Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1381
Mother of Duquesne student killed in fall still at odds with university
A woman still searching for answers in the 2018 death of her son at Duquesne University remains at odds with the school and its attorneys who say they have done all that they can to accommodate her demands for information. Dannielle Brown, of Washington, D.C., has been on hunger strike...
Police identify suspects in I-70 brick throwing probe
State police in Belle Vernon said they have “identified suspects” in two brick throwing incidents last month along Interstate 70 that caused a minor injury to one truck driver near the North Belle Vernon interchange. On July 7, state police reported bricks were thrown at two eastbound tractor-trailers. One driver...
71 Fayette Co. inmates test positive for coronavirus; courthouse reopening for business
More than half of the inmates at the Fayette County Prison tested positive for covid-19 as county officials prepare to reopen its courthouse Thursday after a two-week closure. The county has seen big jumps in the number of confirmed cases in recent days, and 32 county employees have tested positive...
AG Shapiro confirms investigation into embattled Brighton Rehab nursing home in Beaver CountyVideo
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has launched a criminal investigation into the embattled Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, the Tribune-Review has learned. A spokesperson for Shapiro confirmed Wednesday morning his office is exploring whether criminal charges are warranted related to the “conditions and practices” at the Brighton...
Pennsylvania reports 849 new coronavirus cases, 33 deaths
Pennsylvania remained in triple digits for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday — as it has so far in all of August. The state’s Department of Health added 849 new positive covid-19 results, bringing the state’s total to 121,130 since the outbreak began in March. For the month, daily new cases...
Pittsburgh restaurant closed for week after violating covid-19 regulations
Seven, a restaurant and nightclub in Downtown Pittsburgh, was ordered by the Allegheny County Health Department to close for seven days for violating covid-19 regulations. The health department’s report cited several violations of covid-19 mandates, including employees not wearing masks — a violation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s mandate for universal...
Summit Academy is 2nd WPIAL school to forgo fall sports
Summit Academy won’t play sports this fall, becoming the second WPIAL school to cancel athletics over covid-19 concerns. “This has to do with the health and safety of our students and staff members,” said athletic director Ryan Parrish, noting the school for at-risk boys faces challenges different than others. “Our...
Allegheny County reports 13 new coronavirus deaths
Allegheny County added 13 new deaths attributed to coronavirus to its totals Wednesday, but some of the deaths reach back into July. The county Health Department’s report brings the total covid-19 related deaths to 273. It was the highest single-day report since the outbreak began in March, with previous reports...
Board recommends suspension of Allegheny County judge for alleged racial comments
The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board on Wednesday referred charges against Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli to the state Court of Judicial Discipline and recommended that he be suspended. The allegations against him include six counts of judicial misconduct, including that he engaged in “racial or other harassment,”...
Pittsburgh’s North Shore restaurants endure summer without sports fans
Rico Lunardi opened the third location of Slice on Broadway, his local pizza chain in 2016 at PNC Park. He guesses he missed only five or six Pirates game nights since he opened the spot with a street entrance on Federal Street. “I will never be a professional athlete, but...
Gateway School Board allows Grace Life Church to continue services at high school despite concerns
The Gateway School Board narrowly voted down an administrative recommendation Tuesday to place a temporary moratorium on all facility rentals amid ongoing concerns of spreading covid-19. The vote, 5-4, means outside groups can continue to rent school district buildings throughout the school year. Those in favor of stopping facility rentals...
Monroeville nursing home reports 47 covid-19 cases, after reporting zero last week
A Monroeville nursing home has reported 47 cases of covid-19 to state health officials, after reporting none a week ago. Long-term care facility data from the state’s Department of Health shows that Monroeville Rehabilitation & Wellness Center reported zero cases of covid-19. In numbers updated on Tuesday, the center reported...
As Post-Gazette employee representatives consider a strike, analysts say strategy can be dicey
A strike is “in the arsenal” for newspapers to use in labor negotiations, said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute. But it’s “sort of the atomic bomb,” he said. Edmonds, referring to a potential strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, said these work stoppages once were commonplace...
Horses welcome — but not people, really — to horse show at North Park
Horses are encouraged — people, not so much — to attend the North Allegheny Horsemen’s Association Horse Show at North Park this Sunday. It’s one of the rare public events that Allegheny County Parks has approved during covid-19 pandemic regulations. The Allegheny County Health Department’s limit of 50 people to...
What Pittsburgh experts are saying about Russia’s covid-19 vaccine
Russia declared on Tuesday its covid-19 vaccine was ready for public use — an announcement met with global skepticism. While Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the vaccine had proven to be efficient and had undergone proper testing, some health experts warned that it’s ill-advised to begin using a vaccine before...
Babcock Boulevard reopens following crash, ‘major power outage’ in North Hills
A vehicle toppled a telephone pole Tuesday afternoon in Ross, sending at least one person to the hospital and knocking out power for nearly 2,000 customers in the North Hills. Major intersections along Babcock Boulevard near McKnight Road and Siebert Road reopened Tuesday night after crews worked to clear the...
‘Where’s the chaos’?: At Pitt’s move-in day, a surreal silence amid a pandemicVideo
The University of Pittsburgh’s move-in day this year was, for perhaps the first time, a quiet one. The usual throngs of students and parents were instead just sporadic groups that trickled across campus. Traffic moved freely on Forbes and Fifth avenues. There were no lines for parking lots, no waiting...
Pennsylvania mayors appeal to Congress for federal aid
HARRISBURG — Mayors in Pennsylvania are challenging the state’s members of Congress to help them get direct budget aid from the federal government, warning that cities of all sizes face steep deficits and deep service cuts as a result of the coronavirus’ impact on the economy. With Washington in a...
Inquiry on Allegheny County judge’s alleged racist remarks coming to close
Six months after Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli was moved to administrative duties after allegations he made racist comments about a criminal court juror, an investigation by the state Judicial Conduct Board is wrapping up. “Judge Tranquilli has completely and fully cooperated with the investigation, and we...
Joe Biden selects California Sen. Kamala Harris as running mateVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role Black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump. “I...
St. Clair Social gastropub opens at old Sharp Edge spot in Friendship
Friendship has a new neighborhood bar. St. Clair Social gastropub is open on South St. Clair Street in the former location of Sharp Edge, a pioneering craft beer venue that closed in 2018 after nearly three decades. SYN Bar & Taqueria + Pizzeria later operated in the space but closed...
Authority OKs $5.8M in contracts for Arnold Palmer airport terminal, runway expansions
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is moving ahead with interior and exterior improvements at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, at a cost of about $5.8 million. The authority this week awarded contracts for expanding the passenger holding room and for continuing widening and strengthening of the runway at the Unity airport....
Pennsylvania surpasses 120K cases of covid-19
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 828 new covid-19 cases on Tuesday, making a solid two weeks in which daily cases were below the 1,000 mark. With its latest tally of cases, Pennsylvania’s total of covid-19 cases stands at 120,281. For the second time in the past week, the state...
Western Pa. colleges awarded federal funds to underwrite reopening costs
Seven local colleges and trade schools were awarded more than $900,000 in federal grants to help underwrite public health and safety plans for reopening shuttered campuses. The grants that flowed through the state are part of a $28 million pool of federal CARES Act money state officials set aside to...
Allegheny County continues to post lower new covid-19 case counts
For the first 11 days of July, Allegheny County posted 2,002 new cases of covid-19. In the first 11 days of August, the county had seen its new case count drop by more than 54%. On Tuesday, the county’s health department posted another day — its fifth straight — of...
