Local category, Page 2543
Deer Lakes School District to provide remote instruction starting Wednesday
Deer Lakes School District teachers will implement remote instruction for all grades starting next Wednesday, March 25. Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden said Thursday that these are mandatory school days. Teachers will assess the students’ work based on the curriculum. “Remote instruction is a virtual school day when students and staff have...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto self-quarantines at home
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will be in a self-quarantine in his home for 14 days after two people he had contact with in Washington, D.C. last week tested positive for the coronavirus. Peduto made the announcement in a video posted to the City of Pittsburgh Twitter account Thursday night. “I...
Gov. Wolf’s business shutdown order draws support, criticism
Gov. Tom Wolf’s order Thursday to close all non-life-sustaining businesses will strain local businesses and local communities, but it may be the state’s best shot at controlling the spread of the coronavirus, public and health officials said. “Having these nonessential stores closed is having an impact on small businesses and...
Gov. Tom Wolf’s business shutdown order draws support, criticism
Gov. Tom Wolf’s order Thursday to close all non-life-sustaining businesses will strain local businesses and local communities, but it may be the state’s best shot at controlling the spread of the coronavirus, some public and health officials said. “Having these nonessential stores closed is having an impact on small businesses...
At-risk cancer patient pleads with community to heed coronavirus warnings
Nurses lined a hallway of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood, clapping and cheering as Sherry Williams reached out with a blue-gloved hand to ring a bell, celebrating the completion of her 16th and final chemotherapy treatment Wednesday. Williams, 50, of Mt. Lebanon, laughed and smiled, looking...
Route 356 in Allegheny Township closed due to 3 vehicle crash
Part of Route 356 in Allegheny Township closed late Thursday afternoon due to a three-vehicle crash, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The road closed between Garvers Ferry and Williams roads at 5:10 p.m. One vehicle was overturned, according to the dispatcher, but nobody is entrapped. The extent of injuries...
Nearly 200 Allegheny County Jail inmates set for release amid coronavirus concerns
Nearly 200 Allegheny County Jail inmates have been or are slated to be released in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Staff from across the court system are working to identify inmates who are appropriate to release, and 189 have been identified thus far, according to a...
Gov. Wolf orders all non-life sustaining businesses to close tonight
All non-life sustaining businesses across the state were ordered to close by Gov. Tom Wolf in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order goes into effect at 8 p.m. Thursday. Enforcement action will be taken against businesses that do not close physical locations starting at 12...
1 taken to hospital after kitchen fire in Derry Township
One person was taken to the hospital in stable condition after a fire broke out in Derry Township Thursday afternoon. Officials responded to Longview Court around 3 p.m. for reports of a grease fire in the kitchen, said Bradenville Assistant Fire Chief Nick Piantine. All five people living in the...
New Kensington-Arnold adds 4 food-distribution locations
New Kensington-Arnold School District is making changes to where and when it is distributing meals to students and children while the district’s schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Superintendent John Pallone on Thursday said four new locations are being added to where lunch and breakfast items can be...
Giant Eagle stores opening earlier for seniors during coronavirus pandemic
All Giant Eagle and Market District supermarkets will open an hour early on select days for customers who are 60 and older, disabled or immune-compromised, the company announced Thursday. Beginning Monday, the grocery chain said it will open its doors at 6 a.m. Monday through Wednesday. The idea is to...
Westmoreland County parks reopen
Westmoreland County’s 10 parks reopened on Thursday. Public Works Director Greg McCloskey said padlocks that barred entrance to the parks were removed to allow individuals to enter the grounds. As part of the county’s decision to reduce operations in response to the coronavirus pandemic, officials opted to close the parks...
Westmoreland Register of Wills closes office except for emergency guardianship petitions
The Westmoreland County Register of Wills office will be closed through April 3. Since Wednesday, the office in the Greensburg courthouse operated on reduced hours as part of a partial shutdown of county operations but still accepted filings and processed marriage license applications. The office closure follows the state’s Supreme...
Some Pa. school districts stop mandatory instruction, grading during closure
Some school districts have stopped assigning mandatory work during the state’s mandatory 10-day closure after a conference call with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and district leaders. After Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement last week that schools should close to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, Woodland Hills Superintendent James Harris...
Allegheny Health Network suspends patient visits
Allegheny Health Network is suspending all patient visitation at its hospitals, outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgery centers until further notice, the network announced Thursday. The health system said the policy, which goes into effect at 7 p.m. Thursday, aims to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19...
Pittsburgh senior centers to distribute free food for registered seniors
Pittsburgh is opening six of its shuttered senior centers starting on Friday for free meal distribution to seniors registered with the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging, according to the Mayor’s Office. Prepackaged meals will be available for takeout from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays...
URA offering financial assistance for Pittsburgh residents facing coronavirus hardships
The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority board of directors Thursday approved funding to help income-eligible residents experiencing financial hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic pay rents, mortgages and utilities. Residents earning up to 80% of area mean income - $63,900 for a family of four – can call the Urban League...
Derry Area sends Grandview Elementary staff home as it awaits coronavirus test results
Derry Area School District on Thursday closed Grandview Elementary School to essential workers and others after a family member of a support staff member was tested for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “Acting prudently and with an abundance of caution, we have decided to close Grandview Elementary...
Officials team up to combat secondary outbreak of fraud, price-gouging amid coronovirus pandemic
The Pittsburgh region’s top state and federal law enforcement authorities announced Thursday they are teaming up to form the Western Pennsylvania Covid-19 Fraud Task Force to investigate and prosecute those committing fraud during the coronavirus outbreak. “Our goal is simple: We seek to ensure there is no gap between the...
Pitt part of international effort to develop covid-19 vaccine
The Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is investing $4.9 million in a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh and others to develop a covid-19 vaccine. The consortium that includes Pitt is led by the Pasteur Institute in Paris and includes Themis, an Austrian bioscience company. CEPI funding will...
Disaster declaration brings low-interest loans for small businesses in Pennsylvania, elsewhere
Small businesses that have lost revenue as a result of the coronavirus will be able to apply for low-interest loans now that Pennsylvania has received a disaster declaration from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The action came a day after Gov. Tom Wolf asked for the declaration for all 67...
‘Like a ghost town,’ Downtown Pittsburgh is empty
Jerry Kennedy has been selling hot dogs on Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh for a dozen years. He’s never seen the streets so deserted on a weekday. Kennedy, owner of Newman & Marley’s, who parks his stand outside the Steel Plaza T Station on Grant Street, said his business has...
Prosecutors: Baby should be removed from South Huntingdon home due to deplorable conditions
A 10-month baby allegedly assaulted by his father should be removed from the custody of relatives because of deplorable conditions of their home, Westmoreland County prosecutors said. Assistant District Kelly Hammers on Thursday filed emergency petitions seeking to modify bond conditions for the baby’s mother, aunt, grandmother and grandmother’s boyfriend...
Highlands principal gets $135K in settlement, release agreement
A former Highlands School District principal who sued the district in federal court, alleging that administrators retaliated against her for taking unpaid leave, will receive $135,000 as part of a settlement and release agreement. Highlands School Board approved the agreement with Heather Bigney on Monday. The district released the agreement...
‘Significant hospitalization rates’: Coronavirus taking a toll in Pa.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly across Pennsylvania, the state is seeing “significant hospitalization rates,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “It really is varying day to day,” Levine said during a daily covid-19 update. The reported average hospitalization rate is about 10%. Levine said Pennsylvania’s rate...
