Western PA Local News category, Page 2584
Norwin cancels musical for this school year, plans to recast in fall
Norwin School District has postponed its production of “The Little Mermaid” and will recast it in the fall in what Superintendent Jeff Taylor said Monday was “one of the most difficult decisions” he has made since taking over the leadership of the district in July 2019. The decision, announced Friday...
Highlands School Board names new solicitor for district
The Pittsburgh law firm Andrews & Price has been named the new solicitor for Highlands School District. The firm replaces Weiss Burkardt Kramer effective Tuesday. Highlands didn’t disclose payment or other contract details. School board members Bob Betts and Debbie Beale voted against the change during a meeting Monday that...
Spirit to resume limited flights from Arnold Palmer airport to Orlando
Spirit Airlines is slated to resume limited flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport on May 3, a little less than a month after suspending all service at the Unity facility. The sole commercial carrier at the airport south of Latrobe, Spirit is expected to resume mid-day flights from Latrobe to...
CMU to launch website tracking covid-19 activity based on Google, Facebook surveys
Carnegie Mellon University is launching a website this week that uses data from Facebook and Google surveys to try to pinpoint covid-19 activity nationwide. Data from the Facebook surveys alone, broken down to a county level, show that Beaver County has the highest percentage of residents with covid-19 symptoms, compared...
Steelers great Troy Polamalu donates gift cards to furloughed Westmoreland workers
More than 400 furloughed Westmoreland County government workers will have a meal courtesy of Steelers’ Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu and his wife. County officials said Monday the former Steelers great donated gift cards to local restaurants to help employees who were temporarily removed from the payroll as government services...
Police: Body found in Plum identified as Whitehall woman missing for a year
Nearly a year after she was reported missing, Elizabeth Wiesenfeld’s remains were found Sunday, Allegheny County police said. Wiesenfeld, 67, of Whitehall, had been missing since April 30, 2019. In September, Douglas Berry, 48, was charged with homicide in connection with her death, but authorities had been proceeding with the...
Westmoreland County Blind Association making thousands of masks, selling for $3 each
When the Westmoreland County Blind Association announced it had masks for sale for $3 apiece, the response was predictable but still overwhelming, said Executive Director Tim Miller. “When I got in, the phones were ringing nonstop, and they really haven’t stopped since,” he said. As of Monday afternoon, the association...
Pittsburgh-area restaurants sue Erie Insurance over coronavirus losses
Two local restaurant owners are suing their insurance provider, claiming the company has refused to honor claims for damages to their businesses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Joseph Tambellini and HTR Restaurants Inc. filed separate lawsuits Friday in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against Erie Insurance Exchange. Both...
Westmoreland won’t send mail-in ballot applications unless voters request them
Westmoreland County voters won’t automatically get applications for mail-in ballots ahead of the June 2 primary. County commissioners said Monday they opted against a mass mailing based on county’s tenuous financial condition and a reluctance to recommend to voters how they should cast ballots this spring. “At this point, we...
Last call for covid-19 grants from Burrell-New Kensington Rotary
The Burrell-New Kensington Rotary Club will accept emergency grant applications online until 5 p.m. Tuesday from local nonprofits impacted by covid-19. The business organization established the Emergency Community Grant Program to help nonprofits dealing with the pandemic. “Our Rotary Club would like to express our sincere appreciation for the selflessness...
Masked masses face reality of Gov. Wolf’s order to enter businesses
The masks — in a variety of styles and colors — were plentiful Monday. Only the eyes and hair of customers and employees were visible at the Shop ’n Save store on North Main Street in Greensburg. It was the first full day of a bizarre, government-mandated scene officials hope...
Port Authority reports 7th covid-19 case; 3rd at West Mifflin garage
Another Port Authority employee who worked at the agency’s West Mifflin garage has been diagnosed with covid-19, authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said Monday. This is the seventh Port Authority of Allegheny County employee to test positive for covid-19 and the third maintenance employee who worked at the West Mifflin garage....
Slide repair to close Route 993 east of Irwin
A section of Route 993 in Irwin and North Huntingdon will be closed for about four months as PennDOT crews perform slide repairs. PennDOT officials said the closure is set to begin on Tuesday on a segment of the road known as Broadway Street, between Walnut Street in Irwin and...
Rotary members living out ‘Service Above Self’ motto during pandemic
The Rotary International motto is “Service Above Self.” So it only makes sense that members of the Murrysville-Export Rotary Club are doing what they can to help others in the community. Club members on April 17 delivered lunch to staff at Redstone Highlands in Murrysville, “to show appreciation for the...
Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to host food giveaway at Pittsburgh airport
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank plans to have enough food on hand Wednesday for 1,500 vehicles during a drive-up food giveaway at Pittsburgh International Airport, the organization announced Monday. The event is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. in airport parking lots. “The airport is an ideal location,” Lisa...
Low gas prices likely to continue after shutdowns end, analyst says
An unprecedented decline in demand is “dismantling expensive gas prices everywhere,” an industry analyst says. The national average has been declining for two months, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for the price-tracking service GasBuddy. “With oil again at new multi-decade lows, we still have room for prices to...
Protesters in Pittsburgh demand Gov. Wolf to reopen businesses amid coronavirus pandemicVideo
About 200 protesters — some wearing masks, others not — lined Downtown Pittsburgh’s Grant Street on Monday afternoon to call on Gov. Tom Wolf to reopen Pennsylvania businesses closed by the coronavirus pandemic. The protesters, many of them holding signs with messages including “Liberate PA” and “Impeach Wolf,” cheered when...
Pennsylvania liquor stores begin call-in orders with some confusion
Hopeful customers of Pennsylvania’s liquor stores were frustrated and confused Monday after hitting several barriers in their attempts to buy alcohol over the phone. As noon arrived, many customers were greeted by busy signals when they tried to get through on phone lines. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Saturday...
Gov. Wolf says Pennsylvania economy will gradually start to reopen May 8
Pennsylvania will begin reopening its economy gradually on May 8, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. “We are taking small steps toward regaining a degree of normalcy in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. As the start to what the governor called a “measured, common-sense” approach, Wolf announced a few initial steps toward lifting...
Cops: 3 Georgia residents arrested in $9,500 iPhone theft scheme
An alleged scheme by three Georgia residents to use a fraudulent credit account to acquire $9,500 worth of new iPhones at the Sam’s Club in Hempfield backfired Friday. Joel E. Teteh, 25, Chantel B. Kennedy, 29, and John O. Nur, 33, all of the Atlanta area, were arrested by state...
Peduto asks Trump for funding, cites potential $127M deficit for Pittsburgh
Mayor Bill Peduto on Monday asked President Trump for funding to help cities provide essential services during the coronavirus pandemic, saying Pittsburgh is facing a $127 million deficit in 2020 and $239 million in losses over the next five years. Peduto in a letter urged the president to provide at...
Allegheny County reports 5 more coronavirus deaths, but only 7 new cases
Five more people have died from the coronavirus in Allegheny County, bringing the countywide death total to 55, county officials said Monday. Most of the 55 people who died — 85% — were 70 or older, the county said. Seven new covid-19 cases were reported Monday, a significant decrease from...
2 cited in Westmoreland in accusation of violating stay-at-home order
State police cited two people for violating Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order after troopers said they were found drinking at a friend’s Bell Township home, according to court papers. Kara Lee Lawson, 27, of Bell and Scott James Renwick, 28, of Loyalhanna were cited for violating the Disease Control and...
Food Podcast: Breaking down where those in need can find food assistance
In recent weeks, lines in excess of a mile long have formed by people lining up at food distribution points across Western Pennsylvania. In this week’s Food Podcast presented by Clearview Federal Credit Union, Brian Gulish discusses the multiple ways those in need of food assistance can get it. “Most...
Franklin Regional nurse wins state association’s Excellence in School Nursing Award
As Franklin Regional Middle School nurse Beth Frydrych was about to be recognized with a statewide award, she found herself forced to reinvent her role as the coronavirus pandemic made its way into Western Pennsylvania. “It’s all new, and who knows what will come up?” asked Frydrych of Murrysville, who...
