Joe Napsha stories, Page 102
Ligonier Valley’s no-family graduation riles some seniorsVideo
What would a high school commencement ceremony be without parents and family to share in the special moment? Ligonier Valley seniors will find out Wednesday, when the district holds a virtual graduation at the high school auditorium for the senior class, divided alphabetically into three groups. A group of about...
83% of Pennsylvania’s 2.4M unemployed have been paid; Greensburg cafeteria worker still waiting
Sharon Sachs lost her job in Seton Hill University’s cafeteria when the Greensburg campus closed in mid-March because of the covid-19 pandemic. Now, she could be the poster child for dysfunction in Pennsylvania’s jobless benefits program. “I have not received a penny since filing for unemployment the week of March...
Army Corps band of brother divers repairs locks, dams in Western Pennsylvania
Thirty-one feet below the surface with near zero visibility, a small group of divers are doing painstaking work at the bottom of the Monongahela River to replace rusty bars and beams on 14-foot-high intakes that feed water into locks at a dam near Brownsville. “Diving is inherently dangerous. You just...
1 hurt in Unity crash
One person was hurt in a crash in Unity Thursday night, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety said. A person was was ejected from a vehicle involved in the crash at 8:50 p.m. and a landing zone for a medical helicopter was being set up near the scene of...
200-year-old log house gets new life at Hanna’s Town
Log by giant log, painstakingly lifted by a crane and laid in place, the ends notched with a chainsaw to make them fit snugly, about a dozen craftsmen and volunteers are rebuilding a roughly 200-year-old log house that will fit right in with the other log houses at Historic Hanna’s...
Cal U student from Greensburg sues over online learning
A California University of Pennsylvania student from Greensburg has sued the university for failing to refund pro-rated tuition for the online instruction she and thousands of other students received for the last part of the spring semester because covid-19 restrictions forced colleges to close. Ashleigh Coffman claimed that the online...
Penn Township hiring agency holding drive-by resume dropoffs
A Penn Township employment agency is giving job seekers the chance to drop off their resumes Thursday without ever leaving their car, thus maintaining safe social distancing while enhancing their chances for a new job. The drive-through job fair at Express Employment Professionals will give those who are laid off...
Federal funds available for farmers impacted by covid-19 pandemic
Pennsylvania’s farmers and ranchers who have lost revenue because of the covid-19 pandemic can apply for federal aid to compensate for their losses. The federal government is making $16 billion available for agricultural producers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The direct payments to farmers and producers are limited to...
State offers to help farmers pay for personal protective equipment
The state’s poultry, swine, lamb, goat and sheep processors who purchased coronavirus-related equipment for their workers can get reimbursed under a new state program. The state agriculture department and PennAG Industries Association, a Harrisburg-based trade organization, have made $280,000 available through the Center for Poultry and Livestock Excellence for reimbursement...
Aid to jobless workers in Pennsylvania reaches $10.6B
About $10.6 billion in unemployment compensation and special federal covid-19 funding has been distributed to Pennsylvania’s jobless workers since businesses deemed nonessential were shut down in mid-March, officials said Tuesday. Of that money, $6.2 billion came through regular unemployment compensation, while $3.8 billion comprised extra $600 weekly payments funded by...
Shuttered Mt. Pleasant elementary school up for sale
For sale: One shuttered elementary school building on nearly 5 acres in Mt. Pleasant Township and 10 acres of surrounding land. The Mt. Pleasant Area School District is selling Lloyd F. Rumbaugh Elementary School at 2414 School St., a year after it closed as part of a realignment. The district...
Ohiopyle pedestrian tunnel to open; road work to continue
Visitors to Ohiopyle State Park over Memorial Day weekend will experience traffic delays caused by road repaving and work on the Route 381 bridge over the Youghiogheny River. The state hoped the $12.4 million multimodal project in Ohiopyle would be finished by June 12, but the completion date was pushed...
Sewickley Township pool closed for summer
Sewickley Township’s Crabapple Pool outside Herminie will be closed this summer because of the fear of covid-19, one of several municipal pools that will not be available for swimmers to beat the heat on a hot summer afternoon. The Sewickley Township Supervisors made the decision this week not to open...
Pennsylvania’s jobless rate hits record 15.1%
Pennsylvania’s jobless rate soared to a record 15.1% in April as the full impact of the covid-19 shutdowns slammed the state’s economy, the state said Friday. The state counted 976,000 workers out of a job last month, an increase of almost 600,000 from March when the unemployment rate was 4.1%,...
Amtrak to resume Pittsburgh to Harrisburg and Philadelphia service June 1
Amtrak will resume its service from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and New York City on June 1, the first time the passenger trains will have run the route since March 18 because of the state’s covid-19 shutdowns. The twice daily service service on the Pennsylvanian route from Pittsburgh to New York,...
Pennsylvania’s jobless claims near 2 million
Almost 2 million Pennsylvanians have filed initial unemployment claims since Gov. Wolf ordered the shutdown of non-essential businesses in mid-March, according to the latest figures from the state. The state has seen 1.9 million workers file for first-time jobless claims as of May 20, even though the number of initial...
Western Pa.’s libraries see e-books, audiobooks become more popular during pandemic
With libraries in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties closed since mid-March to stem the spread of the coronavirus, more patrons are using the electronic resources — books, audiobooks, movies and music, a trend that likely will continue when they reopen, library officials and library directors say. “There has been a significant...
GNC avoids bankruptcy; gets 90-day max to pay down debt
GNC Holdings, Inc. reached a last-minute deal with creditors that allows it to avoid bankruptcy for at least 30 days but no more than 90 days under a deal announced Friday, the Pittsburgh-based health and wellness company said. GNC was facing a Saturday deadline to pay down debt to under...
Norwin delays graduation until June
Norwin made it official Friday for the class of 2020 — no graduation ceremonies as initially scheduled on May 22 because of the restrictions against gatherings of more than 25 people. Even though Westmoreland County has moved from the yellow phase of the state’s reopening plan, Superintendent Jeff Taylor said...
North Huntingdon police won’t cite businesses for violating Gov. Wolf’s orders
North Huntingdon joined other municipalities in directing its police force not to cite or take any legal action local businesses that open in violation of the state’s coronavirus-related shutdown orders — as long as they follow the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for wearing personal protective equipment, keep social distancing...
Lamp Theatre selling popcorn as fundraiser
What does a non-profit do when it has to postpone its primary fundraiser because of government-ordered restrictions against large gathering during a covid-19 pandemic? In the case of The Lamp Theatre in Irwin, it sells popcorn, just like it does during concerts, shows and other events that would be held...
Small businesses in Western Pa. eager to reopen, but not sure how public will respondVideo
Like thousands of other business owners, Kevin Miscik, owner of a Greensburg clothing store, has waited a long time to reopen in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. “We lost all of Easter and part of the spring buying season and missed the beginning of the summer (buying) season,” said...
State loans survival money to some hard-hit businesses
Jim Murphy said the coronavirus restrictions imposed by the government are killing his business at the Rostraver Ice Garden and Murphy’s Pub off Route 51 in Rostraver. “I’ve lost $100,000 in bookings that’s not ice-related. I can’t open Murphy’s Pub. I’ve lost the home show, lost graduation parties, pro wrestling...
Kennametal selling equipment at closed Carbidie plant
Kennametal Inc. is turning to a virtual auction next week to sell equipment from its shuttered Carbidie plant along Arona Road in Hempfield. A two-day auction of the plant’s equipment — such as sintering furnaces, a 120-ton press, computer-controlled and conventional machine tools, grinders and dust collectors, forklifts and various...
Man, 19, in stable condition after being shot in Duquesne
A 19-year-old man was reported hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in Duquesne early Wednesday night, Allegheny County Police said. The teenager was shot in the 100 block of Apricot Alley at about 6:50 p.m., and ran to the 200 block of Hamilton Avenue, where he was found. County...
