Top Stories category, Page 1020
Pamela’s Diner is closing in Squirrel Hill, but its other locations will remain
After 42 years in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Pamela’s Diner is closing. Closure of the restaurant was announced in a news release Tuesday by co-owners Gail Klingensmith and Pam Cohen who have several Pamela’s locations throughout the Pittsburgh area. All other Pamela’s locations will remain open. The decision was largely...
Disciplinary action initiated against 9 Pittsburgh police officers in tasing, death of man in Bloomfield
The Pittsburgh police have begun the disciplinary process for nine people involved in the October tasing and subsequent death of a homeless man. Mayor Bill Peduto confirmed on Tuesday that disciplinary action reports have started to be served following a Critical Incident Review Board that concluded about two weeks ago....
Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dies at 82
LAS VEGAS — Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82. Reid died Tuesday, “peacefully” and surrounded by friends “following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer,” Landra Reid said of her husband in a statement. “Harry was a devout...
John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster, dies at 85Video
John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Tuesday morning, the league said. He was 85. The NFL said he died unexpectedly and did not detail a cause. Madden gained fame...
Westmoreland housing authority seeks to scratch out bedbug problem at Jeannette Manor
Ron Tonin has had enough. For days now, Tonin, 53, who is confined to a wheelchair, said he is forced to sleep in the hallway outside his apartment in Jeannette Manor to avoid a bedbug infestation that has left him with welts on his back and extremities. “I’ve lived here...
Travel this week expected to inch toward pre-pandemic numbers, state police release Christmas weekend stats
More than 5.4 million motorists are expected to take to the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Christmas and New Year’s Day, inching toward pre-pandemic numbers, officials said. Projections call for 460,000 turnpike motorists on New Year’s Eve and 350,000 on New Year’s Day. Over the Christmas weekend, state police across the region...
Pa. court rules against former Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris in campaign finance case
A state appellate court ruled Tuesday that former Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris must pay fines levied against her for failing to file financial disclosure reports during her campaign in 2019. In a 20-page opinion, the Commonwealth Court found that the $4,150 fine levied against Harris was not excessive and...
Experts say vaccinated people with health problems still face serious covid risks
Despite recent cases in which vaccinated people got infected and died from coronavirus, getting inoculated is still the best protection against the virus, according to medical experts. While the Allegheny County Health Department’s online covid dashboard does not distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated people in its death data, it does...
Federal strike teams bound for Pa. to help hospitals stressed by covid-19
Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary said Tuesday the state will receive federal strike teams to “relieve hospital capacity strain in areas hit hardest by the latest covid-19 surge.” Gov. Tom Wolf requested the help about two weeks ago. It wasn’t immediately known when the strike teams will arrive and which hospitals...
Powerball jackpot climbing at $441M, but not nearly a record
Lora Trenney of Kiski Township is feeling lucky. The 40-year-old bartender at Cicero’s Bar and Grill in Leechburg bought a Powerball ticket Tuesday during her work shift. The lottery jackpot swelled to an estimated $441 million with a cash option of $317.5 million for the Wednesday drawing, according to the...
Penn Township man arrested in stabbing deaths of father, aunt waives right to hearing
A 41-year-old Penn Township man accused in the stabbing deaths of his father and elderly aunt avoided a hearing Tuesday on two criminal homicide charges and opted to proceed to trial. Neal M. Hubish, who has a history of violence and mental health issues, was arrested Nov. 9 after he...
Pittsburgh bans traffic stops for minor violations
Pittsburgh police will no longer be able to conduct traffic stops for minor, secondary violations. City Council on Tuesday approved legislation banning such traffic stops, despite calls from residents and one councilman for a public hearing ahead of a vote on the measure. The legislation, introduced by Councilman Ricky Burgess...
Pittsburgh Mayor-elect Ed Gainey to be inaugurated in virtual ceremony
Pittsburgh Mayor-elect Ed Gainey said Tuesday that his inauguration will be held virtually. He said he decided to hold his inauguration and swearing-in ceremony virtually “in accordance with guidance from public health officials.” The inauguration, scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, will be streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel, Comcast...
Gas prices falling after setting new Christmas Day record
Average gasoline prices are coming down in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation but remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. According to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations in Pittsburgh, gas prices fell 2.1 cents per gallon in the past week...
East Vandergrift man accused of stealing $42K from nursing home patient
An East Vandergrift man is accused of stealing nearly $43,000 from a man who gave him access to his bank and credit card accounts when he went into a nursing home. John William Ebner, 33, of McKinley Avenue, was charged by Vandergrift police with theft, receiving stolen property, access device...
Grads tasted a life without student debt, but that’s set to end next year
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In the mornings, before she starts work at her software development job, St. Petersburg’s Amanda Leaders sits down with coffee and thinks about whom to send a postcard. The hobby began in September when she noticed a sale at Vistaprint. She ordered a set of postcards...
Belle Vernon man accused of attempted Christmas burglary in Rostraver
A Belle Vernon man is behind bars after police said he attempted to break into a home in Rostraver on Christmas with his young child in tow, according to court papers. Scott Michael Shetter, 29, is charged with attempted burglary, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, resisting arrest and criminal mischief. He...
Building the Valley: Cameroonian immigrant lays roots for business in New Kensington
Odilon Wafo came to the United States from the African country of Cameroon in 2010 looking for better opportunities for himself and his children. He would find himself owning a business in New Kensington, a city that itself was striving for better. “When I got here, I saw the city...
Parents charged with endangerment in Penn Hills case where their 5-year-old son was fatally shot
The parents of a teen accused of fatally shooting his brother in Penn Hills have been charged with felony child endangerment, according to court documents. Five-year-old Connor Wolfe was found shot inside his family’s home along Prescott Drive on Nov. 22. His brother, 13-year-old Keegan McGivern, is facing homicide and...
No injuries reported in 3-alarm fire in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood
No injuries were reported after two homes caught on fire Monday night in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, officials said. Firefighters responded to the 5200 block of Lytle Street around 10 p.m. for reports of the two alarm house fire, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokesman Maurice Matthews. First responders said they...
Where’s winter? Warm, wet weather here to stay
Southwestern Pennsylvania has had an unusually warm late fall and early winter without much snow, and that is not expected to change anytime soon, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Moon Township said. The Pittsburgh region officially has had all of 0.2 inches of snow in December — far less...
CDC recommends shorter covid isolation for all — from 10 to 5 days
U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the...
Handling covid exposure around holidays depends on vaccination status, experts say
Attempting to return to normal life has come with a price during the pandemic. While many people opted to forgo large family get-togethers during the holidays last year as cases surged and the United States was still without an approved vaccine, many families seemed determined to gather this year. Inevitably,...
Omicron, storms disrupt air travel for 4th consecutive day
Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel stretched into Monday as airlines called off thousands more flights because crews were sick with covid-19 during one of the year’s busiest travel periods, and storm fronts added to the havoc. Flight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages have been a constant this...
Strain of pandemic drives Americans to drink more
The strain of the coronavirus pandemic, now almost two years old, has contributed to a national uptick in alcohol consumption, experts say. People might not feel as isolated as they did during the height of the pandemic, when in-person activities were limited or shut down at many workplaces, schools and...
