Trib Lunch Box: UPMC lifts mask mandate, DoubleTree closing, Giant Eagle fails test
Here are some noon headlines from TribLive, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024: • UPMC to lift mask mandate Healthcare giant UPMC plans to lift its mask mandate this week after requiring facial coverings in its facilities for the last two months. • DoubleTree by Hilton hotel next to Monroeville...
Murrysville to add permanent restroom, other improvements to Duff Park lot
Murrysville Public Works crews are set to begin making improvements to the parking area at Duff Park starting March 4, which will include a permanent restroom. “We want to put in a facility that can be used year-round and will be cleaned once a week,” Murrysville Public Works Director Bill...
‘Like treasure hunting’: Greensburg native pursues love of secondhand shopping, opens vintage clothing store downtown
For as long as he can remember, Greensburg native Zach Butler has appreciated vintage clothes. As a kid, he watched antique picker shows such as “Storage Wars” and borrowed clothing from his dad’s closet. “People used to be like ‘You look weird, but it looks good,’” joked Butler, 24, of...
Multiple emergency crews respond to boiler fire at Harrison church
Emergency crews from Harrison, Tarentum and Freeport responded to an apparent boiler fire Wednesday morning at Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church, just before children were scheduled to arrive for day care. No one was injured but the building was evacuated for safety, Harrison Hills Fire Chief Jules Beer said. Crews were...
Attempted homicide, assault charges filed after Murrysville woman is stabbed during dispute
A Murrysville man was awaiting arraignment Wednesday morning after police said he stabbed a woman twice with a knife. Murrysville police Chief Thomas Seefeld said Andrew James Farbarik, 32, was charged with attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated assault. Authorities were called to Hills Church Road at 9:30 p.m....
UPMC to lift mask mandate
Health care giant UPMC plans to lift its mask mandate this week, after requiring facial coverings in its facilities for the last two months. The requirement for masks at most UPMC facilities will end on Thursday, said hospital officials. UPMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Donald Yealy said lifting the mask...
Morning Roundup: Man killed in head-on collision in Armstrong County
Here are a few morning news items for Wednesday: One killed in Armstrong County crash A man was killed Tuesday in South Bend Township in a crash involving a tri-axle coal truck. Nicholas Difilippo Jr., 22, was driving a car at around 6:15 a.m. in the Armstrong County township, when...
Strong storms hit Pittsburgh region, cooldown comingVideo
This week’s warm weather has brought some powerful storms with it. Rain, wind, and possibly hail moved into the Pittsburgh area this morning, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. WTAE chief meteorologist Mike Harvey reported that a cold front was to push up against a warm air mass that has...
The Stroller, Feb. 28, 2024: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Quilt show reception planned Saturday A free reception to honor those...
Future of Macy’s locations in Western Pa. uncertain after company announces 150 closures
The fate of six Macy’s locations in Western Pennsylvania is unknown after the company announced Tuesday it will close 150 stores over the next three years, with 50 closing by the end of 2024. The department store chain hasn’t named specific locations or states where it will shutter underperforming stores....
New Kensington Giant Eagle red tagged after failing price accuracy test
Shoppers at Giant Eagle in New Kensington might want to double check their receipts. The store’s price scanning system failed an annual inspection Monday, resulting in red “rejected” tags being placed at all of the Tarentum Bridge Road store’s registers to alert consumers. The inspection by the Westmoreland County Bureau...
Pittsburgh police: Missing 11-year-old boy found safe
Pittsburgh police say an 11-year old boy who went missing late Tuesday afternoon has been found safe. They earlier reported that Skyler Johnson was last seen in front of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville. Police updated their report to say he was found safe Downtown....
Fire destroys Bloomfield home, 1 resident injured
A home in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood is no longer habitable after a fire Tuesday morning, according to Pittsburgh public safety officials. Firefighters were sent to the 3900 block of Mintwood Street at 11:15 a.m. The sole occupant of the home, a man in his 70s, was able to get himself...
Ross police, state investigate how woman, 82, ended up dead outside personal care home
Ross police and the state Department of Human Services are investigating how an 82-year-old personal care home resident ended up dead outside the facility. Nancy Lee Tyler’s body was found around 11 a.m. Sunday in the 900 block of Forest Avenue near Mt. Assisi Place, a personal care facility on...
North Hills School Board approves 5-year contract with teachers
North Hills School Board approved a five-year contract with the district’s teachers’ union Feb. 22. The same day, North Hills Education Association, which represents 380 teachers, ratified the pact. “This agreement is reflective of our fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers while also ensuring that North Hills School District remains a...
Family objects to plea deal for uncle’s role in overdose death
Roseanne DeBruyn’s call for a Westmoreland County judge to reject the terms in a proposed plea bargain for her former brother-in-law went unheeded on Tuesday. Jeffrey R. Carlson, 58, of Glassport, Allegheny County, was charged in connection with the death of DeBruyn’s son in 2022. Carlson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor...
Federal grand jury indicts 2 men authorities say had 22 pounds of cocaine in New Kensington house
A federal grand jury has indicted two men authorities say had 22 pounds of cocaine in a New Kensington house. Marcos Francisco-Tomas, 33, and Andres Flores-Cedeno, 27, were indicted on charges of violating federal narcotics laws, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Tuesday. Each is being held in the Allegheny...
DoubleTree by Hilton hotel next to Monroeville Convention Center to close
The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel next to the Monroeville Convention Center will close Wednesday, a staff member and an agent for the hotel’s owner confirmed. The hotel regularly hosted guests attending events at the Monroeville Convention Center, which is set to be shuttered June 1 to make way for a...
Westmoreland DA convenes grand jury for unsolved homicides
Westmoreland County’s first investigating grand jury in more than three decades was seated Tuesday to hear evidence in unsolved homicides and major crimes. District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced last fall the creation of the grand jury. It is intended to be a tool to compel witnesses to produce evidence and...
Fundraiser for injured Harrison EMT will pay tuition for future emergency responders
EMT certification for 10 people will be paid in full thanks to a fundraiser Sunday in Harrison. A spaghetti dinner hosted for Citizens Hose EMT Kelly Jackson, who was critically injured Jan. 6 while working traffic control at a crash scene, brought in nearly $10,000. Jackson of Tarentum opted to...
Police arrest 2nd suspect in 2023 Stowe shootout with undercover police
Police have arrested a Pittsburgh man in connection with a 2023 shootout in Stowe involving undercover police. He is the second suspect charged in the violent encounter in which dozens of shots were fired but no one was hit. Bruce Harvard, 24, of South Side Slopes, was one of the...
Gov. Shapiro releases specifics of higher education restructuring plan in Pittsburgh visit
A combined system of 15 community colleges and 10 state universities would treat both tiers as equals, and they would equitably split a 15% funding increase in his proposed state budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. In an appearance at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, the governor...
Pittsburgh building inspection department gets new boss
Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections has a new director, a veteran employee who has been running the department for months. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved David Green of Lawrenceville to replace Sarah Kinter, who stepped down in July. Mayor Ed Gainey previously praised Green as the “most...
Police arrest Hempfield man wanted after fleeing, prompting Seton Hill lockdown
A man who fled from state police earlier this month, prompting a lockdown at Seton Hill University, was arrested last week at a junkyard hiding underneath a trap door, according to Chief Deputy Jennifer Shipley of the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office. Troopers have been searching for Joseph Alan Pees, 31,...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs giant video screen on North Shore
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved plans by a private venture to erect a giant video screen near PNC Park for people to watch Pirates games. Some members of the Planning Commission had previously voiced concerns that the screen would be visible from Interstate 279. But their fears seemed to...
