Local category, Page 2555
Greensburg St. Patrick’s Day events to continue despite coronavirus concerns
Greensburg area bars say coronavirus won’t prevent them from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day Weekend. All Saints Brewing, Mr. Toad’s and the Parkwood Inn are among the local establishments planning parties, and they say their events will go on as scheduled. “As far as I know, all the bars are still...
Westmoreland County schools planning for worst-case coronavirus scenario
As coronavirus cases continue to grow in eastern Pennsylvania and other areas of the country, school officials across Westmoreland County are preparing plans for how to educate students in a worst-case scenario. Principals in Greater Latrobe School District planned to meet Friday with their staffs to discuss plans for responding...
Westmoreland County postpones jury trials, asks residents to conduct business online if possibleVideo
Westmoreland County’s criminal court judges postponed all jury trials in March in response to the ongoing concern about the coronavirus. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger on Thursday conducted hearings for inmates at the county jail via video conferencing rather than have them brought to the courthouse. “I’m doing this as...
Patrons keep gambling as casinos prepare for coronavirus pandemic
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh announced it will temporarily suspend operations effective Sunday. Rivers Casino Pittsburgh regular Sandra Painter has little concern about the coronavirus. Painter said she gambles at the casino about three times a week. The Mt. Washington resident will continue to visit...
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau kicks of ‘Ag Literacy Week’
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau kicked off “Ag Literacy Week” in Pennsylvania on Thursday with bureau President Rick Ebert reading to his granddaughter’s class at Grandview Elementary School in Derry. Literacy week, March 16-20, will feature farmers and other representatives of the state’s agriculture industry reading to students in schools across...
Wilkinsburg closing 2 schools because of potential coronavirus exposure
Wilkinsburg School District announced Thursday it is closing Kelly Primary School and Turner Intermediate School on Friday and Monday due to a potential exposure to covid-19. Wilkinsburg Superintendent Linda J. Iverson said the district became aware that a staff member was in contact with a staff member at Colfax K-8...
Longtime Highlands Solicitor Ira Weiss withdrawing from the school district
Highlands School District is looking for a new law firm after the one that has represented the district for about 15 years decided to withdraw. “The firm made a decision, for a lot of different reasons, it was time to give the district the opportunity to find other counsel,” Ira...
Spreading coronavirus prompts Catholic bishops to suspend obligation to attend Mass
Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops said Thursday they are suspending the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until further notice. “Following a joint conference call with all the bishops of Pennsylvania, effective immediately and until further notice, I wish to share with you that in union with all my brother bishops I am...
Westmoreland Transit to continue service, step up vehicle cleaning
Westmoreland County Transit officials say the ongoing coronavirus scare for now will not impact local and commuter bus service and the agency’s Go Westmoreland paratransit shared-ride programs will continue at current levels. Transit Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said buses and other vehicles will undergo additional disinfection to ensure the...
Brentwood streetscape project to begin this year
Brentwood leaders are working to spruce up the borough’s central business district, located at the heart of Brownsville Road. A streetscape improvement project is set to take place this year along the central portion of Brownsville Road in the borough. It will include removal of trees that are tearing up...
Greensburg Save a Lot to close after 17 years
Greensburg’s Save A Lot grocery story is closing Saturday after 17 years on East Pittsburgh Street. Shoppers mostly have picked the shelves bare, and even the carts are for sale. Owner Gary Wheatley of Lower Burrell said he’s been looking for someone to buy the store since last year, but...
Food banks continue distributions, prepare to reach vulnerable populations in light of coronavirus
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s Empty Bowls dinner is the latest casualty in the fight to stop the spread of coronavirus. The food bank and Just Harvest, the other sponsor of the event, announced the cancellation Thursday. The event was to be held Sunday at Rodef Shalom, but organizers...
Coronavirus fears spark panic-buying in Western Pa.Video
As the novel coronavirus shuts down schools, sporting events and concerts, locals were stocking up Thursday on essentials — especially toilet paper. There were a few stray items in the toilet paper section at the Walmart near Pittsburgh Mills mall, and even those disappeared by late morning. The shelves where...
Monroeville Jewish center celebrates Purim with NYC themeVideo
Around 50 women, men and children clad in costumes sat listening intently Tuesday 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 their handheld...
Unity woman charged in $10,200 check-cashing scheme
A Unity woman is accused of cashing $10,200 in fraudulent checks mailed to her by an “online” paramour and then sending him the cash, state police said. Marjorie E. Aukerman, 56, is charged with theft by deception, receiving stolen property and assisting in consummation of a crime in connection with...
2 Allegheny County men arrested in Jeannette shooting
A Pittsburgh man is being held without bond after Jeannette police said he shot another man Wednesday. Ronald Lee Johnson, 64, of Perry South, is accused of firing the shot in the area of Wood and North First streets in Jeannette at 4:45 p.m, according to court papers. He is...
Homeless man charged with homicide in connection with dead woman found in Homewood
A homeless Pittsburgh man was charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death of a woman whose body was found early Thursday morning in Homewood. City police said James Wilson, 34, was charged and taken to the Allegheny County Jail. Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said police found the...
Cops: W.Va. man accused of assaulting, choking woman in Delmont
A Martinsburg, W.Va., man is being held without bail in the Westmoreland County Prison after he was accused of choking and threatening to kill a woman in Delmont. Ricardo Feliciano, 42, was charged with criminal trespass, cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct, harassment, stalking, strangulation and terroristic threats filed by Delmont...
Duquesne Light pulls workers from Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show exhibit over coronavirus fears
Duquesne Light, the title sponsor of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, is pulling its employees from the event to limit potential exposure to the coronavirus. “We support the decisions of city officials to cancel large events and believe this is the best course of action for us to ensure...
South Fayette considers sign ordinance in attempt to lure business
As part of an effort to attract more businesses, South Fayette commissioners are looking to revamp their ordinances regarding signs in the township. Board of Commissioners President Gwen Rodi said they have received feedback from businesses, developers and their own zoning hearing board, all that claim the sign ordinances are...
Belle Vernon teachers strike averted; tentative pact reached in 11th-hour deal
Classes for about 2,500 Belle Vernon Area students continued as scheduled Friday after the teachers’ union and school board reached what they hope is a deal on a new contract, a union representative said. Details of the tentative agreement were not available. The contract still must be approved by the...
24-year-old man shot at Plum apartment complex
A 24-year-old man was shot Thursday morning at an apartment complex in Plum. Police responded to Plum Park Apartments on Deborah Jane Drive near Universal Road in Plum’s Regency Park neighborhood around 7:30 a.m. The man was shot as he came out of his apartment to get into his car,...
Woodland Hills shuts down intermediate school to disinfect building after potential coronavirus contact
The Woodland Hills School District closed the intermediate school because of a potential exposure to the coronavirus, district officials announced Thursday. In an alert posted on the district website, officials said the decision to close the school so it can be disinfected was made “out of an overabundance of caution”...
3 new flu deaths reported in Allegheny County
The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday reported three new deaths in the county from flu complications. Two of the people were in their early 70s. The third person was in his or her early 60s. All of them had underlying medical conditions, according to a statement from the health...
Move to online classes continues as colleges across the region shutter classrooms
The move to online education at colleges and universities across Western Pennsylvania was nearly universal by the end of Thursday. Residential colleges and universities concerned about the potential for the spread of coronavirus as students returned from spring break were among the first institutions in the nation to react to...
