Western PA Local News category, Page 2602
Pa. ramps up effort to get businesses to help make medical equipment
An online portal created by state officials will help identify businesses that are building much-needed medical supplies and guide others who might be able to pivot their manufacturing toward creating those supplies, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday. The Manufacturing Call to Action Portal will streamline the process for manufacturers who...
UPMC researchers developing test to measure antibodies in fight against coronavirus
UPMC researchers are among those nationwide and around the world working to learn more about blood tests that could help physicians understand how a person’s body has responded to covid-19. The blood test would measure whether a person has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19, and could show...
Giant Eagle to limit number of people allowed in stores
Giant Eagle said Monday it will begin limiting the number of customers who can shop at each store at one time. “As supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies remain in operation as essential community resources, we believe it’s vital to heighten our social distancing and sanitization procedures throughout the store,” company...
Tarentum’s Hebe statue does her part by donning colorful face mask
A statue of the Greek goddess Hebe is making a fashionable public health statement at one of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s busiest intersections. The 5-foot, 500-pound statue at the foot of the Tarentum Bridge on the Tarentum side of the Allegheny River is wearing a colorful floral mask with a yellow...
Franklin Regional will combine committee-of-the-whole, voting meetings in April
The Franklin Regional School Board will hold both of its monthly meetings on the same night, April 13. The board’s committee-of-the-whole meeting will be followed by its monthly voting meeting. As with the most-recent meeting, deliberation and voting will be livestreamed through the district’s YouTube page, Youtube.com/user/FranklinRegionalSD. A link to...
Pittsburgh police instructor tests positive for coronavirus; recruit class suspended
A Pittsburgh Police Academy firearms instructor tested positive for covid-19, prompting officials to suspend a 28-member recruit class The city’s Public Safety Department is working to identify everyone, including recruits, who came into contact with the instructor. Officials sent the instructor home on Wednesday after he began exhibiting symptoms similar...
Former Tarentum councilman accused of pistol-whipping man, claims self-defense
A former Tarentum councilman is accused of pistol-whipping a man during an altercation in Forest County, according to state police. State police arrested Thomas Andrew Grates Jr., 52, of Tarentum, at a camp in Kingsley Township on Friday. On Monday, Grates said he had been defending himself and denied using...
Cops: Derry Township man charged with indecent exposure, scuffling with troopers
A Derry Township man accused of exposing himself to a girl in an apartment complex was arrested Saturday after, police say, he scuffled with state troopers. Police were called to the Scott Court apartment complex about 8:30 p.m. after receiving complaints that Brian A. Hoffman, 33, was exposing himself to...
U.S. Postal Service hiring temporary employees
The U.S. Postal Service is hiring temporary workers to fill mail handling and processing positions at various locations in Western Pennsylvania, the agency announced Monday. People are needed to serve as mail handler assistants, mail processing clerk assistants, clerk assistants and city carrier assistants, according to the postal service. The...
BP offering gasoline discount to first responders, medical personnel
BP is offering a discount on gasoline to first responders and medical personnel to help support them during the covid-19 pandemic. The company is providing a discount of 50 cents per gallon at its BP and Amoco stations. To get the discount, first responders, doctors, nurses and hospital workers need...
Pittsburgh zoo announces furloughs for more than 40 employees
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is temporarily laying off one-third of its workforce because of the covid-19 pandemic, zoo officials announced Monday. “This was an incredibly painful and challenging decision,” zoo President and CEO Barbara Baker said in a statement. “Every effort was made and avenue explored in an...
10 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland County as total tops 150
Westmoreland County reported 10 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the county total to 157, state health officials said Monday. Statewide, the death toll stands at 162, and the 1,470 new cases reported between 12 a.m. Sunday and 12 a.m. Monday brings the statewide total to 12,980. The 10 new cases...
Pennsylvania reports 12 more deaths, 1,470 new coronavirus cases
Twelve more people have died in Pennsylvania as a result of the coronavirus as the number of cases neared 13,000, state health officials said Monday. The death toll stands at 162, and the 1,470 new cases reported throughout the day Sunday brings the statewide total to 12,980. Secretary of Health...
Robocalls dwindle during coronavirus pandemic
Even the robots are listening to worldwide recommendations to keep our distance from each other. Although robocalls are automated, call centers where they’re managed are closed or have otherwise reduced their operations, Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus noted last week. Lazarus heard from a couple who noticed a...
Allegheny County reports 37 new coronavirus cases, total reaches 642
Allegheny County reported 37 additional covid-19 cases Monday, bringing the countywide total to 642. County officials reported 53 new cases Sunday and 76 new cases Saturday. That does not include four county residents who have died from complications related to covid-19. The most recent deaths, reported this weekend, included a...
Pennsylvania is getting worse at social distancing, data shows
Despite a growing number of covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania, location data shows residents have actually increased their travel. Unacast, a phone data company, used data from mobile phones to track the average change in distance traveled by individuals in each state and country, starting from Feb. 24. The state was...
Westmoreland court reductions extended through April 30
Most Westmoreland County courts will remain shuttered through April 30. Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway on Monday extended the current reductions of court functions as part of the state’s coronavirus response plan. The order cancels all trials in April, as well as other basic court functions such as...
South Hills area real estate transactions for the week of April 5
Baldwin Borough Paul Letender sold property at 3131 Churchview Ave. to William Hazi for $135,000. Jason Ambrose sold property at 301 Tyler Drive to Megan Pantuso for $120,000. Brentwood Anthony Romano sold property at 504 E. Garden Road to Taylor Browne for $131,500. Greta C Ebert Brant trustee sold property...
Peduto seeks extension of disaster declaration for Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has asked City Council to approve an extension of his disaster declaration until early May. Council is scheduled to introduce a resolution on Tuesday that would authorize an extension of the declaration until May 5. Peduto issued the declaration March 13. It allows the city to...
Police: 2 arrested, teen wanted in Derry Township shooting during bungled drug deal
A 20-year-old man was shot and seriously injured Sunday in a bungled drug deal and robbery outside a Derry Township home, state police said. State police at Kiski arrested Michael E. Sawyer, 28, of Salem and Lorraine Painter, 22, of Greensburg in connection with the shooting and robbery that occurred...
The Stroller, April 6, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Send information of charitable events to The Stroller Is your company or organization making or collecting equipment for health professionals? Is your club or church going to sponsor a community blood drive? The Stroller will publish information about community drives and collections at Triblive.com. Send information to vndnews@tribweb.com. Small Acts...
Coroner’s office identifies teen killed in Allegheny Township ATV crash
A 17-year-old was killed in a rollover ATV crash in Allegheny Township, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Dominic G. DeFalco crashed near his home on the 200 block of McGeary Hollow Road around noon Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the crash and...
Derry Borough shooting under investigation
State police are investigating a shooting in Derry Borough. Borough police said the incident occurred around 3:45 p.m. Sunday but could not specify where. It was unclear if anyone was wounded. No information about suspects or victims was released by borough police. State police said the shooting remains under investigation...
Western Pa. cemeteries attract more visitors during coronavirus restrictionsVideo
Cemeteries across the region have sprung to life during the coronavirus pandemic, with more people than usual flocking to them for fresh air and exercise. Some, however, aren’t as serene as they were before the pandemic. Homestead’s John English, a frequent visitor to Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood,...
ER doctor who died of covid-19-like symptoms was Fayette County native
Fayette County native Dr. Frank Gabrin lived his life helping others, all the way up to the end. An ER physician at East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey, Dr. Gabrin generally worked the midnight shift because that’s when sick people would come in, his younger brother, Mike Gabrin of...
