Local category, Page 2504
Broadband internet survey deadline extended for Westmoreland, other regional counties
Westmoreland County planners have extended the deadline for residents to participate in a study of local broadband internet needs until the end of April. The online survey is part of an eight-county assessment of infrastructure needs for the service that has become increasingly relevant as more residents have been routed...
Pennsylvania’s ‘masks in public’ order manifests in a variety of ways in Western Pa.
Alyson Holt’s house in Murrysville is starting to fill up with 3D printers. Her husband, Gary, already had two and recently ordered a third. These days, they are humming steadily, creating moldable face masks using polyactic acid plastic, the most common material for 3D printing. The Holts are using a...
Mayor Peduto: Pittsburgh will feel financial effects of pandemic for 5 years
The City of Pittsburgh is likely to feel the economic effects of the coronavirus for the next five years, Mayor Bill Peduto said in a speech Thursday. He called the city’s financial picture “bleak” and said there will be a budget shortfall of tens of millions of dollars this year,...
Allegheny County asks residents to refrain from open burning during coronavirus pandemic
Allegheny County officials are asking residents to refrain from recreational burning, an activity they said has increased during the coronavirus pandemic. “With more people at home due to the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in recreational burning,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, Health Department Director. “The resulting smoke reduces...
Monroeville decides against employee furlough
Monroeville council voted down a motion that would have furloughed 17 full-time municipal staffers between the library, senior center, parks and recreation, code enforcement and engineering departments. The motion, made by Councilman Eric Poach, to furlough 17 full-time staff members would have brought approximately $120,000 a month in savings, according...
Cause of Jeannette fire believed to be accidental
Jeannette Fire Chief Bill Frye believes a fire that damaged three homes this month was accidental. Frye said Thursday that he believes the April 9 blaze was electrical and started in the space behind a wall on the first floor of the Gaskill Avenue home. No one was there at...
Police searching for missing McCandless woman
Authorities are looking for a McCandless woman who has been missing for a month. McCandless police began looking into the disappearance of Gale Pearson, 70, on Wednesday. On Thursday, the department asked Allegheny County Police to help with the investigation. Detectives learned Pearson was last seen after picking up her...
Cops: Man charged with assault for intentionally coughing on workers in Unity medical office
A man accused of intentionally coughing on two medical staffers at an outpatient care center in Unity this month was charged with reckless endangerment and simple assault , state police said. Robert M. Williams, 53, of Cherry Tree, Indiana County, was also charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and reckless endangerment...
Allegheny Health Network supplements N95 masks with reusable respirators for coronavirus patients
Health care workers in the Allegheny Health Network have started using protective gear that is expected to replace thousands of N95 masks. AHN has partnered with Pittsburgh-based company MSA Safety to secure a shipment of P100 industrial-grade respirators, the health network announced Thursday. The masks are reusable and can be...
Murrysville to reduce number of monthly planning meetings
Murrysville officials are hoping that reducing planning commission meetings from two to one per month will make it easier for the commission to achieve a consistent quorum to conduct business. The seven-member commission was only able to hold one monthly meeting during at least six months of 2019, according to...
Answering the Call: UPMC worker discusses mental toll of screening front-line colleagues for coronavirusVideo
A month ago, Brittany Murin was a mammographer at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. Now, in the midst of the covid-19 crisis, she is responsible for screening front-line employees as they enter the hospital. Her shift begins at 3 a.m. In this edition of Answering the Call, the Trib spoke with Murin...
Pennsylvania reports 60 more deaths, over 1,200 new coronavirus cases
Another 60 coronavirus deaths were reported across Pennsylvania on Thursday, pushing the death toll above 700 as the case count eclipsed 27,000. The deaths, reported to the state throughout the day Wednesday, bring the total to 707, according to the Department of Health. The 1,245 new cases reported during that...
12 more coronavirus deaths reported in Allegheny County after delay in data
Allegheny County reported 12 more deaths from the coronavirus Thursday, but officials stressed that the increase does not indicate a spike over the past 24 hours. The 12 new reports, which bring the countywide total to 38 deaths, reflect a delay in the data being added to the county’s tracking...
Murrysville will likely delay construction of park amphitheater
With live concerts an unlikely scenario in the near future, and a group of consultant proposals that missed the mark, Murrysville officials are likely to hold off on plans to build an amphitheater at Murrysville Community Park. “We received five (consultant) proposals, and to say the least, I think we’re...
Westmoreland Transit bus driver tests positive for coronavirus
A Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus driver has tested positive for the coronavirus. Transit officials learned about the positive test result on Wednesday. They said the driver last worked Saturday and determined the worker had little in-person interaction with other authority employees or riders that day. The bus operated by...
Domino’s to donate 7,600 pizzas in Western Pa.
Local Domino’s stores will donate 7,600 pizzas within their communities in the Pittsburgh area, the national chain announced Thursday. Nearly 40 stores in the region will each donate 200 pizzas as part of a national effort. Donations will be sent to hospitals, medical centers, school children and their families, grocery...
19th coronavirus death reported in Westmoreland
Officials said Thursday that a man died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the death toll to 19. Ten men and nine women in the county have died as a result of the virus, according to Coroner Ken Bacha. His office is being notified of the deaths sooner than...
Irwin restaurant delivering meals to seniorsVideo
Caroline Leppert got lunch delivered this week to the North Huntingdon residence where she has been living with her friend for the past month under a self-imposed quarantine to avoid getting sick with covid-19. Leppert and her friend were getting a meal of ready-to-heat pasta with a meatball, courtesy of...
The Stroller, April 16, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Sitting at home all day, many of us are asking ourselves how we can help others during this pandemic. Read The Stroller daily for announcements of how everyone can ease the pressure and stress of others, even while maintaining social distancing. Information for The Stroller should be emailed to vndnews@tribweb.com....
Youngwood boy gets his own personal parade thanks to borough’s volunteer firefighters
On a cold and gray afternoon in Youngwood, one little boy’s birthday turned out to be a heartwarming, bright-blue celebration. On a day normally highlighted with a school celebration and then dinner at Hoss’s, Garrett Hamilton’s seventh birthday was looking to be a little less than thrilling this year, thanks...
Bishop Canevin student photography on display in virtual art show
A virtual art show featuring work by members of the Bishop Canevin High School Photography Club is available online. The club installed their work in the lobby of the Carnegie municipal building just as social distancing guidelines were being implemented. Borough office staff helped prepare the virtual art show so...
Harmar supervisors to vote on zoning changes and other business via Zoom conference call
Harmar Township supervisors will meet Thursday for a hearing on changing zoning on some parcels along Gulf Lab Road at 6 p.m. Thursday, followed by supervisors regular meeting at the Harmar Township Municipal Building and also via a Zoom conference call. The supervisors will vote on zoning changes. The most...
Man sues Pittsburgh diocese, alleging sexual abuse by priests decades ago
A New Hampshire man is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh based on allegations that three priests sexually assaulted him in the 1960s and early ’70s, court records show. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court further accuses the diocese and co-defendant Bishop David Zubik of...
Car overturns onto sidewalk in Arnold, driver flees scene
Crews responded to an overturned vehicle in Arnold on Wednesday night, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Nobody was in or around the car. The car was found crashed on a sidewalk along McCandless Street around 8:30 p.m. Further information was not immediately available....
Covid-19 crisis could cost Pennsylvania hospitals $2 billion per month, health advocates warn
Pennsylvania’s hospitals stand to lose as much as $2 billion every month the pandemic-spurred shutdown goes on, the state’s largest hospital advocacy group said Wednesday. Gov. Tom Wolf’s order canceling elective medical procedures as part of the covid-19 measures is estimated to rack up $1.5 billion in collective monthly hospital...
