorney who admitted in 2019 to stealing nearly $50,000 from a fraternal organization has been disbarred by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The state’s highest court this week issued a two-sentence order barring Donald Blake Moreman, 60, who lives in Bullskin, Fayette County, from practicing law in the state....
McKees Rocks business owners charged with storming Capitol, stealing police gear
A couple who owns a McKees Rocks contracting company was arrested on Friday with rioting in the U.S. Capitol in January — including kicking a door and stealing protective masks from a police bag. Debra Maimone, 27, and Philip Vogel II, 33, who operate Vera General Contracting and Cleaning Services,...
Covid cases jump in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania
More covid cases were reported Friday in Allegheny County than at any point in the past 10 days, according to the most recent health department data. An additional 346 cases were announced Friday, bumping the county’s seven-day average up to 262. That’s the highest level for that metric since March...
2 people escape Southwest Greensburg house fire
Two Southwest Greensburg residents escaped injury early Friday after a smoke detector alerted them to a fire in a bedroom and they fled their house, according to firefighters. Multiple area departments responded to the fire on the 400 block of Oakland Avenue at 3:35 a.m., according to Southwest Greensburg fire...
In dealing with immigration, Biden is using some of same tactics as Trump, leaving Democrats in political bind
WASHINGTON — Democrats who long blistered the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies are suddenly in a tough political bind. The Biden administration is responding to a wave of children crossing the southern border into the U.S. with some of the very tactics that evoked moral outrage from Democrats when former...
Shaler detective urged wife charged in Capitol riot not to go to Washington, chief says
Mike Heinl repeatedly asked his wife not to go to Washington, D.C., in early January, according to his boss. The Shaler police detective — who is attached to the FBI Pittsburgh Violent Crimes Task Force — didn’t condone Jennifer Marie Heinl’s participation in the events at the Capitol, Shaler police...
CDC changes school guidance, allowing desks to be closer
NEW YORK — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its social distancing guidelines for schools Friday, saying students can now sit 3 feet apart in classrooms. The revised covid-19 recommendations represent a turn away from the 6-foot standard that has forced some schools to remove desks, stagger scheduling...
Pittsburgh police looking for missing woman with dementia
Pittsburgh police are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing senior citizen. According to police, Maxine Gillis, 79, suffers from dementia. She was dropped off at a family member’s home by taxi around 1 a.m. Friday but did not show up in the 2100 block of Park Hill...
Fawn supervisor not eligible for reelection because he lives in Florida, objection claims
A Fawn supervisor seeking reelection should be removed from the Democratic primary ballot in May because he does not live in the township, an objection to his nominating petition claims. The objection filed by resident Tracy Volk, a registered Democrat, claims Supervisor David A. Norris, 79, has lived in DeLand,...
East Pittsburgh woman said man threatened to shoot her before taking baby that prompted Amber Alert, police say
A 20-year-old man who sparked an Amber Alert for a 1-year-old girl Thursday twice pointed a gun at the girl’s mother and threatened to kill the woman before taking their child, according to state police. The girl, taken from her mother’s East Pittsburgh home, was recovered safely by a SWAT...
Report: Pennsylvania casino revenues down slightly in FebruaryVideo
Following a strong start to the year, Pennsylvania casinos last month saw a slight drop in gambling revenue as they work to recoup from the economic impacts of the covid-19 pandemic. In February, revenues posted by casinos across the state came in at $301.9 million, a decrease of $2.36 million,...
Petition to rename Route 981 after late state Rep. Mike Reese gains traction
An online petition to rename a state highway after the late state Rep. Mike Reese has rocketed towards it goal of 2,500 signatures in short order. Mt. Pleasant resident Nick Molitor created the petition on Change.org, where more than 2,200 people have already shown their support. He never met Reese,...
Tree of Life hosts virtual interfaith covid-19 memorial service
Local religious leaders remembered the victims of the covid-19 pandemic with a virtual memorial service one year after the first coronavirus-related death in Pennsylvania. The Tree of Life congregation on Thursday evening hosted the online event, which they called “Covid-19 One Year Later: A Service of Remembrance, Healing and Renewal.”...
Western Pa. community leaders fear mounting intensity of anti-Asian hate, xenophobia
Asian community leaders in Western Pennsylvania are reeling with emotion and striving to quell fears days after a gunman stormed three Asian-run spas in the Atlanta area, killing eight people. “We’re anxious, we’re heartbroken, we’re raging,” said Marian Lien, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization for Chinese Americans....
Levine pressed for answers on Pa.’s missing nursing home data as confirmation advances
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine is under pressure from U.S. House Republicans to provide more details about the...
Harrison man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child porn
A Harrison man who already was a registered sex offender has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for child porn possession. U.S. District Judge Marilyn J. Hornan imposed the sentence Thursday against Jack Ulrich Jr. Ulrich, 43, had pleaded guilty last June to one count of possession of...
SWAT team recovers 1-year-old girl said to have been abducted, 3 arrested
A 1-year-old girl abducted Thursday afternoon in East Pittsburgh was recovered safely by a SWAT team hours later, according to police. State police announced they had found Diore Thomas after an Amber Alert was issued for her Thursday afternoon. Diore was last at 12:30 p.m. in East Pittsburgh. Police had...
Voice of Westmoreland demands better covid vaccine plan in countyVideo
Members of the Voice of Westmoreland delivered a petition to county commissioners Thursday demanding a coronavirus vaccine registry and distribution sites in rural areas and for minority communities, among other concerns. The 375 signatures had been gathered since Saturday, said Bob Mason, a Trafford resident and member of the grassroots...
USPS agents found no evidence of backdated Erie ballots, report says
HARRISBURG — U.S. Postal Service investigators did not find evidence of any backdated presidential election ballots in the post office in Erie, according to a report summarizing the investigation into claims by a postal worker that spurred calls from Republicans for a federal probe. The presidential battleground of Pennsylvania was...
In hard-hit restaurant industry, hiring more staff is tall order in Western Pa.
A sign seeking job applicants hangs in the window of Anchor Inn in Harrison. It’s been there for about six months. That sign has garnered only two applicants, owner Joe Kolek said Thursday. “Everybody’s got ‘help wanted’ signs,” Kolek said. “I think everybody is in the same boat trying to...
Pa. vaccine provider map gets face-lift, officials still aim for May 1 open eligibilityVideo
The Pennsylvania Department of Health appears to be inching toward a more centralized system for finding and making covid-19 vaccine appointments as officials work to make a map of providers more accessible and more interactive. Health officials touted the updates to the map, which right now is the sole place...
