Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1400
Allegheny County launching team to monitor businesses for coronavirus safety guidelines
The Allegheny County Health Department is deploying a new Covid Field Response Team on Thursday to monitor businesses and ensure they are following public health orders, officials announced during a Wednesday news briefing. Team members — 10 people who are contracting with the county — will visit businesses such as...
Gov. Wolf speaks out in support of health secretary after Bloomsburg dunk tank incident
Gov. Tom Wolf came to the defense of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine Wednesday afternoon after her gender identity was again mocked in a public incident. “The covid-19 pandemic has brought hate and transphobia into the spotlight through relentless comments and slurs directed at Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine,...
Ohio joins Pennsylvania in statewide mask mandate
Effective Thursday, it will take more than a trip across the Ohio state line for Pennsylvanians seeking to escape orders requiring face masks in public places. Ohio will join Pennsylvania in having a statewide mask mandate. One day after President Trump took to the airwaves endorsing masks and conceding that...
Protesters in Harrisburg rally against mask mandates, Gov. Wolf’s coronavirus restrictions
HARRISBURG — No more masks. No more restrictions. And, they said, no more tyranny. That was the rally cry of several hundred people who gathered Wednesday on the Capitol steps, calling for Gov. Tom Wolf to lift all coronavirus-related restrictions. Organizers called the “Pennsylvania Assemble for Freedom” event a gathering...
AG Shapiro charges 2 drilling companies with eco-crimes in Washington County
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday charged two drilling companies with environmental crimes for their alleged pollution of a stream in Washington County. The charges stem from a grand jury report released last month that alleged unconventional drilling companies allowed pollutants to fill the water and air around drilling...
State health officials won’t allow Blue Jays to use PNC Park
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health will not permit the Toronto Blue Jays to play at PNC Park in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, officials announced Wednesday afternoon. The Blue Jays were seeking a major-league venue to play their home games after the Canadian government declared the Rogers Centre in Toronto...
Westmoreland water officials hope goats are solution to invasive weedsVideo
Goats could be a key factor in ridding Beaver Run Reservoir property of an invasive weed that is hindering tree growth around the drinking water source. Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials, with the help of a Saint Vincent College student and professor, are studying how goats react to the...
Pittsburgh council set to enact police reforms before summer recess
A series of police reforms shepherded by Pittsburgh City Councilman Ricky Burgess are set to be considered for final approval next week before council enters its summer recess. Council also will consider approving a pilot program to divert low-level offenders from the criminal justice system to receive social services help...
High-speed police chase ends in Ligonier Township when suspect crashesVideo
A high-speed police chase spanning two counties ended Tuesday when a stolen vehicle the suspect was driving slammed into cars parked at a Ligonier Township restaurant, according to authorities. Gary Austin Blough, 18, of Johnstown nearly hit two vehicles head-on during the westbound pursuit on Route 30, according to court...
Pa. Supreme Court refuses to void lawsuit against UPMC over patient’s murder of neighbor
Terrance Andrews, a drug-addicted psychiatric patient, repeatedly told his caregivers at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside that he was going to kill one of his neighbors. Then, he did it. In May 2008 he slashed 18-year-old Lisa Maas, a Pennsylvania Culinary Institute student, to death with a pair of scissors. Maas’ mother...
Pa. Consumer Advocate: FirstEnergy can’t recover $60 million alleged bribe from customers
FirstEnergy Corp. would not be able to raise electric rates on its 720,000 West Penn Power Co. customers in an attempt to recoup what federal prosecutors say was $60 million in bribes allegedly paid to Ohio power brokers. Prosecutors allege the bribes were paid in an effort to secure a...
Where have the fireflies gone in Southwestern Pennsylvania?
Hot and dry weather during most of July has dimmed the light spectacle of fireflies in some urban and other parched landscapes, according to some local experts. Naturalists from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy report less of a good showing this year of the beetle of summer — the firefly —...
Mt. Lebanon, Greater Latrobe ranked top school districts in Pittsburgh area, Westmoreland
Greater Latrobe is tops in Westmoreland County and among the best school districts across the state, according to the latest rankings in several categories on Niche.com. The Pittsburgh-based site calculates its rankings based on reviews by students and parents and data from the U.S. Department of Education, along with factors...
Lebanon County sues Gov. Wolf for withholding $13M in virus funding
A Pennsylvania county sued Wednesday to compel Gov. Tom Wolf to release $12.8 million in federal coronavirus relief funding that he withheld after county leaders defied his shutdown orders and sought to reopen on their own. Wolf yanked the funding from Lebanon County, where local Republican leaders voted in mid-May...
Pennsylvania health department looking to hire more contact tracers, nurses
State health officials are looking to hire more contact tracers and nurses to better control the spread of coronavirus and prepare for any potential surges in covid-19 cases. Contact tracing is the process of identifying, notifying and monitoring anyone who came in close contact with an individual who tested positive...
Ross police searching for suspects who stole ATM from gas station
Ross Township police are searching for suspects wanted for breaking into a gas station and stealing an ATM. Police say the BP station in the 500 block of Lowries Run Road was broken into around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and the ATM was taken. The suspects were driving a car that...
Former Jeannette man killed during S.C. robbery attempt
A Jeannette native was killed during an attempted robbery this month in Charleston, S.C. Thomas DiLorenzo, 63, was fatally shot Friday by two teenagers, ages 15 and 16, who demanded money as he and his wife walked downtown, the Post and Courier reported. Police called the shooting an “anomaly” that...
Pitt, Penn State officials support mask wearing efforts, coronavirus mitigation plans
Officials with the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and Temple University said they are supportive of mask wearing and other mitigation efforts put into place by state officials to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. All three universities plan to offer in-person classes this fall. “Penn State is finalizing...
Allegheny County reports 96 new coronavirus cases, 8 deaths
Allegheny County dropped below 100 new covid-19 cases for the first time in nine days but saw a rise in both deaths and hospitalizations. The county reported 96 new cases, eight deaths and 16 hospitalizations on Wednesday, with the eight deaths the highest recorded since mid-May. The new cases bring...
Grab the mustard and onions — it’s National Hot Dog Day
Although the hot dog doesn’t always get a lot of respect, Americans eat an estimated 20 billion of them every year. That’s roughly 70 per person. That’s enough to get the lowly tube steak some formal recognition — July 22 is National Hot Dog Day. If you find yourself passing...
‘Very frightening’: Opposition grows to U.S. agents in cities
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Trump administration is facing growing pushback — in the courts and on the streets — to sending federal agents to Portland, Oregon, where protests have spiraled into violence, and vowing to do the same in other Democratic-led cities. Far from tamping down the unrest that followed...
Reports: MLB has informed Toronto Blue Jays they will call PNC Park home this season
MLB has informed the Toronto Blue Jays that they will share PNC Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates as their home field this season, according to reports out of Canada. Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae first reported the news late Tuesday night, and the Toronto Sun confirmed that the majority of the Blue...
1 dead after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood
A man was killed Wednesday in a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood, according to the city Department of Public Safety. The unidentified man was taken to a hospital in critical condition early Wednesday. His death was reported just before 9 a.m. The city’s Shotspotter detection system registered multiple shots fired...
2nd heat wave in Western Pa. strains power grid but utilities handle extra demand
This summer’s heat has pushed the mercury to 90 degrees and higher for 11 days, prompting people to keep the air conditioners humming day and night. It has also strained the electricity lines carrying power to homes and businesses, area utility companies said. But while the system may be stressed...
Leechburg man dies after Gilpin crash
A 26-year-old Leechburg man died Tuesday night after crashing the vehicle he was driving into a tree in Gilpin, according to the Armstrong County Coroner’s Office. Christian Joshua Cuffia lost control of his car on Ice Pond Road, near Shearer Road, around 7:20 p.m. The car traveled about 80 feet...
