Western PA Local News category, Page 1032
Independence Health System lays off 53 employees
Independence Health System laid off 53 employees this week, bringing the total number of positions eliminated this year to 226. The changes come in the wake of significant financial losses and a financial credit rating downgrade for part of the health system. Formed by the merger of Butler Health System...
Fireworks, parades, festivals — your guide to Fourth festivities
From 5K runs to firework shows, there’s a variety of ways to celebrate Independence Day with friends and family this year. Here’s a list of firework displays, parades and festivals: ALLEGHENY COUNTY North Boroughs Celebrate Community Day at Avalon Community Park on New Brighton Road Saturday from 6 p.m. to...
Slide repair to close Leechburg Road in Plum into mid-August
PennDOT plans to close another Plum road to repair a slide, a spokesman confirmed Thursday. Leechburg Road will be fully closed between New Texas and Unity Center roads from July 5 through mid-August, spokesman Steve Cowan said. Traffic on the road has been restricted since June 9, when a temporary...
AHN, Cigna ink 1-year contract, working on longer deal
Allegheny Health Network and Cigna Healthcare reached a deal on a one-year contract while the two organizations work over the next two weeks on a longer, multi-year agreement. The deal is meant to ensure that Cigna Healthcare customers will continue to have in-network access to the Pittsburgh-based health care system’s...
Warhol Museum, Citizens partnership boosts public art, artist development
June 27 was a red-letter day for The Andy Warhol Museum, with the unveiling of a large-scale piece in its public art installation, The Pop District, and the announcement of a partnership with Citizens Financial Group Inc. in support of that initiative. Pittsburgh artist Mikael Owunna’s “Anatomy of a Human”...
Record travel numbers expected by air, roads for July 4 week
If you’re planning to travel during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, you will be far from alone. Whether by air or on the road, a record-number of people are expected to be on the move during the long weekend. The Automobile Association of America is projecting 50.7 million people...
Coins, minnows, holograms give Pitt-Greensburg camp students science, math insights
Greater Latrobe classmates Kaden Shannon and Jacob Leonard practiced a bit of chemistry this week that might have been mistaken for alchemy. A penny they boiled in a prepared solution appeared to turn silver, and when they placed the coin on a hot plate it seemed to turn gold. “It’s...
Morning Roundup: East Busway’s renovated Negley Station unveiled
Here are some of the latest news items from Thursday morning, June 29: Transit officials unveil East Busway’s renovated Negley Station A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday to mark Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s completion of renovations to the Negley Station along the East Busway. The $2.5 million project added a new...
North Allegheny Day at Kennywood is Aug. 12
While the North Allegheny School District will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the district’s annual Kennywood Day isn’t quite as old. Kennywood Day has been an NA fixture at least since the 1980s, according to Brandi Smith, school district spokeswoman. While researching the district’s history in preparation for...
The Stroller, June 29, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free tuition reimbursement offered for nurses Concordia Lutheran Ministries will host...
Smoky haze from Canadian wildfires expected to linger over Western Pa. for rest of the week
Young children and those with respiratory ailments are being urged to stay indoors for a second straight day as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to shroud Pittsburgh in a fog-like haze. A Code Red air quality alert for fine particulates was issued Thursday for 13 Western Pennsylvania counties by the...
Credit rating agency says Butler Health System is backsliding further financially
Butler Health System’s credit rating was downgraded this week. The system, which combined with Greensburg-based Excela Health at the beginning of the year to form Independence Health System, had its rating downgraded three notches from A to BBB on June 26. Excela and Butler Health are rated separately. Fitch previously...
New Kensington considering updated regulations, new fees for restaurants, food trucks
New Kensington is revamping fees paid by restaurants and food trucks in an effort to emphasize food safety. City council is considering an ordinance that would bring the city into compliance with the state’s food laws, health officer Patrick McGuire said. “It makes the licensing and enforcement in compliance with...
Thrasher to resign as Westmoreland commissioner
Gina Cerilli Thrasher will resign from her elected position as the lone Democrat on Westmoreland County’s board of commissioners, her chief of staff Don O’Brien said Wednesday. Thrasher, 37, was confirmed Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Senate to fill a vacancy on the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. She will serve...
Saints of the Valley vacation Bible school teaches kids about namesakes for local churches
Most churches base their vacation Bible schools on cookie-cutter programming from national suppliers, but, at Saints of the Valley, campers will get an experience specific to the Alle-Kiski Valley. Each day of the program focuses on a different patron saint for one of five Catholic churches in the region —...
Doctors emphasize caution amid poor air quality in Western Pa.
Western Pennsylvania’s current poor air quality, caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires, can do more than make you cough — it can exacerbate existing health conditions and irritate the lungs, according to respiratory experts. The particles carried in the smoke can irritate lung passages and make it more difficult for...
Zoning change needed to clear way for GetGo gas station, store to be built in Homewood West
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is recommending a proposed zoning change that would clear the way for GetGo to open a gas station and convenience store in the city’s Homewood West. A zoning change would allow the GetGo to be built on a vacant, 1.3-acre site near the corner of Frankstown and...
Jeannette council workshops to be held same week as voting meetings
The public meeting schedule for Jeannette council will change in August back to a previous format. Council will resume having work sessions the Tuesday before Thursday voting meetings. The group voted 4-1 to make the change with Councilwoman Michelle Langdon dissenting. Since September, council has been holding work sessions eight...
Fitzgerald takes county minimum wage increase to court
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is asking a court to weigh in on whether the executive’s office or council can determine wages for public employees. The move follows a vote by county council last week that overrode Fitzgerald’s veto of an ordinance that would raise the minimum wage for county...
Hampton resident promotes coexisting with coyotes
What may seem like all of a sudden, coyotes aren’t just cartoon characters on television anymore. “They’re very prone to getting media attention,” Hampton resident Jamie DeHart said. “One event out of how many days in the year, and all of a sudden it’s front-page news.” Whether they simply are...
234-apartment development proposed for Strip District
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is considering a proposal to bring more than 200 new apartments to the city’s Strip District. The proposed development would include two new six-story apartment buildings, each with vehicle and bicycle parking and amenities. One building would be on Smallman Street and the other would be on...
Pitt’s dean of education to become president at Charlotte HBCU
The University of Pittsburgh will be searching for a successor to School of Education Dean Valerie Kinloch, who is leaving to become the president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. She will assume the role of president of the historically Black college on Aug. 1 Kinloch has been...
Pittsburgh synagogue attacker had ‘very serious mental health history from a very young age,’ expert says
“He moves through the world under a vague feeling of threat and paranoia.” “He is quick to agitation.” “Active psychosis makes it impossible for him to assess stimuli and read the world appropriately.” All of those findings, an expert in neuropsychiatry and epilepsy testified Wednesday, mean that Robert Bowers could...
Opposition continues on proposed Yough river power plant
A proposed natural gas-fueled power plant a few miles north of West Newton would pump more pollution into a region that already has poor air quality, environmentalists and activists said at a community meeting this week. More than 100 people attended the meeting organized by the Environmental Health Project of...
Westmoreland Symphony tuning up for annual ‘Summer Sparklers’ concert
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s “Summer Sparklers” is always a bit of something old mixed with a bit of something new. Set for 7 p.m. Sunday in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park, the free concert annually celebrates the Fourth of July with a salute to the armed forces and a rousing finale of...
