Megan Guza stories, Page 31
Vaccine on the horizon, but immunization will take time, Pa. health secretary says
A covid-19 vaccine could be approved and available before the end of the year, but supply constrictions and phased rollouts mean immunizing the state will be a slow process stretching into next year, Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday. “A lot will depend on exactly how much vaccine we get,...
Allegheny County advises ‘stay home except for essentials,’ warns of public health order
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen issued a countywide stay-at-home advisory Nov. 18 with the warning that a full-blown public health order could come next if case counts continue to rise. “For the past few weeks, I’ve asked people to follow the rules, curtail gatherings and parties, stay...
Allegheny County advises ‘stay home except for essentials,’ warns of public health order
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen issued a countywide stay-at-home advisory on Wednesday with the warning that a full-blown public health order could come next if case counts continue to rise. “For the past few weeks, I’ve asked people to follow the rules, curtail gatherings and parties, stay...
PWSA pleads guilty to violating Clean Water Act, pumping sludge into Allegheny RiverVideo
For seven years, employees and supervisors at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority dumped sludge into the Allegheny River from the Aspinwall treatment facility, violating the Clean Water Act and sending plumes of rust-colored chemicals into the river, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said Wednesday. The authority pleaded guilty to eight...
About 100 Pittsburgh police officers in quarantine over covid-19 concerns
At least 100 Pittsburgh police officers are in quarantine because of possible covid-19 exposures, and one Public Safety employee has been hospitalized, officials said Tuesday. Nine officers, nine firefighters and three EMS employees are currently positive for the virus, spokesman Chris Togneri said in a statement. He said others –...
Pennsylvania expands mask mandate as coronavirus cases rise
New orders from Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health expand on an April order mandating masks be worn in public, extending the conditions under which one must be worn to include indoors when with anyone outside their household. The orders, which also give further guidance to hospitals and colleges, are meant to...
Levine to announce ‘targeted efforts’ to control covid cases
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine is set to announce “targeted efforts” to control the spread of covid-19 as case counts across the state continue to rise. The announcement, set for 1 p.m., comes a day after Levine told members of the media there were no plans to shut...
Allegheny County Sheriff postpones firearm-carry license application event, halts walk-in applications
An application event for licenses to carry firearms scheduled for Saturday in Ohio Township has been postponed, and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is ceasing walk-in applications as well, officials said Monday. The changes are the result of spiking covid-19 cases in the county, said Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus. The...
Downtown Pittsburgh tree-lighting goes virtual
A virtual tree-lighting ceremony will take the place of Pittsburgh’s Light Up Night on Friday, as officials hope to bring cheer to holiday season that will look much different than ever before. “Until we can gather again, we’re all adapting to this new medium,” Mayor Bill Peduto said. The city’s...
Levine plans no new Pennsylvania restrictions as covid cases continue to rise
Covid-19 cases continue to rise along with the percentage of people who are testing positive for the virus, but Pennsylvania’s top health official said Monday there are no plans to put harsher restrictions in place again. “We have no plans to go back to red-yellow-green or any type of scheme...
Allegheny County elections board to hold hearing on provisional ballots
The Allegheny County Board of Elections will convene Saturday for a hearing on hundreds of provisional ballots challenged during review this week. In all, authorized observers from both parties challenged 705 provisional ballots out of the approximately 17,000 provisional ballots returned. Each ballot will receive a hearing, though ballots challenged...
Pittsburgh fugitive on the run for nearly 50 years arrested in MichiganVideo
After nearly 50 years on the run, a Pittsburgh man who escaped authorities in 1971 was done in by $43. Leonard Rayne Moses had been working as a traveling pharmacist under the name Paul Dickson in Michigan since at least 1999, according to federal authorities. He’d served two years of...
Allegheny County officials plead for ‘wake-up call’ amid rising covid numbers
Allegheny County officials and medical experts from across the county delivered a dire and pleading message Thursday as the number of covid-19 cases continued to rise, with this week’s new case count likely to top 2,000. “These data concern me and they must be a wake-up call to everyone in...
Woman killed in East Liberty had PFA against suspected shooter
Makeida Thompson was set to have a final hearing Friday on the protection from abuse order she’d taken out against the father of her youngest child. She never got the chance, Pittsburgh police said, because the same man allegedly walked into a home in East Liberty on Tuesday and shot...
Neighbor charged in fatal Brighton Heights shooting
A SWAT situation on Wednesday ended with the arrest of a man accused earlier in the week of opening fire on a couple as they walked to get a bite to eat on Pittsburgh’s North Side, authorities said. The shooting happened about 3:30 p.m. Monday near the intersection of Brighton...
Allegheny County to count 2,349 undated ballots
The Allegheny County Board of Elections on Tuesday voted to count 2,349 ballots that appear to be eligible in every way save for the voter failing to put a date on the outer envelope. The ballots, which have not been opened, all arrived on or before Election Day, as they...
As race intensifies, Pitt remains committed to developing a covid vaccine
While a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer appears promising and highly effective, the interim analysis released Monday only tells part of the story, said Paul Duprex, director of the Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh, which is working on several vaccine candidates. He said to think of...
Pa. Health Secretary: Fall coronavirus surge likely is not over
Covid-19 continues to surge across Pennsylvania and the United States as a whole, with the percent positivity rate rising along with the case count. The state’s top health officials said Monday the fall resurgence likely isn’t over. “I don’t think we have peaked,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine....
25 Airbnb properties in Allegheny County suspended or removed for violating party rules
More than two dozen Allegheny County Airbnb hosts have been suspended or removed from the rental website for violating covid-19 party restrictions put in place earlier this year. According to the Monday announcement, 25 listings either received complaints or “otherwise violated” Airbnb’s policies on parties and events. “We’ve banned parties...
Allegheny County resumes processing remaining election ballots
More than two dozen observers from both major parties – including two representatives from Congress — are watching as Allegheny County elections officials continue to process several categories of ballots that remain to be counted. Bins of ballots that still need to be resolved are being reviewed by the Elections...
Covid vaccine will not be a panacea, says Pa. health secretary
Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday the state is ready to distribute a covid-19 vaccine in a manner that prioritizes health care workers and vulnerable populations but stressed that a vaccine – whenever one becomes available – will not be a panacea. There are six drug manufacturers working on covid-19...
Joe Biden pulls with 42,000 votes of President Donald Trump
Joe Biden is closing quickly in Pennsylvania. The former vice president and Democratic challenger pulled to within 42,000 votes of President Trump as of 9:35 p.m. Thursday. Trump led 3,277,521 (49.74%) to 3,235,482 (49.11%), but the lead consistently dropped throughout the day as mail ballots continued to be tallied. As of...
Pitt scientists identify promising covid treatment derived from llamas
A breakthrough treatment for covid-19 could come from llamas, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, who say the treatment has the potential to treat or even prevent the virus. The idea involves immunizing a llama to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes covid-19, and then harvesting what are called...
Allegheny County officials explain why thousands of ballots can’t yet be counted
More than 35,000 ballots cast in Allegheny County will not be counted until Friday at the earliest, and county officials estimate there could be thousands more provisional ballots in boxes that have yet to be opened. About 29,000 ballots cannot be opened until 5 p.m. Friday as dictated by a...
2 charged in bust of ‘illegal speakeasy’ in Pittsburgh
Two people face charges related to an illegal speakeasy busted late last month in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes neighborhood, according to the Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement. Angelo Reynolds, 31, and William Bagley, 36, are both accused of violating state liquor laws by operating bar called Bridgez on Arlington...
