Western PA Local News category, Page 2448
Sheetz in Creighton closed after employee tested positive for covid-19
The Sheetz in Creighton closed Wednesday after an employee tested positive for covid-19. The employee was at the Sheetz location on Freeport Road, in the Creighton section of East Deer, on Wednesday morning. Because of the positive test, the store closed immediately. The location is being professionally deep cleaned, sanitized,...
Judge pushes Excela, doctors to resolve pending stent lawsuits
A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday ordered Excela Health and two of its former cardiac doctors to engage in settlement talks and mediation to resolve 35 outstanding lawsuits filed by patients who contended they received unnecessary stents. Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway during a conference with lawyers for patients, the...
UPMC sponsored fitness court in McCandless nears completion
North Hills residents who want to improve their health no longer need to shell out money for a gym membership. Work on a new fitness court in McCandless is complete, with only minor details remaining, said town manager Bob Grimm during the July 13 council meeting. “We’re waiting for the...
Whitehall man accused of making homemade explosives facing federal charges
A Whitehall man accused of making online threats and homemade bombs now faces federal weapons charges after a grand jury returned a five-count indictment against him. Kurt Cofano, 32, originally was wanted by Whitehall police last week in connection with a mental health warrant, according to police. Cofano said online...
University of Pittsburgh freezes tuition for 2020-21
The University of Pittsburgh Wednesday froze tuition for the coming academic year at 2019-20 rates. That means the lowest base undergraduate tuition for Pennsylvania residents at the school’s Oakland campus will remain $18,628 for the 2020-21 year. Tuition at Pitt’s three branch campuses will be held at $13,198. Graduate and...
New owners thrilled to purchase quirky Plum homeVideo
The couple that bought a unique house on Rainier Drive in Plum won’t change much about their new home. “It’s right up our alley,” said Nick Sarver, just days after he and his wife, Katelyn, moved into John Cope’s getaway house he rebuilt as Epoc I. The castle-starship-beach-hippie house in...
O’Hara awards smaller-than-usual road paving project because of covid-19 impacts
O’Hara residents will see about $275,000 in road paving but it won’t be until fall, council said during its meeting July 14. Council approved the 2020 road improvement contract to Tresco Paving, with township Manager Julie Jakubec saying it is a scaled back program because of covid-19 impacts. “There’s no...
Pittsburgh closes firefighter training facility over coronavirus concerns
Pittsburgh on Tuesday temporarily closed its firefighter training academy after one of the instructors reported covid-19 symptoms, the city reported Wednesday. Thirty-six recruits and instructors are now in quarantine, according to the city and Ralph Sicuro, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 1. “This decision was made out of...
6 more Port Authority employees test positive for covid-19
Six Port Authority of Allegheny County employees have tested positive for covid-19 since last week’s update, bringing the total number of employee cases to 27, officials said Wednesday. Fifteen of these employees have been cleared to return to work. Eleven are at home recovering and one remains hospitalized. The six...
Game warden saves bald eagle mired in Lancaster County manure pit
The Pennsylvania Game Commission rescued a bald eagle stuck in a manure pit in Lancaster. The Game Commission said it received a report Saturday that a bald eagle was unable to fly out of a manure pit at a private farm in southern Lancaster County. The large mature male eagle...
West Jeannette will get spruced up, thanks to canceled mission trip
When a New York City mission trip for 30 area middle schoolers had to be canceled earlier this year, Cornerstone Ministries Pastor Joel Guinen looked closer to home to make a difference. The group will be embarking on a week-long “Mission Home” cleanup project in West Jeannette, targeting a playground,...
‘Friendly Fire’ rye whiskey on sale this weekend at Fort LigonierVideo
When Fort Ligonier Museum supporters were naming a special-edition rye whiskey to debut at a 2019 fundraiser, they looked no farther than the Ligonier museum’s own Washington Gallery. A painting there depicts a 26-year-old George Washington’s “friendly fire” incident in 1758 that nearly claimed the life of the then-Virginia colonel....
Western Pennsylvanians sought to take part in coronavirus vaccine trials
Researchers are seeking at least 750 people in Western Pennsylvania to take part in trials for vaccines against the novel coronavirus that causes covid-19, UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh announced Wednesday. The trials are part of what is called Operation Warp Speed, a national push to rapidly develop a...
Former Penn Hills municipal building set to be sold after 2 years on market
Penn Hills Council is in the process of selling the municipality’s old headquarters along Frankstown Road. According to a sale agreement, Narinder Singh and Kulwant Kaur will buy the building in a cash deal for $175,000. The prospective owners were not available for comment. Michael Pirollo, the property’s real estate...
21 new covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County
There are 21 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths in Westmoreland County, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Wednesday. The new cases come from 527 tests, representing a 3.98% positivity rate for those cases. All of the new cases are confirmed. The county case total now stands at 1,054,...
Greensburg lifts limits on food trucks, hopes more business rolls into city
Speal’s on Wheels was one of the first food trucks to operate in Greensburg, with owner Terry Speal serving late-night grub to college crowds in the city since 2016. High registration fees and limited hours kept most food truck operators out, but that just meant less competition for Speal. “The...
Residents file opposing petitions for potential name change of Squaw Valley Park in O’Hara
Dueling petitions to keep or change the name of Squaw Valley Park in O’Hara are heating up online and will likely be debated during the township’s parks and recreation committee meeting on July 22. Council heard Tuesday night from several people advocating for a name change to the 31-acre park...
Pine-Richland student matches mask makers with those who need them
Serving as a volunteer at UPMC Passavant hospital for the past several years has been a valuable learning experience for Amish Sethi of Pine Township. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, the Pine-Richland junior was no longer allowed in the hospital. “My ability to volunteer at the hospital...
Allegheny County adds 246 new covid-19 cases, 5 new deaths
One day after it added a record number of new covid-19 cases, Allegheny County reported another huge tally of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The county reported 246 new cases, five new deaths and one new hospitalization on Wednesday. The latest batch of added cases come from tests that span...
New program for young Pennsylvania farmers aims to pump new blood into aging agriculture industry
Adam Mason and his wife, Katie, are in the process of buying a 106-acre farm in Allegheny Township, where they hope to raise chickens, turkeys, pigs and cattle. “It’s a dream come true,” Mason, a 35-year-old California native, said of his plans to own a farm. Mason, who is raising...
Wolf grants 3rd extension for license to carry firearms permits
Gov. Tom Wolf has granted a third extension for licenses to carry firearms, state police announced Wednesday. Permits expiring on March 19 or later are now valid through Sept. 30. The previous extension was set to expire on July 31. The extensions were needed because some county courthouses and sheriff’s...
Jeannette City planning in-person learning, virtual academy for 2020-21 school year
Parents of Jeannette City School District students will get to decide whether their child has instruction in-person or virtually during the 2020-21 school year. School board members this week approved the district’s reopening plan, which includes daily temperature monitoring of students and staff upon entry to buildings as officials navigate...
Pittsburgh area set to start another run of hot, humid weather
After a four-day break, the Pittsburgh area is set to enter another stretch of days with 90-degree temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. And it’s going to get muggy, too, with dew points rising to oppressive levels in the lower 70s, meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said. While the high Wednesday...
2 women hurt, storefront damaged in Coraopolis crash
Two women were taken to a hospital after a crash in Coraopolis early Wednesday morning. The women were in a car that crashed into a storefront on Fifth Avenue around 2 a.m., the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. They were trapped in the car by debris and had to be...
1 dead, 1 in custody after Uniontown shooting
One person is dead and another is in custody after a shooting in Uniontown. The shooting happened around 9 p.m. Tuesday near a Sunoco gas station on Connellsville Street, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. Police told the station that the victim was shot inside a vehicle and pronounced dead...
