Regional category, Page 117
‘It’s unhealthy for everyone’: Lingering wildfire smoke affects more than just at-risk groups
Air quality advisories in response to lingering smoke from Canadian wildfires have focused on at-risk groups — young children, the elderly and people with existing pulmonary and heart issues. But, on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates delayed the start of an early afternoon game by 45 minutes while they reviewed weather...
Report: Shell’s ethane plant in Beaver County has not spurred growth
Shell’s massive petrochemical plant in Beaver County has yet to spur major economic growth in the region, according to a recent study by nonprofit research group. “Since 2012, when the project was first announced, the most recent economic data available show Beaver County has lagged both the state and the...
AHN, Cigna ink 1-year contract, working on longer deal
Allegheny Health Network and Cigna Healthcare reached a deal on a one-year contract while the two organizations work over the next two weeks on a longer, multi-year agreement. The deal is meant to ensure that Cigna Healthcare customers will continue to have in-network access to the Pittsburgh-based health care system’s...
Record travel numbers expected by air, roads for July 4 week
If you’re planning to travel during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, you will be far from alone. Whether by air or on the road, a record-number of people are expected to be on the move during the long weekend. The Automobile Association of America is projecting 50.7 million people...
Smoky haze from Canadian wildfires expected to linger over Western Pa. for rest of the week
Young children and those with respiratory ailments are being urged to stay indoors for a second straight day as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to shroud Pittsburgh in a fog-like haze. A Code Red air quality alert for fine particulates was issued Thursday for 13 Western Pennsylvania counties by the...
Doctors emphasize caution amid poor air quality in Western Pa.
Western Pennsylvania’s current poor air quality, caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires, can do more than make you cough — it can exacerbate existing health conditions and irritate the lungs, according to respiratory experts. The particles carried in the smoke can irritate lung passages and make it more difficult for...
Fayette County camp bus crash injures 25 kids, 3 adults
Nearly 30 people were injured when a summer camp bus veered off Route 711 in Fayette County and landed in a field early Wednesday, according to state police. Troopers and first responders were called to the intersection of Pine Slopes Road and Indian Creek Valley Road (Route 711) in Saltlick...
Morning Roundup: Cop, 2 teens in stolen car hurt in crash along East Busway
Here are some of the latest news items from Wednesday morning: 3 people injured in crash on East Busway Three people were injured after a stolen vehicle crashed into a police cruiser along the East Busway on Tuesday night, according to authorities. Two teenagers were traveling inbound on the dedicated...
Pair accused of defrauding SBA, banks of $14 million in covid-related aid
A Pittsburgh woman and a Detroit man have been accused of defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration and at least two lenders of about $14 millions by obtaining fake loans for hundreds of companies from a program designed to help business recover from the covid-related financial losses, the U.S. Attorney...
Smoke from Canadian wildfires prompts events to move indoors
Smoke from wildfires in Canada is again impacting air quality in Western Pennsylvania and affecting how people work and play, and will continue to do so on Thursday. The state is advising young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems to limit outdoor activities Wednesday because of unhealthy pollution...
Marc Fogel Act seeks transparency in wrongful detainment designations for Americans
A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania congressmen on Tuesday introduced the Marc Fogel Act, a bill named for an Oakmont teacher who was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison for possessing a small amount of medical marijuana. The lawmakers said the legislation would require the State Department to be...
Hills Snack Bar food truck gets OK from health inspector
The return of the Hills Snack Bar is now one step closer to becoming reality. Just last year, Jason Powell of Aliquippa revealed he was bringing back a version of the famed snack bar from Hills department stores in the form of a food truck. On Tuesday, Powell announced that...
‘June Boötid’ meteor shower will peak in Pittsburgh area tonight
The annual June Boötid meteor shower will stick around until July 2, but its peak — and the best chance to catch a glimpse — will be tonight. In the Pittsburgh area, the shower will be visible from dusk well into the night. But what is it, and why is...
State teacher’s union blasts proposed school voucher scholarships
Pennsylvania’s teachers union is protesting a proposed program that would shift funding from public to private schools. The initiative would provide state-funded “lifeline scholarships” to eligible students at schools identified as “low-achieving.” The program could come to a vote in the Senate this week amid the state budget approval process....
Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law is upheld again, as court rules against Republican challenge
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania state court on Tuesday rejected the latest Republican effort to throw out the presidential battleground state’s broad mail-in voting law that has become a GOP target following former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about election fraud. It is the latest of several refusals by a state...
Breeze Airways adds low-cost flights from Pittsburgh to Tampa
One of the newest airlines operating out of Pittsburgh International Airport plans to add flights to Tampa early this fall. Breeze Airways, which launched service in Pittsburgh in July 2021, announced that it will begin offering nonstop flights between Pittsburgh and Tampa International on Oct. 5. Round-trip flights will be...
Morning Roundup: Penn Hills police seek 2 suspects who shot at Amazon driver
Here are some of the latest news items from Tuesday morning: Penn Hills police seek 2 suspects who shot at Amazon driver Penn Hills police are searching for two men who they say attacked an Amazon driver and fired a shot at him while the driver was making deliveries. Police...
With increased interest in self-defense classes, instructors focus on situational awareness
Fourth-degree black belt Bob Makowski doesn’t mind scaring students in his self-defense classes. The harder he grabs their attention, he said, the better chance they learn tools that can thwart danger. “About 65% of assaults occur with someone you know and also happen indoors,” said Makowski, owner of a martial...
Morning Roundup: Man shot in face in Duquesne
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, June 26: Man shot in face in Duquesne, suspect sought An arrest warrant has been issued for a man accused of shooting a man in the face in Duquesne on Sunday. At the request of Duquesne police, Allegheny...
Carnegie Mellon professor reflects on 2022 Titanic trip on same sub that imploded
Alex Waibel fiddled with his computer and a headset-mounted microphone that transcribed his every word. And he waited. And waited. Around 8 a.m. July 14, 2022, the Carnegie Mellon University professor boarded OceanGate’s Titan submersible — the same one that would implode deep below the surface of the north Atlantic...
Chemo drug shortages hit cancer treatment centers across Pittsburgh region
The chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and carboplatin have become difficult for hospital systems across the country to access in recent months, disrupting cancer treatments and leading health care providers and patients to worry about the future. According to the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, platinum drug shortages, including cisplatin and carboplatin, were...
NICU reunion brings together former patients of all ages to celebrate survival
Treating infants in the neonatal intensive care unit means caring for babies who are the “sickest of the sick” and the “tiniest of the tiny.” For the doctors, nurses and others treating little patients at such a fragile stage, seeing those kids grow up is a chance to celebrate. “Sometimes,...
Police: Zelienople man fatally shot 2 women at New Sewickley home
A Zelienople man faces criminal homicide and kidnapping charges, after police said he shot two women with a rifle and barricaded himself inside a New Sewickley house on Saturday afternoon. Police were called to the 400 block of Klein Road around 2 p.m. Saturday. The first officers on scene encountered...
Pitt, Penn State branch campuses bleeding enrollment; decline expected to continue
Brianna Guinther studies nursing minutes from her Greensburg home at a University of Pittsburgh branch campus, a leafy suburban setting with plenty of quiet study spaces and a new Life Sciences Building. Having Pitt-Greensburg as an option spared her a more arduous commute as she pursues a four-year degree. She...
Pa. antlerless deer licenses soon available in stores, online
Change is in the air this Pennsylvania hunting season. Hunters in the state soon will be able to buy their 2023-24 antlerless deer licenses wherever hunting licenses are sold. The new process will go into effect at 8 a.m. Monday when sales begin for general hunting and furtaker licenses. Hunters...
