Patrick Varine stories, Page 135
Pennsylvania to date distributes nearly $25B in unemployment claims
Pennsylvania has distributed nearly $25 billion in unemployment compensation as of this week, state officials said Thursday. However, the week ending July 25, however, will mark the final claim week for additional $600 payments through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. “Unless further action comes from Congress and the federal...
Pennsylvania offers $10M in grant funding for food retailers affected by pandemic
Pennsylvania businesses working to maintain access to fresh, healthy food during the covid-19 pandemic are eligible for grants from $10 million in CARES Act funding, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday. The Fresh Food Financing Initiative Covid-19 Relief Fund is available to food-centered organizations and businesses impacted by the pandemic, including...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust cancels TGIS concert set for tonight
The Westmoreland Cultural Trust today canceled tonight’s TGIS concert featuring Andy and Natalie Gregg with Jackson Gardner scheduled for 5 p.m. on the lawn at Greensburg Garden & Civic Center. “The safety of trust patrons, artists, volunteers, team members, and the community it serves is our top priority,” Westmoreland Cultural...
Tax-prep offices ‘swamped’ as extended July 15 filing deadline approaches
For certified public accountant Brad Jadlowiec, a shareholder with KSL Associates in Shaler, July has felt a lot like April during a normal tax year. “The people who normally would have come April 10 are coming in July 10,” Jadlowiec said, noting the July 15 extended deadline to file federal...
Export takes payment plans off the table for delinquent sewage accounts
The grace period is over for Export residents with delinquent sewage bills. The most recent round of 42 letters, which will be sent to borough residents with outstanding sewage bills in the next week or so, no longer offers the option to reduce that debt through a payment plan. “We...
Franklin Regional School Board will vote on back-to-school plan Thursday night
Franklin Regional school officials have released a draft of their reopening plans for the 2020-21 school year, which will be voted on at a special online meeting Thursday night. The plan covers multiple scenarios for reopening and operating under the state-designated green, yellow and red phases. It includes a “hybrid”...
Moon teen wins national songwriting competitionVideo
Maleena Dominick had already written a song about how she felt losing the last few months of her senior year at Moon Area High School to the covid-19 shutdown. So when the 18-year-old heard about the “Living in a Covid World”-themed Robbie’s Hope Foundation songwriting contest, she immediately entered. Dominick’s...
Export planning to host annual borough festival in August
Export officials are planning to hold the borough’s annual Ethnic Food and Music Festival on Aug. 15 in hopes that the covid-19 pandemic will subside in time to host the annual event with proper health and safety guidelines in place. “We can move forward with planning without a lot of...
Station House 7 in Delmont home to weekly food truck afternoons
It could be some time before Jodi Colella is able to host the full-sized wedding receptions, graduation parties and baby showers she’d like to at Station House 7 on Greensburg Street in Delmont. But while she waits for covid-19 health and safety restrictions to ease, she is looking to bring...
Power outage affects 30-block area in East End neighborhoods
A cable failure resulting in a pole fire caused a power outage Monday evening affecting a 30-block area in some of Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods, according to Allegheny County officials. Duquesne Light spokeswoman Hollie Geitner said about 1,700 Lawrenceville customers were without power, after fire crews responded shortly after 4...
Trafford library will reopen July 13
The Trafford Community Public Library will reopen July 13 with new health and safety guidelines in place for patrons. The library’s new hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; and 3-7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Patrons must wear masks unless they have...
Wet spring, hot start to summer has corn farmers concernedVideo
Farmer John Greenawalt of Sewickley Township just saved his early sweet corn crop, and he’s hoping the recent hot, dry weather will move on so he can get the most from his current one. “This corn that we just picked, it went through five frosts,” Greenawalt said. “It really wasn’t...
Hampton Township manufacturer adds clear-front masks to PPE products
In April, business owner Rose Morris began taking the medical-grade fabric her company, Abram’s Nation, typically uses to create safety beds and began using it to create machine-washable fabric masks. The Hampton Township company ended up donating more than 1,000 of the masks to local nonprofits, groups and businesses. But...
Murrysville officials look at updating zoning to promote growth
Murrysville officials may look at updating their zoning laws to promote growth and provide housing opportunities for older residents looking to downsize. “I think that, generally, the philosophy in the past has been to have developers extend utility lines, have bigger lots, and I don’t want to say we were...
Richard King Mellon Foundation adds $10 million to its earlier $15 million commitment for covid-19 issues
The Richard King Mellon Foundation plans to add another $10 million to its earlier $15 million covid-19 response grant package, officials announced Thursday. The $25 million total commitment includes a new $2.5 million higher-education initiative, aimed at helping area colleges and universities safely reopen in the fall. “Education always is...
Kennywood, Sandcastle postpone openings
Kennywood and Sandcastle will postpone a planned reopening Monday, park officials announced Thursday. Allegheny County officials announced additional restrictions on businesses and public gatherings amid a weeklong spike in covid-19 cases. “While we are looking forward to the start of our summer season, we understand the reasoning behind the recent...
Delmont rec board reschedules first ‘Movies in the Park’ for July 11Video
Due to weather concerns, the Delmont Recreation Board will shift its first “Movies in the Park” series of the summer to July 11, with the addition of live music. It will be at 6 p.m. at Newhouse Park, featuring music from The Phisbins. Food will be available to purchase at...
Philadelphia men arrested in connection with Indiana County home invasion
Two additional suspects were charged in connection with a June 23 home invasion in White Township, according to state police. Police said Spencer M. Hayes, 19, and Frank J. Williams IV, 20, both of Philadelphia, were charged Tuesday with robbery, criminal conspiracy, terroristic threats, theft and related charges following a...
New Delmont library building on schedule for December completionVideo
Delmont Library Board member Dave Weber is hoping to have quite a Christmas present for patrons, shooting for Dec. 23 as the move-in date for the new library building off School Street. “It’s going very well,” said Weber on Tuesday as crews from Kacin Companies in Murrysville worked on the...
Kelly-Strayhorn Theater partners with East Liberty arts organizations for virtual fundraiserVideo
The only tax dollars many music and performance venues get are from amusement taxes levied on ticket sales, but that money has dried up since the halls have sat empty since mid-March. Before the pandemic, the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty was partnering with restaurants in the neighborhood to host...
Mellon Foundation grant aims to add low-cost Wi-Fi to high-need communities
As covid-19 cases increase in southwestern Pennsylvania, educators are just one of the groups struggling to see what their future may look like. School districts across the nation are looking at the myriad forms that fall classes could take, and it is just one of the areas R.K. Mellon Foundation...
Westmoreland County reports 20 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County on Monday reported 20 new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The countywide case total is now 640, with 38 deaths. There have been no reported coronavirus deaths in the county since May 18. Of the total number of covid-19 cases...
Pennsylvania reports 492 new coronavirus cases, 8 new deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday reported 492 new coronavirus cases and eight new deaths. That brings the statewide total to 85,988 cases and 6,614 deaths. The state considers 2,414 patients as probable cases, but they are not confirmed. More than half of coronavirus cases in the state are...
Public input sought on state’s 2.2 million acres of forest land
State officials are asking Pennsylvanians to weigh in via a survey on plans for the roughly 2.2 million acres of land that make up its state forests. “As the department moves forward in developing a new strategic plan, those who appreciate, work in or recreate in Pennsylvania’s forests have a...
Allegheny Health Network announces mobile covid-19 testing sites for next week
Allegheny Health Network’s mobile covid-19 testing unit will be in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and Hazelwood neighborhoods, Clairton and Duquesne next week. AHN personnel will operate the testing vehicle from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates: • June 29: Pittsburgh Housing Authority, 2435 Chauncey Drive in the Hill...
