Local category, Page 2396
North Hills School District outlines reopening plan
The North Hills School District has developed a plan for the reopening of schools in the fall. The plan, which was outlined during Tuesday night’s school board meeting, has separate contingencies for how to educate students during each of the color-coded phases created by the state to help limit the...
2020 Mt. Pleasant Glass & Ethnic Festival canceled
Usually drawing crowds of more than 45,000 people, the 33rd annual Mt. Pleasant Glass & Ethnic Festival that was to be held the last full weekend of September is now canceled, the festival committee announced Thursday. Jerry Lucia, co-chairman of the festival, said the committee waited to see what other...
Unlikely source helps Carnegie Mellon University make computers more polite
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed an automated method for making computers more polite. And they have the ill-fated energy company Enron to thank. How’s that? Well, it’s not unusual to receive impolite directives or requests such as “send me the data.” But the CMU researchers found a means of...
Pittsburgh SWAT team assists police in standoff with man barricaded in apartment
Pittsburgh police called a SWAT team for assistance Wednesday evening as they negotiated the surrender of a man who barricaded himself in his apartment and threatened to harm himself. Police responded just after 6 p.m. to the apartment in the 400 block of South Fairmount Street in the city’s Friendship...
Organizers cancel Fort Ligonier Days, plan virtual version of festival
The Fort Ligonier Days Board canceled its traditional fall festival, but plans are underway to hold a virtual version. The annual festival, which was scheduled for Oct. 9-11, typically brings thousands of visitors to Ligonier to view a parade, enjoy food and music, browse among vendors and attend battle re-enactments...
Highlands Class of 2020 graduates in-person while following pandemic protocols
The Highlands High School Class of 2020 practiced social distancing during their graduation ceremony on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 in the high school gymnasium. So did the audience, which was limited to parents and guardians. They were allowed into the gym in small groups while their child was receiving their...
‘Ask a Black Doctor About Covid-19’ Facebook event set for Thursday
Every other week an informal online chat known as “Ask a Black Doctor about Covid-19” attracts more than 24,000 views. But as covid-19 cases reach record highs in Allegheny County, a session scheduled for Thursday evening is expected to exceed previous viewership numbers. Presented by 1Hood Media and the Gateway...
Rostraver road to close Monday for slide repairs, remain closed through end of month
A section of Route 201 in Rostraver will be closed beginning Monday while PennDOT crews complete slide repairs. The road will be closed beginning at 6 a.m. between Route 136 and Pollack Run Road. A marked detour will be in place using Routes 136 and 51. Work is expected to...
Allegheny County officials say coronavirus is infecting more young people
More young people continue to test positive for covid-19, Allegheny County officials said Wednesday. Hospitalizations also have started to “creep up,” county Health Director Debra Bogen said, with 31 since June 20. Of the newly hospitalized, seven patients are in their 20s and 30s, she said. She expects to see...
Family of Brighton Rehab employee sues over covid-19 death; federal lawsuit dropped
The family of a longtime employee at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County is suing the facility over her death from covid-19. Elizabeth A. Wiles, of Rochester, Beaver County, worked as a Brighton housekeeper for nearly 30 years. She died May 10 at age 69 after a covid-19...
Monroeville church to host virtual VBS
A Monroeville church plans to host virtual Vacation Bible School sessions for children in pre-school through fifth grade. Monroeville United Methodist Church, at 219 Center Road, will host the sessions from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom video conferencing. The program is called “Rocky Railway: Jesus’ Power Pulls Us Through.”...
Westmoreland Register of Wills will fully reopen to public July 6
The Westmoreland County Register of Wills will fully reopen to the public on Monday . The courthouse office, which oversees the filing of wills and estates and issues marriage licenses, has restricted public access since early April and has been operating by appointment only in response to the coronavirus pandemic....
Pittsburgh council poised to create LGBTQ commission, address racial divide
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced separate bills that would require an increased effort to rebuild business districts in minority-populated neighborhoods and create a commission to help resolve problems faced by the city’s LGBTQIA+ residents and visitors. Councilmen Ricky Burgess and R. Daniel Lavelle, the city’s only two Black council...
Another West Mifflin-based Port Authority driver diagnosed with covid-19
Another Port Authority of Allegheny County employee who works out of the authority’s West Mifflin garage has tested positive for covid-19, the authority said Wednesday. It is the 17th case involving a Port Authority employee. The employee has been in a medically directed self-quarantine since March 19, but they tested...
2 Chaplin films to be screened via Zoom with live music by Pittsburgh pianist Tom Roberts
It seems everyone could use a good laugh in the trying times of the pandemic — and thanks to Charlie Chaplin and a local musician, the laughs are on the way. The Rangos Giant Cinema and pianist Tom Roberts are putting on a night of live music and silent films...
Mt. Pleasant Lenox outlet to close after company cites pandemic-related struggles
The Lenox Factory Outlet store in Mt. Pleasant Township is shuttering, putting an end to a long history at the glass plant. Lenox, which sells tabletop and giftware items, announced Tuesday all outlet and warehouse stores will permanently close, citing difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A closing date was...
North Huntingdon man accused of coughing on police gets up to 2 years in jail on theft charges
A North Huntingdon man accused of trying to infect police with coronavirus by coughing on them will serve up to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to other offenses. Joseph R. Good Jr., 35, was arrested in April and, according to police, claimed he had coronavirus and...
Diocese of Greensburg Catholic schools receives largest recorded donation, offering $4.1 million in tuition assistanceVideo
Diocese of Greensburg Catholic schools could see an uptick of about 250 students in the coming year thanks to $4.1 million in tuition assistance now available. The funds were made possible after the diocese received the single largest donation by a family, amounting to $2.4 million, along with smaller donations...
Testing of Alle-Kiski Valley sewage shows no signs of covid-19
A Massachusetts company has tested sewage from the Alle-Kiski Valley and hundreds of other wastewater treatment plants across the country to try to identify and predict spreads of the coronavirus. The virus was not detected in a May 31 sample of wastewater from the Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority,...
Hot, dry weather hitting Western Pennsylvania for holiday weekend
At Harbison Nursery in Harrison, keeping plants alive is the main concern during these hot July days. Andrew Scarborough tends to the nursery’s plants. With the weather forecast calling for more scorchers, he said it’s important to care for plants correctly. High temperatures will peak in the low 90s from...
Westmoreland County logs double-digit covid-19 cases for 3rd time this week
For the third time in four days, Westmoreland County experienced a double-digit increase in the number of new covid-19 cases, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. On Wednesday, the department reported 29 new cases and no additional deaths for the county. Sunday had 13 new cases, Monday had 20...
Allegheny County, Pittsburgh offices to close Friday for July 4th
Federal, state, Allegheny County and city of Pittsburgh offices will be closed Friday for the Fourth of July holiday. Parking at meters in the city will be free through the weekend. The Pittsburgh Parking Authority will be closed and has suspended meter enforcement. Garbage collection in the city will continue...
Petition drive calls for dropping derogatory ‘squaw’ from Fox Chapel, O’Hara parks, roads
Three women — including a member of Fox Chapel council — are leading an effort to drop the word “squaw” from local parks, roads and waterways because it is considered an ethnic and sexual slur against women of Native American descent. It’s not the first time one of the women,...
Pittsburgh officials to enforce fireworks laws, restrict large gatherings during July 4th weekend
Pittsburgh’s public safety agencies are taking a different approach to monitoring gatherings to mark Independence Day because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We all know that these are uncertain and trying times,” Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said in a statement. “But if we can pull together as a city and...
110 new coronavirus cases reported in Allegheny County, 1 death
Allegheny County health officials reported 110 new cases of covid-19 Wednesday, along with four hospitalizations and one death. Wednesday’s update brings the county to 2,870 total cases of the virus, 397 hospitalizations and 187 deaths. There have been around 56,000 tests administered in the county since the start of the...
