Regional category, Page 131
Historically mild February leaves Pittsburgh region with barely a trace of snow
February did not make Pittsburgh shiver. Generally, February is the region’s second snowiest month of the year. Not this year. Just 0.2 inches of snow accumulated over February in the Pittsburgh region. With highs reaching above 50 degrees Tuesday, the month ended as the least snowy February in Pittsburgh history,...
EPA opens office near site of Ohio toxic train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday he doesn’t want any stigmas attached to the Ohio community where a train derailed and spewed toxic gases three weeks ago and that he’s pushing the railroad to clean up the mess as fast as possible....
UPMC cites employment costs, pandemic as profits fell in 2022
Pittsburgh-based health care giant UPMC reported profits of about $238 million during 2022, a 71% drop compared to the previous year. Edward Karlovich, executive vice president and chief financial officer of UPMC, called it a “difficult year in health care,” but said UPMC made long-term investments in 2022 to improve...
Merged Excela, Butler health system is struggling financially, CEO says
Economic storm clouds are on the horizon for the newly combined Excela and Butler health systems, and a “significant expense reduction plan” is in the near future, according to an internal letter signed by President and CEO Ken DeFurio. In the letter — sent to employees and medical staff at...
Gas prices resume fall on worrisome inflation figures, analyst says
Pennsylvania is among a majority of states that saw gas prices decline over the past week, an industry analyst said. “The national average has resumed its decline after a pause last week as oil and wholesale gasoline prices fell on worrisome inflation figures showing the Fed likely to ramp up...
Pa. DEP to spend week testing water samples collected within mile of train derailment
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said Saturday that it has collected drinking water samples from 13 of the 16 known residential wells within a mile of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The DEP announced last week that it would begin systematic collection and testing of water samples in...
Morning Roundup: Funeral service set for Belle Vernon Area student
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023: Funeral set at Belle Vernon Area High School A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Belle Vernon Area High School in Rostraver for the 6-year-old girl killed Friday morning when hit...
Pittsburgh region’s mild winter mitigates some of the misery of ‘pothole season’
Earlier this month, Debbie Bey was looking for someone — anyone — willing to fix a large pothole just off William Penn Highway in Monroeville at the entrance leading to Gabe’s, Sam’s Club and other stores. “I called around to Monroeville, to PennDOT, everywhere, and no one wanted to take...
Surveillance video solves case of missing Gilpin signs
The mystery surrounding missing signs in Gilpin has been solved. This month, Gilpin officials and the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department reported multiple business signs missing from properties throughout the township. Supervisor Charles Stull took to social media Feb. 17, posting about what he described as a “strange” crime on...
Contaminated waste shipments from Ohio derailment to resume
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment earlier this month in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line will resume Monday to two approved sites in Ohio, according to federal environmental authorities. The announcement came a day after the Environmental Protection...
So thrifty: Buying, selling secondhand is affordable, sustainable and fun
Browsing through Goodwill in Cheswick, Brooke Holler was sizing up a wooden easel she was hoping would make a nice stand for a sign at her wedding in September. Holler isn’t just an avid thrifter — she turned her passion into a business. She runs Busy Bee’s on the secondhand...
Experts: Senate job not to blame for Fetterman health concerns
The eyes of the country were watching Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman as the former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor took office in January, just months after his recovery from a life-threatening stroke. Just weeks into the job, Fetterman checked himself into the hospital in early February for tests...
Student teams compete to raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society programs
Regan Fusting’s father wanted to know where she learned to write a corporate donation letter like the one he received earlier this month. “He said, ‘Where’d you learn to do this? It’s so professional looking,’” said Fusting, 18, a senior at Franklin Regional and member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma...
Regional initiative launches on patient safety and technology in health care
Think about your smartphone. You rarely leave home without it, and there’s a team dedicated to making sure the device is upgraded and meaningful to you. But a dedicated team to making sure health care is safer for patients — and that workers can work in the best environments —...
Brockovich steals show at train derailment seminar in Ohio
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO — It started with a joke, though the message behind the evening was anything but. “My name is Erin Brockovich, not Julia Roberts,” quipped the environmental advocate who Roberts played in the 2000 film bearing her name Friday night in an auditorium here — the site of...
After Ohio train wreck, Biden orders door-to-door checks
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday directed federal agencies to go door-to-door in East Palestine, Ohio, to check on families affected by the toxic train derailment that has morphed into a heated political controversy. Under Biden’s order, teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency...
Did dioxins spread after the Ohio train derailment?
After a catastrophic 38-train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. Last week, Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance, the U.S. senators from Ohio, sent a letter to the state’s environmental protection agency expressing...
A few things to know about Erin Brockovich ahead of East Palestine town hall
Environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich plans to host a town hall Friday in East Palestine, Ohio, after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed Feb. 3 and released toxic chemicals. Here are a few things to know about the activist and public speaker.In 1993, law clerk Brockovich, an...
Gisele Fetterman shares window into family since husband’s hospitalization
After U.S. Sen. John Fetterman last week checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression treatment, his wife, Gisele, found her home circled by media trucks. In a series of tweets Friday morning, Gisele Fetterman explained how her children were home from school and her home surrounded by press when...
Ukraine 1 year later: Kyiv resident and Pitt professor talks about how life has changed
For the better part of the past decade, Tymofiy Mylovanov has maintained a dual role as president of the Kyiv School of Economics and an associate professor of economics with tenure at Pitt, traveling back and forth between Kyiv and Pittsburgh. In the year since Russia invaded Ukraine, maintaining that...
31 flying squirrels take refuge in local animal shelterVideo
More than 30 flying squirrels have found a temporary home at the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Penn Hills. The native rodents, southern flying squirrels, were brought to the center this winter in two large groups after the squirrels’ Western Pennsylvania homes were no longer suitable....
Western Pennsylvania fish fries’ supply chain issues vary
Three years after the start of the pandemic that upended supply chains around the world, some local fish fries still are grappling with inventory while others are reporting no problems getting their menu items. On Monday, Land & Sea in Monroeville was packed with cod waiting to be delivered to...
Morning Roundup: More demolition needed in wake of Elizabeth Forward fire
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023: Virtual learning continues at Elizabeth Forward after fire Fire damage to the Elizabeth Forward High School auditorium is more extensive than originally believed, district officials announced. Superintendent Keith Konyk sent a letter to families saying...
Pa. Senate committee hears 5 hours of testimony on East Palestine derailment
Lives were at stake and timing was crucial when Pennsylvania officials deferred decision-making authority to Norfolk Southern in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, according to testimony Thursday at a state Senate committee hearing in Beaver County. About 50 Norfolk Southern cars, including 10 with hazardous materials,...
70s temps set weather record in February
February isn’t over yet, but it’s already made weather history for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The high temperature reached a record-tying 70 degrees at Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township on Thursday, National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Frazier said. It was the third time this month that the high has reached 70...
