Teghan Simonton stories, Page 13

Pittsburgh Public Schools will soon join the ranks of districts suing JUUL, the e-cigarettes manufacturer. The school board voted to retain legal counsel at a meeting Wednesday. “I think that this is a wise decision to join in and file and participate,” said board member Terry Kennedy. “It costs us...

Allegheny County health officials said Wednesday that they continue to be pleased with local covid-19 case numbers. “We have continued to see relatively low numbers compared to maybe what we expected as we entered September,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. The county has confirmed 1,152 cases in September so far,...

Pennsylvania’s new covid-19 contact tracing app has been downloaded by 50,000 people, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Wednesday. The mobile app, COVID Alert PA, was announced in August and officially launched Tuesday. The app notifies users if they have been exposed to covid-19 using Bluetooth technology. Without tracking identity or...

As part of his two-day visit to the Pittsburgh region this week, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette participated in a discussion at Carnegie Mellon University, along with U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. The “fireside chat,” moderated by CMU’s Vice President of Research Michael McQuade and livestreamed via Brouillette’s...

U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette visited the Pittsburgh region this week, stopping at a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker plant being built in Beaver County, Carnegie Mellon University and the United Association Local 449 Steamfitters headquarters in Pittsburgh. The visit, according to Brouillette’s staff, was to highlight the importance of Appalachian natural...

Pennsylvania’s First Lady Frances Wolf joined 17 other first spouses and partners to urge federal leaders to continue child nutrition programs for the rest of the school school year. In letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to congressional leadership sent Friday, Wolf and her counterparts asked the entities...

Carnegie Mellon University marked a milestone this week in its efforts toward sustainability, equity and social justice. The university released a new report Wednesday that assesses actions taken to advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 objectives adopted by the United Nations. The SDGs, or “global goals,” aim...

The Pittsburgh Art Commission held a special hearing Thursday to gather public comment on the future of the 62-year-old Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park. The statue has been the subject of debate as the city determines whether to remove or replace it. An online petition has garnered more than...

The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Beaver Valley Interchange (Exit 13) will be closed on weekdays for three weeks starting Sept. 21, the Turnpike Commission said. Crews will be reconstructing the road shoulders and resurfacing the ramps leading to and from the highway, according to a news release. Work is scheduled to stop...

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC are collaborating to develop a new antibody test — which they say is one of the fastest antibody tests in existence. The test uses a small drop of blood from a fingertip to search for the presence of two...

Allegheny County officials said Wednesday they are pleased with the covid-19 case levels at the moment. “Optimistically, while we’ve seen the numbers stabilize or are maybe a little bit up,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, “with all the activities that are occurring, I think we’re very pleased at where the...

Pittsburgh scientists as soon as next year could begin testing in humans a breakthrough drug they say has the potential to stop the pandemic by treating — and even preventing — the virus that causes covid-19. The drug’s foundation is a tiny but potent antibody that can block the virus...

Union members at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette are moving closer to a strike. On Monday, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said its parent union, NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America, unanimously approved their strike vote. “A decision to strike is never made lightly,” said NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss. “This one comes amid a...

Allegheny County and state officials have each begun including antigen test results in daily updates of covid-19 case counts. The new protocol, beginning in late August at both agencies, is approved by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. But it can still cause confusion when analyzing covid-19 data trends....

Vandergrift is coping with the loss of borough income due to the covid-19 pandemic. Income from taxes, parking meters and several other revenues are less than what they were at this time last year, calculations from Borough Secretary Steve DelleDonne show. Much of the loss is due to “the covid...

Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy will lay off a number of staff members, school officials said this week. The affected staff were notified Tuesday morning. In an email to Heinz College faculty and staff, Dean Ramayya Krishnan said the financial impact of the covid-19...

Serra Catholic High School has moved all students to online learning after two students tested positive for covid-19, the school confirmed Thursday. The school building will remain closed through Monday, and all sports programs will be suspended through the weekend. Administrators at the McKeesport school had sent an email to...

Washington & Jefferson College has sent more than two dozen students home for violating covid-19 guidelines since the fall semester began, the institution said Wednesday. The semester began Aug. 24. In the past two weeks, 26 students have been asked to return home to continue their studies remotely, according to...

The principal of Pittsburgh Miller Pre-K is encouraging students to excel during remote learning — with song. In a video posted Tuesday morning, the school district tweeted a video of Margaret Starkes, “the Rapping Principal,” dropping a few bars of reassurance for students on their first day of school. All...

The University of Pittsburgh recorded 36 new covid-19 infections among students over the weekend, and one infected employee. Since last Monday, the university has recorded 68 students and two faculty or staff members testing positive, according to its covid-19 data dashboard. The five-day moving average of positive student cases per...

The legal battle among members of Vandergrift Council continues. Recent case filings show a back-and-forth between Councilwoman Karen McClarnon and her peers, and a refusal to drop a civil lawsuit filed in late May. The defendants, five other council members and other officials, filed to dismiss the suit in late...

Western Pennsylvania is home to several colleges and universities, attracting students from around the state and country. During the coronavirus pandemic, many are tracking the number of positive covid-19 cases as they emerge on campus. University of Pittsburgh Enrollment: Approximately 35,000 students Number of new cases: There were 40 new...

PennDOT is considering changing the T-intersection at Route 356 and La Belle Vue Road in Allegheny Township into a roundabout. The project is a few years off, but PennDOT is inviting the public to comment starting next week. In addition to creating a roundabout at the intersection, the project also...