Local category, Page 2545
Power restored after overnight outage in South Park
Power has been restored to nearly 6,000 West Penn Power customers who were without electricity early Thursday, officials said. Most of the affected properties were in South Park Township and Bethel Park. Power went out overnight and was back on by about 5:30 a.m....
16 Allegheny Co. sheriff’s deputies self-isolating after possible coronavirus exposure
More than a dozen Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies are self-isolating after a deputy who might have been exposed to the coronavirus went to work with symptoms Wednesday morning. A deputy’s son’s girlfriend and mother recently traveled to Spain, Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus said. While the deputy was out of town...
The Stroller, March 19, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Send cancellations to The Stroller The Stroller will publish news of cancellations and events that will still occur in the upcoming days. If your non-profit has to cancel or change an event or is helping members of the public, please send information to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood...
Monroeville Jewish center celebrates Purim with NYC themeVideo
Around 50 women, men and children clad in costumes sat listening intently earlier this month as Rabbi Mendy Schapiro’s melodic chant rang out in the small Chabad center off Mosside Boulevard. At seemingly random points, the crowd would erupt in a piercing din as they pounded on tables and activated...
What’s essential as businesses heed pleas to close amid coronavirus pandemic
Businesses around Western Pennsylvania have shut their doors, heeding pleas from public health officials and elected leaders from mayors to governors to the president to limit contact between people to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Tom Wolf this week asked that all nonessential businesses close. Many have. But...
Steel City Con in Monroeville postponed
Steel City Con, the official pop culture and comic con of the Monroeville Convention Center, has been postponed amid coronavirus concerns. It was originally planned for April 17-19 at 209 Mall Plaza Blvd. It’s now rescheduled for June 12-14. One of the many regulations health officials announced this month, designed...
Latrobe to reopen transfer station Monday
Beginning Monday, Latrobe will reopen its solid waste transfer station to the public for recycling and to city residents for purchase of garbage stickers. The station was closed at the beginning of the week because of coronavirus concerns — as was the city municipal building on Jefferson Street, which will...
New voting-machine demo canceled in MurrysvilleVideo
A late-March hands-on demonstration of Westmoreland County’s new voting machines has been canceled amid the spread of the coronavirus, but voters can still get a digital look at how the machines operate. While the March 28 demonstration in Murrysville will not go forward, county election officials have posted a video...
Army Corps announces closure of public facilities in Western Pennsylvania
The Army Corps of Engineers had closed select public facilities at recreational sites throughout Western Pennsylvania. Facilities affected include resource managers’ offices, visitor centers, ranger offices, maintenance offices, campground, picnic, shelter, pavilion and disc golf facilities, playgrounds, fishing areas and piers, and restrooms. “We have been actively monitoring the effect...
Allegheny County Council to limit attendance, live stream meetings
Allegheny County Council will limit attendance at regularly scheduled council meetings but will accommodate both live streaming and written public comment amid the covid-19 outbreak, council President Patrick Catena, D-Carnegie, announced Wednesday. “The coronavirus pandemic has forced all of us to adjust our schedules and routines for the safety and...
Greensburg loosens parking restrictions during coronavirus pandemic
Greensburg will ease up on parking tickets during the coronavirus pandemic, the city police department announced Wednesday on Facebook. Drivers will be allowed to park at meters without paying for up to one hour, according to the announcement. The move is being made to help local businesses, which are struggling...
Pixar founder who brought Disney research center to Carnegie Mellon wins $1M award
Pixar Animation Studios co-founder Ed Catmull, who brought a Disney research center to Carnegie Mellon University in 2008, has won one of the highest honors in computing — the 2019 A.M. Turing Award. Catmull, who shares the $1 million prize with former Pixar colleague Pat Hanrahan of Stanford University, was...
Shop ‘n Save changing hours over pandemic; offers special shopping for seniors, disabled
Shop ‘n Save grocery stores in Greensburg, Murrysville and Latrobe will close earlier to allow staff to deal with the coronavirus-driven surge in business. They also will open earlier to give seniors and those with disabilities exclusive shopping time. The new hours start Monday and apply to the Charley family...
Pennsylvania’s porta-potties, highway restrictions rankle truckers; state to reopen some rest stopsVideo
Ohio truck driver Paul Greene said the closure of restroom facilities at 17 Pennsylvania Turnpike service centers and PennDOT’s closure of welcome centers and rest areas was very much on his mind as he carried a duffel bag Wednesday into the Flying J truck stop in South Huntingdon. “They’ve closed...
Western Pa. animal shelters limit services as coronavirus continues to spread
Animal shelters in the region have limited their services as the coronavirus continues to spread, with most reducing their adoption hours to appointment-only. Animal Friends and Humane Animal Rescue have cut programming and fundraising events, leading some officials to worry about what the big picture might look like after virus...
Emergency pact for Cheswick, Harmar and Springdale provides face masks for first responders
The regional emergency coordinator for Cheswick, Harmar and Springdale has distributed face masks for police, and soon fire companies, for indoor interaction with residents. Bruno Moretti, coordinator of the Allegheny Valley Regional Management Agency, said the measure is meant to protect first responders as well as residents in the potential...
Hempfield man charged in theft scheme involving 2 Allegheny County school districts
A 45-year-old Hempfield man turned himself in to Allegheny County detectives Wednesday on charges he stole about $31,000 from two area school districts last year, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office. John Trageser is accused of theft, forgery and other crimes for allegedly devising a scheme where two...
Nonprofits join to combat impact of covid-19 in Laurel Highlands
Four nonprofit foundations that serve the Laurel Highlands and Somerset and Cambria counties will collaborate to provide rapid response to the impact of the covid-19 virus among the region’s most vulnerable residents, officials said Wednesday. The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies (CFA), United Way of the Laurel Highlands, Lee Initiatives,...
Excela Health working on testing center for coronavirus
Excela Health is developing a testing center similar to ones opened this week by hospital systems in Allegheny County to screen patients for the coronavirus, according to Dr. Carol Fox, chief medical officer. A test at the proposed center would “require an evaluation as well as an appointment,” Fox said....
Westmoreland water, sewer authority meet remotely as part of pandemic protocolVideo
Low-interest rates expected to be set in response to the drastic stock market decline could be a boon to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. Board members, who met by phone Wednesday as part of an unusual meeting amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, approved the refinancing of up to $50...
Pittsburgh first responders say they won’t be notified of exposure to coronavirus
Pittsburgh’s first responders won’t be notified if they are exposed to a person later testing positive for covid-19, and officials said the situation poses a potential public health risk. The problem is federal privacy laws and Pennsylvania’s mounting number of positive covid-19 cases, officials said. Representatives of the Mayor’s Office...
Westmoreland County survives 1st day of scaled-back operations
Editor’s note: Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton announced Thursday that starting March 20 the office would only accept emergency guardian petitions. All other office functions will be suspended through April 3. Gallows humor was a theme in the Register of Wills office Wednesday as the handful of...
Pittsburgh providing ‘grab-and-go’ meals for kids
Pittsburgh and the Salvation Army are opening four sites where kids can receive grab-and-go meals. The Mayor’s Office announced Wednesday that the Department of Parks and Recreation starting Thursday will provide meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays at the following locations:Paulson Rec Center, 1201 Paulson Ave.Warrington Rec...
Police: Homeless man strangled girlfriend in jealous rage
Authorities on Wednesday identified a woman strangled by a homeless man in Pittsburgh’s Homewood section last week. Brittany Alker, 30, was found dead in the closet of a Forest Way home early March 12 after the man accused of killing her called police. James Wilson, 34, is charged with a...
Men charged with animal cruelty during ‘Manhunt’ shoot found not guilty by Monroeville judge
Three men charged with animal cruelty after an alleged incident while filming in Monroeville for the television series “Manhunt: Deadly Games” were found not guilty. According to court records, the three were initially charged with two misdemeanors each of animal cruelty. Those charges were withdrawn and moved over to a...
