Regional category, Page 99
The art of the haunt: a behind-the-scenes look at local spooky attractions
Shortly before the ScareHouse at Pittsburgh Mills Mall in Frazer opens, the staff makes final preparations. Much like the backstage of a Broadway show, the cast and crew hurry to make last minute repairs or add the final touches to their costumes. Each Halloween season, thrill-seekers of all ages willingly...
IUP set to open $90 million classroom hall
Hannah Borys and her classmates may feel like time travelers once their Indiana University of Pennsylvania science classes move from a dated 1960s hall into a gleaming venue designed to promote collaboration across disciplines. The $90 million John J. and Char Kopchick Hall at IUP is set to open in...
State police say man charged at IUP officer after making false robbery report
A Pittsburgh man is accused of attacking an Indiana University of Pennsylvania police officer with a knife after making a false report about a robbery in a parking lot near the football stadium. Cameron H. Raubaugh, 19, is accused of charging at the officer, who then fired a shot. No...
Man killed in Armstrong County crash
A man was ejected from a car and killed during a Sunday morning crash in Armstrong County. The crash occurred around 8:36 a.m. in East Franklin Township, when a man driving a 2016 Ford Fiesta careened off the shoulder of Tarrtown Road, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The car then...
Snowflakes may fall on Halloween trick-or-treaters
The ghosts and goblins walking around Halloween night to trick-or-treat in Western Pennsylvania could have a coating of white on their costumes. The National Weather Service in Moon is forecasting a slight chance of rain mixed with snow Tuesday night before 11 p.m., then a chance of just snow. The...
Higher education haunts: Ghostly tales abound at local colleges and universities
The great thing about university ghost stories is that you don’t have to believe in the paranormal to derive a thrill from the tale, according to “Paranormal Pitt” author Matt Swayne. Instead, you get “ghostlore,” — folklore that centers on ghosts or spirits — or stories where people claim to...
Nursing home rating system criticized over reliability, accuracy
Tools designed to help families researching a nursing home are obscure and often criticized by industry experts over their reliability and accuracy. The Care Compare website maintained by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services houses detailed data about nursing homes, provides quality-of-care ratings and flags homes for incidents...
Some fear patient care threatened as staffing shortages plague nursing homes
An employee at a Westmoreland County nursing home says the conditions of her job have brought her to tears. Residents regularly have to wait for help and often go hungry because of a lack of people to feed them. A single staffer sometimes is asked to care for 60 residents...
Staffing shortages leave nursing homes overwhelmed, patients vulnerable, experts say
Mary Ellen Cross lived some of the best days of her life each December when she spent hour upon hour baking cookies and wrapping gifts, carefully crafting what she hoped would be the perfect, magical Christmas for her family. The baking began weeks in advance, sometimes with her eclectic playlist...
List of nursing homes cited for abuse can be incomplete, arbitrary, experts say
A review of state nursing home inspection reports reveals no mention of two patients who died about a year ago at Quality Life Services-Chicora after being given fatal doses of insulin. Registered nurse Heather Pressdee, who is charged in the killings, told investigators “she felt bad for their quality of...
List of nursing homes cited for abuse can be incomplete, arbitrary, experts say
A review of state nursing home inspection reports reveals no mention of two patients who died about a year ago at Quality Life Services-Chicora after being given fatal doses of insulin. Registered nurse Heather Pressdee, who is charged in the killings, told investigators “she felt bad for their quality of...
Staffing shortages leave nursing homes overwhelmed, patients vulnerable, experts sayVideo
Mary Ellen Cross lived some of the best days of her life each December when she spent hour upon hour baking cookies and wrapping gifts, carefully crafting what she hoped would be the perfect, magical Christmas for her family. The baking began weeks in advance, sometimes with her eclectic playlist...
Staffing shortages plague nursing homes; some fear patient care threatened
An employee at a Westmoreland County nursing home says the conditions of her job have brought her to tears. Residents regularly have to wait for help and often go hungry because of a lack of people to feed them. A single staffer sometimes is asked to care for 60 residents...
Nursing home rating system criticized over reliability, accuracy
Tools designed to help families researching a nursing home are obscure and often criticized by industry experts over their reliability and accuracy. The Care Compare website maintained by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services houses detailed data about nursing homes, provides quality-of-care ratings and flags homes for incidents...
Hundreds receive free dental, eye and ear care in Pittsburgh
More than 1,500 people received free dental, eye and ear care Friday and Saturday at the David L. Convention Center. More than 1,400 volunteers from across the region took part to care for patients including dentists, eye and ear clinicians and many others. The all-day event event was open to...
Southwest Airlines to add seasonal flights to San Diego
Pittsburgh is getting more airline service to the West Coast and adding a new city to its repertoire. Southwest Airlines will add seasonal, nonstop service from Pittsburgh International Airport to San Diego starting next summer, the airline announced Thursday. Flights on to San Diego International Airport will start June 8...
Credit card companies charged $105B in interest in 2022 while consumer debt climbed
If you noticed you’ve been getting charged higher interest on your credit card, you’re not alone. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that in 2022 credit card companies charged consumers more than $105 billion in interest and more than $25 billion in fees. And more people are carrying debt. Total...
Private colleges in Western Pa. eye shared services, cooperative purchasing
Apparently for colleges in and around Pittsburgh, the idea of joining forces is worth a look. With enrollment at many colleges dropping and cost pressures growing, several private colleges in Western Pennsylvania have been considering whether they ought to form a consortium to share services and make joint purchases. For...
U.S. Steel still weighing interest from ‘highly credible bidders’ as it considers sale
U.S. Steel says it is still reviewing bids to buy the iconic Pittsburgh-based company, but executives on Friday refrained from giving a timeline for a decision. On the steelmaker’s third-quarter earnings call, David Burritt, president and CEO, noted that after “receiving multiple unsolicited proposals from credible bidders, ranging from the...
Washington County police officer criminally liable in death of Coraopolis man, coroner rules
A Washington County police officer is criminally liable in the shooting death of a Coraopolis man at the end of a chase in April, the Washington County coroner ruled at the conclusion of an inquest. Coroner S. Timothy Warco found that Mt. Pleasant Township Officer Tyler Evans was not justified...
Film screening next in 75th anniversary observance of deadly Donora smog disaster
It was 75 years ago when a deadly smog settled over the Washington County mill town of Donora. Over five days — Oct. 27-31, 1948 — the heavy smog killed 20 people in Donora and in nearby Webster, across the Monongahela River. In the weeks that followed, the death toll...
Morning Roundup: Teen stabbed in Downtown Pittsburgh; woman shot in Crafton Heights
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Oct. 27: Teen stabbed in Downtown Pittsburgh A teenager was found stabbed in the 800 block of Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh just before 6 p.m. Thursday, Pittsburgh police said. The 17-year-old had stab wounds to his upper...
Kovach retiring as district executive after 37 years with PennDOT District 12
Area highway and bridge projects were tracked primarily with paper documents when Bill Kovach signed on in 1986 as a civil engineer and construction inspector with PennDOT District 12. Now, as he prepares to retire Friday as the district executive, the staff he has led is beginning to shift to...
Coroner identifies 2nd person who died in Washington County house fire
The second victim in a Washington County structure fire Tuesday has been identified. Coroner S. Timothy Warco identified the second victim as Kimberly Montes DeOca, 39. Warco said the coroner’s office has “exhausted all attempts to locate and notify” DeOca’s family. Warco is asking anyone who may have information about...
1 man dead, another in custody after North Versailles shooting
A man is in custody after a fatal shooting Thursday afternoon in North Versailles, authorities said. North Versailles police and EMS responded to the 600 block of Della Drive at about 1:15 p.m. In an apartment, they found a man, who they did not name, suffering from gunshot wounds, Allegheny...
