Megan Guza stories, Page 45
Pittsburgh police chief frustrated by lack of communication from Gov. Wolf over shutdownVideo
Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said Friday the bureau learned about Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to shut down non-life-sustaining businesses on the news Thursday night and said communication from the state has been lackluster. The governor’s order stating “non-life-sustaining” businesses in Pennsylvania close to help slow the spread of the...
Nearly 200 Allegheny County Jail inmates set for release amid coronavirus concerns
Nearly 200 Allegheny County Jail inmates have been or are slated to be released in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Staff from across the court system are working to identify inmates who are appropriate to release, and 189 have been identified thus far, according to a...
‘Significant hospitalization rates’: Coronavirus taking a toll in Pa.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly across Pennsylvania, the state is seeing “significant hospitalization rates,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “It really is varying day to day,” Levine said during a daily covid-19 update. The reported average hospitalization rate is about 10%. Levine said Pennsylvania’s rate...
16 Allegheny Co. sheriff’s deputies self-isolating after possible coronavirus exposure
More than a dozen Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies are self-isolating after a deputy who might have been exposed to the coronavirus went to work with symptoms Wednesday morning. A deputy’s son’s girlfriend and mother recently traveled to Spain, Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus said. While the deputy was out of town...
Police: Homeless man strangled girlfriend in jealous rage
Authorities on Wednesday identified a woman strangled by a homeless man in Pittsburgh’s Homewood section last week. Brittany Alker, 30, was found dead in the closet of a Forest Way home early March 12 after the man accused of killing her called police. James Wilson, 34, is charged with a...
First of 4 AHN drive-up coronavirus test sites opens in PineVideo
The first of four Allegheny Health Network drive-up coronavirus test sites opened Wednesday in Pine, and three more should be operational by the end of the week, officials said. The first to be up and running is in the parking garage adjacent to AHN’s Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion. The...
Mad Mex runs out of Gobbleritos brought back as coronavirus comfort foodVideo
Mad Mex brought back its renowned Gobblerito on Wednesday to add a bit of comfort to these tumultuous times, but at least one location ran out before the dinner rush. “We’re working on stocking up for tomorrow,” read a post on the Shadyside location’s Facebook page. “Thank you so much....
Allegheny Health Network announces 4 drive-up covid-19 test sites
Four new drive-up coronavirus test sites will open this week in the region, Allegheny Health Network officials said Wednesday morning. The first of the locations is operational starting Wednesday in the parking garage adjacent to AHN’s Wexford Health + Wellness Pavilion. The three other sites – in Monroeville, Bethel Park...
Zappala: DA’s Office won’t oppose release of nonviolent inmates at high risk for coronavirus
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office won’t opposed the release of nonviolent inmates deemed to be at high risk of contracting the coronavirus from the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, a spokesman for the office said . Mike Manko, spokesman for District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., said his office...
Blood donations at critical shortage because of coronavirus pandemic
Blood banks are asking healthy donors to turn out “in full force” as donations drop in the face of the spreading coronavirus. “If we don’t have enough blood to meet the sick patients’ needs, we’ll have another public health crisis on top of the pandemic,” said Kristen Lane, spokeswoman for...
Pa. health secretary: ‘Would not surprise us’ if coronavirus cases start increasingVideo
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said no hospitals are strained under the weight of the coronavirus right now, but she expects numbers to continue rising as the month goes on. “It would not surprise us if we do start to see increasing numbers – probably next week and...
Airlines cut flights out of Pittsburgh International Airport as coronavirus spreads
Airlines are cutting flights out of Pittsburgh International Airport in response to the spreading coronavirus, airport officials said Tuesday. Delta has decided to cut 1% of its capacity at Pittsburgh International, trimming flights to Atlanta starting in April, according to a report in BlueSky, the airport’s news outlet. American Airlines...
Gov. Wolf orders nonessential Pennsylvania businesses to shut down
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday ordered nonessential Pennsylvania businesses to shut down to help curb the spread of coronavirus. Wolf said he expects the closures beginning Tuesday to last at least two weeks, but “we will be constantly reevaluating.” Wolf’s order came hours after New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and...
Western Pa. patients line up for drive-by coronavirus testing
Patients concerned they might have been exposed to covid-19 were able to take advantage of drive-by testing at three locations Monday across Western Pennsylvania, and the testing is expected to be offered Tuesday, as well. Central Outreach Wellness Center, with locations on the North Shore, Aliquippa and Washington, had about...
UPMC develops coronavirus test, will begin screenings next weekVideo
UPMC on Tuesday will begin testing patients for the novel coronavirus in a secure facility in Pittsburgh’s South Side, officials announced Saturday, the same day public health authorities revealed the first two positive tests in Allegheny County. Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine, called the federal testing capabilities...
Washington County hit with 1st Western Pa. coronavirus case
Washington County is the first in Western Pennsylvania to have a presumed positive case of the novel coronavirus, according to state officials. The case was added to the growing list of Pennsylvania cases during a 5 p.m. update by the state Department of Health. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine...
Police searching for suspects who fled from McKees Rocks shooting scene
No one was injured in a Thursday night shooting in McKees Rocks. A vehicle was damaged, and investigators are searching for four people, according to Allegheny County police. McKees Rocks police responded about 10:45 p.m. to McKee Street for a report of shots fired, according to Lt. Venerando Costa. Officers...
Pa. state prisons suspend all visits amid covid-19 concerns
State prisons in Pennsylvania have suspended all visits for at least two weeks, the Department of Corrections announced late Thursday. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel also said enhanced screenings of staff, vendors, chaplains and other contractors will begin at all state correctional institutions. Wetzel had announced Wednesday that only SCI-Phoenix, which...
Allegheny County officials disclose ‘bottleneck’ in coronavirus testingVideo
There is a “bottleneck” in testing Allegheny County residents for the novel coronavirus because of strict guidelines, Allegheny County health officials said Thursday, at the same time working to quell panic among the public. There are still no known cases of covid-19 in the county, officials said, noting that because...
When it comes to coronavirus, here’s what ‘social distancing’ actually means
Public health and government officials are urging residents to practice social distancing over the next few weeks, but what does that actually mean? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define it as the practice of staying out of mass gatherings and other congregate settings and keeping at least 6...
Coronavirus fears spark panic-buying in Western Pa.Video
As the novel coronavirus shuts down schools, sporting events and concerts, locals were stocking up Thursday on essentials — especially toilet paper. There were a few stray items in the toilet paper section at the Walmart near Pittsburgh Mills mall, and even those disappeared by late morning. The shelves where...
Alleged racial comments by Allegheny County Judge Tranquilli could complicate past, future cases
Some defendants sentenced by embattled Allegheny County Judge Mark Tranquilli have already begun seeking post-conviction relief in their cases, something legal experts believe could continue as more of the judge’s questionable remarks come to light. Tranquilli has been sidelined for more than a month after written complaints surfaced alleging he...
Deputies arrest suspect in October killing along Route 30
Sheriff’s deputies found a man wanted in a drive-by shooting hiding behind a wall in the attic of his girlfriend’s Mt. Oliver home Wednesday, authorities said. Erik DeSean Addison, 24, has been on the run since late October when he allegedly opened fire on a vehicle on Route 30, killing...
Lawsuit: UPMC urine test sparked child abuse investigation
A woman alleged Wednesday that staff at UPMC took a urine sample while she gave birth and drug-tested it without her knowledge, leading to a false positive, according to the lawsuit filed against the hospital system. Cherell Harrington, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, was admitted to Magee-Womens Hospital in...
Pittsburgh International Airport makes Fast Company’s top 10 in travel
Sensory-friendly spaces and innovative technology to help the blind landed Pittsburgh International Airport on Fast Company’s list of the 10 most innovative companies in travel. Fast Company, a monthly business magazine focusing on innovation, called the airport “an ideas lab for concepts that make flying easier for people with disabilities.”...
