Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 34
UPMC took in $3.1B more in operating revenue last year than 2017
UPMC took in $3.1 billion more in operating revenue last year than it did in 2017, for a 20 percent year-over-year increase, its year-end financial statements show. Revenue for UPMC totaled $18.77 billion last year, up from $15.63 billion in 2017, according to financial documents provided by UPMC and filed...
UPMC says it’s eclipsed Highmark in Medicare Advantage insurance market, Aetna gains
UPMC boasted this week that the health system’s insurance arm has eclipsed Pittsburgh-based rival Highmark in attracting Medicare Advantage insurance members and now dominates that market in Western Pennsylvania. “We’ve grown dramatically,” said Diane Holder, president of UPMC’s Insurance Services Division. “We are now the largest provider of Medicare Advantage...
Proposed charter school in East Liberty wins appeal fight against Pittsburgh Public Schools
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board should not have nixed a proposed charter school in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood, a state oversight board ruled Tuesday. On a split vote, the Pennsylvania Charter School Appeal Board determined that the application for the planned Catalyst Academy Charter School fully meets the requirements...
DA says $10M cocaine bust marks largest in Western Pa. in ‘a long time’
The 50 pounds of cocaine worth $10 million seized in North Braddock this week marked the region’s biggest drug bust in recent memory, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala said Tuesday. “We haven’t taken this much dope off the streets for a long time,” Zappala told reporters during an...
Indiana inmate hanged himself, coroner says
An inmate died Sunday after hanging himself at the Indiana County Jail, officials said Monday. Robert Taylor, 31, of Black Lick Township was pronounced dead at UPMC Mercy hospital at 7:50 p.m. Sunday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Taylor was taken to the hospital after he was found...
$10M worth of cocaine seized, 2 arrested in Philly to Pittsburgh drug ring bust
Police say they found about $10 million worth of cocaine hidden in vehicles driven by a pair of Philadelphia men traveling in North Braddock on Monday. Jermaine Clark and Terry Suggs Jr., both of Philadelphia, were arrested on drug and conspiracy charges in connection to an investigation into a major...
Man, 58, shot dead through his home’s door in Rankin
A man died Monday night after getting shot through his home’s front door in Rankin, police said. Shortly before 7 p.m., police and paramedics responded to a residence in the 300 block of Fifth Avenue after receiving a report that a man had been shot there, Allegheny County Police Inspector...
Port Vue woman nabbed in 2015 drug sweep pleads guilty in far-reaching heroin ring case
A Port Vue woman pleaded guilty to her role in a far-reaching heroin ring that brought the illegal street drug from New Jersey to McKeesport, federal prosecutors said Monday. Krystle Barretto , 33, was convicted of scheming to sell more than 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of heroin, U.S. Attorney...
Westmoreland, Butler, Washington flagged for accepting gifts from voting machine vendors
Elections officials in Western Pennsylvania say they’re rethinking accepting even small gifts like coffee and doughnuts from potential vendors after state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale flagged counties around the state for behavior that “smacks of impropriety.” Westmoreland, Butler and Washington counties were among those cited for accepting gifts from voting...
UPMC rejects state Attorney General Shapiro’s attempt to halt breakup with rival Highmark
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is overstepping his authority by attempting to force UPMC to work together with rival health system Highmark beyond this summer’s expiration of a state-brokered agreement, UPMC argued Thursday in court filings. UPMC asked the Commonwealth Court to reject Shapiro’s petition to rewrite a 2014 consent...
Town hall on Penn Hills School District’s financial woes scheduled for Feb. 28
Members of the public will a chance to voice concerns over the embattled Penn Hills School District’s dire financial straits at a town hall hosted by Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on Feb. 28. “I invite students, teachers, support staff and parents to bring suggestions about how we can come...
Skeleton found in Pittsburgh backyard identified as woman who disappeared in 1964
Investigators have identified bones found a year ago in a Pittsburgh backyard as a woman who lived at the home in the 1960s. A DNA match from a living family member shows that the skeletal remains belong to Mary Arcuri, who purchased the house with her husband, Albert Arcuri, in...
17 people homeless after fast-spreading McKees Rocks fireVideo
Owners of homes in McKees Rocks damaged by a fast-moving fire returned Thursday to sift through the debris and salvage what they could. The Wednesday night fire ripped through three homes on Munson Avenue and left 17 people homeless, officials said. The American Red Cross provided emergency funding to help...
Michigan man faces 10 years to life in prison for heroin ring targeting Western Pa.
A Michigan man caught with nearly three pounds of heroin pleaded guilty for scheming to sell the illegal street drug to addicts in Western Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Victor Burnett Jr., 38, of Oak Park, Mich. faces a sentence of at least 10 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Scott...
Police, SWAT called to Mt. Washington for man threatening to kill self, others
A man was receiving mental health treatment Wednesday after threatening to kill others and himself in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood the day before, officials said. Shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh police responded to a residence on Campania Street to check on “the well-being of a possibly suicidal male,” Department...
Steel Valley High student’s death ruled a homicide
An 18-year-old Steel Valley High School student died after he was shot in the head in Duquesne Heights earlier this month, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday. Aaron Wade, of Munhall, was found unresponsive in a front yard on Plymouth Street shortly before 3 a.m. Feb. 4, police...
Boy, 15, charged as adult in North Braddock drive-by shooting
Police on Tuesday charged a 15-year-old boy as an adult in a drive-by shooting that critically injured a man in North Braddock. Corey Mickens, who turned 15 less than two months ago, is accused of shooting a 21-year-old man at least twice on Saturday night, a criminal complaint filed by...
Car crashes into McKeesport creek, crews work to rescue 2 trapped inside
Two women were rescued after their car crashed over a hillside into a creek 30 feet below in McKeesport Tuesday night, Trib news partner WPXI reports. Allegheny County officials reported a two-vehicle crash on Long Run Road near Walnut Street about 5:30 p.m. The driver lost control and jumped the...
Forecast: Storm could blanket Western Pa. with 4 inches of snow by Wednesday
A storm expected to strike Tuesday night could blanket parts of Western Pennsylvania and neighboring states with more than 4 inches of snow by Wednesday, forecasters said. Snow and ice accumulation could cause dangerous travel conditions from Oklahoma to the Northeast — including Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland —...
Kindergartner brings loaded gun to Pittsburgh elementary school
A kindergarten student brought a loaded gun to Pittsburgh Faison K-5 elementary school in the city’s Homewood neighborhood on Monday, officials said. On the child’s afternoon bus ride home, another student told the bus driver about the gun, prompting the driver to search the kindergartner’s backpack and confiscate the weapon,...
Mark Madden to host Penguins-Devils watch party in New Kensington
Sports broadcast personality Mark Madden is heading to New Kensington to host a watch party Tuesday night as the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the New Jersey Devils. Madden invited fans and the general public via Twitter to join him at the event at Leo’s Sport Page at The Quality...
1 dead after shooting in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood
A man died after apparently getting shot in the chest Monday night in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood, police said. Officials received a report of a medical emergency in a residential area along Enright Court shortly after 6:30 p.m., Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Alicia George said. When medics arrived, they...
Car crashes into Arby’s in West Mifflin; no one injured
A car crashed into an Arby’s restaurant in West Mifflin during dinnertime Friday, narrowly missing a couple of customers as it came to a rest inside the building, officials said. Shortly after 5:30 p.m., the car slammed into the Arby’s customer entrance, stunning employees and at least two people eating...
150 people lose jobs as UPMC Pinnacle hospital closes in Lancaster
About 150 employees are losing their jobs with UPMC this month as the Pittsburgh-based health giant closes a hospital in Lancaster. UPMC Pinnacle, a 185-bed hospital, stopped taking new patient admissions from physicians on Friday. Scheduled surgeries and procedures and emergency room referrals will continue as needed through 7 a.m....
Pa. medical marijuana sales top $130 million in program’s first year
Medical marijuana sales totaled more than $130 million during Pennsylvania’s first year of selling cannabis products to patients — surpassing the first-year sales of several neighboring states combined, state figures released Friday show. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bipartisan bill to legalize medical marijuana in April 2016, and sales began...
