Regional category, Page 172
Local events mark 5th annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day
The national recognition of Vietnam War veterans this week is a way of showing appreciation to a group who likely did not get the welcome home they deserved, a Westmoreland County veterans affairs official said. “The Vietnam War veterans came home to a different welcome than previous generations,” said Matt...
Democratic congressional candidate Chris Deluzio nabs labor endorsements in 17th District
Democratic congressional candidate Chris Deluzio said he has solidified labor support with several key endorsements in Pennsylvania’s 17th District race. Last week, Deluzio nabbed the endorsement of Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, the largest labor coalition in the region with 135 unions and 100,000 workers. On Friday, three more local labor...
Week in pictures: March 21-27
A selection of the best photos from Tribune-Review photographers from around the Pittsburgh region from the week of March 21-27....
High oil prices put brakes on falling gas prices, analysts say
Gasoline prices are stabilizing in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation as oil remains above $100 per barrel, according to industry analysts. Prices at the pump had been coming down since setting record highs on March 11, at $4.44 per gallon in Pennsylvania and $4.33 nationally, according to AAA....
It’s official: March is snowiest since ’93; lowest high-temperature mark
Southwestern Pennsylvania has seen its snowiest March since the Blizzard of 1993, and the region broke a temperature record Monday as the high failed to rise above freezing. The 16.2 inches of snow that has fallen so far this month is more than double the monthly average of 7.6 inches....
Butler man arrested on terroristic threat, aggravated assault charges after SWAT incident
A SWAT incident Saturday in Butler Township has resulted in the arrest of 38-year-old Butler resident Kenneth Eugene Snyder Jr. Snyder is charged with terroristic threats and aggravated assault, according to a release from the Butler Township Police Department. Snyder is accused of stabbing a 39-year-old man multiple times in...
Home testing, new variant add uncertainty to latest round of covid infections
As dramatic as the covid-19 omicron variant spike was in early 2022, health experts around the world were encouraged to see it drop just as quickly. In Pennsylvania, the total number of reported statewide positive cases this past Friday was around 600, nowhere near the 33,398 cases reported at the...
More than a game: Booming sports gambling industry brings increased calls for help across Pennsylvania
Brandon knew he “pretty much hit rock bottom” last year when he picked up the phone to find help in fighting his decade-long gambling addiction. The 32-year-old Irwin man has spent years trying to break free from the addiction he said largely started when he first visited Rivers Casino Pittsburgh...
Fewer applications for college financial aid could signal continued dip in higher ed enrollments
The number of high school students applying for state and federal college aid has continued to decline across Pennsylvania, state leaders said, nixing hopes that figures would begin to rebound. Applications for the FAFSA — short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid — were down by about 30,000 by...
Somerset DA Thomas’ defense attorney calls sex assault case ‘political’
SOMERSET — Describing the sexual assault case against Somerset County’s suspended district attorney as “political,” Jeffrey Thomas’ defense attorney suggested on Friday that he might raise issues about whether the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General should be prosecuting the case. Following a pretrial hearing, defense attorney Ryan Tutera offered hints...
Disabled former state trooper gets nearly $2M in lawsuit against agency
A federal judge awarded a former Pennsylvania state trooper nearly $2 million on Thursday after a jury found he was forced to retire because of a disability. Robert Newton, of Butler County, worked as a procurement and supply officer on permanent limited duty status because of a disability in his...
Pittsburgh metro area loses population, leads nation in natural population decline
The Pittsburgh metropolitan area lost 13,755 residents between July 2020 and July 2021, according to U.S. Census estimates. The biggest factor of that loss was the region’s natural decline, which is when an area experiences more deaths than births. The Pittsburgh metro area’s natural decline of 10,383 was the largest...
Feds charge 2 men with hate crimes in Beaver County care-home abuse case
Two men already charged in Beaver County now face federal hate-crime counts, with prosecutors accusing them of abusing physically and intellectually disabled residents at a care home where they worked. An indictment against the men said they punched and kicked residents in the face, choked them and sprayed and rubbed...
Medal of Honor Day focuses on service members awarded for valor in battle
The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest award for military valor, and American presidents have presented more than 3,500 of them since the medal was established in 1862. In 1990, Congress designated March 25 as National Medal of Honor Day to recognize the medal recipients, many of whom...
Idlewild sets earlier park opening day, boosts pay for seasonal work
Officials at Ligonier Township’s Idlewild and SoakZone have some good news for fans of the family amusement park as well as those interested in working at the attraction. Responding in part to heightened public interest in picnic reservations, the park will open May 7 — two weekends earlier than previously...
Congressional candidate Steve Irwin endorsed by Western Pa. building trades group
The Laborers’ District Council of Western PA said Thursday it is endorsing Pittsburgh attorney Steve Irwin in the Democratic primary race in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District. “There’s only one candidate in this race who has shown a commitment to protecting blue-collar jobs and growing the middle class, and that candidate...
Cold, snowy weekend in store for Western Pa.
Don’t let the warm weather we’ve had this week fool you. Though the calendar has flipped to spring, the cold isn’t ready to let us out of its clutches just yet. The National Weather Service is calling for a significant temperature drop this weekend and snow flurries to boot, said...
Highmark reports $22B in revenue
Highmark Health reported Tuesday that its health care system earned $22 billion in revenue last year, up $301 million from the year before. Highmark employs 37,000 people and provides health insurance coverage to patients in the Mid-Atlantic region. It is the parent company of Allegheny Health Network, which operates 14...
Brother’s Brother supplies donated from Pittsburgh reach Ukraine
A shipment of crucially needed medical and wound care supplies from Pittsburgh to war-torn Ukraine made it to an alternative destination Friday as Russian missiles hit an aircraft maintenance facility in Lviv in western Ukraine. “It was important for us to get it done and to help those people it...
Pennsylvania tick survey turns up concentrations of rare Powassan virus variety
In the final year of a statewide tick surveillance program that began in 2018, state researchers are seeing a troubling uptick in a form of Powassan virus carried by black-legged ticks, the same species that spreads Lyme disease. Deer tick virus was present in more than 80% of tick samples...
Week in pictures: March 14-20
A selection of photos from Tribune-Review staff photojournalists from the week of March 14-20. Previous weeks Week in pictures: March 7-13, 2022 Week in pictures: Feb. 28-March 6, 2022 Week in pictures: Jan. 10-16, 2022 Week in pictures: Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2021 Week in pictures: Nov. 22-28, 2021...
Democratic Senate candidates square off in political forum at CMU
Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat on Sunday agreed on several important party platform items but disagreed when it came to big tech companies and the Supreme Court. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Jenkintown Borough Council member Alex Khalil and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb...
Are Western Pa. gas prices headed toward $5 a gallon?
Rising gas prices have been causing headaches for drivers across the region and the country. In early March, gas prices hit a record average of $4.21 a gallon in Pittsburgh, slightly above the national average of about $4 a gallon. At some old-school gas stations in the region, such as...
Diesel price rise a pain at pump and consumer’s pockets
If the sight of over $4.30 a gallon for regular gasoline is cringeworthy, imagine $5.50 — or more — and having to fill a 150-gallon tank. Warren Horton has faced such a dilemma recently, including Tuesday when he stopped in Western Pennsylvania to fuel his big rig hauling a stacked...
Where are Western Pa. Girl Scout cookies? Arriving soon, hopefully
Most people in Western Pennsylvania are still waiting to receive their boxes of Girl Scout cookies, but not inmates at SCI-Fayette. The state prison received over 1,100 boxes of cookies this year during its third sale to benefit Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania. Inmates had the opportunity to buy up to...
