Allegheny category, Page 66
How Western Pa. religious leaders are altering Easter sermons during coronavirus pandemic
Father Tom Gramc used to spend entire days surrounded by people and parishioners. He went from preaching morning Mass to hearing afternoon confessions to visiting grade schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Yet as Easter approaches, he spends his days in Zoom meetings or fielding calls and emails from parishioners,...
Outside PPG Paints Arena and Rivers Casino, groups rally to feed the hungryVideo
Hundreds of people waited in long lines Friday in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood as part of a food distribution event to address those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. Across town, outside Rivers Casino, members of the Iota Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity collected food donated by the casino...
Answering the Call: Pittsburgh nurse volunteered to work in coronavirus spaceVideo
Jessi Showalter is a nurse at Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital who volunteered to work in the covid-19 space there. What compelled her to volunteer in the space and take on the risks that go with it? That’s one of the questions Showalter addressed in a video interview with...
6 more coronavirus deaths reported in Allegheny County
Six more people in Allegheny County died from the coronavirus, county health officials said Friday, bringing the countywide total to 18. Allegheny County Health Department initially reported a total of 20 deaths Friday morning but later corrected an error in the data. All of those people were over the age...
Coronavirus highlights inequities among Western Pa. school districts
In the McKeesport Area School District, Superintendent Mark Holtzman estimates more than a thousand families either don’t have reliable internet access or the necessary technological devices to complete online schoolwork. Lessons are being made available via paper handouts, social media and the district website, he said. Completing material is strongly...
Earth Day goes virtual with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy live events
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will hold live virtual events to observe Earth Day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 22. Participants can join in by visiting the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s social media channels, such as its Twitter account @pittsburghparks. The Parks Conservancy will share the activities on its Earth...
Now hiring: Get a job helping Pennsylvania’s jobless, expediting unemployment payments
Pennsylvanians looking for work during the pandemic-spurred shutdown now have the option to get a job helping the jobless. The state Department of Labor and Industry is hiring a slew of workers to respond to an unprecedented surge in unemployment claims in recent weeks. Applications can be submitted starting Monday...
Medical examiner IDs man fatally shot in Pittsburgh
A man was fatally shot Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office identified the victim as David Craig Smith, 38, of Pittsburgh. Officers responded to a 911 call for a man shot along the 2600 block of Stayton Street around 5 p.m. Police said they...
About 1,000 Duquesne Light customers still without power, Westmoreland power restored
About 1,000 Duquesne Light customers remained without power Friday morning as crews continue to restore service disrupted by Wednesday’s storms. Nearly all West Penn Power customers in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties have had their power restored, with about 100 scattered outages as of 6:30 a.m. Friday, according to West Penn...
Officials ID North Huntingdon man killed in 2-vehicle collision in White Oak
A 59-year-old man died Thursday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash in White Oak, Allegheny County Police said. The county Medical Examiner’s office identified the victim as Donald Pivirotto, 59, of North Huntingdon. Police responded to the crash shortly before 4 p.m. in the 3000 block of Jacks Run Road. Medics...
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh plans to furlough most employees
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh will start furloughing most of its employees beginning next week amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This was an extremely difficult decision and one we desperately hoped to avoid,” Rivers CEO Greg Carlin said in a statement issued Thursday. The casino has been closed since March 15 to help...
Port Authority sets rider limits on buses, light rail
The Port Authority of Allegheny County will limit the number of riders allowed on buses at one time starting Monday in an effort to maintain social-distancing guidelines and slow the spread of the coronavirus. • No more than 10 riders will be allowed on a 35-foot bus • No more...
North Versailles man hopes to continue Army service through pandemic response
Bill Roland never hesitated when he was called to serve his country, and fighting the coronavirus pandemic is no different. After receiving an email from the VFW asking for retired military medical personnel to join the front lines, the 69-year-old former Army nurse immediately volunteered. “I’ve been medical since 1988,”...
Feeding the Frontline PGH supports local businesses and local heroes
Two months ago, a large lunch takeout order wouldn’t have fazed Tuyen Truong, co-owner of the popular Lawrenceville eatery Bahn Mi & Ti. But when Shady Side Academy graduate Maddie Taylor dropped a couple hundred dollars last week ordering chicken bowls and bubble tea, Truong took notice. Taylor, 23, along...
Why a Pittsburgh-area family opted for unproven hydroxychloroquine for sick dad
Bob Schrecengost, a resident at Caring Heights in Kennedy, is one of the 759 Allegheny County residents diagnosed with covid-19. The McKees Rocks native turns 77 on Friday. Schrecengost has dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and has battled two recent non-covid-19 respiratory infections. Those conditions led his daughter, Lisa...
Answering the Call: Pittsburgh pulmonologist describes caring for patients during coronavirus pandemicVideo
Dr. Tiffany DuMont is a pulmonologist who works in the intensive care unit at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She has led much of the covid-19 planning for the hospital. In a video interview with the Trib, DuMont described the pressure of her job and how she is taking care...
3 more in Pittsburgh police department test positive for coronavirus
Three more Pittsburgh police employees tested positive for coronavirus, Public Safety officials said Thursday. An instructor in the police academy, an officer in the administrative branch and a police recruit all are at home in self-isolation, according to spokeswoman Cara Cruz. A firearms instructor tested positive earlier this week, prompting...
Animal Friends to host pet food distribution for low-income pet owners
Animal Friends will host a drive-thru, free pet food distribution for low-income pet owners Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Ohio Township campus. The distribution will be a no-contact drive-thru pick up. Motorists should stay in their cars while Animal Friends’ staff members and volunteers load food...
Port Authority reports 3rd bus driver tests positive for coronavirus
A third Port Authority bus driver tested positive for coronavirus, authority officials said Thursday. The driver works out of the West Mifflin garage and has not been to work since March 13, according to spokesman Adam Brandolph. The employee has been in self-quarantine since March 23. Brandolph said that, upon...
Allegheny County reports 2 more deaths, 39 new coronavirus cases
Two more people in Allegheny County have died from the coronavirus, county health officials said Thursday, bringing the countywide total to 12. The 39 newly reported cases bring the county’s running total to 759 since the first local case was identified on March 14. The number of new cases in...
UPMC launches trials of coronavirus drugs, including hydroxychloroquine
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC on Thursday launched a new, global effort they say could speed up the process for testing covid-19 treatments. “We don’t have the luxury of time,” Dr. Derek Angus, UPMC chair of critical care, said during a news conference. Multiple...
Carnegie Mellon partners with Facebook to gather coronavirus data from residents
Carnegie Mellon University is partnering with Facebook to gather data from U.S. residents who are experiencing symptoms of covid-19. Researchers at the university hope to use the data to forecast the spread of the pandemic and its potential weight on hospital systems. Some Facebook users will soon see a link...
Adapting: Warrendale home builder adapting to construction cutbacks amid coronavirus
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways a global coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. Matt Moritz is still working as coronavirus spreads across the world. The 39-year-old Marshall man is president of Eddy Homes, a Warrendale-based family home building business....
Food bank hosting distribution at PPG Paints Arena
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will hold a drive-up food distribution Friday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Organizers plans to serve 1,300 vehicles between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the parking lots adjacent to the arena. The event is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Police....
The Heinz Endowments joins foundations shifting millions to emergency needs during pandemic
Western Pennsylvania’s largest grant-making foundations are banding together to get money quickly into the hands of those who need it the most to survive the coronavirus pandemic and statewide shutdown. They’re shifting funding priorities, earmarking new pots of money toward covid-19 emergency relief for things like food, shelter and protective...
