Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1531
Downtown Pittsburgh steam heat system ‘beyond repair,’ says mayor
A failing steam factory that has provided heat for more than a century to buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh is “beyond repair,” but plans are afoot for a national energy company to replace it with a new system that would provide heat and electricity through renewable energy, Mayor Bill Peduto said....
Hempfield school bus involved in New Stanton crashVideo
Nineteen students were on a Hempfield school bus involved in a crash Friday afternoon that sent the drivers of the bus and a Penske box truck to the hospital, according to New Stanton fire Chief Rob Cammarata. Officials responded to Pine Drive in New Stanton near the Timber Ridge Apartments...
Wall Street has worst week since 2008
Stocks sank around the globe again Friday as investors braced for more economic pain from the coronavirus outbreak, sending U.S. markets to their worst weekly finish since the 2008 financial crisis. The damage from the week of relentless selling was eye-popping: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3,583 points, or...
Pitt commits to being carbon neutral by 2037
By 2037, University of Pittsburgh intends to be completely “carbon neutral,” just in time for its 250th anniversary. Pitt’s Board of Trustees voted Friday to support Chancellor Patrick Gallagher’s signing of the “Second Nature Climate Leadership Statement and Carbon Commitment,” a resolution to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. The commitment...
Greensburg police chief announces retirement
Greensburg police Chief Chad Zucco will resign at the end of March after 22 years on the force. “It was a very hard decision,” Zucco said. “This is all I’ve known since I was 21 years old, being a police officer.” He’s accepted a job as chief operating officer of...
Goodwill purchases Pittsburgh campus, launches $10 million capital campaign
Pittsburgh-based Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania has purchased its Lawrenceville campus for $4 million and is in the midst of a $10 million fundraising campaign aimed at generating funds to expand and enhance programming, officials said. Goodwill and public officials gathered Friday to celebrate the charity’s 100th anniversary and announce the...
Wilkes-Barre native reportedly contracts coronavirus on cruise ship in Japan
A Wilkes-Barre native is on life support in Japan after contracting the coronavirus while on vacation, according to WNEP, an ABC affiliate in Luzerne County. Dan Fisher, who graduated from Coughlin High School in 1975, was on vacation in Japan earlier this month when he fell ill, Fisher’s childhood friend,...
Police: 3 men arrested on drug charges after undercover buy, traffic stop in Arnold
An undercover drug buy and a traffic stop Thursday night led to searches of two Arnold homes and the arrest of three men. Arnold police Chief Eric Doutt said officers seized heroin, cocaine, marijuana and other drugs in the arrests, along with guns and cash. Arrested were Glendon Scott Starr,...
Amazon bans 1 million products because of coronavirus claims
Amazon has pulled more than 1 million items from its digital shelves due to claims that the products could either cure or help prevent the spread of coronavirus. The move comes during the same week that Facebook said it would ban advertisements on its platform for products purporting to cure...
Hearing delayed for veteran Westmoreland sheriff’s deputy accused of inappropriate contact with female inmatesVideo
A hearing for a former Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputy accused of persuading female inmates to expose themselves or grope him in exchange for cigarettes ended as soon as it began Friday. Michael Ferguson, attorney for the veteran deputy Daniel A. Gradischek, 32, of Unity, objected to the first witness called...
Police: Fight over cigarette leads to McKees Rocks shooting; 14-year-old charged
A 14-year-old boy is charged in connection with a shooting last week in McKees Rocks that stemmed from the victim refusing to give the boy and two others a cigarette, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting happened about 4:19 p.m. Saturday on Munson Avenue, Sgt. Todd Dolfi said. A...
Walmart looks to expand alcohol sales in Western Pa.
Walmart wants to expand its sales of alcoholic beverages in Pennsylvania to its store in Unity and two other stores in Beaver and Clearfield counties. Unity supervisors are scheduled a March 12public hearing in March on the retail giant’s plan to transfer to the store at 100 Colony Lane an...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 28-March 1
Leap into the weekend in Pittsburgh. Here are some things to do. Furry friends Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit musical “Cats” is on stage through Sunday at the Benedum Center, Downtown. It is the latest gathering of Jellicle cats as part of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series....
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: Feb. 28-March 1
In like a lion, out like a lamb? No matter, March is upon us. This weekend at least, snow bunnies will still get some time on the slopes. The rest of us can look forward to Old Man Winter heading back into hibernation. Meanwhile, a weekend of entertainment beckons. Lost...
Police: App, cameras, social media help nab Hempfield purse thief
Police used a cellphone app, surveillance footage and social media to find and charge an accused purse thief in Westmoreland County. According to state police, a man was captured on surveillance footage taking a purse from an 81-year-old Jeannette woman’s shopping cart while she was preoccupied at a Giant Eagle...
Student killed in WVU apartment complex shooting; 2 charged
A West Virginia University student was killed in a shooting early Friday morning at a university-run apartment complex near the campus, officials said. Eric James Smith, a sophomore from Clementon, N.J., was identified as the victim in the shooting, which happened around 4 a.m. at the College Park Apartments. Officials...
UPMC took in $20B in revenue in 2019, claims dominance in Western Pa. insurance market
Nearly 1 in 3 Western Pennsylvanians now has a health insurance plan with UPMC — making the nonprofit behemoth not only the state’s largest private employer and hospital system but also the region’s largest insurer. That’s according to UPMC executives and their newly released 2019 year-end financial statements. They cited...
Man shot in McKeesport
A man was taken to a local trauma center after being shot in McKeesport. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said calls for the shooting came in at about 8:25 p.m. Thursday along the 1700 block of Soles Street. McKeesport police confirmed the incident occurred, but could not release any other...
One person hospitalized after crash in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood
One person was sent to a local hospital with injuries suffered in a crash Thursday evening in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood. Allegheny County 911 dispatchers said a call came in shortly before 6:30 p.m. for a vehicle that crashed into multiple parked cars near Forbes Avenue and Van Braam Street. No...
Murrysville police arrest 3 connected to thefts in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
The arrests of three people in Murrysville this week may help solve multiple crimes in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. Murrysville police searched a Wiestertown Road home, where they seized a quantity of crystal methamphetamine, smoking pipes, digital scales, a stolen handgun and multiple other stolen items, according to court papers....
Peduto seeks to enlarge PWSA board of directors
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is asking the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to expand its board of directors by two members, and on Thursday he announced the creation of a committee to recruit and recommend people for the positions. PWSA directors could vote on the mayor’s request as early as...
Food Podcast: Preparing for Empty Bowls, an event to remind us of hunger issues in the Pittsburgh area
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest are teaming up again for Empty Bowls, an event consisting of some simple things. The event offers a meal of soup and bread, designed to remind people of the one in eight residents of Allegheny County who are facing hunger. The event...
Police chief: Officer gave East Deer man ride home, where man then killed dad
An East Deer man who hopped in a police car for a courtesy ride to his father’s home hours before he allegedly killed him was “polite and compliant,” a police chief said. Police Chief Mike Naviglia of the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department said Shane Howard was walking along Freeport...
Mayor Peduto: Facebook symbolizes Pittsburgh’s changing economyVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Thursday described Facebook’s new facility in the Strip District as a symbol of the city’s changing economy. Peduto said high-tech companies along with the city’s educational and medical institutions have replaced the former industrial base that drove Pittsburgh markets for more than a century. High-tech...
Pittsburgh infectious disease specialist: ‘It’s time to prepare for coronavirus surge’Video
With the continued spread of the coronavirus and misinformation about the disease, Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician Dr. Amesh Adalja has become a highly sought after expert on the subject. A senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Adalja works on pandemic preparedness, emerging infectious...
