Stephen Huba stories, Page 12
Murrysville consumer advocate named to PUC advisory council
Murrysville consumer advocate Mary Bach has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s Consumer Advisory Council. Bach was one of five new members appointed by the PUC on Thursday. The council meets every other month and advises the PUC commissioners on issues important to utility customers. Members serve on...
Project to stabilize homes affected by mine subsidence to start in Derry Township
Work on a mine subsidence project involving 125 homes in Bradenville, Derry Township, could begin as early as next week. The state Department of Environmental Protection has awarded a contract to Howard Concrete Pumping Inc., of Cuddy in Allegheny County. Howard was the lower of two bidders at $5.2 million,...
Report: Pennsylvania had record year for natural gas production
Pennsylvania had a record year for natural gas production in 2018, the state Department of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday. Unconventional well operators produced 6.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2018 — an increase of .8 trillion cubic feet over 2017 and the largest volume of natural gas...
Record rains cause concern for Westmoreland conservation group
Westmoreland County received 72 inches of precipitation in 2018 — nearly double the 40 inches the area normally receives. What happens to all that water? Some of it gets absorbed into the ground. Some of it evaporates with the help of plants and trees. And some of it just runs...
Study: Starting a business in Pennsylvania is not easy
Pennsylvania ranks among the worst states in which to start a new business, according to a new WalletHub study. The study, comparing 50 states across 26 indicators of startup success, ranked Pennsylvania 46th overall based on business environment, access to resources and business costs. Pennsylvania’s ranking put it below even...
Report: 90% of natural gas consumed in U.S. produced in U.S.
Natural gas is one of the main sources of energy in the United States — that’s no surprise. But in 2018, more than 90% of the natural gas consumed in the United States was produced domestically, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. natural gas production and consumption have...
Newhaven Court’s Pat Jackson offers piano tunes played by earVideo
“Pat, ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ ” “ ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ oh boy.” With that, Pat Jackson began to play. Jackson, 89, a resident at Newhaven Court at Lindwood, Hempfield, will take requests, but she mostly plays from the inexhaustible set list she has carried around in her head for...
Work on Flight 93 Tower of Voices chimes continues 10 months after dedication
Ten months after the dedication of the Flight 93 Tower of Voices, only eight of the 40 wind chimes planned for the monument are installed. An alert posted to the National Park Service website for the Flight 93 National Memorial notes that field testing on the eight prototype chimes that...
Westmoreland municipalities count on windfall from natural gas impact fee
For communities across Westmoreland County, Act 13 is the gift that keeps on giving. “I don’t know where we’d be without it,” Sewickley Township Supervisor Brian Merdian said. Of the 65 municipalities in Westmoreland County, Sewickley enjoyed the biggest increase in natural gas impact fee windfall this year — from...
Staycation destination: Polymath Park in Mt. Pleasant Township
Need a break? Looking for new adventure? There’s no reason to leave Western Pennsylvania. In this occasional series, we highlight “staycation” ideas found in our own backyard. Imagine being able to tour a Frank Lloyd Wright home — it’s easy if you try because Fallingwater is only an hour’s drive...
Fungus that causes deadly disease in bats detected in California
The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats has now spread to California, although officials caution that the disease itself is not affecting bat populations there. White-nose syndrome, a disease that affects bats while they’re hibernating, was first detected in a single cave in New York in 2006 and was...
Agriculture, Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry, supported through new state farm bill
Whether it’s an experienced farmer who wants to get into hemp production or a young farmer who needs access to farmland, there’s seemingly something for everyone in the new Pennsylvania Farm Bill. Gov. Tom Wolf’s signing of the $23.1 million farm bill — a series of legislative initiatives within the...
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival attracts vendors from across the countryVideo
At the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival last year, David Sinquefield sold 300 old-fashioned sling chairs in four days. “That’s why we keep coming back,” he said Thursday, the opening day of the 2019 festival. Despite oppressive humidity and the threat of storms, Sinquefield, 64, and other vendors said they’re...
Self-taught woodworker from Apollo enjoyed staying active, eating healthy
In 1921, when Donald Bayne was born, Warren G. Harding was president, the first religious radio broadcast aired on Pittsburgh’s KDKA, the first Miss America pageant was held in Atlantic City, N.J., and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery. Mr. Bayne attributed his long...
Report: Don’t count fossil fuels out just yet
Fossil fuels haven’t gone the way of the dinosaur just yet. Although the fossil fuel share of total U.S. energy consumption increased slightly in 2018, it was the second-lowest share since 1902, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Overall energy consumption in the United States reached a record high...
Limited-release lottery features 7 highly sought-after whiskeys
Pennsylvania residents have until 11 p.m. Saturday to opt in to the latest limited-release lottery by the state Liquor Control Board. The July lottery features seven highly sought-after whiskeys, the board said. Entry is limited to one bottle per household, per lottery. Featured products include: Lottery One features two bottles...
Pittsburgh institute gearing up for impending sainthood of Cardinal Newman
A Pittsburgh-based institute devoted to the study of Cardinal John Henry Newman expects to be very busy in the coming months. The Vatican announced Monday that Newman’s canonization will take place Oct. 13. Members of the National Institute for Newman Studies, a private research library affiliated with Duquesne University, plan...
Pennsylvania grants to fund programs that educate on environmental issues
A one-acre pollinator garden. Climate change workshops. Riparian buffer planting. Field trips for fourth- and sixth-graders. Those are some of the programs being funded by the latest round of Environmental Education Grants announced Friday by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The grants, most of them in the range of...
East Pittsburgh man arrested, accused of 2017 rape at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
An East Pittsburgh man wanted for a 2017 rape at Indiana University of Pennsylvania was arrested Thursday in East Pittsburgh. Donte Robinson-Vearnon, 20, was apprehended at an apartment in the 500 block of Grandview Avenue in East Pittsburgh shortly after 6 p.m. Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies forced their way into...
Route 30 scene of 3 hit-and-run crashes in quick succession
A series of hit-and-run incidents on Route 30 in Hempfield left several vehicles damaged Thursday evening, according to Westmoreland 911 dispatch. State police responded to the scene, on Route 30 between Georges Station Road and Humphrey Road, and had someone pulled over, according to dispatch. Three vehicles were struck, and...
Trucking company to expand Indiana County operations, add 25 jobs
PGT Trucking Inc., a flatbed transportation company, will expand its Indiana County operations and add 25 jobs, Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday. PGT Trucking plans to expand its Burrell Township location to improve its training operations and maintenance capabilities. The project includes significant expansion of the primary training facility for...
Pa. communities in line to get share of $251.8 million in natural gas fees
Impact fee payments for natural gas drilling in the state will reach a record level this year, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said. The agency expects to distribute $251.8 million in impact fees in accordance with the state’s Act 13 provisions. That would be $33.4 million more than last year...
Report: For 1st time, U.S. renewables produced more electricity than coal in April
Renewable sources of energy produced more electricity than coal in April — a first for the United States, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. Renewable sources — hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass — provided 23% of total electricity generation to coal’s 20% in April, according to EIA’s Electric...
Fullwoods leaving Greensburg Salvation Army for Pittsburgh corps
For Majs. Earnest and Vanessa Fullwood, there’s more than one way to preach the gospel. Inviting people to Sunday services at the Greensburg Salvation Army is one. Feeding them on Monday is another. “A lot of people do not identify us with being a church. … That’s our primary job...
Report: Westmoreland County one of the ‘transitional’ counties in Appalachia
A new federal government report places Westmoreland County among the 217 economically “transitional” counties in Appalachia, based on levels of unemployment, per capita income and poverty. The Appalachian Regional Commission report, titled “County Economic Status Designations for Fiscal Year 2020,” ranks all 420 counties in Appalachia using national census, labor...
