Western PA Local News category, Page 2605
Murrysville doula authors children’s book on milk bank donationVideo
Jan Mallak was nearly two decades into her career as the director for Hearts and Hands Doula in Murrysville when one of the mothers she’d worked with called and issued a challenge. “She decided to take on the task of creating a milk bank in Western Pennsylvania,” said Mallak, 67,...
How to make facemasks from household itemsVideo
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine on Friday asked all Pennsylvania residents — even those who are healthy or not showing symptoms of the coronavirus — to wear some type of face covering when in public. This could include a bandanna, T-shirt or other masks that are not medical grade....
Pittsburgh’s Original Oyster House marking 150 years in age of coronavirus
Pittsburgh’s Original Oyster House has operated through two world wars, floods, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Great Depression and the collapse of the steel industry. Owner Jen Grippo is confident it can get through the coronavirus pandemic. “If we can survive all that, I would hope that we can survive...
Brookline’s Menuette offers pay what you can meal delivery
Chef Christian Schulz said he always planned on opening a pay-what-you-can food store—he just didn’t think it would be so soon. “I’ve been sort of casually daydreaming about it for years,” he said. About two years ago, Schulz and his business partner Rebecca Nicholson began Menuette, a pop-up dinner series....
Pennsylvania officials ask all residents to wear masks if they go out
Pennsylvania officials have asked all residents to wear a mask if they must leave the house — though they asked that people fashion their own and not seek the medical-grade mask that medical professionals need. It’s a change in course by Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine....
Irwin restaurant owner donates lunch to police, EMS serviceVideo
Restaurants across the state may be limited to takeout and delivery services only, but that isn’t stopping Sam Murray, an Irwin restaurant owner, from donating to first responders. On Friday, Murray prepared fish tacos for North Huntingdon police officers as a way to give back to those working on the...
Woodland Hills High School hands out laptops for online learning
Woodland Hills High School handed out laptops to students in need Friday as it gears up for online classes. Many of the laptops were paid through by donations. from people and companies in and around the community Principal Philip Woods said earlier this week that he was seeking to buy...
Video chats keeping seniors in Pennsylvania nursing facilities connected with families
Terry Dobradenka never video-chatted before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, platforms such as FaceTime and Zoom are keeping the 90-year-old retired nurse connected with family members who know her as Gigi. They can’t visit her at Lower Burrell’s Bayberry Place personal care home because of restrictions aimed at preventing the spread...
Westmoreland to charge fee for paying criminal court costs via credit card
Criminal defendants who make restitution and court cost payments by credit card now have to pay for that service. Westmoreland County commissioners this week authorized a 2.95% surcharge on all credit card transactions made in the county’s Clerk of Courts office. Until now, Westmoreland County taxpayers paid the credit card...
Famous Pittsburghers ‘Rock’ thanks to city’s medical workersVideo
The Pittsburgh medical community is rocking the effort to address the coronavirus outbreak. And now a number of famous Pittsburghers have taken to YouTube to express their thanks for the work. And to remind everyone to stay home. In a video — “We Will Rock You Pittsburgh – Stay Home....
Canceled standardized tests should have no long-term ramifications, locals say
The cancellation of Pennsylvania’s state exams has sparked an old debate: that of the validity and necessity of standardized testing in measuring student success. The purpose of state exams, according to the state Department of Education, is to assess the progress of each school district — identifying weaknesses or unmet...
Closed businesses take slice out of Pennsylvania Lottery sales
The nonessential business closures ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf last month are cutting into Pennsylvania Lottery sales, which could mean less money for programs that benefit older residents. According to lottery officials, preliminary indications are sales for traditional scratch-off and draw games have dropped off by about 25% since many...
Dolly Parton library provides free books for Steel Valley kids
Steel Valley residents with children age 5 and younger can enroll their kids to receive one free book each month through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Mary Denison, founder and executive director of Reading Ready Pittsburgh, said residents of the 15120 ZIP code — generally Homestead, Munhall, West Homestead and parts...
26 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland Co. as total jumps to 110
Westmoreland County saw its biggest single-day increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic hit the county in mid-March. Twenty-six new cases were reported in the state health department’s update Friday, bringing Westmoreland’s total to 110, a 31% increase from the previous day. The health department reported 12 more deaths statewide...
Commercial flights at Arnold Palmer airport to cease next week
Commercial flights at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport will stop starting Wednesday and, as a result, about a third of its 90 workers will be furloughed, officials said. Spirit Airlines, the lone commercial carrier at the Unity airport, will continue to operate its daily schedules through Tuesday but then will halt...
Westmoreland County treasurer buys historic Greensburg building
Westmoreland County Treasurer Jared Squires has purchased a long-vacant, five-story building in downtown Greensburg, with plans to turn it into a dance studio, office space and apartments. Squires’ company, Line 6 Inc., bought 205 S. Pennsylvania Ave. from the Greensburg Community Development Corp. for $95,000. “I’ve seen this building a...
Allegheny County coronavirus cases reach 476, triple over past week
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Allegheny County tripled during the past week as the countywide total climbed to 476 on Friday. County officials reported 57 new cases Friday, compared to 63 new cases reported Thursday. The recent jump in cases reflects a significant increase in testing,...
Duquesne Light expands customer assistance program
Duquesne Light is expanding its assistance program to help income eligible customers pay their utility bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced Friday a $375,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate and matching funds from Duquesne Light would add $750,000 to the Dollar Energy Fund, administrator of...
Answering the Call: How a UPMC cancer doctor deals with coronavirus stressVideo
Like many health care professionals in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Jessica Berger is social distancing as much as she can. But for Berger, a gynecological oncologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, there are still many patients she has to see in person. A married mother of two...
Pittsburgh closes playgrounds, could close parks if social distancing wanesVideo
Pittsburgh officials have not ruled out closing city parks if residents fail to heed social distancing guidelines as they did last weekend. The city has already closed all playgrounds effective Friday, and basketball courts and the Mt. Washington overlooks have been closed since early this week. Public Safety Director Wendell...
Covid-19 dominates news as region struggles, changes, fights backVideo
Covid-19 continued to dominate the news, and lives, of everyone in Western Pennsylvania this week, as the closure of schools and businesses was extended indefinitely and all state residents were ordered to stay home. Everyone was adapting to the new normal, including a nearly 100-year-old Latrobe woman who found herself...
Pittsburgh professors see flaws in coronavirus modeling, predict more grim outlook
Two Pittsburgh academics argue that much of the modeling regarding the trajectory of the covid-19 pandemic has been fundamentally flawed — and the real outlook for the disease is much more dismal. Wesley Pegden and Maria Chikina have joined an international conversation about projections of how dire the covid-19 pandemic...
Police: Bradenville pair showed kids how to smoke marijuana, gave them alcohol at parties
Two Bradenville residents are accused by state troopers of providing alcohol to several children during two birthday parties last year and demonstrating how to smoke marijuana, according to police reports. Janelle Anne Bias, 35, and Bryan Allen Green, 44, were charged Thursday with multiple counts each of corruption of minors,...
Pennsylvania flu cases drop significantly, state’s final report says
With influenza activity decreasing significantly across the state, Pennsylvania health officials have stopped updating a weekly report on flu activity for the season. Flu activity is down over the past few weeks and now below epidemic levels, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the week...
The Stroller, April 3, 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. Trinity United...
