Local category, Page 2590
Man critical after being shot in Pittsburgh’s North Side
A man was in critical but stable condition Thursday night after he was shot in Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood. City public safety officials said officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert for shots fired shortly after 9 p.m. along the 2600 block of Linwood Avenue. Police are investigating after a man...
Port Authority bus driver tests positive for covid-19
Port Authority of Allegheny County officials said Thursday that one of their bus drivers tested positive for covid-19. The driver is under medical supervision and was exposed to the coronavirus outside of work, according to Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph. He said the authority followed all of the protocols recommended...
Allegheny County judge details how to pay child support, handle custody and district judge’s matters
Allegheny County’s residents with legal proceedings while the courts are closed were given additional guidance Thursday on how to do business when the county courtrooms are closed during the coronavirus pandemic. President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark amended her March 16 order shutting down the courtrooms and district judges offices, to...
17 Pittsburgh first responders in quarantine or isolation; none have tested positive for covid-19
A total of 17 Pittsburgh first responders — including two medics and 15 firefighters — are staying home in quarantine or isolation after learning they could have been exposed to covid-19, officials said. None have tested positive for covid-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or...
Greensburg lender aids shutdown-battered borrowers; delays April payment
A Greensburg-based small business commercial lender has decided to forgo collecting payments from its borrowers in April to give them a break during the economic downturn caused by the shutdown over the spread of the coronavirus. The Progress Fund, a nonprofit community development financial institution, is giving all of its...
State Health Department reverses order shutting down dentists during covid-19 crisis
Pennsylvanians facing dental emergencies can once again see their dentists or an oral surgeon. After consulting with leaders in organized dentistry, the Pennsylvania State Department of Health has reversed its decision ordering all dental offices to stop performing emergency procedure during the covid-19 crisis. “These updated guidelines are effective immediately,”...
Tractor-trailer catches fire, snarls traffic on I-79 southbound near Wexford exit
A tractor-trailer caught fire on Interstate 79 late afternoon Thursday, snarling traffic for more than an hour, initial reports indicated. Emergency dispatchers sent firefighters to the site of the incident on I-79 at Mingo Road in Marshall Township shortly before 5 p.m., an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. There...
Army Corps looks at Western Pa. sites for possible overflow medical facilities
The Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District has begun evaluating possible alternate medical sites that would be used in the event hospitals are overrun treating patients with covid-19. The number of covid-19 cases in Western Pennsylvania has not stretched medical systems to the point where more space is needed to...
Officials: Over 1,600 Allegheny County residents tested for coronavirus
There have been 1,614 covid-19 tests performed on Allegheny County residents to date, with the bulk of those tests performed during the past week, according to figures released by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday. That figure includes testing performed by health care providers, as well as community testing...
Deceased man found along trail in Youngwood
State police are investigating the discovery of a man’s body along the Five Star Trail behind the Shop ‘n Save supermarket in Youngwood Thursday afternoon. The man was discovered at about 3 p.m., and the Westmoreland County Coroner’s office was called to the scene, according to a Westmoreland County Department...
Greensburg to ratify coronavirus state of emergency already in effect
Greensburg council will meet Friday to make the city’s coronavirus emergency declaration official. Mayor Robert Bell declared a state of emergency last week, but council is required by law to vote to ratify the declaration. Bell said Friday’s 10 a.m. meeting is expected to be brief. The emergency declaration is...
Upper Burrell and Burrell School District reap more than $460,000 on Arconic deed transfer
The realty transfer tax from the split of Arconic Inc. will result in a $922,000 windfall for the coffers of Upper Burrell, the Burrell School District and the state. Arconic Inc. is planning to separate into two publicly traded companies April 1. As a result, ownership of the company’s property...
Westmoreland County to further reduce bus service during coronavirus crisis
Westmoreland County transit officials will further reduce commuter and local bus service starting March 30. Ridership has dropped about 80% over the last two weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic, Transit Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said Thursday. All non-life sustaining businesses in the state have been ordered closed, resulting in...
Highlands student meals changing to weekly distribution
Highlands School District will start distributing student meals weekly beginning next week, with the Highlands Partnership Network continuing to supplement district efforts. The school district, which had been providing breakfast and lunch daily, will change to a weekly distribution starting Monday and for the remainder of the school closure, the...
Need work? Here are companies that are hiring during coronavirus pandemic
There are still some businesses hiring as the covid-19 pandemic continues to devastate the labor market. Foremost are retail jobs like those at Giant Eagle. The O’Hara-based grocery chain has been busy and it is working to offer temporary jobs to those who have been impacted by the shutdown. Giant...
Westmoreland prepares to lay off hundreds of county workers
About 500 nonessential Westmoreland County government employees will be furloughed on April 3, county commissioners said Thursday. The layoffs come as county officials deal with balancing vital government functions during the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing budgetary concerns complicated by large overtime payments doled out to essential employees who were required...
Bethel Bakery donates loaves of bread to SHIM pantryVideo
Clients of South Hills Interfaith Movement’s Bethel Park food pantry got a little extra in their bags on Thursday as nearby Bethel Bakery donated nearly 200 loaves of bread for those struggling due to the covid-19 outbreak. “We were more than glad to do it,” Certified Master Baker Tom Walsh...
Attorney visits suspended at Allegheny County Jail
Attorney visits have been temporarily suspended at the Allegheny County Jail because of covid-19, county officials announced Thursday. Instead, attorneys can confer with incarcerated clients over the phone , court administrator Christopher Conners said in a statement. The jail has created a form for attorneys to apply to receive authorization...
Uniontown lawyer suspended after charges of money laundering
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board will temporarily suspend Uniontown attorney Tancredi Williams Calabrese, who was arrested last month on charges of money laundering. “It has been found that his continued practice of law is causing immediate and substantial public or private harm because of his misappropriation of entrusted...
Pa. new jobless claims jump to 649,000 since March 15
Pennsylvania has seen almost 650,000 new claims for unemployment compensation in less than two weeks — an indication of just how hard the governor’s order closing non-life-sustaining businesses and its ripple effect has slammed the state’s economy. Gov. Tom Wolf said he expects the figure to climb to 800,000 through...
Real ID deadline extended 1 year over coronavirus pandemic
People concerned about getting a Real ID by October have been given a reprieve. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that the deadline has been pushed back one year because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Protecting both the health and national security of the American people continues to be...
Paving, sidewalk reconstruction contracts awarded in Jeannette
Jeannette city council approved street paving and sidewalk replacement projects, but officials aren’t sure when the winning bidders might start construction amid the coronavirus pandemic. A. Folino Construction of Oakmont was awarded the $124,533 paving project contract this month. “We were ready to go with that and the sidewalk project...
911th Airlift Wing modifies operations because of coronavirus
The commander of the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon has modified base operations because of covid-19. The 911th, adjacent to the Pittsburgh International Airport, will allow service members to work remotely, limit access to the base and limit off-base travel to essential needs, according to a news release. There are...
Allegheny County orders more portable toilets as park visits soar
Parks across Western Pennsylvania have seen a surge in visitors during the coronavirus pandemic, and at several Allegheny County parks that’s been particularly evident. More people in the parks has translated into a greater need for portable toilets. Allegheny County officials asked vendors to provide more of the toilets and...
14-year-old girl dies in West Deer house fireVideo
Authorities who responded Thursday morning to a two-alarm house fire in West Deer were unable to get inside to rescue a teenage girl because the flames were too intense and part of the building had collapsed, officials said. The girl, identified by her father as 14-year-old Dayanna Shaffer, reported the...
