Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 111
Highlands to hold virtual meeting to fill school board vacancy
Highlands School Board will hold a special virtual meeting next week to fill a vacancy on the board, the district said in a legal notice Thursday. The board was previously scheduled to meet in person at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the library at Highlands High School to conduct interviews and...
Sheetz to offer free kids’ meals at stores
Sheetz will launch a free meal program Thursday for children and families in need due to the covid-19 pandemic. The “Kidz Meal Bagz” program will be available all day at nearly 300 stores across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, the Altoona-based convenience store chain announced Wednesday....
Giant Eagle reports confirmed coronavirus cases at 2 more stores
People at two more Giant Eagle stores in the Pittsburgh area have tested positive for covid-19, the grocery store operator announced. The company announced on its website that it got confirmation of the cases at its Pine Creek store, 9805 McKnight Road, McCandless, and Robinson Market District, 100 Settlers Ridge...
Victim of fatal shooting in Oakland identified as San Jose man
Authorities have identified the man who was shot dead in Oakland early Wednesday morning. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Esam Tanzim Hossain, 23, of San Jose. According to Pittsburgh police, officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert, followed by 911 calls of shots fired in the...
Police: Penn Hills man wanted on warrants sold drugs to undercover cop
A Penn Hills man wanted for allegedly possessing thousands of bags of heroin in October was taken into custody Saturday during an undercover drug buy, according to Pittsburgh police. City police said an arrest warrant was issued for Herbert Lee Walker III, 25, in October after Allegheny County Police found...
North Shore police memorial vandalized
A memorial to law enforcement officers near Heinz Field was vandalized. A profane anti-police message was spray painted in yellow on the Allegheny County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on North Shore Drive, according to Pittsburgh police. The vandalism was on the part of the memorial facing the Allegheny River. The...
Pittsburgh police seek suspect in fatal Homewood shooting
A woman was found shot in Homewood early Monday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to a 911 call for a person shot in the 7000 block of Monticello Street just before 2:20 a.m. The woman was found inside a residence with a gunshot wound. Medics pronounced her dead...
Gas prices continue plummeting, averaging $2.27 a gallon in Pittsburgh area
Gasoline prices are continuing to fall but, unlike the national average, the average in the Pittsburgh area remains above $2 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. The national average has fallen under $2 per gallon for the first time in more than four years, caused by an unprecedented drop...
Power outages reported across Pittsburgh region
Duquesne Light and West Penn Power were both reporting power outages in the Pittsburgh area early Monday morning. As of 6 a.m., Duquesne Light had about 350 outages. Most were in Churchill, 106; Hampton, 97; and Ross, 68. By 10:30, outages were down to about 170, while still focused with...
Average U.S. gas price falls below $2 a gallon
The national average price of gasoline has fallen below $2 a gallon for the first time in four years, price-watching service GasBuddy announced Friday. The last time the U.S. average was $1.99 a gallon was March 23, 2016. In Pennsylvania, the top 10 lowest prices ranged from $1.55 to $1.79...
Family safe after fire tears through house in PlumVideo
Monica Hanner had lived in her home in Plum’s Kellywood Estates for 11 years, but she didn’t really know her neighbors. And some of her neighbors said they didn’t really know her. That didn’t stop them from offering their help after Hanner’s Emerald Drive home was severely damaged, if not...
Highlands student meals changing to weekly distribution
Highlands School District will start distributing student meals weekly beginning next week, with the Highlands Partnership Network continuing to supplement district efforts. The school district, which had been providing breakfast and lunch daily, will change to a weekly distribution starting Monday and for the remainder of the school closure, the...
Harrison shuts down public works department after employee’s relative tests positive for covid-19
Harrison shut down its public works department and closed its municipal building to the public after a family member of a public works employee tested positive for covid-19, township Manager Rich Hill said Wednesday. The department has a total of 10 employees, consisting of eight workers and two supervisors, Hill...
Wolf allows gun stores to reopen on limited basis during coronavirus shutdown
Pennsylvania firearms dealers may now operate on a limited basis, according to a revised list of businesses that can or cannot continue physical operations under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order mandating closures to slow the spread of covid-19. Under the order, sporting goods stores remain among businesses considered “non-life-sustaining” and are...
Highlands delays meeting to fill school board vacancy
Highlands School District has delayed a special meeting to fill a vacancy on the school board. A seat in Region 2 became vacant when Misty Chybrzynski, former board president, resigned upon moving out of the region. Region 2 includes Brackenridge and the Natrona area of Harrison. The board had scheduled...
Covid-19 testing, distancing play role in record-breaking flu season
On one hand, efforts to slow the spread of covid-19 likely have contributed to a declining number of new flu cases in recent weeks, state Department of Health spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said Wednesday. On the other, increased testing to identify covid-19 cases and people’s concern about the illness likely have...
Coronavirus emergency impacts Waste Management, County Hauling garbage services
Waste Management announced Tuesday it is temporarily suspending some services throughout Western Pennsylvania during the coronavirus emergency. Beginning Wednesday, the company said it is suspending collection of bulk items such as furniture, carpet, mattresses and appliances; spring and bulk cleanups; and collection of yard waste such as grass clippings, brush...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers delay plans for motor vehicle parade to see students
Editor’s note: Officials delayed the event after this story was originally published. It will likely be rescheduled. Separated from their students by the state closure of schools, teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District are planning a parade so their students can see them. Teachers, administrators and other staff are...
Allegheny Technologies Inc., steelworkers union agree to 1-year contract extension
Allegheny Technologies Inc. and the United Steelworkers union have agreed to a one-year extension of their expired contract, the company and union confirmed . The extension through Feb. 28, 2021, is “due to the unprecedented global business and human impacts of the covid-19 virus,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said. “This...
Highlands announces plans for extended closure, start of online learning
Highlands School District will start online learning for students on March 30 before students return to schools on April 14, Superintendent Monique Mawhinney announced in an update on the district’s website Monday. The notice cites Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to extend the statewide closure of schools for two weeks through...
New Kensington-Arnold employee hospitalized with coronavirus
A Valley Junior-Senior High School employee hospitalized with covid-19 may have had contact with students and staff for up to four days, according to a notice issued Monday evening by New Kensington-Arnold School District. The district first announced Sunday that the employee had tested positive. The employee was not identified....
New Kensington-Arnold eliminates 3 food distribution sites
New Kensington-Arnold School District is eliminating three locations where grab-and-go meals for students can be picked up. The sites — Valley Junior-Senior High School, St. Joseph’s School and New Kensington city hall — are being closed effective Tuesday because of a lack of participation, the district said in a statement...
Unprecedented drop in gas prices will continue, industry analyst says
The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed global demand for oil, leading to the lowest oil prices in 18 years, an industry analyst said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a collapse in prices, even including the Great Recession,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “What we’re witnessing...
2nd participant in Valley High School NYC trip tests positive for coronavirus
A second person who went on a trip to New York City with the Valley High School marching band has tested positive for the coronavirus that causes covid-19, the New Kensington-Arnold School District said Sunday. The second person is a district employee, the district said. The first is an employee’s...
Participant in Valley High School NYC trip tested positive for coronavirus
The spouse of a New Kensington-Arnold School District employee went on a bus trip to New York City with the Valley High School Marching Band and later tested positive for coronavirus, district officials confirmed Saturday. About 102 people — students, staff and chaperones — were in the group that was...
