Local category, Page 2606
Norwin students may retrieve items from lockers
Norwin students who were absent from school on Friday will be allowed to get textbooks and personal items from their lockers between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday, the school district said. The district asked that any student or parent visiting the schools remain at least six feet from others....
Westmoreland County Food Bank desperate for volunteers
Food banks are feeling the pinch from the coronavirus. The Westmoreland County Food Bank put out a call for volunteers Monday. “Some of our food partners are experiencing very low volunteer turnout,” CEO Jennifer Miller said. “We’re really in desperate need of volunteers.” Miller said one primary source of volunteers...
Pittsburgh City Council to conduct meetings via conference call
Pittsburgh City Council is closing its meetings to the public but is permitting residents to comment through email and will continue to broadcast live over City Channel Pittsburgh, according to council President Theresa Kail-Smith. Kail-Smith said she would chair weekly meetings Tuesdays and Wednesdays from City Council Chambers in the...
Here are some tips to healing your hands from excessive handwashing
Frequent handwashing, while necessary as protection from the coronavirus that causes covid-19, can lead to dry skin and irritation. “I’ve been noticing it myself,” said Dr. Laura Ferris, a UPMC dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh. It’s especially a problem for people who work in...
Pittsburgh college student recounts ‘bizarre experience’ getting screened for covid-19 at Detroit airport
Leah DeFlitch wasn’t sure what to expect when she boarded a plane in Amsterdam bound for her family’s Pittsburgh home early Sunday. She soon learned her pilot wasn’t sure what was in store for the passengers, either. It was only days after President Trump mandated health screenings for the novel...
Gun and ammunition sales soar; permits issued more than double in Western Pa.
In 100 years, the Army Navy & Indoor Pistol Range in Latrobe has seen just about everything, said owner Mark Boerio. But nothing like coronavirus. Boerio is not planning to close the store as the virus spreads across Western Pennsylvania. As of Tuesday, Allegheny County reported seven confirmed cases while...
Coronavirus, social distancing can’t slow down Zumba enthusiasts
If you thought coronavirus gives you an excuse to pull the covers over your head and dump your exercise ritual, Krista Bremer won’t let it happen. Bremer, owner of Regent Square Zumba, is aware that many of her members are practicing social distancing. Especially this week, with six confirmed cases...
Gateway School District staff, volunteers ensure students eat during closure
Unprecedented. That’s the word food workers and volunteers at Gateway School District kept using Monday, the first day of closing the schools following Gov. Tom Wolf’s directive to shut down Pennsylvania education for 10 days starting March 16 amid worldwide covid-19 uncertainty. “This has never been done before,” said Martin...
Westmoreland County special election for House 58th District still scheduled Tuesday
Tuesday’s special election to fill the vacant 58th District state House seat is expected to be held as scheduled, despite widespread cancellations and shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic. The health scare has resulted in two polling locations, one in Rostraver and another in South Huntingdon, being moved at the...
Gas drops below $2 per gallon at nearly 40,000 stations across the country
Gasoline prices are continuing to fall in the Pittsburgh area and even more sharply across the nation, an industry analyst says. “The root cause continues to be coronavirus related,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for the price-tracking firm GasBuddy. “Such a large decline at this time of year...
City of Pittsburgh halts nonessential operations
Non-emergency city offices and buildings in the City of Pittsburgh closed at noon Monday in response to the covid-19 pandemic, which has already shuttered other public places in Allegheny County. The closures will bring to a halt all non-essential business in the city, according to a news release. Buildings including...
Sen. Williams to hold tele-town hall on covid-19
Faced with increasing questions about the covid-19, state Sen. Lindsey Williams announced Monday that she will host a tele-town hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday featuring Dr. Arvind Venkat, president of the Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians. “The covid-19 outbreak here in Allegheny County and across the country has raised many...
Franklin Regional working through plans for meal service, ‘voluntary learning opportunities’
As parents of school-age children scrambled to figure out how to handle two weeks of closed schools, administrators are trying to determine how to handle instruction in the near future. “At this time, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and schools across Pennsylvania are working through many legal and procedural barriers regarding...
Car crashes into Motor Mart in Cheswick, 2 injured
Two men were severely injured Monday after a car crashed into a building in the 1400 block of Pittsburgh Street in Cheswick. Allegheny Valley police received a call about a reckless driver on Pittsburgh Street, said Sgt. Craig Cummings. Around 8:30 a.m., police went looking for the car and found...
Franklin Regional school board, Murrysville planning commission meetings canceled
Monday’s Franklin Regional school board voting meeting and Tuesday’s Murrysville Planning Commission meeting have been canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. School district officials will communicate and advertise the date for a make-up meeting. The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for April 6. School board meetings are...
DA’s office appeals tossed conviction of Pittsburgh-area priest accused of abuse
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Monday appealed a judge’s decision last week to vacate the conviction of a retired priest who was accused of sexually abusing an altar boy two decades ago. The office filed the appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court to reconsider a county judge’s decision....
Western Pa. towns declare states of emergency to prevent spread of covid-19
Communities in the Alle-Kiski Valley began declaring states of emergency Monday to prevent the spread of exposure to the coronavirus. New Kensington Mayor Thomas Guzzo said the emergency declaration he signed Monday morning will last for five days unless city council extends it. “The city will remain open to assist...
Westmoreland County to limit courthouse business, close senior centers
A partial shutdown of the Westmoreland County Courthouse operations will start Wednesday, commissioners have ordered. Beginning mid-week only “essential” personnel will report to work to maintain government operations, Commissioners Chairman Sean Kertes said. “We don’t want people coming to the courthouse,” he said. The scaling back was delayed to accommodate...
Allegheny County reports 2 more coronavirus cases, bringing total to 6
The Allegheny County Health Department announced two additional cases of covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county to six. The department said the new cases are adults — one in their 60s and one in their 50s. They are isolated at home. The department said there...
IUP, Robert Morris go online for rest of spring semester
More area universities have extended online instruction for the rest of the school year, as hopes of returning to normal operation all but fade away during the covid-19 pandemic. Indiana University of Pennsylvania has suspended all face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the spring semester and has asked students living...
Hempfield Sen. Ward postpones human trafficking forum
State Sen. Kim Ward has postponed a human trafficking discussion previously scheduled for March 26 at the Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood. A spokeswoman for Ward said the event — which was to have featured spokesmen for the U.S. Justice Department, the Pennsylvania State Police and domestic and sexual...
Pa. bumping up outreach to workers left unemployed by coronavirus pandemic
Pennsylvania officials are bumping up outreach efforts to workers facing unemployment from the rising coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, state Secretary of Labor & Industry Jerry Oleksiak said workers facing a job loss may be eligible for unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits. That prospect has hit home for millions nationwide as...
Hempfield woman accused of sexually assaulting teen boys
A Hempfield woman is accused by state police of sexually assaulting two teenage boys over the summer, according to court papers. Police say Brandy Lynn Sturtz, 35, provided the boys with alcohol and marijuana. She was arrested Monday on charges of statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and related offenses....
As coronavirus spreads, 5 important things to know right now
Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician, fielded a range of questions from the Tribune-Review on Monday morning. Adalja is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He works on pandemic preparedness, emerging infectious diseases and hospital preparedness. What are the most...
Western Pa. patients line up for drive-by coronavirus testing
Patients concerned they might have been exposed to covid-19 were able to take advantage of drive-by testing at three locations Monday across Western Pennsylvania, and the testing is expected to be offered Tuesday, as well. Central Outreach Wellness Center, with locations on the North Shore, Aliquippa and Washington, had about...
