Regional category, Page 92
Pittsburgh engineering firm settles pay discrimination allegations with U.S. Labor Department
An international engineering and consulting firm with roots in Beaver County has entered into a settlement to resolve allegations of pay discrimination against female employees. Michael Baker International, headquartered in Pittsburgh, agreed to pay more than $120,000 in back wages and interest, after a routine compliance review by the U.S....
5 things to know about Groundhog Day
Early spring or dark, cold winter? Either way, it’s a party in Punxsutawney. The countdown is on for Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob. The age-old question of whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow will be revealed early Friday in front of a crowd of thousands from near and far....
1 killed in Fayette County stabbing
A 24-year-old man was killed early Thursday morning in a stabbing in Grindstone, Fayette County. According to TribLive news partner WTAE, the incident happened around 12:20 a.m. along Hilltop Avenue in Grindstone. Pennsylvania State Police told WTAE the victim, Shawn Hriscisce, was stabbed after some sort of altercation. He was...
IUP eyes potential location for medical school, state announces ‘investment’ in project
The state will invest $2 million in startup funds toward developing a College of Osteopathic Medicine at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman announced Wednesday night. Pittman, R-Indiana, delivered the news at a public reception welcoming the proposed college’s recently named founding dean, Miko Rose. It...
Groundhog Day’s biggest star is Phil, but the holiday’s deep roots extend well beyond Punxsutawney
KUTZTOWN — The spotlight will be on Gobbler’s Knob in Western Pennsylvania early Friday morning, when handlers of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil will announce whether he saw his own shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter or an early spring. Thousands are expected to attend the annual event...
Biden will visit East Palestine which was devastated by a fiery train derailment a year ago
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will visit the eastern Ohio community that was devastated by a fiery train derailment in February 2023 that displaced thousands of residents and left many fearing potential health effects from the toxic chemicals that spilled when a Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks. A...
Report highlights ongoing racism at 10 Pa. State System universities
More than one Black university student recalled being compared to an animal. Another found a Confederate flag on his dormitory door. Others spoke of white peers saying, “I hate Black people.” And there was this anecdote which, like the others, was shared with a Pennsylvania senator traveling the State System...
Morning Roundup: Fayette man shot in moving vehicle during fight with wife
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 30: Fayette man shot in moving vehicle during fight with wife A man was shot twice in the thigh in a moving vehicle Monday morning in a domestic dispute with his pregnant wife in Fayette County, according...
Allegheny River voted Pennsylvania’s 2024 River of the Year
The Allegheny River has been chosen by public vote as the top waterway in the state. The 325-mile stretch was named 2024 River of the Year, earning 8,307 votes to edge the Youghiogheny, which received 7,212 votes, and the Lackawaxen River, which received 4,740. “I cannot wait to celebrate this...
Steeper gas price increases expected in mid-February, analyst says
While a combination of factors are pushing up the price of oil and the national average price of gasoline, steeper increases are on the horizon, an industry analyst says. The national average rose 4.5 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.07, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Despite that,...
Despite rising salaries, there’s a shortage of qualified superintendents. Politicized school boards and covid fallout have contributed
Superintendents of two of the largest school districts in Westmoreland County — Hempfield Area’s Tammy Wolicki and Norwin’s Jeff Taylor — announced last week they would be leaving their posts. Their departures come on the heels of Leechburg Area Superintendent Tiffany Nix’s resignation. She announced in December that she would...
Ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship couldn’t win a Senate seat with the GOP. He’s trying now as a Democrat
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Former West Virginia coal executive Don Blankenship, who lost by a wide margin when he ran for a U.S. Senate seat as a Republican in 2018, filed paperwork Friday to run as a Democrat for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. Blankenship’s entrance into...
Bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to governor
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill that would decriminalize all strips used to test drugs for deadly substances in West Virginia, the state with the nation’s highest overdose rate, is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice. Justice hasn’t said publicly if he supports the bill, which has received...
Shapiro’s higher education overhaul plan and $1,000 tuition proposal draws intrigue, skepticism
Already there are questions about the cost to cap tuition and fees for many state university students at $1,000 a semester and who would pay — not to mention bringing state universities and community colleges under one umbrella. There are regulatory, legal and logistical hurdles, all in a state whose...
Mysterious notes reported in food items, state parks, trails across Pennsylvania
Cryptic notes have been popping up all around Pennsylvania in various cereal boxes and state parks — and it looks like they’re moving west. Originally dubbed the “Schuylkill Notes” by Reddit users investigating, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, some of the messages are said to have a sinister quality...
1 killed in Peters Township house fire
A woman was killed in a fire in a Peters Township house Thursday, according to Peters Township Fire Department. Firefighters were dispatched to Spruce Drive for a house fire at 2:25 p.m., officials said. When they arrived, a woman in the front yard told responders that there was a fire...
Gov. Shapiro pitches plan to restructure state-owned universities, community colleges
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday will propose uniting Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities and its 15 community colleges under a new governance structure to make higher education in the state more efficient and affordable. The move is part of a blueprint for reform that emerged from a working group Shapiro assembled...
Men who poisoned protected birds found guilty — 15 months after trial
Two men who killed dozens of protected birds in 2020 by spreading poisoned corn around a pond in Lawrence County have been found guilty in federal court. The verdict Wednesday for Robert Yost, 52, of New Galilee, Beaver County, and Jacob Reese, 27, of Enon Valley, Lawrence County, came more...
Penn State branch campuses face large share of $94M in proposed budget cuts
Penn State University branch campuses — their enrollments down sharply — face the largest share of $94 million in universitywide spending cuts intended to erase an operating deficit and create what President Neeli Bendapudi calls “a more sustainable future.” The 20 campuses, including those in Western Pennsylvania, would absorb a...
Summer Lee’s campaign rakes in $1M in last quarter, her best showing
Preparing for what could be a tough primary election, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, said she raised $1 million in the last quarter of 2023, putting her on solid financial footing to take on her multiple challengers. It was Lee’s best fundraising quarter to date and one of the highest...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in Brentwood fire; teen unloading groceries shot at in Marshall-Shadeland
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Jan. 25: 1 injured in Brentwood fire One person was taken to the hospital after a fire Wednesday night in Brentwood. The house fire was reported around 10:30 p.m. along Windsor Road, according to TribLive news partner WTAE....
Western Pa. resident loses more than $1 million in widespread money laundering scheme, 2 men sentenced
Two California residents have been ordered to pay nearly $4.5 million combined in restitution as part of their federal sentences connected to an international money laundering scheme that impacted some Western Pennsylvania residents. Thien Phuc Tran, 34, and Ton Huynh Bui, 30, of Santa Ana, scammed people across the country,...
North Strabane man to plead guilty to fatally shooting bald eagle
A North Strabane man has agreed to plead guilty to fatally shooting a bald eagle last year in Washington County, court records show. As part of the plea deal, attorneys said Rodney Thomas, 51, will forfeit an air rifle and suppressor and pay $9,800 in restitution to the Pennsylvania Wildlife...
New report sees a boost in undergraduate enrollment on college campuses
Research released Wednesday suggests fall undergraduate enrollment on college campuses across most of the nation rose for the first time since before the covid-19 pandemic, ending a slump that has strained many institutions. But while more than two-thirds of states saw overall gains, others — including Pennsylvania — continued as...
Morning Roundup: 2 Pittsburgh officers injured after shots fired in Garfield
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 24: 2 Pittsburgh officers injured after shots fired in Garfield Two Pittsburgh police officers were injured Wednesday morning after responding to a ShotSpotter notification in the city’s Garfield neighborhood. Police were dispatched to the 5300 block of...
