Regional News category, Page 285
How cool has Pittsburgh been in April? January had a warmer day
Everything about April 2020 has been unusual, including the temperature. It’s been cold out there. So far, no day in Pittsburgh has risen above 70 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. If the pattern holds, it would be the first time in weather service annual records the highest recorded...
Public safety officials: Don’t hesitate to call 911 over covid-19 concern
Pittsburgh-area medical personnel and public safety officials don’t want residents hesitating to call 911 if they have an emergency, especially if that hesitation is out of fear of going to a hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. “We don’t want anyone making their personal health situation worse by not calling 911...
Police: 3 to be charged in Ellwood City stabbing
Ellwood City police expect to obtain arrest warrants this week for three people in connection with a weekend domestic dispute and stabbing in the 200 block of Hillside Avenue. Ellwood City police said charges will range from aggravated and simple assault to violation of a protection from abuse order. According...
Uncertainty surrounds hearings for Pennsylvania prison inmates
The coronavirus pandemic could delay freedom for prison inmates scheduled for clemency hearings in June as uncertainty continues over when restrictions will be lifted and how hearings can be held within social-distancing guidelines. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said in a call with reporters Tuesday that “dozens” of inmates were set...
Official: Pennsylvania may have passed coronavirus peak, but surges still possible
The state’s top health official said Tuesday she believes Pennsylvania has passed its coronavirus peak but cautioned that outbreaks and surges remain possible. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the data and trends point toward the state being past the highest point for new cases and deaths, but she...
Customs officials: 1,600 counterfeit Roku remotes seized en route to Butler County
Customs and Border Protection officials operate by a simple philosophy: the more popular something is, the more likely that someone in the world is busy creating a counterfeit version. So with millions of Americans streaming billions of television shows and movies amid the coronavirus quarantine, customs officials in Pittsburgh were...
4 head to hospital after ceiling collapses at Washington County nursing facility
Four men were taken by ambulance to Washington Hospital after a ceiling collapsed Monday evening at a nursing home in Washington County. The collapse was reported just before 9:20 p.m. at The Grove at Washington in the 1100 block of West Wylie Avenue in Canton Township, according to a Washington...
Wolf urges health care professionals to report race data related to coronavirus
Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on medical professionals to report race and ethnicity data of those who test positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. About 69% of race data is unreported, Wolf said during a press conference Monday afternoon, “and there is little data when it...
Western Pennsylvanians venture out as curbside liquor pickup expandsVideo
Cars, SUVs and pickups pulled up to a Fine Wines & Good Spirits store in Penn Hills on Monday as residents scrambled to purchase liquor with the opening of most state stores across Pennsylvania for curbside delivery. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokesman Shawn Kelly said the agency last week opened...
Connellsville resident gets informal parade to celebrate 100th birthday
Connellsville resident Mary Frazier celebrated her 100th birthday in style with a parade of firefighters and police officers outside her apartment balcony. Frazier lives at Connellsville Towers senior community, where community manager Leah Bierer and her staff organized the celebration. Well-wishers were encouraged to drive through Connellsville Towers on Thursday...
Billboard advertising shifts during pandemic
Putting up a billboard is a lot like drilling for oil, according to Ben Wallace, chief operating officer of Penneco. He’d know. Penneco is a Delmont-based oil and gas company with a subsidiary — Penneco Outdoor Advertising, which owns about 30 billboards across southwestern Pennsylvania. Both sides of the business...
Pennsylvania golf courses, marinas, private campgrounds can reopen this week
Golf courses, marinas and some campgrounds will be permitted to open Friday as Pennsylvania officials move toward a gradual reopening of a state economy halted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to private campgrounds, guided fishing trips will be allowed to resume Friday. All of those businesses must follow life-sustaining...
Pennsylvania Game Commission launches ‘Call of the Outdoors’ podcast
Country music star Blake Shelton and Outdoor Channel’s “Bone Collector” founder Michael Waddell are making guest appearances in the new Pennsylvania Game Commission podcast series, “Call of the Outdoors.” The series, hosted by Game Commission marketing director and world turkey-calling champion Matt Morrett, will highlight wildlife, hunting, habitat and conservation...
Community colleges expect an enrollment spike because of pandemic
Community colleges may become a more viable option for students this fall, as the covid-19 pandemic continues to alter various aspects of higher education. In Western Pennsylvania, schools are preparing for a myriad of possibilities but remain uncertain exactly how the pandemic will affect them, said Stuart Blacklaw, provost at...
Average gas prices in Pittsburgh area remain over $2 a gallon
Pennsylvania is among a dozen states where average gasoline prices remain over $2 a gallon, despite nine straight weeks of declines. Pennsylvania’s statewide average is about $2.03 a gallon, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy. The average price is slightly higher in the Pittsburgh area, at $2.15 a gallon, GasBuddy’s...
Pennsylvania officials issue guidance on resuming elective surgeries
Hospitals and surgical centers in Pennsylvania can resume elective procedures that have been halted for weeks by the coronavirus pandemic. State Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said Monday such surgeries and procedures may begin again as long as hospitals still would be ready for a potential surge in covid-19 cases....
Officials: Pennsylvania coronavirus reporting largely lacks mandated race, ethnicity data
Health care systems still aren’t providing crucial race and ethnicity data when reporting coronavirus cases to the Department of Health, leaving a wide swath of some vulnerable populations unaccounted for, officials said Monday. A mandate from Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine says facilities and providers include demographic data along...
Amtrak extends train service for Pittsburgh to Philadelphia until at least May 18
Amtrak has extended the suspension of its passenger rail service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia until at least May 18 — instead of May 4, as previously reported. With Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order extended until May 8, the Pennsylvanian and Keystone trains will not be resumed next week as tentatively...
Police: Somerset man severely beaten, subjected to Russian roulette at ‘house party’
Pennsylvania State Police say a 21-year-old Somerset County man was duped into attending a “house party,” where he was severely beaten and subjected to “Russian roulette.” Charles D. Sleasman, 22, of Plum and Eric Flamm, 24, of Somerset were arraigned on assault charges after allegedly tying the man’s hands and...
No bird-banding this year at Powdermill because of coronavirus concerns
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory, whose efforts have helped researchers uncover information about avian migration patterns, population shifts, productivity and more. For the first time in six decades, however, spring migration won’t be documented by the bird-banding operation at the Powdermill Nature Reserve...
Pennsylvania reports fewer than 900 new coronavirus cases, 47 deaths
Dozens of new coronavirus deaths in Pennsylvania have pushed the statewide death toll to nearly 1,600 and hundreds more people tested positive, according to state health officials. The 47 new deaths reported to the Department of Health throughout the day Sunday brought the confirmed total to 1,597. Another 885 people...
Meadowcroft postpones season opener because of pandemic
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, part of the Senator John Heinz History Center system, postponed Saturday’s scheduled opening of its 52nd season because of covid-19 concerns. Meadowcroft, a National Historic Landmark located in Washington County, is the oldest site of human habitation in North America. It features a massive rock...
FBI warns about ‘money mule’ recruiters preying on people working from home
The FBI’s Pittsburgh office is warning people to be wary of offers to earn money working from home during the mandated shutdown to help curb the spread of coronavirus. “Watch out for ‘work from home’ fraud schemes that take advantage of uncertainty to promise easy money for little or no...
With commencements postponed, Class of ’20 becomes Class of Covid-19
This was supposed to be a big weekend — the kick-off of college commencement season that would culminate in graduation ceremonies for about 15,000 students at colleges and universities across the region over the next month. Pitt and Point Park University were poised to lead the way this weekend with...
Mayors want bells to ring out in support of first responders, those working during pandemic
Ronald Echard of New Stanton and Jerry Lucia of Mt. Pleasant are among area mayors who are encouraging participation in a statewide event meant to show support for those on the front lines of the covid-19 pandemic. Echard has proclaimed Sunday, May 3 as Bells Across Pennsylvania Day in New...
