Local category, Page 2547
Allegheny Township extends property tax deadlines amid covid-19 crisis
Allegheny Township property owners will have longer to pay this year’s local real estate tax without a penalty. Following suit with extensions granted by the Westmoreland County Commissioners, the township supervisors this week pushed back the deadline for paying the township property tax in full, without incurring a late penalty,...
Bill to release covid-19 addresses to first responders passes state Senate
A bill requiring the state to release home addresses of people diagnosed with covid-19 to Pennsylvania 911 centers is to be considered by House members in Harrisburg. The state Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure with a 47-3 bipartisan vote on Wednesday. Emergency management officials have said flagging such addresses in...
Armstrong commissioners want county to be among first to gradually reopen for business
Armstrong County officials don’t want to be lumped in with their larger neighbor Allegheny County when the state considers which counties can begin to lift some coronavirus-related restrictions. “Their numbers are a lot different than ours,” said Armstrong County Commissioners Chairman Don Myers. The state reported Wednesday that Armstrong County...
Lower Burrell park trails to reopen Friday, other amenities to remain closed
Lower Burrell officials plan to reopen a portion of their parks Friday. Walking/running trails will be open and fishing will be permitted, according to a Facebook post by city officials Wednesday. However, playgrounds, any workout areas and basketball courts as well as public restrooms will remain closed. Organized sports are...
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy leader takes leave
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy president and CEO Jayne Miller is taking administrative leave effective May 1 through Oct. 31 to attend to “personal matters,” according to a parks conservancy release. Conservancy board chair Michael Lyons and Miller made the joint announcement on Wednesday. In Miller’s absence, conservancy founder and former CEO...
No mass testing for Allegheny County Jail despite coronavirus uptick
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Wednesday shrugged off the idea of mass testing at the county jail, where at least two dozen inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus. About 1,100 inmates have been released since mid-March, the result of growing fears of covid-19 spreading in congregate settings such...
Tarentum jeweler, its customers, borough employees donate $12,630 to food bank
The Allegheny Valley Association of Churches’ food bank will be able to help more families during the covid-19 pandemic thanks to contributions from Tarentum workers and a borough jewelry store. Seita Jewelers was able to raise $11,500, and borough workers chipped in about $1,130 for a total donation of $12,630....
Pittsburgh area March jobless rate rises, economist sees 16% in April
The Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate jumped to 6% in March, but local economists predict the worse is yet to come because the jobless data was collected before the coronavirus-ordered shutdown of the state’s economy. “I’m pretty certain the region is looking at something above 16% (jobless rate) for April,” said...
County officials say Allegheny County on track for reopening
Allegheny County data on cases of the coronavirus show that the county is on track to start reopening, but decisions about that timeline will be made at the state level, county officials said during a press briefing Wednesday. “Our numbers are encouraging and look to be in line with what...
Pittsburgh doctors say coronavirus patients having strokes, blood clots
When Allegheny Health Network doctors studied images of Mark Romutis’ brain, they made an unusual but significant discovery. The covid-19 disease afflicting Romutis, the interim police chief of Ambridge, had somehow triggered blood clots. The doctors likened them to a traffic jam in the bloodstream. “It’s as if the Fort...
Pittsburgh Public School Board leaves grading guidelines up to the superintendent
The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board refrained from establishing new grading guidelines for the district Wednesday afternoon, leaving the decision up to Superintendent Anthony Hamlet. In a legislative session Wednesday that was livestreamed, board member Cynthia Falls, of District 7, moved to uphold a long-standing policy that leaves all grading guidelines...
Restaurants become pop-up grocers as FDA restrictions loosen during pandemic
The Carlton restaurant, a mainstay of Downtown Pittsburgh, has found a creative way to generate much-needed revenue since the coronavirus pandemic forced its closure. Early this month, the upscale eatery in the BNY Mellon Center began curbside sales of wine from its extensive cellar. It’s now offering packaged steaks, chicken...
Part of police memorial inspired by slain officer Shaw taken in New Kensington
A large part of a New Kensington memorial honoring police officers that has been vandalized before is now missing entirely. Donna Pater said she and her husband, Steve, put up the concrete statue of a police officer with a dog near their home in the Mount Vernon neighborhood about two...
Westmoreland adds just 3 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County added just three more coronavirus cases on Wednesday as an update in the state’s death numbers brought their total more in line with the county coroner’s number. The county now has 386 covid-19 cases with 30 deaths. The state as a whole added 479 covid-19 deaths, though Secretary...
Tips lead troopers to man who allegedly stole car, dumped it in Unity lake
Tips from the public led state police to the man who was arrested Wednesday for stealing a car and dumping it in a lake in Unity Township. Damien J. Kolas, 47, of McKees Rocks, was arraigned on burglary, theft, criminal mischief and related charges in connection with the theft of...
Former South Greensburg secretary denied early release from jail
South Greensburg’s former borough secretary will remain in jail after a judge on Wednesday rejected his request for an early parole. Dennis Lee Kunkle Jr., 56, sought his release from the Westmoreland County Prison more than a year before the end of his nearly two-year sentence for stealing money from...
Police: Teen hospitalized after being shot in Homestead
A 17-year-old boy was hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after being shot in Homestead, officials said. Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call about a shooting in the 200 block of 14th Avenue shortly before 2 p.m., Allegheny County Police said in a statement. Medics found the wounded teen and rushed him to...
Westmoreland officials planning for when state eases restrictions
Westmoreland County officials said they don’t know when Gov. Tom Wolf will lift the state’s stay-at-home order for the county but planning is under way for what the anticipated reopening will look like. “We’ve been told by the governor’s office that Westmoreland County (government) can reopen anytime,” Commissioner Chairman Sean...
1-year-old boy dies after ingesting heroin-fentanyl mix in Sharpsburg home; no charges, arrests
A 1-year-old boy died in September after ingesting a mix of heroin and fentanyl at a Sharpsburg home, authorities said Wednesday. Few details are available regarding the death of the boy, who was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office as Latayvis Kane LeRoy Gervasoni. Emergency dispatchers received a...
Nursing homes plagued by shortages of masks, gowns and testing
Shortages of masks and gowns, as well as a lack of tests, contributed to the coronavirus outbreaks that claimed 1,428 lives in Pennsylvania nursing homes and personal care facilities so far, an industry leader said Wednesday. Nursing homes and personal care facilities across Pennsylvania have been hot spots for infection,...
Swimming pools across Western Pa. looking to dive in when allowed
While some pools across the region have already decided to remain closed, including at least one in the Alle-Kiski Valley, others remain in a holding pattern in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Springdale Township’s Bouquet Park Pool will not open this year — and could possibly close for good,...
Personnel cuts possible as New Kensington-Arnold struggles with budget deficit
New Kensington-Arnold School District is considering personnel moves such as offering teachers an early-retirement incentive as administrators and school board members grapple with a projected budget deficit. Business Manager Jeff McVey told the board Tuesday that personnel is the only area in the budget where significant savings can still be...
VisitPittsburgh names new president/CEO
VisitPittsburgh on Wednesday announced the selection of Jerad Bachar as its new president and CEO. Bachar, 50, of Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, served as interim CEO after former CEO Craig Davis resigned in December to take a similar position in Dallas. Since January 2019, he served as VisitPittsburgh’s executive vice president....
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy debuts ‘Parks on the Go’ digital education program
Each year, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy educates people of all ages about the value of healthy habitats and the relationship between humans and nature through public programs at the Frick Environmental Center. This year is no different, but the delivery mechanism is changing with the establishment of the Parks on...
New Kensington-Arnold awards contract for Hunt Elementary roof work
The New Kensington-Arnold School Board has awarded a contract to replace part of the roof at one of the district’s elementary schools, while holding off on work at other buildings until it has the money to pay for it. The district will pay Design-Build Solutions, a subsidiary of Garland Industries,...
