Regional category, Page 247

This summer’s heat has pushed the mercury to 90 degrees and higher for 11 days, prompting people to keep the air conditioners humming day and night. It has also strained the electricity lines carrying power to homes and businesses, area utility companies said. But while the system may be stressed...

Companies in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties will collectively add 32 alternative-fuel vehicles to their fleets with the assistance of state grants. • Noble Environmental, which operates the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill and County Hauling, received $600,000 from Pennsylvania’s Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program. It will add eight compressed natural gas garbage...

VoteSafe Pennsylvania has launched a statewide bipartisan campaign that aims to ensure every Pennsylvania voter has access to safe voting options for the November election. The coalition is led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dave Reed and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who also served as undersecretary and...

West Virginia University will require students to get a covid-19 test and complete an education module on the virus prior to returning to campus next month. Those who fail to meet those requirements could be fined $250, school officials warned Tuesday. Like colleges across the region, WVU has published a...

Indiana County’s rural roads have become appealing places for methamphetamine manufacturers to get rid of their illegally used materials, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. It’s become a “fairly common occurrence” for state troopers to find dump sites in remote areas or off dirt roads, said Trooper Cliff Greenfield. The...

The annual School Rocks Backpack Giveaway is set to donate 140,000 backpacks full of school supplies this weekend. Round Room LLC, a Verizon Wireless retailer, announced its TCC and Wireless Zone stores will give away school supplies at over 800 locations nationwide. This year will mark more than 1 million...

The Greater Connellsville Chamber of Commerce will cancel the Savor the Avenue “Celebrating the Jewel of the Yough” event originally scheduled for Aug. 6, due to ongoing public health risks associated with covid-19. “The safety and health of our guests and restaurant staff comes first,” chamber officials wrote in a...

A Blair County man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on several counts of production of child pornography and exploitation of minors. Jacob Kolonis, 27, of Duncansville is the sole defendant in the 16-count indictment unsealed Monday. He’s accused of interstate transmission of an extortion communication, production...

Allegheny Health Network’s mobile covid-19 testing unit will be visiting several Pittsburgh sites this week. Covid-19 testing will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following locations:Shop N’ Save plaza in the Hill District (1850 Centre Avenue) on Monday, July 20City Hall Building in Clairton (551 Ravensburg...

Gasoline prices fell slightly over the past week as markets await the next chapter in the coronavirus situation, an industry analyst said. “As cases continue to rise, the likelihood rises that gas prices will stabilize and demand may continue to see small decreases, which is the name of the game...

It’s a sight you won’t get a chance to see again. Not unless you live another 6,800 years. It’s the ball of ice, rock and dust that everyone is talking about: a fuzzy-looking star with a tail otherwise known as comet NEOWISE. To see it, start to look below the...

Some school officials say their districts are in a no-win situation as they draw up reopening plans meant to balance health and education amid a pandemic that closed schools in the spring and upends any hope of normalcy in the fall. Those plans, required by state health and education officials...

A Beaver County manufacturing plant was extensively damaged in a Saturday morning fire, while the workers inside were safely evacuated. The five-alarm fire was reported at about 5 a.m. at Sukup Steel Structures in the 300 block of 14th Street in Ambridge, according to a county 911 dispatcher. Ambridge Fire...

Children, the elderly and those with respiratory issues should be careful and limit outdoor activity on Saturday, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Most of Southwestern Pennsylvania will be under a code orange designation for ozone, the DEP said. Orange is the third level of a four-tier air...

An Indiana County man attempted to hide the theft of an all-terrain vehicle this month by burying it in his backyard, state police said. Stephen P. McCloskey, 23, of Homer City, is charged with receiving stolen property, alteration of a vehicle identification number and theft after troopers dug up the...

Car dealerships and notaries throughout Pennsylvania are experiencing a hiccup in the supply chain for license plates — often leaving management at those retailers scrambling to continue doing business during the coronavirus pandemic. The problem, according to dealerships, notaries and state officials, is twofold: License plate stockpiles at car dealerships...

Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement officers issued 44 warnings this week for licensed liquor establishments failing to follow covid-19 requirements, officials said Friday. Liquor Control Enforcement officers visited 3,904 businesses from Monday through Thursday. These compliance checks were unannounced and focused on areas with high covid-19 transmission rates. Officials...

Data posted online this week by the Pennsylvania Department of Health show 76,336 residents at an Elk County nursing home have died from covid-19. The home is licensed to house 138 residents. The state listed 133 deaths at an Erie facility that previously reported no cases among residents or staff....

A 49-year-old Washington County man was arraigned this week in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh after he was indicted on charges of sexually exploiting an underage boy. Joey Leroy Barton of Charleroi pleaded not guilty to the five-count indictment that includes charges of production and attempted production of material depicting...

Five more workers have tested positive for covid-19 at Shell Chemicals’ ethane cracker construction site in Beaver County, a company spokesman said in a statement. That brings the total number of positive tests to 18 since the pandemic began, Shell spokesman Michael Marr said in an update. A covid-19 testing...

For many families, summer vacation may look a little different this year. A survey conducted by MyBioSource.com, a biotechnological products distribution company, found that 51% of Pennsylvanians are more likely to vacation locally in their own state this summer to avoid traveling by plane and reduce the risk of contracting...

Giant Eagle is defending itself after a lawsuit filed by more than 30 people claims the grocery chain’s face mask policy is discriminatory toward disabled shoppers. In a response to a consolidated federal lawsuit that names 35 plaintiffs but specifically cites plaintiff Josiah Kostek, lawyers for Giant Eagle called for...

Pennsylvanians who are working in life-sustaining jobs during the coronavirus pandemic will be getting temporary pay increases, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday. “These people deserve to be paid for the risks they’re taking for all of us,” Wolf said. The state will use $50 million of its federal pandemic stimulus...