Jamie Martines stories, Page 15
McKeesport students file civil rights lawsuit against district
High school students in the McKeesport Area School District filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday demanding the right to form a club called the Black Student Union. The lawsuit, filed by 11 students against the district with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, contends that...
Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland school districts recognized for music education
School districts in Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties are among the 623 districts nationwide to be recognized as top communities for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation. The designation for “Best Communities for Music Education” is awarded to districts that not only have high participation in...
U.S. Steel: Equipment damaged in Clairton Coke Works fire repairedVideo
Desulfurization equipment at the Clairton Coke Works facility is back online and operational after over three months of repairs, U.S. Steel announced Thursday. The equipment has been down since a Dec. 24 fire at the facility caused significant damage and hindered the plant’s ability to clean coke oven gas, a...
Hempfield schools get clean report in new state audit
The Hempfield Area School District received a clean bill of health from the state auditor general’s office, according to a performance audit report released Wednesday. The audit, which reviewed how the district uses state funds and subsidies for areas including transportation, educating nonresident students and meeting bus driver requirements, found...
‘Hamilton’ star Leslie Odom Jr. to deliver CMU commencement address
Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr. is returning to Carnegie Mellon University. And the 5,800 graduates of CMU’s class of 2019, including those receiving bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, will be in the room where it happens. Odom, who is best known for playing Aaron Burr...
Allegheny County Health Department fines U.S. Steel for emissions problems
The Allegheny County Health Department has levied an additional $707,568 fine against U.S. Steel, bringing the total fines issued since June 2018 to more than $2 million, according to a statement from the health department Monday. The new fine addresses continued emissions problems at the Clairton Coke Works facility during...
Advocate calls for changing statute of limitations on child sex abuse
A man who said he was abused by a Catholic priest is pushing to change the statute of limitations for sexual offenses in Pennsylvania. Dennis McKeown, who grew up in Ellwood City in Lawrence County, said he met with Bishop David Zubik of the Pittsburgh Diocese Thursday to discuss whether...
Rivers Casino announces April events, promotions
Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore has announced special events for April, including an appearance by the music band Blues Traveler on Saturday, April 27. Tickets are $25 and parking is free. The show will take place in the casino’s new event space, which was unveiled in February. The second-floor...
Armstrong County billboard owner on controversy: ‘I will not give in’Video
The owner of an Armstrong County gas station said Thursday he might close his business after Sunoco and at least two local fuel suppliers cut ties with him over controversial messages he posted to a digital billboard. John Placek, who owns both the billboard and a gas station along Route...
Sunoco cuts ties with Armstrong County gas station over ‘offensive’ billboard
Sunoco said Wednesday it is halting fuel deliveries to an Armstrong County gas station because its owner posted controversial messages to a digital billboard about a quarter-mile away. The fuel giant also started removing Sunoco signage and trademarks from the Worthington station, according to company officials. The digital billboard along...
Online fundraiser collecting money for Rosfeld defense as trial starts
An online fundraiser established to help former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld pay for his defense raised at least $400 during the first morning of his trial Tuesday. The fundraiser on the site Funded Justice appears to have been started by Rosfeld’s wife, Michelle. “Since Michael is no longer...
Legal sports bets steady as Pennsylvania sports books prep for March Madness
Sports books in Pennsylvania didn’t see a bump in wagers in February, though many took the first legal Super Bowl bets in the state. Now, they’re hoping for a March Madness windfall as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament approaches. The state’s six sports books operational by February reported a $31.5...
U.S. Steel releases photos of repairs at Clairton Coke Works after fire
With repairs said to be coming together ahead of schedule, U.S. Steel on Friday released photos showing some of the damage and repairs to the Clairton Coke Works facility following a Dec. 24 fire. A photo taken Dec. 31, 2018, shows exterior damage to the roof of part of the...
Doctors of the future: Pitt students celebrate Match DayVideo
Samuel Brayer stood over a table cluttered with white envelopes, searching for one with his name on it. Inside was a letter that would tell him where he would spend the next several years of his medical career. As the clock struck noon, Brayer, 31, a member of the University...
6th flu-related death reported in Allegheny County
An Allegheny County resident in her mid-80s has died from flu-related complications, according to a statement from the county health department Tuesday. This brings the total number of flu-related deaths in Allegheny County during the 2018-19 flu season to six. Flu cases, hospitalizations and deaths this season are significantly lower...
La Palapa food truck allowed to re-open
A county health department order against La Palapa food truck was lifted March 19. The Allegheny County Health Department had ordered the food truck to close until repairs to the truck’s water system were completed, according to an inspection report filed March 9. The report also mentioned that the truck...
Youth can get on-the-job training through county, city Learn & Earn program
Applications are available for the Allegheny County and city of Pittsburgh Learn and Earn Program. Now in its fifth year, the program matches people ages 14 to 21 with a six-week summer job. It’s managed through a partnership among Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Partner4Work, the public workforce development board for...
Pittsburgh-area volunteers, firefighters to climb 665 stairs to raise awareness for lung disease
Hundreds of people are expected to climb 665 stairs at the JLL Center at Tower Two-Sixty in Downtown Pittsburgh later this month to raise money for the American Lung Association. This is the 13th year that the Fight for Air fundraising event, which is held in cities throughout the country,...
Bishop Zubik offers Ash Wednesday Mass, comments on pastoral letterVideo
Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik celebrated the beginning of Lent during Mass at a packed St. Mary of Mercy Church in Downtown Pittsburgh on Ash Wednesday. Zubik offered a full Mass but did not publicly address a pastoral letter, released Monday, in response to listening sessions after the release of an...
Allegheny County Council to consider banning conversion therapy
A political newcomer’s challenge to a longtime Allegheny County councilman appears to have pushed the council to take up the issue of conversion therapy. Council members Tuesday introduced a ban on the controversial and widely discredited practice used to attempt to remove a person’s feelings of same-sex attraction or to...
Allegheny County reports 3 more flu-related deaths
The Allegheny County Department of Health has reported three additional flu-related deaths, bringing the total to five deaths of Allegheny County residents this flu season. The residents — two women, one in her mid-40s and the other in her early 60s, and a man in his late 50s — died...
Former dancer sues Club Erotica in McKees Rocks over wages
A former dancer at Club Erotica strip club in McKees Rocks is seeking a class action lawsuit against the club and its owners contending she was underpaid. Sonya Jackson, who worked at the club at various times from May 2016 until late August 2018, alleges that club management improperly classified...
Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik to respond to abuse, listening sessions
Bishop David Zubik, the head of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, will soon issue a pastoral letter that offers an action plan to try and move forward in the wake of the grand jury report chronicling decades of sexual abuse in the church. The letter will address issues related to...
U.S. Steel appeals enforcement order aimed at reducing pollutionVideo
U.S. Steel is appealing an enforcement order issued by the Allegheny County Health Department, arguing the required actions and deadlines “would place the safety of our employees and local communities at risk.” The Thursday order required Mon Valley Works facilities — which include Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Edgar Thomson...
Allegheny County Health Department issues enforcement order against U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities have violated local and federal air quality regulations and must get back in compliance, according to an order issued by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday. The order requires the facilities — which include Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Edgar Thomson Plant in...
