Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 22

Western Pennsylvanians shopping for 2020 insurance coverage through the federal health care marketplace can expect to see a small uptick in prices over last year and more plans to choose from. Costs for 2020 individual plans increased statewide by an average of about 4%, state data show. “It’s a slight...

A judge sentenced a California doctor to more than 11 years behind bars for running a “pill mill” in Western Pennsylvania through which he illegally prescribed fentanyl and opioid painkillers for cash, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Dr. Paul Michael Hoover, 59, formerly of Novato, Calif., also must pay the federal...

Pittsburgh Public Schools should extend the district’s suspension ban for nonviolent offenses to apply to students in third through fifth grades, a group of education advocates said Monday night. “We understand that suspensions don’t work, they don’t change the behavior, and kids are actually missing critical learning time by not...

No one was injured Monday afternoon when a fire ripped through a vacant house in Braddock, officials said. Authorities received a report of the fire along the residential alley June Way near Ajax Way shortly before 2 p.m., Rivers Edge Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tyler Toth said. Firefighters from more...

UPMC breaks ground on its major investment in China this week. Construction is scheduled to begin Monday on a new hospital in Chengdu. It will be the first of five Chinese hospitals that UPMC plans to co-run with Beijing-based conglomerate Wanda Group as part of a $2 billion investment over...

A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a handgun that was found by a 3-year-old girl who died after shooting herself in the chest in the city’s Mt. Washington neighborhood, federal prosecutors said Friday. Paul Anthony Parrish, 43, also known as Paul Carmona and nicknamed “Pills,” was convicted...

Neville Township residents can resume drinking their tap water without concerns over possible contamination by fire-fighting foam, officials said Friday. A “do not drink” order in place for the roughly 1,000 residents of Neville along the Ohio River northwest of Pittsburgh since earlier this week was lifted Friday afternoon, Allegheny...

Pittsburgh police said Thursday they arrested a Braddock man and charged him with a robbery that he didn’t commit. All charges will be dropped against Aaron Massengill, 40, whom police suspected was responsible for robbing the Jimmy John’s sandwich shop in the 3400 block of Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland...

Three people from the South Hills have been charged with felony animal cruelty charges in connection to 92 emaciated and injured dogs found on a Washington County farm during a law enforcement raid last year. Lucy Ann Binakonsky, Emily David Binakonsky and Charlotte L. Binakonsky are accused of being responsible...

Reducing wait times and improving the patient experience for Western Pennsylvanians in need of mental health care drove UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital to develop a soon-to-open $15 million diagnostic and intake wing, the hospital’s newly installed president said Tuesday night. “There sometimes have been longer wait times, and that’s part...

The principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center abruptly stepped down Monday afternoon without a clear explanation, district officials said. Highlands School Board accepted the resignation of Heather Bigney during a public voting meeting Monday night, just a few hours after Bigney submitted her resignation around 4 p.m., according to board...

The only people ScareHouse managed to frighten this Halloween season are the haunted-house hopefuls worried about whether they’re getting their money back. ScareHouse will not be opening “The Scream District” attractions it’s been building in Pittsburgh’s Strip District since June in time for Halloween this year, officials confirmed Monday night...

UPMC’s longtime financial chief announced Thursday that he plans to step down at the end of the year. Robert DeMichiei has served as chief financial officer of the multibillion-dollar, nonprofit health system headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower for nearly 16 years. The 54-year-old Hampton resident said his retirement...

A North Side man apparently fueled by road rage is accused of chasing after and pulling an AK-style gun on two women early Wednesday outside the Rivers Casino parking garage. Jamal Dailey, 24, faces several charges tied to an incident that began while driving in his home neighborhood of Manchester...

Pittsburgh’s elected leaders should own up to historical barriers as well as persisting structural and institution-driven ones that contribute to the city’s drastic racial inequities and poverty-based segregation between whites and blacks, several residents told city council on Wednesday. “We demand reparations,” said Khalil Raheem, founder of the New Afrikan...

Seniors across Western Pennsylvania enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans this year no longer have to confront the uncertainty of heated litigation embroiling Pittsburgh’s two largest health system rivals nor feel forced to switch insurers to avoid the threat of a prepay rule. Instead, the 2020 enrollment period looks to prove...

A Mercer County man pleaded guilty to plotting to sell to Western Pennsylvanians untested drugs from China and Russia that he claimed could make people smarter, federal prosecutors said. Emil “Butch” Koledin, of Hermitage and the corporation he ran, Koledin Enterprises Inc., each entered guilty counts of conspiracy to defraud...

Police and medics are responding to a possible head-on collision Wednesday night in Armstrong County, initial reports indicate. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was seriously injured. Authorities received a report of the crash believed to involve at least two vehicles near Guthrie Road and Main Street in Manor...

A crashing noise in Pittsburgh’s South Side led to a man’s arrest after sheriff’s deputies found a stolen gun in his car and a shoe box filled with more than $25,000 worth of fake $100 bills in the trunk, officials said. Tyriee Tuttle-Kasper, 22, of Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood was booked...

The beaches, sunsets and volcanic rainforest hikes of Honolulu apparently aren’t as appealing to travelers as the pierogies, beers and foodie paradise of Pittsburgh, a magazine reader’s survey found. Condé Nast Traveler published its rankings of the best small and large cities to visit in the United States with its...

Police arrested a 19-year-old woman accused of trying to carjack an off-duty sheriff’s deputy Tuesday afternoon in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood before leading police on a car chase into Penn Hills. No one was injured, Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said. Ajanay Watson faces several charges including robbery of...

One person was hurt in a crash that snarled northbound traffic along Route 28 near the Harmar exit during Tuesday’s afternoon rush hour, officials said. Police and medics responded to the crash, which was reported at 5:12 p.m., an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. One person was taken to...

About 700 guns that had been gathering dust in evidence rooms across Allegheny County were rounded up and ground to pieces this week. The District Attorney’s Office collected the firearms Monday from local police departments that no longer need them. It’s an annual turn-in event, and the total number collected...