Regional category, Page 288
United Way, PA 211 helpline now offering text service to provide reliable covid-19 information
Phones are ringing day and night and staffing has been doubled to deal with the volume of covid-19 related calls at a United Way helpline established here nine years ago. Bobbi Watt Geer, president and CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania said calls to the regional 2-1-1 helpline...
Pennsylvania adds 962 new coronavirus cases as deaths rise to 74
Pennsylvania saw a spike of nearly 1,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, and another 11 people have died, according to state officials. From midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday, 962 new covid-19 cases were reported statewide, bringing the total to 5,805, according to the Department of Health. Deaths now total 74, including...
Sheetz to offer free kids’ meals at stores
Sheetz will launch a free meal program Thursday for children and families in need due to the covid-19 pandemic. The “Kidz Meal Bagz” program will be available all day at nearly 300 stores across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, the Altoona-based convenience store chain announced Wednesday....
April National Prescription Drug Take Back Day event postponed
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in April is postponed, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The April 25 date will be rescheduled after the coronavirus pandemic recedes and the national emergency is lifted, according to the agency. During the most recent Take Back Day held Oct. 26, nearly 442...
Coronavirus taking big bite out of Easter candy sales for region’s makers
Coronavirus-related business closures are taking a hefty bite out of area confectioners’ Easter candy sales. With chocolate bunnies, eggs and other seasonal sweets accounting for about half of annual revenue, it’s a situation that could put some companies out of business. “It’s devastating, actually,” said John Mandak, owner of Valos...
Allegheny Technologies to close Beaver County steel plant, citing Trump’s tariffs
Allegheny Technologies Inc. will shutter its Beaver County stainless steel plant in June, citing the Trump administration’s steel tariffs as the reason for the closure, the company announced Tuesday. The A&T Stainless Direct Roll Anneal and Pickle operation in Midland employs about 70 workers, most of whom are represented by...
Litter piles up at Pennsylvania state parks
Sanitary wipes and disposable gloves are among the increasing amount of litter sullying some Pennsylvania state parks. Although the facilities, including restrooms, are closed at 121 state parks, a growing number of residents continue to visit them with few options available for outings under covid-19 restrictions. “Sadly, litter has kept...
Washington County woman who coughed on trooper claimed she had covid-19
A Washington County woman who coughed on a state trooper Sunday, claiming she had covid-19 as she was being arrested, was charged Tuesday with making terroristic threats and related crimes. Jessica Lee Harvey, 37, of Houston, also is charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness by state police Trooper...
PennDOT to restart work on emergency highway, bridge projects
PennDOT said Tuesday it will get back to work on emergency and critical highway and bridge projects. On March 17, Gov. Wolf paused the normal highway and bridge construction program to minimize covid-19 exposure for PennDOT and private sector employees. Tuesday’s announcement means that some 61 emergency and critical road...
State police warnings to non-life-sustaining businesses surpass 100
More than 100 businesses received warnings in the first eights days since Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the closing of all non-life-sustaining operations to slow the spread of covid-19, Pennsylvania State Police reported Tuesday. On Monday, state police issued 11 warnings, bringing the total to 107 since enforcement of the order...
Police responding to fewer calls as more people shelter in place during coronavirus outbreak
Police departments across Southwestern Pennsylvania are receiving fewer calls as residents stay at home amid the coronavirus pandemic. In Greensburg, police calls decreased by 27% for the last two weeks of March compared to the same period in 2019, said Chief Chad Zucco. Police received 818 calls during that period...
Walmart to temperature test employees, provide masks and gloves
Walmart will now perform temperature checks on its employees in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, company officials announced Tuesday. Employees will have their temperature tested when they arrive at work. Any employee with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be paid for coming to work...
Local governments grapple with public meetings in midst of covid-19
Coronavirus may have shut down some businesses and forced people to work from home, but it hasn’t lifted the requirement that local governments hold public meetings when voting on issues. That left local municipalities scrambling to find ways to follow the law while adhering to guidelines of social distancing and...
Pa. reports 14 more deaths, 756 new coronavirus cases
Fourteen more people have died from the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, and the state added more than 750 new cases over the course of a day, state officials said Tuesday. Across the state, 63 people have died since the first case of covid-19 was reported on March 6. The total number...
Shapiro: Pennsylvanians can’t be evicted during covid-19 pandemic
Landlords are not permitted to evict tenants during the state of emergency spurred by the covid-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. All courts have been closed to eviction proceedings since March 18 through at least April 3 as part of a statewide shutdown to halt the spread...
IUP cancels May commencement
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is joining the growing list of colleges that have canceled spring commencement ceremonies. Citing ongoing coronavirus threats and concern for public health, IUP President Michael Driscoll announced the university’s decision to call off the ceremony, previously scheduled for May 9, in an email to the university...
Reports of Schoology crash as school districts transition to online learning
Connectivity is a top priority for students, as many school districts began official distance learning on Monday. Amid the transition, one learning management system, Schoology, experienced server issues, kicking students out of online classrooms and producing load errors. “We are aware some users are experiencing degraded service when accessing Schoology....
Schools collaborate to deliver services during shutdown
When fear of the coronavirus separated K-12 students from school buildings, the need to continue teaching brought school officials in Westmoreland County’s far-flung school districts closer than ever. For the last two weeks, every morning at 8 a.m., top administrators from the county’s 17 school districts, three career and technical...
2 Beaver County nursing home residents with covid-19 have died, medical director says
Two residents of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center who tested positive for covid-19 have died, its medical director confirmed Monday. Dr. David Thimons said the two residents had advanced dementia and were in hospice care when they died. They were in a unit that was converted specifically to treat the...
State seeks person who illegally shot deer near Boswell
The state Game Commission is looking for information related to the illegal shooting of several deer in the Jenner Township area of Somerset County, between Boswell and Acosta. Based on an investigation into the shootings, the Game Commission said in a statement that it believes the deer were shot last...
Police seize liquor in Erie in probe of illegal sales
Pennsylvania State Police liquor enforcement officers seized 59 bottles of liquor during a search on Saturday afternoon of an east Erie residence in a probe of possible illegal alcohol sales. A 24-year-old man accused of offering the bottles for sale on social media will face criminal charges in the incident,...
Pa. sees 10 more deaths, 693 new coronavirus cases as total tops 4,000
Ten more people have died from the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, and the state added nearly 700 new cases of the virus between Sunday and Monday, state health officials said. Deaths in the state now total 48, and 693 new cases bring the statewide total to 4,087. It’s the largest one-day...
Dozens still without power around Cleveland after severe weather hits
CLEVELAND — A few hundred utility customers remained without power early Monday after severe weather spawned what forecasters called a “100-year flood” in Cleveland and led to a number of water rescues. Meanwhile, flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service remained in place for some rivers, including the Black...
Gas prices continue plummeting, averaging $2.27 a gallon in Pittsburgh area
Gasoline prices are continuing to fall but, unlike the national average, the average in the Pittsburgh area remains above $2 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. The national average has fallen under $2 per gallon for the first time in more than four years, caused by an unprecedented drop...
Power outages reported across Pittsburgh region
Duquesne Light and West Penn Power were both reporting power outages in the Pittsburgh area early Monday morning. As of 6 a.m., Duquesne Light had about 350 outages. Most were in Churchill, 106; Hampton, 97; and Ross, 68. By 10:30, outages were down to about 170, while still focused with...
