Local category, Page 2522
Dolly Parton library provides free books for Steel Valley kids
Steel Valley residents with children age 5 and younger can enroll their kids to receive one free book each month through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Mary Denison, founder and executive director of Reading Ready Pittsburgh, said residents of the 15120 ZIP code — generally Homestead, Munhall, West Homestead and parts...
26 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland Co. as total jumps to 110
Westmoreland County saw its biggest single-day increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic hit the county in mid-March. Twenty-six new cases were reported in the state health department’s update Friday, bringing Westmoreland’s total to 110, a 31% increase from the previous day. The health department reported 12 more deaths statewide...
Commercial flights at Arnold Palmer airport to cease next week
Commercial flights at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport will stop starting Wednesday and, as a result, about a third of its 90 workers will be furloughed, officials said. Spirit Airlines, the lone commercial carrier at the Unity airport, will continue to operate its daily schedules through Tuesday but then will halt...
Westmoreland County treasurer buys historic Greensburg building
Westmoreland County Treasurer Jared Squires has purchased a long-vacant, five-story building in downtown Greensburg, with plans to turn it into a dance studio, office space and apartments. Squires’ company, Line 6 Inc., bought 205 S. Pennsylvania Ave. from the Greensburg Community Development Corp. for $95,000. “I’ve seen this building a...
Allegheny County coronavirus cases reach 476, triple over past week
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Allegheny County tripled during the past week as the countywide total climbed to 476 on Friday. County officials reported 57 new cases Friday, compared to 63 new cases reported Thursday. The recent jump in cases reflects a significant increase in testing,...
Duquesne Light expands customer assistance program
Duquesne Light is expanding its assistance program to help income eligible customers pay their utility bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced Friday a $375,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate and matching funds from Duquesne Light would add $750,000 to the Dollar Energy Fund, administrator of...
Answering the Call: How a UPMC cancer doctor deals with coronavirus stressVideo
Like many health care professionals in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Jessica Berger is social distancing as much as she can. But for Berger, a gynecological oncologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, there are still many patients she has to see in person. A married mother of two...
Pittsburgh closes playgrounds, could close parks if social distancing wanesVideo
Pittsburgh officials have not ruled out closing city parks if residents fail to heed social distancing guidelines as they did last weekend. The city has already closed all playgrounds effective Friday, and basketball courts and the Mt. Washington overlooks have been closed since early this week. Public Safety Director Wendell...
Covid-19 dominates news as region struggles, changes, fights backVideo
Covid-19 continued to dominate the news, and lives, of everyone in Western Pennsylvania this week, as the closure of schools and businesses was extended indefinitely and all state residents were ordered to stay home. Everyone was adapting to the new normal, including a nearly 100-year-old Latrobe woman who found herself...
Pittsburgh professors see flaws in coronavirus modeling, predict more grim outlook
Two Pittsburgh academics argue that much of the modeling regarding the trajectory of the covid-19 pandemic has been fundamentally flawed — and the real outlook for the disease is much more dismal. Wesley Pegden and Maria Chikina have joined an international conversation about projections of how dire the covid-19 pandemic...
Police: Bradenville pair showed kids how to smoke marijuana, gave them alcohol at parties
Two Bradenville residents are accused by state troopers of providing alcohol to several children during two birthday parties last year and demonstrating how to smoke marijuana, according to police reports. Janelle Anne Bias, 35, and Bryan Allen Green, 44, were charged Thursday with multiple counts each of corruption of minors,...
Pennsylvania flu cases drop significantly, state’s final report says
With influenza activity decreasing significantly across the state, Pennsylvania health officials have stopped updating a weekly report on flu activity for the season. Flu activity is down over the past few weeks and now below epidemic levels, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the week...
The Stroller, April 3, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Send information of charitable events to The Stroller Is your company or organization making or collecting equipment for health professionals? Is your club or church going to sponsor a community blood drive? The Stroller will publish information about community drives and collections at Triblive.com. Send information to vndnews@tribweb.com. Trinity United...
South Fayette outlines new trash collection restrictions
South Fayette Township announced the following Waste Management trash collection limits due to the coronavirus restrictions: • All trash must be secured in trash bags and be placed inside garbage cans if possible. Limit the number of bags outside a container to only two bags. • Haulers will not accept...
Unity woman accused of sexually assaulting teenager
A 47-year-old Unity woman is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy last November, state police said. Christine H. Shaw, 47, of McClellan Drive, Unity, allegedly assaulted the boy Nov. 27 , according to the criminal complaint police filed April 1 before Unity District Judge Michael Mahady. Shaw is charged...
Employee at Murrysville Giant Eagle tests positive for covid-19
An employee at the Giant Eagle in Murrysville has tested positive for covid-19, store officials reported Thursday night. The regional chain has sought to keep customers informed by keeping a list of stores where employees have tested positive for the virus, and when that employee was last in the store....
Highmark, UPMC to pay patients’ out-of-pocket costs for covid-19 treatments
Western Pennsylvania’s two largest insurers pledged Thursday to eliminate any out-of-pocket costs for patients who are treated for covid-19 at an in-network hospital. Both UPMC and Highmark committed to waiving all deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance costs for insurance members who receive in-network, inpatient care related to covid-19, the disease caused...
State police: Convenience store, restaurant, bar customers can’t stick around to play video games
The state police don’t want bar patrons playing video gambling machines under normal conditions, let alone during the coronavirus pandemic. State police have received “an influx of public inquiries related to liquor licensees allowing patrons to remain in their establishments to operate video gambling devices, sometimes marketed as ‘games of...
State urges those laid off from pandemic closures to apply for unemployment, business aid
With 1 million jobless claims filed in the past two and a half weeks, employees at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry have been scrambling to respond to a record-high number of requests for immediate financial aid during the pandemic-spurred shutdown. Most labor department employees are working from home....
Juniper Village at Forest Hills senior community to begin proactive coronavirus testing
Juniper Communities, a senior housing company with sites in Forest Hills, Meadville, State College and eastern Pennsylvania, will begin taking a proactive approach to the coronavirus pandemic by testing residents and staff. “Senior living communities are the first line of defense for 3 million citizens most at risk for complications...
Allegheny County court judicial emergency extended to May 8
The judicial emergency declared in March by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will now be extended through May 8 in Allegheny County, according to an order issued Thursday by county President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark. Clark’s order follows an extension of the statewide judicial emergency through April 30, ordered Wednesday by...
‘Hail to Pitt’ trending as Twitter users praise potential vaccine development
Praise for the University of Pittsburgh has dominated social media after the institution announced it was close to developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Scientists at Pitt’s School of Medicine announced Thursday that the vaccine, when tested in mice, produces antibodies that could fight off the virus. Testing the...
EPA: Do not flush anything other than toilet paper to help keep sewage systems running efficiently
With increased sanitary measures taking center stage amid the coronavirus pandemic, federal environmental officials are asking Americans to stop flushing disinfecting wipes in an effort to keep sewage systems functioning properly. “Flushing anything other than toilet paper, including disinfecting wipes, can damage internal plumbing, local sewer systems and septic systems,”...
3rd resident of Beaver County nursing home with covid-19 dies
A third resident who tested positive for covid-19 at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has died, officials announced Thursday. Two other residents with advanced dementia previously died after contracting the disease, according to Dr. David Thimons, the facility’s medical director. “There are currently 38 in-house residents that have tested positive,”...
Hundreds of Westmoreland County employees to be furloughed Friday
Furloughs of hundreds of Westmoreland County employees will begin at the end of the workday Friday, but the final number of workers who will be off the job still is in flux, officials said. Commissioners last week announced that budget strains caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic prompted a suspension...
