Regional News category, Page 296
Butler County reports 1st death from covid-19
A patient at Butler Memorial Hospital has died of covid-19, marking the first death in Butler County attributed to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, officials said Wednesday. No details were immediately available about the person who died, such as their age, residence or any underlying health conditions. The...
At a glance: Distance learning in your school district; when classes could resume
Many school districts are conducting or have plans to begin distance learning for students while schools are closed. Below is information released by districts about when distance learning will begin and when, eventually, students might return to classrooms. This list will be updated and school districts added as information becomes...
Signs of the time: Business marquees, windows offer message of hope, unity during coronavirus pandemic
Call them signs of the time. A wide range of businesses are closed under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. Many are advertising something different these days on their marquees and windows: messages of hope and unity. TribLIVE photographers captured images from across the region. Some...
Mail-in voting proving popular in areas hardest hit by coronavirus
A lot of Pennsylvanians plan to vote by mail in the postponed spring primary. State officials said Wednesday that applications to vote by mail have topped 129,000. State lawmakers voted to move the primary to June 2, a postponement expected to be approved by Gov. Tom Wolf. The five-week delay...
Here’s how not to fall for coronavirus-related scams, bogus ‘facts’
Local and federal agencies are setting up websites dedicated to combating the spread of misinformation, rumors and scams related to the coronavirus. They include advertisements and sales pitches for products promising a cure for covid-19, phone and email campaigns asking people to provide personal information in exchange for supplies like...
Morgantown nursing home is West Virginia’s ‘ground zero’ for coronavirus
More than a dozen residents in a Morgantown, W.Va., nursing home have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and 76 tests are still pending, officials said Wednesday. Sixteen residents and four employees at Sundale, which houses 98 residents, have the virus, according to Dr. Carl Shrader, medical director of the...
Primanti’s to give out free beer with takeout orders for 1 day
If you order Primanti Bros. to go Thursday, the restaurant chain will throw in a free beer — and bring it to your car. The company turned its bartenders to “cartenders” as restaurants shut down in-house dining during the coronavirus pandemic. “As we were going through this crisis, we tried...
Wolf allows gun stores to reopen on limited basis during coronavirus shutdown
Pennsylvania firearms dealers may now operate on a limited basis, according to a revised list of businesses that can or cannot continue physical operations under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order mandating closures to slow the spread of covid-19. Under the order, sporting goods stores remain among businesses considered “non-life-sustaining” and are...
Covid-19 testing, distancing play role in record-breaking flu season
On one hand, efforts to slow the spread of covid-19 likely have contributed to a declining number of new flu cases in recent weeks, state Department of Health spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said Wednesday. On the other, increased testing to identify covid-19 cases and people’s concern about the illness likely have...
$50 million state aid package, future recovery help, ready for Gov. Wolf’s signature
Both the state House and Senate passed a $50 million recovery package Wednesday intended to help families and businesses deal with the growing economic fallout from the coronavirus threat. According to press releases sent by several Republican senators, Senate agreed Wednesday the package after the House had done so earlier....
Sheetz gives workers $3-per-hour raise during virus outbreak
Sheetz announced Wednesday that it is giving its workers an extra $3 per hour during the coronavirus outbreak. In a release, the company said the pay raise will run through April 23. “Our employees are the heart and soul of Sheetz and their commitment to serve our customers and communities...
Chevron to donate $260,000 to region’s food banks, fire companies
Food banks and volunteer fire companies across the region are in line for an infusion of cash, courtesy of Chevron, the energy company active in the Marcellus Shale region. Officials on Wednesday said the company is donating $60,000 — $10,000 to each to food banks in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington...
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education says on time graduation for high school seniors a priority
Ensuring that high school seniors graduate on time is among his top priorities as Pennsylvania grapples with the prospect of an extended school shutdown because of covid-19 fears, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said Wednesday, stressing that the school year cannot be extended beyond June 30. “We’ve put a full...
Experts: Domestic violence threat rises as economic downturn, stay-at-home order linger because of coronavirus
Domestic violence advocates say they are seeing an influx of calls related to the coronavirus, and many fear it will only continue as orders to stay home drag on. “Isolation is always a tool of an abusive person,” said Michelle Gibb, director of the Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center in Tarentum....
Pennsylvanians stock up on medical marijuana as state lifts regulations during pandemic
Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana patients have been stocking up during the coronavirus pandemic, and the state temporarily has loosened regulations to make it easier for them to get product. “The influx of patients is at an all-time high this week. We’re seeing so many new patients,” said Chris Kohan, co-founder of...
Western Pa. dentists upset about state order to stop emergency surgeries
Pennsylvanians dealing with dental emergencies and needing to see a dentist or an oral surgeon are out of luck. The Pennsylvania State Department of Health has ordered all dental offices to stop performing emergency operations during the covid-19 crisis, effectively shutting the offices down. ”Right now I would say that...
How to handle farm markets and coronavirus
Penn State Extension is offering a free, one-hour webinar Wednesday on how farmers markets can still operate with the threat of the coronavirus. The discussion, to start at 3 p.m., will focus on strategies to control the spread of the coronavirus at farmers markets. Visit their website for details. Penn...
Nonprofit solar co-op will host free webinar
The nonprofit Solar United Neighbors co-op is already taking advantage of modern technology when it comes to outfitting their homes with solar panels. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, members of the group will take advantage of some additional technology to conduct free online webinars on converting to solar energy, including one...
Coronavirus fuels demand for homebound blood drawsVideo
The coronavirus pandemic is increasing the demand from patients to have blood drawn at home rather than risk going to a doctor’s office, said the owner of a Jeannette blood testing company. “They don’t want to risk exposure. In normal times, they might come to this facility (on Clay Avenue)....
Heavy rainfall totals in forecast for Western Pa. through the weekend
Some rather significant rainfall totals are in store for Western Pennsylvania this week and through the weekend. The National Weather Service is forecasting rain overnight and then from late Thursday through Sunday, with an 80 percent to 90 percent chance Friday and Saturday. WPXI-TV meteorologist Scott Harbaugh is saying that...
Pennsylvania State Police issue 17 new warnings Tuesday to businesses that failed to close
Pennsylvania State Police issued 17 more warnings Tuesday to businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining” that were still operating, bringing the two-day total to 44. Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday ordered any Pennsylvania business that does not serve a life-sustaining purpose to close in an effort to slow the spread of covid-19. “As...
Today is ‘Great American Takeout’ to support restaurants
As restaurants and local businesses struggle under recent closures, some national chains took to social media in an attempt to encourage dine-out options. Tuesday has been dubbed “The Great American Takeout” by more than 100 restaurant companies in the United States. Consumers are being asked to order at least one...
Where to get tested for covid-19 in Western Pa.
Hospital systems and clinics in the region have started offering drive-thru and walk-in covid-19 testing for patients and members of the public who meet certain conditions. Here are the sites where testing is available in the region: UPMC UPMC will test “select, symptomatic” cases, according to the system’s website, at...
Sheetz reveals menu changes to curb spread of coronavirus
Sheetz officials announced menu changes Monday in response to the coronavirus. The Altoona-based convenience store chain temporarily eliminated self-serve coffee and beverages along with bakery items like doughnuts and muffins to help stop the spread of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The changes went into effect at 4...
River City Brass celebrates anniversaries, honors supportersVideo
When River City Brass artistic and general director James Gourlay, a native of Scotland, was invited to be a guest conductor for the Pittsburgh band in 2010, he immediately fell in love with the city. “I kept a video diary. I would go into Giant Eagle or a barbershop. I...
