TribLive stories, Page 1699
Cole Schenley: Local government should decide minimum wage
Voting for President Trump while also supporting a law that raises the minimum wage? At first glance, you might think it impossible. Trump’s campaign platform made no mention of increasing the minimum wage. Though he often claims to be on the side of American workers, many of his trade and...
Lawsuit: Allegheny Health Network failed to accommodate Cheswick nurse with asthma during pandemic
A Cheswick registered nurse is suing Allegheny Health Network because she said the health network discriminated against her and failed to accommodate her when the covid-19 pandemic began in the spring. Samantha Eiler, who was hired by the health network in January 2019, was diagnosed with asthma when she was...
Nathan Lents and Dr. S. Joshua Swamidass: Science bridges divides for a better world
Fifteen years ago Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones delivered his landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ruling: Intelligent design is not scientific, is religious in nature and therefore should not be taught as a scientific alternative to evolutionary theory in public schools. This was a big...
Murrysville council approves 2021 budget with no tax hike
Murrysville council approved a 2021 budget of $14.2 million that does not include a tax increase. Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to OK the budget, which will keep property taxes at 12.15 mills. Council members Jamie Lee Korns and Tony Spadaro were not present. Municipal officials said, while taxes have remained...
Steven Chanenson and Jordan Hyatt: Vaccine decisions for the incarcerated
After a powerful fall resurgence, covid-19 has left no aspect of life untouched, including in Pennsylvania’s state prisons and county jails. Now that the first shots have been given, doctors, ethicists and politicians have begun to consider who should be vaccinated next and in what order this should happen. One...
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declines to 6.6% in November
WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down 0.8 points over the month to 6.6% in November — falling below the U.S. rate of 6.7% in November for the first time since May 2015. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 2 points above its November 2019 level while the national rate was...
Letter to the editor: Lectured on covid-19 vaccine
This virus has been hard on everybody. Since April, we’ve been told to wear a mask and social distance. We were locked down and then partially reopened. Everybody managed to have some semblance of summer. The cases started going up. Once again we’re locked down and told to avoid family...
Jackknifed tractor-trailer closes Route 65 near McKees Rocks Bridge
A portion of Route 65 near the McKees Rocks Bridge was closed in both directions Friday morning, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. A tractor-trailer jackknifed and spilled fuel on the road just north of the bridge, WPXI reported. Suggested detours for motorists include Camp Horne Road and Parkway North....
Letter to the editor: America is lost
Who would vote for abortions, higher taxes, open borders, neverending wars, defunding police, possibly shutting our country down again, eliminating the Second Amendment, removing freedom of religion, etc.? Would you vote for this? This is what I see as the Democratic platform. Apparently, a President Obama clone has won the...
Laurels & lances: Shots, lockdown and cops
Laurel: To first steps. The fight against the coronavirus pandemic took a giant leap forward this week. UPMC began administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to health care workers. Five of the hospital system’s employees took the shot Monday in a livestreamed event, much like those held around the U.S. This isn’t...
Letter to the editor: Election was fair; Trump must go
I am 6-foot-4-inches tall, have wavy blond hair, and have a Ph.D. and a law degree. Oh, and I also won the presidential election. That’s all a lie. I’m 5-foot-8, bald as a cue ball, have no college degrees and didn’t even run for dog catcher, let alone president. It’s...
The Stroller, Dec. 18, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your non-profit organization going to have a fundraiser? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Santa to visit West Deer with township firemen Santa will travel through West Deer with the township volunteer fire companies this weekend....
Vanessa Bryant accuses her mother of extortion in ugly legal battle over family money
LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant on Thursday accused her mother of seeking to “extort a financial windfall” from her in the wake of her husband Kobe Bryant’s death by filing a lawsuit claiming she is owed years of back pay for working as an unpaid assistant. The family feud ratcheted...
Lawsuit alleges negligence by shuttle driver in September crash that killed pedestrian
The sister of a woman struck and killed by a shuttle bus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section in September has filed a lawsuit against UPMC for negligence. Mary Flaherty, 76, of Monroeville was struck about 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 17 as she was walking near the intersection of Terrace and Buffalo...
Pitt cardiologist sues school after backlash to his article on affirmative action
A University of Pittsburgh cardiologist who faced backlash over an opinion piece he wrote criticizing affirmative action is suing his employers, the American Heart Association and the company that published and then retracted his article, alleging that he was demoted and defamed because his views were unpopular. Dr. Norman C....
5 accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plead not guilty
DETROIT — Federal prosecutors say they have a “large volume of evidence” — so much that they requested an extra 40 days before bringing an indictment — but five of the six men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded not guilty Thursday. The evidence ranges from...
Jeremy Bulloch, ‘Star Wars’ actor who played Boba Fett, dead at 75
Jeremy Bulloch, the English film star who suited up as the fan-favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died, according to another actor who played the character. He was 75. Bulloch’s death was announced Thursday on Instagram by Daniel Logan, who portrayed a young version...
Boyce Park ski slopes and snow tubing expected to be open Saturday
Boyce Park ski slopes and snow tubing are expected to be open this weekend, according to Allegheny County officials. “We have been making snow all week and hope to open on Saturday,” Allegheny County chief marketing officer Kevin Evanto said via email Thursday. “We’re waiting on tonight’s snowmaking before making...
U.S. cybersecurity agency warns of ‘grave’ threat from Russian hack
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities expressed increased alarm Thursday about an intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation’s cybersecurity agency warned of a “grave” risk to government and private networks. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said...
Where are the ‘continuity of government’ vaccine doses coming from? No one wants to say
WASHINGTON — Where is the supply of covid-19 vaccines coming from for senior officials across government? No one will say. Days after the White House confirmed that senior officials would receive covid-19 vaccines to help ensure continuity of government, it remains unclear from where those vaccine doses will originate. The...
Heart’s Ann Wilson on leaving Seattle bubble, reconciling with sister and Carrie Brownstein-led biopic
SEATTLE — The last five years have brought about big life changes for Ann Wilson. The flute-tooting vocal dynamo who fronts legendary Seattle rock band Heart fell in love, got hitched and moved to northern Florida. Last year, Wilson sold the Capitol Hill mansion she called home for decades —...
Shooting becomes homicide probe for Erie police after 13-year-old shot several times dies
An Erie police investigation into the shooting of a 13-year-old boy in what the city’s police chief said appears to have been a targeted attack on Dec. 5 has turned into a homicide probe. Chief Dan Spizarny said Thursday morning that investigators have been told that the boy, identified by...
Former Baltimore Ravens running back Lorenzo Taliaferro dies at 28
Lorenzo Taliaferro, who played three season as a Baltimore Ravens running back from 2014-16 after starring at Coastal Carolina, died Wednesday. He was 28. Authorities have not released a cause of death, but a family member told Fox45 that Taliaferro died of a heart attack in his hometown of Williamsburg,...
Tarentum police investigating theft of packages
Tarentum police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a woman who they say is a package thief. The department said Wednesday on its Facebook page that it was investigating a theft of packages in the 300 block of East Sixth Avenue. No other information was provided. Police provided...
Robert Smith: The nature of environmental quality
We have all heard the ongoing allegations of toxic pollution spewing from big business destroying our environment and killing us, cancer rates and respiratory diseases on the increase because of big businesses polluting for profit. These are some of the many emotionally charged allegations leveled by environmental groups. These types...
