Western PA Local News category, Page 2247
Pittsburgh council approves law requiring paid covid sick leaveVideo
Pittsburgh businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave to workers who contract covid-19 or who are required to quarantine because of exposure during the pandemic. City council members approved the bill requiring the paid leave, and it is supported by Mayor Bill Peduto....
Pine’s 2021 budget keeps taxes lowest in county, maintains services
Pine officials have approved a budget for 2021 that curbs spending and uses money left over from this year to avoid a tax hike. The nearly $12.19 million general fund budget unanimously approved by supervisors Dec. 7 allocates 7.13% less money than this year’s spending plan to reflect an anticipated...
Some residents seek 50% cut to Pittsburgh police budget; city council members say that’s illegal
Pittsburgh City Council members listened for about two hours Tuesday as some three dozen speakers criticized the city’s 2021 budget proposal, asked for a 50% cut in the police department’s budget and wanted to see increased spending on social service programs. Most of the 45 people who signed up to...
Police log: Robbery, assault, prowling among charges recently filed by Monroeville police
The following charges were filed from Nov. 22 to Dec. 7 with District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst. Charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted: • Dejuan Mitchell, 32, of Monroeville with simple assault and harassment. Charges were filed by Pitcairn police Nov. 22 in connection to an incident...
Car rentals relocated, new parking system on the way at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
For the first time, paid parking will be introduced at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport — although plenty of free spaces will remain. A new ticketing system for a preferred parking lot closest to the terminal at the Unity airport could be in place early next year, said Gabe Monzo, executive...
Pandemic prompts closing of Tarentum’s Praha, possibly for good, as other restaurants hang on
Uncertainty brought on by the covid-19 pandemic is prompting owners of the Praha restaurant and bar in Tarentum to close, possibly for good. Unless businesses are shut down sooner, owner Ken Gulick said the Praha will close at the end of business on Dec. 23. He expects the closure to...
DUI, drug cases among those recently handled in Judge Ford’s Sewickley court
Sewickley District Court Judge Robert L. Ford handled these cases in November. Defendants will have court dates set in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Charges were filed by Sewickley police unless otherwise noted. Held for court • William Franklin, 24, of Beaver Falls on charges of driving under...
Rare Babe Ruth card found by Altoona-area woman sells for $342,000
A collection of very old baseball cards turned out to be a treasure trove for an Altoona-area woman who works on the front lines of the pandemic. The woman, who did not want to be identified, was going through her late grandfather’s belongings when she found a rare 1916 Babe...
Tarentum police say man attacked woman, 2 children after coming home from bar
Tarentum police say a borough man attacked a woman and hit two young boys after coming home from a bar late Monday night. Borough police charged Stacy Andrew Smith, 29, with simple assault, endangering the welfare of children, resisting arrest and harassment. In a criminal complaint against Smith, police say...
Fox Chapel Area returns to in-person classes, reports 10 active covid-19 cases in district
As Fox Chapel Area students returned to in-person classes this week, officials said there is no current plan for middle and high school students to be in the buildings on a full-time basis. Elementary students have returned to five-day, in-person classes but older students will remain in a hybrid learning...
U.S. Supreme Court denies Republican injunction request in Pa. mail-in ballot challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon denied an attempt by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and other Republicans to challenge Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting system. The denial likely puts an end to the Trump campaign’s efforts to throw out the state’s election results that declared President-elect Joe Biden the winner. The...
Allegheny County reports 693 new covid cases, 6 deaths
Allegheny County reported 693 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the county Health Department. There were six new coronavirus-related deaths also reported. Total cases and total deaths now stand at 34,814 and 585, respectively. The seven-day new case average is now 830 and seven-day case total is 5,807, both records....
Brick oven pizza, bourbon featured at newly opened Brick & Barrel Cross Keys in Indiana Township
A historic eatery in Indiana Township is welcoming diners again. Co-owned by Jeff Brungo and Chris Hildebrandt, Brick & Barrel Cross Keys opened in November, offering a casual full-service dining experience. The menu is based on locally sourced burgers and specialty brick oven pizza, and the bar features an extensive...
Irwin plans 3-mill tax hike for 2021 with 1 mill for fire department
Irwin is proposing a 15% property tax hike for 2021, a third of which will go to the Irwin Volunteer Fire Department as it considers building a new fire hall. The proposed tax increase, which was in the tentative $3.98 million general fund budget adopted last month, would raise property...
UPMC expects to receive covid vaccine soon, distribute to health care workers after authorization
Pending emergency authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, UPMC hopes to have the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine distributed to all of its front-line workers by the end of January, leaders in the hospital system said Tuesday. The system anticipates arrival of its first allocation of Pfizer vaccine doses in...
Westmoreland County reaches 250 covid deaths; 80% have come since September
With new covid-19 deaths reported, Westmoreland County reached a milestone Tuesday. The eight new coronavirus-related deaths reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health bring the county’s total to 250 deaths. To put deaths in Westmoreland County in perspective, it took from March 19 (when the county’s first cases were reported)...
Greensburg man cited after outburst in store over mask, social distancing
A Greensburg man who became enraged after being told to leave a store for failing to wear a mask and social distance is accused by city police of making threats against employees and knocking over merchandise as he departed. Police on Tuesday charged Derek P. Hart Jr., 21, with multiple...
Hempfield sports postponed as coronavirus cases rise
Winter sports in the Hempfield Area School District are on hold as coronavirus cases rise across the region. The decision, made by school administrators at Monday’s board meeting, was attributed largely to the number of coronavirus cases within the athletic department. Administrators decided to mirror academics, which moved to remote...
Shaler Area Elementary School counselor chosen as top in state for 2020
A longtime Shaler Area Elementary School counselor was named the top counselor in Pennsylvania for her efforts to foster kindness and acceptance in her young students. Lezlie DelVecchio-Marks was chosen as the state’s School Counselor of the Year by the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association (PSCA) during the group’s annual conference...
Brentwood passes 2021 budget with no property tax hike
Brentwood council approved its 2021 spending plan without raising property taxes during its meeting Monday. Council unanimously approved the $9.9 million budget, which represents a 12% increase from the 2020 spending plan. Like many municipal budgets, Brentwood experienced some shortfalls in tax revenue, based largely on the effects from the...
Santa Claus to ride through Greensburg on a fire truck this weekend
Coronavirus kept Santa and Mrs. Claus from making their traditional appearance in the Greensburg Holiday Parade this year, but they’ll make up for it this weekend by touring the city in a fire truck. “With everything going on, we really wanted to bring some Christmas cheer to residents in the...
Riverview School Board reelects Ashbaugh as president, Schaaf as vice president
The Riverview Board of School Directors maintained the status quo when it reelected its president and vice president to the same roles Monday. Lisa Ashbaugh, 53, of Verona will begin her second year as president of the nine-member board. Janine Hurt-Robinson, first appointed to the board in 2016, retained her...
Dozens of Allegheny County Jail inmates, employees test positive for covid-19
A covid-19 outbreak in the Allegheny County Jail is now affecting more employees along with dozens of those housed in the jail awaiting trial or serving sentences, officials said Tuesday. Two weeks after Warden Orlando Harper announced that 10 ACJ employees had tested positive for the virus, the number of...
Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes, Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline test positive for coronavirus
Two Westmoreland County elected officials said Tuesday they tested positive for coronavirus. Sean Kertes, chairman of the county commissioners, and Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline both said they are experiencing symptoms of the virus and both are at their respective homes in isolation. “I had a 100-, 101-degree temperature and,...
Levin to buy back 5 stores from Michigan firm, rebuild furniture chain
Robert Levin is getting closer to rebuilding his family’s namesake furniture chain, which nearly fell to ruin after a century in business following a sale and the tumult of a messy bankruptcy proceeding. “I feel this is like a Christmas gift for all of us, customers and employees,” Levin said...
