Regional News category, Page 279
Pennsylvania food distributors receive $50 million for food box program
State and local food distributors in Pennsylvania are receiving a big financial boost to get food boxes to families in need. Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday state distributors will get $50 million of the $1.2 billion in funding for the program. The money will pay for the purchase of surplus...
Religious freedom bill proposed in Pennsylvania as churches navigate reopening
As some churches prepare to open, two Pennsylvania lawmakers want to prevent the state from restricting religious gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic or any future emergency. State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, said religious leaders have been confused about whether churches are affected by state-mandated coronavirus shutdowns. “Our religious community is...
Robert Levin makes 2nd bid to revive family furniture business
Robert Levin is back in the furniture business. Almost two months to the day after his deal fell through to repurchase the family-owned furniture chain he sold to Art Van Furniture in 2017, Levin has negotiated a deal in bankruptcy court to buy back the Levin brand. His $25.7 million...
Woman, 18, killed by train in northwestern Pennsylvania
GIRARD — A female pedestrian was struck and killed by a train in northwestern Pennsylvania, authorities said. Police in Girard said the 18-year-old woman was struck by an eastbound train shortly before 11 p.m. Monday at the railroad crossing on Mechanic Street. Emergency dispatchers said police found a bicycle at...
Gov. Wolf on law allowing to-go cocktail sales: ‘I will sign it’
Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday he plans to sign legislation that would allow restaurants and bars to sell prepared beverages and mixed drinks and deliver them curbside. The governor noted it was overwhelmingly approved by the state House and Senate. Wolf did not indicate when he will sign the bill...
Pennsylvania to send property tax/rent rebate checks sooner because of pandemic
About 500,000 Pennsylvanians who benefit from the state’s property tax and rent rebate program will be receiving their checks six weeks earlier than usual, state officials announced Tuesday. The move will help some of the state’s most vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic, state Treasurer Joe Torsella said. The rebates,...
4 employees at Giant Eagle distribution center in Freedom test positive for coronavirus
Four employees at a manufacturing and distribution facility in Freedom, Beaver County, have tested positive for coronavirus, Giant Eagle officials announced Monday. Company spokesman Richard Roberts said workers have had their temperatures taken when they arrive at the facility since the first case was confirmed on May 8. About 400...
Western Pa. task force intent on training dogs to sniff out covid-19Video
More than 100 dogs and handlers from throughout the region were put through their paces this month as they vied for the opportunity to join in the battle against the covid-19 pandemic. During sessions in Youngwood and Imperial, a panel of trainers evaluated the dogs’ ability to sniff out hidden...
J.C. Penney plans to close more than 240 stores
NEW YORK — J.C. Penney will close almost 30% of its 846 stores as part of a restructuring under bankruptcy protection. The Plano, Texas, retailer said Monday that it plans to close about 192 stores by February 2021, and then 50 additional stores in the year after that. That would...
Gas prices continue to rise, but are expected to remain lower than they have been in years
Gasoline prices are rising in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation as demand for fuel is increasing with states beginning to reopen their economies and loosen covid-19 restrictions. Warmer weather also is drawing more people outdoors. The price-tracking service GasBuddy said the average gas price in the Pittsburgh area...
Voter registration efforts hampered by coronavirus restrictions
Political parties’ efforts to get people signed up to vote in the June 2 primary have been hampered by coronavirus-related restrictions. Still, both major parties saw slight registration gains in Allegheny County compared to pre-primary numbers in the last presidential election year, and GOP registrations in Westmoreland County are up...
Western Pa. Goodwill stores reopening with safety protocols in place
Goodwill stores in southwestern Pennsylvania are reopening beginning Monday. With Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to move the area from red to yellow phase in the coronavirus reopening plan, the company will start with limited hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. According to a news release, these safety precautions will...
Pittsburgh food bank hosting 3 drive-up distributions around Western Pa. this week
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host three drive-up food distributions around the region this week. The first event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Big Butler Fairgrounds, 1127 New Castle Road. Another distribution will be from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport,...
Police: 2nd woman dies in car crash into Butler County convenience store
Police say a second woman has died of injuries stemming from the crash of a car into a convenience store in Butler County over the weekend. Officer Conrad Pfeifer of the Middlesex Township police department says 36-year-old Patricia Collins, who was a back seat passenger, was pronounced dead shortly before...
Johnstown man dies after late-night shooting
A Johnstown man died early Sunday after being shot in the Coopersdale Homes neighborhood, investigators said. Armel Joe, 26, was shot once in the abdomen just after 1 a.m. He was taken by ambulance to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, where the West End man died in the emergency room 30...
Ohio governor vows action if establishments don’t restrain crowds
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said officials will do “whatever we have to do” to enforce social distancing and other protective measures if bars and restaurants fail to restrain crowds as the state eases coronavirus measures. DeWine said he had seen images of a packed Columbus restaurant-bar over...
Woman dies after car crashes into Butler County convenience store
A car slammed into a convenience store in Butler County, killing one woman and injuring two others, authorities said. The car was traveling down Dwellington Drive in Middlesex Township when it crashed into a closed store at the CoGo’s at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday, police in Butler County said. One...
Figure in probe of teacher Rachael DelTondo’s homicide charged with killing Aliquippa man
A man linked to the investigation of an Aliquippa teacher’s unsolved homicide is charged with killing a man Friday in that Beaver County city. State police allege Sheldon Devant Jeter Jr., 22, of Aliquippa, is responsible for the shooting death of Tyric Pugh, 30, also of Aliquippa. State police were...
Drive-ins could see renewed interest in coming weeks as some virus restrictions are liftedVideo
Tucked off of side roads in towns across Western Pennsylvania, dots of bygone Americana are alive, operating in the form of drive-in theaters filled with people hoping to reclaim a piece of normalcy stripped away by the coronavirus pandemic. The theaters are some of the first entertainment facilities permitted to...
Malls look toward rocky future following pandemic
America’s once-dazzling shopping industry is facing blow after blow as department stores anchoring malls across the country file for bankruptcy, a move that could leave already struggling shopping malls permanently in the dark. Sales have plummeted, with a record 16% drop in retail sales for April, in large part because...
GNC avoids bankruptcy; gets 90-day max to pay down debt
GNC Holdings, Inc. reached a last-minute deal with creditors that allows it to avoid bankruptcy for at least 30 days but no more than 90 days under a deal announced Friday, the Pittsburgh-based health and wellness company said. GNC was facing a Saturday deadline to pay down debt to under...
Shoppers enjoy spring day as region moves into yellow phase, some businesses reopenVideo
Some restrictions lifted across Western Pennsylvania on Friday, and people wasted little time getting back to life a little closer to normal — but still coronavirus-style. Patricia Slifkey said she felt free as she browsed rows of antiques and knickknacks at Miller’s Crossing Fleatique in Irwin. “It’s good to get...
Week in Review: open businesses, hazing scandal and council resignationVideo
Some businesses in Southwestern Pennsylvania reopened as the state eases coronavirus restrictions, but the remaining mandates have prompted resistance — and threats. Meanwhile a hazing scandal rocked Greater Latrobe Junior High School and a Southwest Greensburg councilman resigned for allegedly using a racial slur. Here’s a look back at the...
U.S. interior secretary helps to reopen Flight 93 memorial as part of phased restartVideo
Five national park sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania are open to visitors after being closed since March 20 because of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt joined Superintendent Stephen Clark Friday morning to open the gates at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County. “We’ve been...
Beaver County among 12 more moving to Pennsylvania’s yellow phase
Beaver County is among the dozen counties that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday will move into the yellow phase of the tiered reopening process next week, a move that will put all of Western Pennsylvania under loosened restrictions. The announcement came a week after Beaver County was left off...
