Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1479
9th employee at Port Authority’s West Mifflin garage tests positive for coronavirus
Port Authority of Allegheny County on Monday reported that another employee has tested positive for covid-19. Eleven employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, including nine at the West Mifflin bus garage. The latest employee to test positive works in maintenance at the garage, Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said....
Community fundraisers support families displaced by Lawrenceville fire
Bryn Young had left her mother’s house in Lawrenceville only 30 minutes earlier when she got a call from her sister. The house is on fire, she said, and panic immediately set in. Young, 20, heard what sounded like an explosion over the receiver. The fire destroyed three homes in...
Judge rules former Leechburg police chief Diebold must remain in jail during pandemic
Michael Diebold, the former Leechburg police chief, will remain in jail as he awaits a hearing to determine if he violated parole terms for a sex offense, a Westmoreland County judge ruled. Diebold contended ongoing serious health problems put him at risk should he contract coronavirus and sought an early...
Levin makes good on promise to help former employees
When Robert Levin’s attempt to rescue his family’s former furniture store empire collapsed last month, the former CEO of Levin Furniture promised he wouldn’t forget the 1,200 workers left hanging when Art Van Furniture filed for bankruptcy. Concerned that hundreds of employees who had worked for Levin Furniture for decades...
Western Pennsylvanians venture out as curbside liquor pickup expandsVideo
Cars, SUVs and pickups pulled up to a Fine Wines & Good Spirits store in Penn Hills on Monday as residents scrambled to purchase liquor with the opening of most state stores across Pennsylvania for curbside delivery. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokesman Shawn Kelly said the agency last week opened...
Scenic Beam Rocks area in Forbes State Forest defaced by spray paint vandals
Officials are seeking information on vandals who spray painted graffiti at a popular natural overlook, Beam Rocks, along the border of Somerset and Westmoreland counties in Forbes State Forest. A hiking trail off Laurel Summit Road leads to the sandstone outcroppings — some 90 feet tall — that provide adventurers...
Pennsylvania golf courses, marinas, private campgrounds can reopen this week
Golf courses, marinas and some campgrounds will be permitted to open Friday as Pennsylvania officials move toward a gradual reopening of a state economy halted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to private campgrounds, guided fishing trips will be allowed to resume Friday. All of those businesses must follow life-sustaining...
Pennsylvania officials issue guidance on resuming elective surgeries
Hospitals and surgical centers in Pennsylvania can resume elective procedures that have been halted for weeks by the coronavirus pandemic. State Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said Monday such surgeries and procedures may begin again as long as hospitals still would be ready for a potential surge in covid-19 cases....
Officials: Pennsylvania coronavirus reporting largely lacks mandated race, ethnicity data
Health care systems still aren’t providing crucial race and ethnicity data when reporting coronavirus cases to the Department of Health, leaving a wide swath of some vulnerable populations unaccounted for, officials said Monday. A mandate from Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine says facilities and providers include demographic data along...
Construction projects can begin in Pittsburgh on Friday
Pittsburgh will allow construction projects to begin in the city starting on Friday under protocols established by the state and construction industry, the Mayor’s Office announced Monday. Gov. Tom Wolf last month shuttered most construction projects to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The governor last week announced that...
Pittsburgh councilwoman says coronavirus has led to more discrimination complaints
Pittsburgh would ban discrimination based on a person’s citizenship or immigration status under legislation City Council is scheduled to introduce on Tuesday. Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, the sponsor, said the Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission has experienced an uptick of discrimination complaints since the coronavirus pandemic began. The complaints contend people have...
Confiscated note unravels drug scheme at Westmoreland jail, investigators report
A sheet of paper left in the Westmoreland County Prison library helped investigators unravel a yearlong scheme that used mail to deliver drugs to the Hempfield lockup, officials reported in court documents. Corrections officers listened to inmate phone conversations to intercept pieces of mail, and county detectives staked out the...
Police: Somerset man severely beaten, subjected to Russian roulette at ‘house party’
Pennsylvania State Police say a 21-year-old Somerset County man was duped into attending a “house party,” where he was severely beaten and subjected to “Russian roulette.” Charles D. Sleasman, 22, of Plum and Eric Flamm, 24, of Somerset were arraigned on assault charges after allegedly tying the man’s hands and...
Pennsylvania reports fewer than 900 new coronavirus cases, 47 deaths
Dozens of new coronavirus deaths in Pennsylvania have pushed the statewide death toll to nearly 1,600 and hundreds more people tested positive, according to state health officials. The 47 new deaths reported to the Department of Health throughout the day Sunday brought the confirmed total to 1,597. Another 885 people...
Supreme Court rules insurers can collect $12B under health care law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama. Insurers are entitled to the money under a provision of the “Obamacare” health law...
Allegheny County reports 6 new coronavirus deaths, 14% of cases in health care workers
The Allegheny County Health Department reported six new deaths and 13 additional cases of the coronavirus Monday. Of the total 79 deaths, 72 are listed as confirmed cases of covid-19, while seven are considered probable. Those deaths come after the county reported zero new deaths Sunday. The new diagnoses bring...
Sheetz offers free coffee to first responders and health care workers
Sheetz is picking up first responders and health care workers with a free coffee at its locations. The convenience chain announced the free cup is available to those helping in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, including hospital workers, police officers, firefighters and paramedics. “The first responders and medical personnel...
IRS adds details to online stimulus money toolVideo
For nearly two weeks now, taxpayers have been able to use a tool on the IRS website to find out the status of their coronavirus stimulus money. Now, the Get My Payment tool has been expanded to include more information about your payment from the government’s $2.2 trillion economic relief...
3 new Westmoreland coronavirus deaths bring toll to 30
Three new deaths in Westmoreland County related to the coronavirus have been reported by Coroner Ken Bacha. All three were women, bringing the death toll to 30, according to statistics updated early Monday. Bacha has said the majority of the county’s deaths are tied to nursing and personal care homes....
With commencements postponed, Class of ’20 becomes Class of Covid-19
This was supposed to be a big weekend — the kick-off of college commencement season that would culminate in graduation ceremonies for about 15,000 students at colleges and universities across the region over the next month. Pitt and Point Park University were poised to lead the way this weekend with...
Food bank to hold drive-up distribution in Duquesne
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will hold another drive-up food distribution Monday afternoon at its facility in Duquesne. The distribution will take place from noon to 3 p.m. at 1 N. Linden St. The entrance is at the intersection of South Linden Street and South Duquesne Boulevard. Each vehicle...
Herman Dupre, of Seven Springs fame, dies at 87
Herman K. Dupre, a winter sports pioneer behind the growth of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, died Saturday, April 25. He was 87. A cause of death had not been made public. Dupre’s death was confirmed in a Facebook post by Seven Springs resort. ”The Seven Springs family is saddened by...
Trump disinfectant remarks led to hundreds of hotline callsVideo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s health department fielded hundreds of calls from residents asking about ingesting disinfectants after President Donald Trump wondered aloud if that could fight covid-19, Gov Larry Hogan said Sunday. The Republican governor spoke about the emergency hotline calls and Trump’s offhand comment during appearances on CBS’ “Face...
Pittsburgh Public Schools alerts staff and families to potential case of covid-19
Pittsburgh Public Schools staff and families are receiving a phone message warning of a potential case of covid-19 affecting a staff volunteer. The volunteer assisted with the distribution of laptops and instructional packets at Pittsburgh Milliones in the Hill District. According to the phone message, the district was notified that...
Police: Woman shot, killed at McKeesport intersection
A 32-year-old woman was shot and killed in McKeesport early Sunday, according to Allegheny County police. First responders were called about 5:30 a.m. to the intersection of Rogena Street and Riverview Avenue for a report of a woman’s body found at the intersection. When they arrived, they found a woman...
