Regional category, Page 270
Texas firm eyes several Levin Furniture stores in bankruptcy deal
The Mt. Pleasant flagship store that was the foundation for the century-old Levin Furniture empire may reopen — but only as part of a new furniture chain under a pending bankruptcy court deal. A Texas-based private equity firm bid $6.7 million to buy leases and unsold furniture in 27 Art...
Pittsburgh food bank to host drive-up events at South Hills Village, Johnstown mall
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host drive-up food distributions this week in the South Hills and Johnstown. The event in Johnstown will run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at the Johnstown Galleria. The distribution can accommodate 1,000 vehicles. Attendees are asked to begin lining up no earlier...
PennDOT to renew driver’s licenses with old photos during pandemic
A lot of people don’t like their driver’s license photo and, for the time being, Pennsylvanians won’t have to worry about taking one. PennDOT announced Tuesday it will use existing photos on file for customers who renew their driver’s license and identification card. The move is designed to lower the...
Goodbye to cold weather? Western Pa. is ‘trending toward summer’
As warmer temperatures move into the region this weekend, meteorologists predict the unseasonably cold weather will not return. “It’s one of those weekends we need,” said John Darnley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 70s Saturday and Sunday, with likely...
3 more residents die of coronavirus at Kane’s Glen Hazel facility
Three more residents of Kane Community Living’s Glen Hazel location have died from the coronavirus, according to information from Allegheny County and Kane officials. Sixteen residents at the county-owned facility have died since the outbreak began. The Rivermont Drive facility is home to 174 residents, and 112 have been tested...
Passenger trains suspended on Pittsburgh-to-Philadelphia route until June 1
Amtrak extended its suspension of passenger rail service until June 1 on the Pennsylvanian route between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and the Keystone route between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, a PennDOT spokeswoman said. Amtrak previously announced that service would be suspended until May 18, said PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell. The state provides...
Air quality in Western Pa. showed slight improvement in pandemic shutdown
As coronavirus restrictions closed businesses and reduced road traffic during much of March and April, some of the country’s most polluted cities experienced better air quality. Los Angeles, notorious for its heavy smog, at one point reported the cleanest air among any major city worldwide. By some measures, Washington, D.C.,...
Gov. Wolf: No timeline on Pennsylvania counties transitioning from yellow to green phase
Southwestern Pennsylvania is poised to transition from the red to yellow phase of the state’s tiered reopening plan, leaving many residents and business owners wondering how long it will be before the region is allowed to go green. Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday that has not yet been decided. “We...
Pennsylvania state senator calls for resignation of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine
A state senator from Franklin County has called for the immediate resignation of Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, saying her actions were a major factor in the large number of covid-19 cases and deaths in the state’s nursing homes. Sen. Doug Mastriano, a first-term Republican representing Franklin, Adams and...
Appeals court upholds lawsuit by Indiana man released after 34 years
INDIANA — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling declining to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man who served more than three decades in prison in the slaying of a teenage girl before his conviction was overturned due to new DNA evidence. The Indiana Gazette reports...
Oil, gasoline prices rising on boost in demand as states reopen
Average gasoline prices in the Pittsburgh area rose this week for the first time in more than two months, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy. Demand for gasoline is rebounding across the United States as more states begin to loosen restrictions and reopen their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, said...
PennDOT reopens more rest areas
As covid-19 restrictions ease around the state, PennDOT is reopening indoor facilities at three additional rest areas. The three locations opening Monday include Interstate 70 westbound in Fulton County, 1 mile east of the Maryland state line, Interstate 80 eastbound in Columbia County and Interstate 80 westbound in Columbia County....
High school yearbooks go virtual for Western Pa. grads
For high school graduates of 2020, that chance to write a senior yearbook message has been taken away with the pandemic. But resourceful teenagers have found a way to sign a yearbook virtually. They’re creating yearbooks on Instagram, the social media platform that emphasizes photographs. In most cases, one student...
Gov. Wolf threatens action against Pennsylvania counties, businesses that ignore restrictions
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday had strong words for politicians and business owners who choose to defy the state’s coronavirus restrictions, threatening funding and business licenses as some counties move to the yellow phase of reopening while others remain in the most restrictive phase. Wolf said funding to help counties...
Faces of courage: Ambulance personnel on coronavirus front lines
The call comes over their radio — the patient is having trouble breathing, they need an ambulance. Then, “call the center for special patient information,” says a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The paramedics know it’s likely they’re heading toward the invisible threat that everyone else is trying to stay away from...
Pa. National Guard to help Beaver County nursing home with covid-19 outbreak
A Beaver County nursing home where at least 61 people have died from covid-19 is getting help from the Pennsylvania National Guard to respond to the outbreak, officials said. “Throughout this unprecedented crisis, we have called on the state to provide us with the critical resources we needed to combat...
Police: Philadelphia man used counterfeit bills at stores in Indiana, Cambria counties
A Philadelphia man was jailed for using two counterfeit $100 bills at a Giant Eagle supermarket in Indiana County to buy flowers and other low-cost items last week, state police at Indiana said. The suspect, Bilal Basil Butler, 23, allegedly used the fake bills to buy merchandise at the supermarket...
Quarantine sparks creativity for Mother’s Day celebrationsVideo
Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention — and it’s taking a little inventiveness to celebrate Mother’s Day this year. With eat-in restaurant meals off the table and family gatherings giving way to social isolation, creativity kicks in. Many accepted the challenge of finding a new way to show...
Jeannette man jailed in high-speed pursuit through 2 counties
A Jeannette man was jailed in Armstrong County Saturday after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase through two counties that ended when the car he was driving crashed into a vehicle that was occupied by a family. Rasheed Gordon, 28, was arraigned early Sunday on charges of possession with...
Some jobless workers still waiting for benefits as Western Pa. businesses look to reopen
Matt Kastner of Irwin has been waiting for almost two months for the day he can return to his job at a Blawnox music store, which has been closed since mid-March as part of Pennsylvania’s attempt to slow the spread of covid-19. “We haven’t received word when the store will...
Snow blows through before celebrating Mom’s special day
It’s just what every mother wants the day before Mother’s Day - a snowfall. That’s what many moms across Western Pennsylvania woke up to Saturday morning when a trace of snow was recorded at Pittsburgh International Airport, said John Darnley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon. If...
Pennsylvania business owners worry about ability to bounce back from covid-19 lockdown
Bob Sodini’s small accounting firm in Harrison was in its busiest month of the year — tax filing season — when Gov. Tom Wolf imposed a statewide lockdown to thwart the spread of covid-19. With the doors closed to Sodini & Co.’s office on Freeport Road, the firm’s four employees...
Greensburg, Pittsburgh Catholic dioceses announce slightly relaxed rules starting May 15
Catholic churches in both the Greensburg Diocese and Pittsburgh Diocese will be permitted to reopen their doors for private prayer beginning May 15, diocese officials have announced. Pittsburgh Diocese officials also eased restrictions on weddings and funeral Masses from having no more than 10 people in attendance to no more...
Western Pa. colleges making plans for online, face-to-face learning in fall semester
Universities that bring thousands of students to Southwestern Pennsylvania every fall are offering reassurances that they hope to reopen shuttered classrooms and dormitories in August. Although the region is scheduled to begin reopening on May 15, colleges and universities are not yet permitted to resume face-to-face operations in classrooms and...
WVU furloughing about 875 staffers as virus hits revenues
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University is furloughing around 875 staffers due to a possible $40 million loss from the coronavirus pandemic, the college said Friday. The school issued a statement saying the furloughs will start on May 24 and have staffers return to work either June 28 or July...
