Regional News category, Page 301
Groups work to expand Pennsylvania habitat for shy and secretive massasauga rattlesnake
Butler County is one of the last strongholds in the state for a mellow and seldom-seen rattlesnake that government agencies and a local conservation group are trying to save. A century ago, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake called 19 areas in Pennsylvania home, living between Allegheny County and Crawford County. Today...
Pittsburgh airport ramps up sanitizing efforts as coronavirus spreads
As travelers worldwide place their plans on hold because of the growing threat of the coronavirus, officials at Pittsburgh International Airport said Friday that things there are business as usual. Bob Kerlik, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the airport has not received notice of flight reductions....
Robot season gets underway at Cal U
There is a fall sports season, a winter sports season and a spring sports season at most colleges. At California University of Pennsylvania, there’s a fourth sports season: robot season. The state university in Washington County, which broke ground more than a decade ago when it began hosting high school...
Food Podcast: How Apple Castle contributes to ending hunger in Western Pa.
Apple Castle harvests about 10,000 bushels of apples every year. And many of them go to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Steve Johnston, the sixth-generation owner of Apple Castle, joined Brian Gulish on the Food Podcast to discuss his company’s commitment to support Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s mission...
Week in review: cattle truck crash; Pittsburgh detective shotVideo
A truck crash on the turnpike had officials wrangling cattle, Robert Levin is coming out of retirement to save his family’s furniture company, and a Pittsburgh detective was injured in a shootout. Here’s a look back at the week’s top stories. Cattle truck crash Four calves died and more than...
Western Pa. workforce boards awarded funds for summer internships
Two local workforce development boards were awarded part of a $4.7 million grant from the state Department of Labor as officials work toward making the area attractive to recent graduates. Tri-County Workforce Development received $28,000 and the Westmoreland/Fayette Workforce Development Board received nearly $135,000, which is to be used to...
Brief history of Levin Furniture and its Western Pennsylvania rootsVideo
A look back at the history of Levin Furniture, which has grown from its Westmoreland County roots into the region’s largest furniture retailer. 1920 | “Peddler” Sam Levin opens store at 600 W. Main St. in Mt. Pleasant, selling hardware items, furniture and other general goods, including flyswatters, expandable window...
Saving jobs, legacy, Robert Levin buys back furniture empire bearing his family’s nameVideo
Levin Furniture’s former owner on Thursday entered the chain’s Monroeville store along Route 22 to the cheers of employees and managers — whose jobs he’d just saved. Robert Levin raised his arms in triumph as, in the background, the store’s sound system played the Mike & The Mechanics song “All...
‘Stay home,’ Cal U tells students who become ill during spring break
Stay at home. That’s the advice California University of Pennsylvania is giving students who become ill during spring break next week . “If you experience flu-like symptoms during or after spring break, please do NOT return to Cal U until you have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use...
Robert Levin ‘coming back’ to save Levin Furniture
The former owner of Levin Furniture will come out of retirement to take over the furniture company that was at risk of going out of business, officials said Thursday. A statement from the company indicated a deal was struck Wednesday night in which Robert Levin will acquire the Pennsylvania and...
Museums in Westmoreland, Allegheny receive operating grants
Several Westmoreland and Allegheny county museums were awarded grants to help with their general operations through the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Three museums in Westmoreland and six in Allegheny were among 153 eligible museums that received part of a $2 million award aimed at strengthening those not supported by...
Indiana man accused of sexual abuse of children, indecent assault
A 36-year-old Indiana County man was charged Wednesday with 26 counts of sexual abuse of children and one count of indecent assault after state troopers say they found multiple still images and one video recording depicting child pornography. Robert Earl Rout III of Indiana was arraigned before Homer City District...
Speeders beware: Work zone cameras are live
Beware work zone speeders: Cameras are watching. Drivers going 11 mph or faster over the posted speed limit in an active work zone will be targeted by electronic devices through Pennsylvania’s new Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program. Two timing devices were used around the state for 60 days during...
Cops: Women who stole wallet at Greensburg SeaBase failed at returning it
Two women accused of going on a spending spree last month and stealing a Greensburg man’s wallet failed in a bid for redemption, according to city police. Alexis Hudson, 23, of Ford City and Emily Jean Long, 21, of Kittanning are charged with theft, access device fraud and receiving stolen...
Power restored to most after high winds cause outages
The lights are back on for most Duquesne Light and West Penn Power customers who dealt with power outagess Tuesday night after rain accompanied by high winds moved through the region in the afternoon and again in the evening. Wind gusts reached 40 to 50 mph in the mid-afternoon and...
4 locals caught in national elder fraud sweep; hotline set up to help potential victims
A National Elder Fraud Hotline is being launched by the Justice Department. The hotline was announced as U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady joined other federal officials in touting a national elder fraud sweep that included four people from the region who are being prosecuted for crimes against seniors, according to...
Flu season may be peaking in Pennsylvania, Health Department says
The flu season may have peaked in Pennsylvania, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department said Tuesday. “While cases are increasing, the number of new cases each week is decreasing,” spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said. The news comes as state health officials are bracing for potential coronavirus cases to surface in...
Point Park University adds 2 to board
A state lawmaker and a Highmark Health executive are the newest members of the Point Park University Board of Trustees. University officials said Point Park appointed Saurabh Tripathi, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Highmark Health, and state Rep. Austin Davis to three-year terms on the private university’s...
Indiana police detail robbery, shooting investigation near IUPVideo
Three masked Philadelphia men mistakenly robbed three people at the wrong house last month in Indiana, according to borough police Chief Justin Schawl. When they realized their mistake, the group went a few doors down on Wayne Avenue to their intended target, leaving one person there with a gunshot wound...
Grammar — a ‘dating deal breaker’ — celebrates its own day; Oxford comma still debated
Wednesday is National Grammar Day, a time to celebrate good writing, strong syntax and proper punctuation. Grammar nerds likely cringed at that last sentence. It all depends on your feelings about the Oxford comma — which comes before the last item in a list, such as after “trains” in the...
State-owned universities offering enhanced retirement program
More than 200 faculty members across Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities have signed on to a retirement incentive program, meeting the threshold required for the plan to go into effect, according to university officials. The incentive was laid out in January as a way to pare the number of employees at...
Coronavirus prep: Supplies dwindle at Western Pa. stores as officials urge readinessVideo
Local agencies are encouraging people not to panic as the coronavirus spreads, with over 100 confirmed U.S. cases and nine fatalities so far. The virus, which has infected more than 92,000 people and killed over 3,000 in places like China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran, has started to spread...
4 Philadelphia men jailed in connection with shooting near IUP
Four Philadelphia men are in jail on charges related to the shooting of Indiana University of Pennsylvania students during a robbery of an off-campus apartment on Valentine’s Day. Indiana police arrested Nafis Dandre Harper, 23, Daron Reel, 19, Mamadi Saccoh, 20, and Samuel Nyenow Wilson, 20, in connection with the...
Monroeville-based website launches with MeSearch AI, providing unique reader experience
A new website for Monroeville news and information will have artificial intelligence curating the most important and interesting stories for readers based on their preferences. Trib Total Media announced Thursday that its TribLIVE has launched TimesExpress.com, which is the latest addition to the company’s stable of hyper-local community news websites....
Coronavirus fears pushing oil, gasoline prices lower
The spread of coronavirus could result in lower prices at the pump, according to an industry analyst. Drops of 25 to 35 cents per gallon are possible over the next few weeks, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Oil prices have been walloped and motorists should avoid...
