Regional News category, Page 260
Technical schools grapple with hands-on learning as classes resume during pandemic
As traditional schools weed through reopening plans that largely include at least some online learning, career and technical centers across the region grapple with how to maintain predominately hands-on classes while keeping students and staff safe. Several of the 16 career and technical centers that cater to high school students...
Most of W.Pa. delegation will watch GOP convention from home
When he was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, Scott Avolio was looking forward to being part of the conversation about the party platform going forward to President Trump’s reelection campaign. Now, like hundreds of other delegates, Avolio, a Greensburg lawyer and first-time convention delegate, has found...
More than 4,000 gallons of milk, food will be given away in Western Pa. this week
Got milk? If you don’t, you may be in luck this week. The American Dairy Association North East is working with Schneider’s Dairy, AMI Food Group and four Western Pennsylvania community organizations to distribute more than 4,000 gallons of milk and food boxes through drive-thru pickup events. Each vehicle will...
State takes $300 weekly jobless aid from feds; wants $600 checks restored
The state is accepting half a loaf in terms of federal stimulus aid for certain unemployed people because it’s better than getting nothing at all, saying it will apply for the $300 weekly checks that have replaced the $600-a-week benefits that were cut off at the end of July. It...
Week-in-review: Protests outside Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto’s home tops this week’s newsVideo
Protests outside the home of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, a motorcycle run in memory of a slain New Kensington police officer, a long-time Pittsburgh radio personality going off the air, a fatal crash between a train and a truck and a lawsuit against Chipotle were among the top news reported...
State declares drought watch for Armstrong and Butler counties, asks for 5% cut in water usage
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a drought watch Friday for 16 counties, among them Armstrong and Butler. The agency is asking residents in those counties to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 5%. Varying drought conditions in impacted communities could cause water suppliers or municipalities to request more cuts...
Lawsuit alleges misuse of Terrible Towel trademark on face coverings
The owner of the Terrible Towel trademark, created by beloved Pittsburgh sports broadcaster Myron Cope more than 40 years ago, is suing an Indiana County store over its sales this summer of “The Terrible Mask.” The lawsuit, filed by the Eamon Foundation in federal court in Pittsburgh, accuses the defendants...
Westmoreland Cleanways rejoins area sites offering electronics recycling
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling will resume collection of electronics for recycling on Monday at its site near Pleasant Unity, in Unity Township. Electronics such as televisions, computer-related items and printers may be dropped off during the center’s regular operating hours: noon to 5 p.m. Mondays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m....
Passavant Memorial Homes extends extra pay when state rejects bid for aid
Despite not receiving state aid for hazard pay for frontline workers, a McCandless-based nonprofit will give its employees at 140 community group homes across the region an extra $3 an hour until late October — an initiative that will cost the company about $2 million. Passavant Memorial Homes Family of...
President of Private Industry Council of Westmoreland-Fayette stepping down
Longtime Private Industry Council of Westmoreland-Fayette President and CEO Tim Yurcisin will step down this fall after 21 years in the role and nearly four decades with the PIC. Yurcisin has helped shepherd the nonprofit corporation from a $10 million budget when he took over to a $23 million budget...
Auditor general: Brighton Rehab refused to let state watchdog examine the nursing home’s finances
Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center blocked the state’s chief fiscal watchdog from examining the Beaver County nursing home’s financial records earlier this year, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said . DePasquale disclosed Brighton Rehab’s refusal to cooperate — or even take an initial meeting to discuss the possibility of cooperating...
State hands out $50 million for $3/hour raises for frontline workers
Pennsylvania’s process for determining which companies with frontline workers in the battle against covid-19 will be reimbursed for hiking their workers’ wages by up to $3 an hour through late October has left some health care companies wondering how the decisions were made. “There’s not really a rhyme nor reason”...
Turnpike to close Beaver Valley to Cranberry section for bridge work early Sunday
The Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed between the Beaver Valley and Cranberry interchanges early Sunday so that crews can remove the bridge structures for the new Freedom Road Bridge spanning the toll road at milepost 28 in Butler County. The turnpike will be closed in both directions between the Cranberry...
Lane restrictions slated for Route 28 this weekend
Motorists traveling Route 28 between the Millvale and Highland Park Bridge exits will encounter single-lane restrictions in both directions from 7 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday as crews patch the concrete roadway and repair inlets, PennDOT said. The work is part of an $11.5 million project that is being...
Pittsburgh tech company adds ultraviolet disinfection robots to its portfolioVideo
Most people think of ultraviolet light as the main reason for wearing sunscreen. Chris Proud, CEO at Safe Space Technologies in Pittsburgh, sees it as another weapon in the battle against the coronavirus. Safe Spaces’ parent company, Miller Process, focuses on collaborative robots, networking services and automation for a variety...
En plein air: Crabtree sunflower field inspires outdoor painting session for local artists
Crabtree, part of Westmoreland County’s rural landscape, is a long way from Italy and its country vistas of vineyards and olive groves. But it didn’t seem that way for some area artists on Wednesday. “It’s beautiful; it looks like Tuscany out here,” said art instructor Doreen Currie of Unity while...
Professors question Penn State reopening as study projects problems
A faculty group at Penn State says the university’s plan to reopen its University Park campus could culminate in thousands of cases of covid-19 and quickly overwhelm its capacity for quarantine. As students began to move into dorms this week, the Coalition for a Just University at Penn State released...
Community groups can now mail naloxone under new Pa. standing order
Naloxone can now be mailed by community groups to anyone who wants the opioid overdose antidote under an updated standing order. State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine signed the updated order Tuesday that makes the change to allow for easier access while restrictions are in place related to the...
Grove City College Department of Music to play through pandemic
At Grove City College, not even a pandemic can stop the music. The school’s marching band, concert band, orchestra and choirs are ready to start a new year, with new covid-19 guidelines in place. The Wolverine Marching Band launched its annual band camp this week, forging ahead despite a postponed...
WHO walks back advice to delay routine dental work, blames mediaVideo
When the World Health Organization in early August advised people to postpone routine dental work during the pandemic, Pittsburgh oral surgeon Dr. Eric Smiga was livid. “I was shocked, quite frankly. I thought it was a sad commentary from the WHO without any scientific basis,” Smiga said. “The Centers for...
Police: Detroit 18-year-old had crack cocaine at Lawrence County hotel room
A traffic stop for a driver going the wrong way on a one-way street in New Castle lead to the seizure of 28 grams of crack cocaine and nearly $7,800 in cash. According to New Castle Police, a patrol officer made the traffic stop on Grant Street in front of...
5 arrested at protest outside Mercer County police, military equipment company
Five people from outside the area were arrested at a protest at a Mercer County business that makes equipment for police and military on Monday, according to state police. According to state police, troopers went to the protest at Combined Tactical Systems on Kinsman Road in Greene Township around 6...
Wavering voters targeted by Democratic National Convention; some say too much Trump-bashing, not enough substance
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle recalled what high spirits he and like-minded politicos had during the Democratic National Convention four years ago, and how confident most of them were that Hillary Clinton would clinch victory in Pennsylvania. The Forest Hills Democrat’s wife often would drive through Westmoreland County suburbs. She told...
School districts tweak reopening plans again to require full-time mask use
Districts across the region once again are amending reopening plans after the state released additional guidance this week. Students attending in-person classes are now required to wear face coverings at all times while in school with few exceptions, according to the state education and health departments. The changes are based...
AG Shapiro, Sen. Casey won’t back down on Postmaster General, even as changes scrappedVideo
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s announcement that he is suspending changes to the postal system until after the November election was met with skepticism by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. The announcement Tuesday afternoon came as Shapiro and Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson were announcing a pair of multi-state federal...
