Teghan Simonton stories, Page 28

A research paper that studied how “puppy dog eyes” evolved to help dogs communicate with humans was ranked as one of the top 100 most influential studies of 2019. The paper, co-authored by Anne Burrows, a biological anthropologist in Duquesne University’s Department of Physical Therapy, ranked 27th in the Altmetric...

Salvation Army locations are struggling to meet their Red Kettle Campaign fundraising goals as the donation drive comes to a close. Lt. Alex Senak said that the Allegheny Valley Worship and Service Center’s campaign has only raised $52,643, well short of its goal of $125,000 by Christmas Eve. That leaves...

A winning raffle ticket with a $100,000 prize was sold at Penn Hills Convenience in Penn Hills, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Monday. The ticket was drawn as the fifth $100,000 Weekly Drawing prize. The weekly drawing is part of the New Year’s Millionaire Raffle, which began in November. The game...

The Allegheny County Health Department awarded 13 mini-grants totaling $113,552 to local organizations for projects aimed at addressing racial equality in chronic disease factors. The projects will increase access to healthy food and physical activity and connect residents to clinical care, the health department said. Social factors like employment, education...

Wednesday was the last day of the year to shop at Get Dressed Formals, a formal consignment shop in Vandergrift. The store will be closed for renovations through Jan. 2. Michelle Wehrle opened the shop in April but has quickly outgrown the 1,500-square-foot space. She has more than 1,200 consigned...

The Shaler Street Bridge over Route 19 in Pittsburgh’s West End will close for two days next week, PennDOT announced Friday. The bridge will close from 7 a.m. Dec. 16 through 7 p.m. Dec. 17. Crews from Swank Construction Company, LLC will install a new sanitary sewer. Traffic will be...

Vandergrift business owner Kelly Adamik said she organized the first-ever Mistletoe & Merchants event scheduled for Saturday to showcase what she considers to be the borough’s resurgent business community. “We’ve really turned a corner, and I thought it was time to highlight,” said Adamik, who owns The Gathering Room, a...

Sarah Gracey, an advisor and business teacher at Kiski Area High School, thinks there are several reasons why the school’s sixth annual Breakfast with Santa resonates with the community. “It’s like a wholesome, family event,” she said. “It’s for the community, by the community.” Breakfast with Santa will take place...

Armstrong County received a $150,000 grant to expand the county jail’s Medication Assistance Treatment (MAT) program, the office of Rep. Joseph Petrarca announced Wednesday. The program provides drug treatment services and cognitive behavioral therapy to offenders with drug addiction. The grant was provided by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and...

Chevron, one of the largest producers of natural gas in the region, may begin divesting in its gas operations in Appalachia, the company announced Tuesday. In Chevron’s exploratory budget for 2020, the company announced a flat spending budget of $20 billion. Domestic projects include the Permian Basin, which spans much...

The Allegheny County Health Department awarded 13 mini-grants totaling $113,552 to local organizations for projects aimed at addressing racial equality in chronic disease factors. The projects will increase access to healthy food, physical activity and connect residents to clinical care, the health department said. Social factors like employment, education and...

The Tarentum branch of the Community Library of Allegheny Valley is set to close, according to the library’s board of directors. All operations will be run out of the Harrison branch, a few miles away. “After much consideration and discussion, the Community Library of Allegheny Valley Board of Directors voted...

For historian Barbara Burstin, researching the life of Sophie Masloff, Pittsburgh’s first female and Jewish mayor, was a fascinating and rewarding project. She sees Masloff’s story of overcoming poverty, sexism and anti-Semitism as inspiring to everyone. Masloff served as mayor from 1988 to 1994. “Her story is a reflection of...

A new addition to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard shows that students graduating from area universities are earning less than their counterparts across the state and country. College Scorecard breaks down annual costs, median debt and other statistics for institutions of higher education to help high school students...

Al Todd III said his bicycle was an important part of his childhood. He remembers riding to his friends’ homes and through the neighborhood. Now, his goal is to make sure that every child in Western Pennsylvania has that opportunity. The annual Al’s Bike Drive, created by Todd, took place...

Police fired several shots at the car of a suspected child predator they were trying to arrest Thursday at a North Fayette business park. Justin David Torres allegedly fled the business park after ignoring commands to stop and speeding at officers who fired shots at his car, according to the...

The ramp connecting southbound Route 28 to the I-579 Veterans Bridge will close to receive concrete deck repairs, according to PennDOT. The closure will take place from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday. All traffic will be detoured, said Steve Cowan, PennDOT spokesperson. Motorists traveling to the Boulevard of...

Vern Sciullo does not care for all the attention he’s gotten recently. A member of the Vandergrift Council for 32 years, Sciullo officially retired this week when the newly elected members were officially sworn in Monday. “I’m not interested in this fanfare,” Sciullo said after his last meeting. At the...

A high school, banks and a handful of businesses in Western Pennsylvania were victims of cyber crimes by Russian hackers, federal authorities said Thursday. After a 10-year investigation, Russian nationals Maskim V. Yakubets and Igor Turashev were indicted in Pittsburgh and accused of distributing financial malware as part of a...

Some hair products could put women at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, especially black women, according to a study published by the International Journal of Cancer. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. It followed 46,700 cancer-free...

The Springdale office for the Allegheny County Health Department’s Women, Infants and Children office will reopen Thursday after being closed for about two months. The office was one of two WIC locations unexpectedly shuttered at the beginning of October because of increased demand in other parts of the county. At...

A customer at a GetGo in Carnegie won $800,000 on Saturday after purchasing a jackpot-winning lottery ticket. The Pennsylvania Lottery reported that someone purchased a Cash 5 ticket at the gas station that matched all five of the winning numbers 05-07-15-24-26. The odds of matching five out of five numbers...

A record number of runners participated in the annual Kiski Valley Turkey Trot on Thursday. The run is one of the Kiski Area Youth Network’s largest fundraisers. The event raised more than $20,000, which is substantially more than in previous years, said Josh Westurn, the organization’s director. Even though the...

The Allegheny County Health Department received a $200,000 grant from the Heinz Endowments to raise awareness about the county’s Maternal and Child Health program among black families and improve the ways it serves them. The main goal is to address racial disparities in infant and maternal mortality rates, said Dannai...