Western PA Local News category, Page 2251
‘It’s scary,’: Nurses fear covid surge will overwhelm Western Pa. hospitals
As soon as nurses arrive for work at UPMC Altoona, they’re in constant motion. In the hospital’s medical intensive care unit, which became the covid unit in March, the hallways are crowded with machinery, including IV pumps, dialysis machines and other equipment, said Paula Stellabotte, an ICU nurse. Stellabotte said...
Man shot in Stowe Township
A man was hospitalized after being shot in the lower extremity in Stowe Township on Friday night, Allegheny County Police said. Police said they were notified of the shooting in the 400 block of Pleasant Ridge Road at 6:40 p.m. A vehicle being driven in the area also was reportedly...
Allegheny County, Pittsburgh companies among list of best places to work
Four companies in Allegheny County have been named among the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania. Ryan LLC, a consulting firm in Downtown Pittsburgh; Total Quality Logistics, a logistics firm located in Kennedy Township; Maher Duessel, an accounting firm on Pittsburgh’s North Shore; and KU Resources, Inc., an environmental consultant...
Officials confirm: Body of missing Jefferson Hills teen found in Mon River
The body of a missing 15-year-old Jefferson Hills boy was found Friday afternoon in the middle of the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh near the Elizabeth Bridge. Jeno Moretti’s body was recovered at 4:50 p.m. by divers from the Charles County, Md., rescue team, Elizabeth Borough Police Chief Bill Sombo...
Man shot in Homestead in critical condition
A man shot in the torso in Homestead on Friday afternoon was hospitalized in critical condition, the Allegheny County Police Department’s homicide unit said. Homicide investigators were notified of the shooting in the 200 block of East 16th Avenue at 2:50 p.m., police said. The victim, who was not identified,...
DCNR cancels all in-person events due to covid concerns
The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has canceled all in-person events and programs in all state parks and forests, starting Sunday. That includes those organized by its staff or volunteers. The decision includes the elimination of the DCNR’s organized group First Day Hikes planned for Jan. 1. The...
As pandemic wears on, more people are food insecure
As the covid-19 crisis continues to worsen, many more people are looking for help putting food on the table. That’s the message Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank president and CEO Lisa Scales gave during a Governing in Crisis virtual discussion this week. Scales told the Trib reservations for drive-up food...
Jail Oversight Board to investigate why high-ranking medical administrators keep quitting
When Janet Bunts was hired in August to be the new health services administrator at the Allegheny County Jail, she came to the position with 26 years in corrections. She only lasted three months before she quit in November. There’s a reason no one stays, Bunts said: “A lack of...
Christmas tree sales going well in Western Pa., but growers see scarcity of trees in futureVideo
John Fazio and family drove all the way from Swissvale to a tree farm east of New Alexandria this week so he and his son, John, could trudge up a hillside, where he got to lie down in 4 inches of snow and wield a bow saw to cut down...
Unity woman to seek district justice seat
A Unity woman who has worked for the last decade as a criminal justice liaison with the county’s mental health agency announced this week she will run to fill a potentially vacant district justice seat. Rebecca Salandro, 38, said she wants to serve as a judge on the local court...
Allegheny County lawyer Jill Beck launches Superior Court bid
A Squirrel Hill lawyer Friday fired the first salvo in the 2021 election, announcing her candidacy to fill a vacancy on the state Superior Court. Jill Beck said she is running to fill a vacancy on the state court that hears the first round of appeals in most civil and...
Week-in-review: Snow, Steelers stay undefeated among week’s top headlinesVideo
Snow on Dec. 1 isn’t a strange thing in Pittsburgh, but a Steelers game kicking off on a Wednesday afternoon is. A snowfall that topped meteorologists’ expectations and the Steelers keeping their undefeated season going with a win over the Ravens in a game rescheduled three times were among the...
Christmas tree program to benefit West Deer church, Deer Lakes suicide prevention program
A West Deer preschool teacher who loves Hallmark Christmas movies is hoping to build community spirit and foster generosity with township Christmas trees. The “Our Tree of Light” Christmas tree project will benefit Our Lady of the Lakes Parish and the hopefully soon-to-be implemented Hope Squad – a suicide prevention...
State police looking for Hempfield man accused of fleeing arrest, threatening girlfriend
State police this week obtained an arrest warrant for a Hempfield man wanted for threatening to harm his girlfriend and fleeing from police. Police are looking for Shawn P. McCune, 32, of Grapeville, on charges of driving on a suspended license, false imprisonment, fleeing and eluding, flight to avoid prosecution,...
Jupiter and Saturn to form ‘Christmas Star’ in sky this month
Two giant worlds are about to collide. Sort of. Jupiter and Saturn are meeting up this month. It’s something they do every 20 years, only this year the neighboring planets will appear closer to each other on the dome of our sky than at any point since the Middle Ages....
Hempfield to continue with remote learning through holidays
Students in the Hempfield Area School District will continue with remote learning until after the holidays. According to a letter posted on the district’s Facebook page, schools will reopen Jan. 4, following the Christmas break. The decision to keep schools closed came days after school board members reaffirmed that students...
Freeport Area School District to remain fully remote until January
Students at Freeport Area School District won’t return to in-person instruction until at least Monday, Jan. 11, the school board said Thursday. The district had previously decided to limit the amount of time students spent in the classroom around the holidays after a surge of covid-19 cases left more than...
AHN donors may have been exposed to data breach, officials say
Donors to Allegheny Health Network might have had their personal information exposed during a ransomware attack earlier this year on an IT company used by hundreds of hospitals, universities and other nonprofits, officials said Friday. Blackbaud, a global tech company, provides cloud computing services to a slew of institutions including...
Supreme Court sets date for state response in Mike Kelly election suit. Is it a day late?Video
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito late Thursday set a deadline for Pennsylvania officials to respond to a request to throw out the state’s mail-in voting results — or possibly the entire election. But the date set — Dec. 9 — is the day after the “safe harbor” deadline, the...
Tarentum proposes several large projects, no tax increase in 2021 budget
Tarentum has identified nearly $500,000 worth of large projects in its 2021 preliminary budget, but the budget does not include a property tax increase. The proposed $8.8 million spending plan is up by about $468,000, or 5.6%, from the $8.3 million budget for this year. The property tax rate would...
Gilpin tree farm offers personal touch to help make Christmas a little brighterVideo
A rural family-owned and operated Christmas tree farm in Gilpin has served the Alle-Kiski Valley for more than 80 years. Habe’s Nursery co-owners and husband-and-wife team John and Janie Sterosky work overtime during December, making hundreds of homemade pine custom wreaths, grave blankets and kissing balls. “We make our own...
Shaler Area extends online learning model through Jan. 4
Shaler Area students will continue virtual learning a bit longer than expected. Superintendent Sean Aiken alerted families on Friday that the district will extend its remote learning model at least through the beginning of January. Officials had planned to resume in-person instruction the week of Dec. 14 but because of...
Irwin’s annual Festival of Trees altered because of covid restrictions
Irwin’s annual Festival of Trees, with the stores featuring decorated trees, will be yet another event that will be altered because of the pandemic covid-19 restrictions. To allow for social distancing, there will be a self-guided walking tour around downtown Irwin spread over six days. The event starts Dec. 4...
Mt. Pleasant Area School District will keep remote learning through end of semester
Students in the Mt. Pleasant Area School District will continue with remote learning until the end of the semester. According to a letter posted on the district’s website by Superintendent Timothy Gabauer, it will last until Jan. 21. The decision came as covid-19 cases continue to rise across Westmoreland County....
Greensburg plans inventory of blighted city properties
There are more than 6,000 parcels of land in the City of Greensburg, and Westmoreland County employees soon will examine all of them to figure out which are blighted. The city received a $10,000 grant from the Realtors Association of Westmoreland, Indiana and Mon Valley to partner with the county...
