Allegheny County News category, Page 307
Pitt study confirms Clairton Coke Works fire sickened residents
During the 100 days that a pollution control system at Clairton Coke Works was offline following a 2018 fire, people living near the facility experienced worsened asthma symptoms, a study shows. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh will publish their findings in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Allergy...
Westmoreland County reaches 100,000 fully vaccinated against covid
Westmoreland County surpassed 100,000 residents fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to information released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Westmoreland is the 10th county in the state to hit that mark. In total, there are 100,080 fully vaccinated in the county and 49,232 partially vaccinated. Overall in the...
Traffic starts to flow after crash on I-79 north near Warrendale exit
A crash involving multiple vehicles on Interstate 79 northbound backed traffic up for a couple hours, according to traffic cameras and maps. The crash was reported around 7:30 a.m. at mile marker 74.5 in Marshall, about 1 mile south of the Warrendale exit. A shoulder was closed. Traffic cameras showed...
Pine-Richland taps former Brentwood school director now living in district to fill board vacancy
The Pine-Richland School Board on Tuesday selected a former Brentwood school director who moved into the district 1 1/2 years ago to fill a vacancy created when a school director resigned amid the recent community uproar over the district’s decision to fire its championship winning football coach. The board spent...
Allegheny County Council creates police review board
A divided Allegheny County Council on Tuesday approved creating an independent police review board. The board won’t be created until 2022 and it will only have jurisdiction over Allegheny County Police Department. Other municipalities with police departments in the county can opt-in to the board’s oversight, but that move would...
Allegheny, Westmoreland covid hospitalizations down more than 15% from last week
Covid hospitalizations have been trending in a positive direction recently for the state and local counties. New covid data show that from last week to Tuesday, hospitalizations in Pennsylvania as well as Allegheny and Westmoreland counties have decreased somewhat significantly. Hospitalizations Pennsylvania saw a sixth consecutive day of decrease to...
Winning Powerball ticket sold at Braddock market
Someone is a little richer after a Powerball ticket worth $150,000 was sold at an Allegheny County market, according to lottery officials. The winning ticket sold at Al’s Market in Braddock matched four of the five numbers drawn Saturday as well as the Powerball number. The Braddock Avenue market gets...
North Hills School District sets vaccine clinic for students 16 and older
North Hills School District officials are planning an appointment-only coronavirus vaccine clinic for students 16 and older next month. Students interested in getting the Pfizer shot can sign up on the district’s website. Officials from Giant Eagle will be administering the vaccines on May 11 at the high school, according...
Police: 1 person dead after U-Haul crashes into Shaler home
One person died after a U-Haul truck crashed into a Shaler home Monday afternoon, according to a Facebook post put up by the Shaler Police Department. Crews responded to the intersection of Reese and Grant avenues around 1:30 p.m. in response to a vehicle crash into a structure. Update: The...
Police review board again being considered by Allegheny County Council
Allegheny County residents will again have input about creating an independent police review board. But council may have already approved the legislation if the meeting is even held. “This is a very important issue that establishes a newly created board and I believe every resident that wants to be heard...
UPMC Magee encouraged by study of pregnant women receiving covid vaccine
Early findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine show the possible side effects of covid-19 vaccines in pregnant women were similar to those for all women. The first published results were released last week. Of the 35,691 participants ages 16 to 54 — at all stages of pregnancy...
Robinson stenographer earns national recognition, certification
During her early days as a court reporter, Karyn Valeriano found that two years of training at the Community College of Allegheny County didn’t help her nerves when a couple of attorneys started arguing and talking over top of one another. “As I gained more experience and confidence, I realized...
Lawsuit accuses North Braddock police officer of false arrest
Two insurance salesmen who said an off-duty North Braddock officer tried to falsely arrest them because he suspected a scam filed a federal lawsuit. The complaint filed by James Biernesser and Douglas Holcomb, who sold life insurance for American Income Life, names as defendants Officer Sharon Jackson, who is currently...
Allegheny County posts lowest single-day covid case report in 6 months
For the first time since Oct. 26, Allegheny County has posted a single-day covid case number below 100. Monday’s report by the Allegheny County Health Department shows 94 new coronavirus cases, something that hasn’t happened in the past six months. While health officials have often said Monday’s case counts are...
Plum man says school district banned him for speaking out against virtual learning
A Plum man is suing the school district and its solicitor, alleging they conspired against him when he objected to virtual schooling during the covid-19 pandemic. Nathan O’Leath said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday he and his wife, Nicole O’Leath, have two children, 7 and 10. They said they...
Covid-19 shattered enrollment patterns at region’s community colleges
Community college enrollment booms when the economy busts. That was an accepted fact, proven time and again during the cycles that characterize the U.S. economy. But the covid-19 pandemic, which sent the world into a series of lockdowns, shattered that pattern. Although the region’s community colleges were expecting an enrollment...
Braddock Council candidate, 2 other Allegheny County men arrested in Altoona on heroin trafficking charges
Three Allegheny County men — including a candidate for Braddock Council — were arrested in an alleged drug-trafficking operation in Blair County, according to Altoona police. Raemon Prunty, 21, is listed as running for a council seat in Braddock in the municipal elections in May, according Allegheny County election information....
Weekend road work continues on Parkway East in Pittsburgh, Parkway West near Robinson
Lane closures and traffic stoppages on both the Parkway East and Parkway West will continue Saturday night through the rest of the weekend, according to PennDOT. In Robinson, Moon and North Fayette townships, shoulder-patching work on the Parkway West will happen — weather permitting — until around 10 a.m. Sunday...
Pennsylvania sees new trend in covid hospitalizations: 3 days of decline
To start the month, the state had increases in covid hospitalizations in 13 of the first 14 days of April. But a trend in the last few days shows numbers going the other way, with hospitalizations in Pennsylvania dropping by about 6% since Wednesday. Pennsylvania The state had 2,656 covid-19...
Drug takeback set for Saturday in Allegheny County
Residents of Allegheny County will have a chance to get rid of expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances Saturday. The Allegheny County police are once again taking part in the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) semiannual National Take Back Initiative from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Any over-the-counter, controlled substance...
Map shows where to get a covid vaccine in Allegheny County
Allegheny County has created a public map of active covid-19 vaccination locations. The Vaccine Provider map is available online at the county’s Covid Vaccine Information page. Users can access it directly at alleghenycounty.us/vaccinemap. “We are trying to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to...
Introducing the new host of the Food Podcast
The Food Podcast has a new host. Starting the week of April 26, Krista Johnson will take the lead on the podcast as the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s newest Communications and Public Relations Specialist. “I’ve worked with food banks in the past and more importantly, I’ve met people who...
‘My dad would just be ecstatic’: Bruno Sammartino Park dedicated in RossVideo
A Ross Township park was renamed Friday to honor a local legend. Formerly known as Sangree Park, the park now bears the name of Bruno Sammartino, a famed wrestler and the longest reigning champion in World Wrestling Entertainment history. The WWE Hall of Famer was a resident of Ross for...
U.S. Steel will not drill gas wells at Edgar Thomson Plant
An agreement between U.S. Steel Corp. and New Mexico-based Merrion Oil & Gas to drill Marcellus Shale gas wells near U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works was terminated Friday. “U.S. Steel has decided to exit a lease agreement that would have allowed a natural gas well on the property of our...
Woman claims race discrimination in lawsuit against Allegheny County
A former Allegheny County economic development program manager said in a federal lawsuit Thursday that she was fired two months after making allegations of discrimination. Leandra Dimate Cortes, a Colombian immigrant, is suing Allegheny County for retaliation and race discrimination and seeks reinstatement and lost wages. A spokeswoman for the...
