Western PA Local News category, Page 2616
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...
8 new coronavirus cases reported in Westmoreland County, bringing total to 24
Coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County jumped to 24 on Thursday, according to state health officials, continuing a steady increase that began at the start of the week. The eight new cases are part of a statewide increase of 560 case in one day. The statewide total now stands at 1,687,...
Pennsylvania reports 560 new coronavirus cases as state total tops 1,600
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania jumped by more than 500 from Wednesday to Thursday, according to state health officials, and five more people have died. The state Department of Health tallied 560 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 1,687. That’s a 50% increase in 24 hours. That total includes 45...
Fate of new businesses uncertain in face of coronavirus pandemicVideo
Dan Czerpak wondered every day whether opening a barbecue joint in Greensburg during a pandemic was the right move. He weighed the pros and cons regularly leading up to Pit Take’s opening on March 20, a day after the first two cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Westmoreland County....
Arnold Palmer airport eyes coronavirus stimulus package for assist with taxiway project
Westmoreland County’s Arnold Palmer Regional Airport soon could be a landing strip for federal cash freed up through coronavirus recovery funding. A $2 trillion federal stimulus package includes $10 billion designated for airports, according to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s office. Officials at the Unity airport hope that new pool of...
Allegheny County adds 45 coronavirus cases, total tops 100
There are now more than 100 active cases of covid-19 identified in Allegheny County, according to figures released by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday. The county added 45 new cases Thursday, bringing the total to 133, up from 88 on Wednesday. Of those cases, 20 are hospitalized. That...
Sheriff: Westmoreland gun permits will be issued starting next week
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert said his office will resume issuing permits to carry concealed guns next week. “We were getting a lot of blow back,” Albert said about his decision earlier this month to suspend the service as part of the county’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The permitting...
