Regional category, Page 287
Western Pa.’s lost amusement parks to be reclaimed in new book by Greensburg author
Those wanting to revisit the dips and turns of former roller coasters at old Pennsylvania amusement parks will soon have such an opportunity. Greensburg-based writer Rachel Smith hopes to reclaim the sense of nostalgia and have people revisit memories in her book “Western Pennsylvania’s Lost Amusement Parks.” “I think it’s...
Palmer postmark available for items mailed to Latrobe postmaster
The Latrobe post office is offering a postmark cancellation honoring late local golfing legend Arnold Palmer. The April 3 postmark will be available for 30 days, according to the Postal Service. It features Palmer’s trademark umbrella logo. The postmark offer arrives a month after post offices in Latrobe and elsewhere...
Officials release image of suspect in Grove City bank robbery
Investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who robbed the Citizens Bank in Grove City. The FBI’s Pittsburgh Division and Grove City police have released a surveillance image of the suspect — a white man weighing about 180 pounds and standing between 5 feet 8 inches...
Grocery shoppers keep their distance as stores adopt new coronavirus measuresVideo
Caution tape blocking entrances, shoppers wearing masks and stickers placed on floors — all signs of grocery shopping’s new normal as stores adapt to the spread of coronavirus. “We’re slowly starting to see people adapt their own behaviors and really realize the gravity of the situation,” said Jannah Jablonowski, spokeswoman...
Pennsylvania officials ask all residents to wear masks if they go out
Pennsylvania officials have asked all residents to wear a mask if they must leave the house — though they asked that people fashion their own and not seek the medical-grade mask that medical professionals need. It’s a change in course by Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine....
Canceled standardized tests should have no long-term ramifications, locals say
The cancellation of Pennsylvania’s state exams has sparked an old debate: that of the validity and necessity of standardized testing in measuring student success. The purpose of state exams, according to the state Department of Education, is to assess the progress of each school district — identifying weaknesses or unmet...
Closed businesses take slice out of Pennsylvania Lottery sales
The nonessential business closures ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf last month are cutting into Pennsylvania Lottery sales, which could mean less money for programs that benefit older residents. According to lottery officials, preliminary indications are sales for traditional scratch-off and draw games have dropped off by about 25% since many...
Pennsylvania coronavirus deaths top 100 as state reports 1,404 new cases
Twelve more people died of coronavirus complications in Pennsylvania, bringing the state’s total to 102, and the state reported 1,404 new cases Friday, health officials said. The number of total cases in Pennsylvania now stands at 8,420. The 1,404 new cases mark the largest single-day increase since the state reported...
Duquesne Light expands customer assistance program
Duquesne Light is expanding its assistance program to help income eligible customers pay their utility bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced Friday a $375,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate and matching funds from Duquesne Light would add $750,000 to the Dollar Energy Fund, administrator of...
Covid-19 dominates news as region struggles, changes, fights backVideo
Covid-19 continued to dominate the news, and lives, of everyone in Western Pennsylvania this week, as the closure of schools and businesses was extended indefinitely and all state residents were ordered to stay home. Everyone was adapting to the new normal, including a nearly 100-year-old Latrobe woman who found herself...
Pennsylvania flu cases drop significantly, state’s final report says
With influenza activity decreasing significantly across the state, Pennsylvania health officials have stopped updating a weekly report on flu activity for the season. Flu activity is down over the past few weeks and now below epidemic levels, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the week...
Highmark, UPMC to pay patients’ out-of-pocket costs for covid-19 treatments
Western Pennsylvania’s two largest insurers pledged Thursday to eliminate any out-of-pocket costs for patients who are treated for covid-19 at an in-network hospital. Both UPMC and Highmark committed to waiving all deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance costs for insurance members who receive in-network, inpatient care related to covid-19, the disease caused...
State police: Convenience store, restaurant, bar customers can’t stick around to play video games
The state police don’t want bar patrons playing video gambling machines under normal conditions, let alone during the coronavirus pandemic. State police have received “an influx of public inquiries related to liquor licensees allowing patrons to remain in their establishments to operate video gambling devices, sometimes marketed as ‘games of...
State urges those laid off from pandemic closures to apply for unemployment, business aid
With 1 million jobless claims filed in the past two and a half weeks, employees at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry have been scrambling to respond to a record-high number of requests for immediate financial aid during the pandemic-spurred shutdown. Most labor department employees are working from home....
‘Hail to Pitt’ trending as Twitter users praise potential vaccine development
Praise for the University of Pittsburgh has dominated social media after the institution announced it was close to developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Scientists at Pitt’s School of Medicine announced Thursday that the vaccine, when tested in mice, produces antibodies that could fight off the virus. Testing the...
3rd resident of Beaver County nursing home with covid-19 dies
A third resident who tested positive for covid-19 at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has died, officials announced Thursday. Two other residents with advanced dementia previously died after contracting the disease, according to Dr. David Thimons, the facility’s medical director. “There are currently 38 in-house residents that have tested positive,”...
High-speed disinfecting process proves invaluable to Western Pa. ambulance crewsVideo
As the coronavirus continues to spread and send many patients to the hospital, ambulance crews are balancing a thorough disinfection process with getting back on the road as quickly as possible. It’s a situation that has led to an uptick in business for cleaning and restoration companies that have a...
Pennsylvania reports 1,211 new coronavirus cases, 16 more deaths
Pennsylvania reported 1,200 new coronavirus cases Thursday, and deaths now stand at 90, according to state health officials. The 1,211 new cases confirmed from midnight Tuesday through midnight Wednesday bring the statewide case count to 7,016. That’s about a 21% increase over the day prior. Sixteen more people have died,...
West Virginia governor’s coal companies to pay $5M in fines
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies have agreed to pay more than $5 million for thousands of mine safety violations, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The civil case brought by prosecutors in Virginia last year on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Mine...
2 Laurel Highlands school employees test positive for covid-19
Two Laurel Highlands School District employees tested positive for covid-19, according to a letter posted on the district website by Superintendent Jesse Wallace. Neither employee has been inside a school district building in the last couple of weeks, he said. Both employees are assigned to Hutchinson Elementary School. The employees...
FirstEnergy’s $500,000 donation benefits food banks in Westmoreland, Cranberry, elsewhere
Those picking up food from organizations served by the Westmoreland County Food Bank will have their food placed in prepackaged boxes, thanks in part to a $30,000 donation from The FirstEnergy Foundation, linked to West Penn Power Co.’s parent corporation. The donation allowed the Delmont-based food bank to buy more...
Levin Furniture rescue complicated by Art Van bankruptcy; Pa. attorney general looks to protect customers
Robert Levin’s plans to revive the family furniture chain he sold in 2017 may be on hold until complex bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware unwind, he said. Also involved in those proceedings, with a scheduled hearing on Friday, is Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office, which is representing Levin Furniture customers...
Proposal to let restaurants sell spirits to-go looks to have little chance of approval
Restaurant owners say they would be in favor of selling bottles of liquor to go, as a state lawmaker has suggested as a temporary lifeline. But they shouldn’t hold their breath for the chance. “They should be allowed to do it to keep themselves up and running and afloat,” said...
Beaver County nursing home’s covid-19 outbreak infects more than 34 residents
A covid-19 outbreak at a Beaver County nursing home has spread to more than three dozen residents since late last week, officials said. As of midday Wednesday, at least 34 residents who tested positive for covid-19 are being monitored in an isolated wing at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in...
Census Day brings renewed push for accurate count amid coronavirus fears
Members of Casa San Jose deliver up to 60 prepared lunches to neighborhoods across the Pittsburgh region as part of an effort to help families ordered to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic. Tucked inside the food bags is a piece of paper with a phone number that people can...
