Top Stories category, Page 1002
Pa. to spend $225M to retain, recruit hospital nurses, provide loan debt relief
Local hospital and nursing school officials hope $225 million in federal money being allocated to retain and recruit nursing staff in Pennsylvania, as well as provide debt relief to nursing students, is a step toward reducing a critical shortage in the profession. “Over the past year, we have been providing...
Wily ‘coyote’ — or maybe dog — on lam after clawing out of Mt. Pleasant Township shelter
An animal that was undergoing testing to determine whether it is a dog or coyote escaped from the Mt. Pleasant Township wildlife rehabilitation center where it was being treated for mange. Rescuers were searching for the creature Thursday, said wildlife rehabilitator Morgan Barron. Wildlife Works founder, director and senior rehabilitator...
Vaccine mandate for 1st wave of health care workers to kick in
Health care workers in Pennsylvania and about half the states face a Thursday deadline to get their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine under a Biden administration mandate that will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the coming weeks. While the requirement is welcomed by some,...
Gov. Wolf vetoes Pa. congressional map sent to him by Republicans
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed a congressional map sent to...
Judge rules that Greensburg police illegally searched sleeping man’s car
A Westmoreland County judge has ruled that police illegally searched a sleeping man’s parked car outside of a Greensburg convenience store. City police had no legal authority to search the vehicle, in which they found drugs, cash and a loaded weapon, without a warrant, Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani...
Democrats eye Supreme Court pick to revive 2022 prospects
Democrats stung by a series of election year failures to deliver legislative wins for their most loyal voters hope they’ll be buoyed by the prospect that President Joe Biden will name the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Justice Stephen Breyer’s pending retirement, confirmed by numerous sources...
19-year-old Pittsburgh man charged in deadly Allentown shooting
A 19-year-old man from Pittsburgh’s St. Clair neighborhood has been charged in a fatal shooting in the city’s Allentown section. James Linnert faces a single charge of criminal homicide in connection with the Jan. 20 death of Joshua Hamilton, also 19, who had been shot in the neck and arm...
Police: Woman faces gun, drug charges after speeding past officer on the berm in a snowstorm
Lower Burrell police charged a woman with a felony count of carrying a gun without a permit after she was pulled over for using the shoulder of the road to speed past an officer on Route 56 during a snowstorm, police said. In addition to the gun charge, Susan Ann...
Frigid weather continuing through weekend before brief warm-up next week
The Pittsburgh region will be warming up a little Thursday after a frigid morning, but will continue its streak of below-freezing weather through the weekend, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Low temperatures around the area ranged from just slightly above zero in spots, such as 2 degrees at the...
Schramm’s Penn Township farming equipment to be sold at auction
The Schramm family in Penn Township, which has been farming in Western Pennsylvania for four generations, will not be plowing fields or planting crops this spring for the first time since the nation was torn apart by the Civil War in 1864. While their 300-some acres of land is not...
Penn Hills School District to continue temperature checks for students
Temperature checks for students at Penn Hills Elementary and Linton Middle School will continue, and masks remain mandatory at school district facilities, according to a reapproved health and safety plan. School board members voted 6-2 on Jan. 26 to keep all things status quo with the school district covid mitigation...
Pittsburgh Brewing Co. in East Deer making progress as it aims for summer production
Citing steady progress at its new site in East Deer, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. general manager Todd Zwicker said Wednesday he expects brewing to be underway by the summer. The makers of Iron City Beer started work at the former Pittsburgh Glass Works last year. A tour of the facility Wednesday...
Greensburg man not guilty in shooting at New Kensington police
A Greensburg man was acquitted Wednesday of the attempted murder and assaults of three New Kensington police officers who were shot at as they rode in an unmarked surveillance van during a search for a suspect in an unrelated criminal case two years ago. After nearly three hours of deliberations,...
Dr. Mehmet Oz stumps in Westmoreland County in quest for U.S. SenateVideo
Dr. Mehmet Oz enthralled a room full of potential Westmoreland County voters Wednesday as he works to make his mark in a crowded field of candidates vying to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. The meet-and-greet event, held in a small room at Giannilli’s II in Unity where few attendees...
Brashear student charged in alleged assault that left fellow student hospitalized
An 18-year-old Brashear High School student accused of throwing another student to the ground and stomping on his head during a fight in school last week has been charged with assault. Quincey Garland, 18, faces one count of aggravated assault in connection with the incident that left the other student...
Feds accuse Texas man of selling gun used to take synagogue hostages
DALLAS — A Texas man has been charged with a federal gun crime after authorities say he sold a gun to a man who held four hostages inside a Texas synagogue earlier this month before being fatally shot by the FBI, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Henry “Michael” Williams, 32,...
East Liberty development put on hold amid opposition from Kelly Strayhorn Theater
A six-story, mixed-use development proposed for the 5900 block of Penn Avenue in East Liberty was delayed this week after a unanimous vote by the Pittsburgh Planning Commission. The vote on Tuesday came after representatives from the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and other Pittsburgh residents raised objections to the development, and...
Pittsburgh City Council delays vote on Wilkinsburg annexation
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday delayed a vote on the potential annexation of neighboring Wilkinsburg for one week, with Councilman Anthony Coghill saying he’d like more time to gather information. Council President Theresa Kail-Smith last week introduced legislation to deny the measure, which has generated controversy among residents and local...
Police searching for man suspected in Derry Township hit and run, woman remains hospitalized
State troopers are urging a man to surrender after they charged him Tuesday in connection with a hit-and-run in Derry Township that left a Latrobe woman seriously injured. Trooper Steve Limani said authorities had not been successful Wednesday in locating Bobby Paul Bryer, 30, who might be driving the same...
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire, giving Biden his first appointment
WASHINGTON — Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the Supreme Court’s 83-year-old liberal pragmatist, plans to retire this year, clearing the way for President Joe Biden to make his first appointment to the high court. Breyer, a 1994 appointee of President Bill Clinton, is the senior member of the three-justice liberal bloc,...
Pitt basketball player Ithiel Horton resolves criminal case with disorderly conduct plea, rejoins team
A University of Pittsburgh basketball player accused of punching a city police officer last year pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of disorderly conduct and one count of public intoxication. More serious charges against Ithiel Horton, including aggravated assault and resisting arrest, were withdrawn by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s...
Peter Pan-themed pop-up bar follows the Tipsy Elf in Greenfield
The pop-up bar next to Hough’s Taproom & Brewpub in Greenfield will go from being decorated in sparkling lights to being decorated with pixie dust. The Tipsy Elf, a Christmas-themed pop-up bar that occupied the space during the holiday season, will be transformed into Neverland, a Peter Pan-inspired pop-up bar,...
Momentum builds for East Busway expansion into Mon Valley
Port Authority of Allegheny County has received a federal grant to put toward planning work for a possible extension of the East Busway from Swissvale to the East Pittsburgh area, another sign of momentum building for extending the busway into the Mon Valley. Allegheny County and Port Authority officials acknowledged...
Pittsburgh man charged with mid-December shooting at Waterworks mall
A Pittsburgh man has been charged in a Dec. 14 shooting that caused panic at The Waterworks mall and damaged an occupied car parked outside Walmart. John Hayden, 21, is charged by Pittsburgh police with aggravated assault, propulsion of missiles, criminal mischief, a firearms violation and two counts each of...
Civil rights activist and Pittsburgh resident Alma Speed Fox has died
Longtime civil and human rights activist Alma Speed Fox of Pittsburgh has died. A spokesperson for her church, the Historic Church of the Holy Cross Episcopal in Homewood, said Fox died Monday at age 98. Her daughter, Muriel Fox Alim, confirmed the news Tuesday evening. Alim said Fox died peacefully...
