Top Stories category, Page 1049
Allegheny County leaders ask all businesses to require employee covid vaccinations
Allegheny County officials are asking all businesses to require their employees to be vaccinated against covid-19 by Jan. 1. “Jan. 1 will be a year since these vaccines have been available,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said during a news conference Wednesday. “We know how safe they are, we know...
A massive probe of Pa.’s largest pension fund is nearly done, but taxpayers may never know the results
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — After months of work, prolonged silence from pension fund management, and more than $175,000 in legal bills, a law...
Pittsburgh attorney, frustrated with metal detectors, ‘dropped his drawers’ in court building, official says
A Pittsburgh attorney removed his pants at the entrance of a Downtown court building Wednesday afternoon after becoming frustrated when his suspenders repeatedly set off metal detectors, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. Jeffrey Pollock, 59, was on his way to a hearing in the family court division when...
Pittsburgh looks to create new Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
Pittsburgh is looking to establish a new city office dedicated to helping the growing immigrant and refugee population. City Council legislation introduced Monday would create the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. The office would help connect immigrants and refugees with resources and benefits offered through the city, county, state,...
Levin installs 1-megawatt solar array atop Smithton distribution facility
Robert Levin, chairman of Levin Furniture, was a fan of solar energy long before it could earn him tax incentives. Levin had a solar array installed at his Monroeville furniture store in 2004. Almost two years ago, he had solar installed at his home. On Wednesday, Levin flipped the switch...
1,000 rounds of ammunition disappear on way to Allegheny Township Police Dept.
Allegheny Township police Chief Duane Fisher didn’t have to open the box delivered to his station Monday to know there was something wrong with the delivery of ammunition for his department. “As soon as I saw the (United Parcel Service) driver get out of the truck carrying the box rather...
Police memorial flag causes a flap in Aspinwall
A flag honoring fallen police officers is causing a flap in Aspinwall. Council members fielded comments during last week’s meeting from about 15 residents either supporting or opposing the flag that has flown outside the borough building for 12 years. Aspinwall resident Karen Hart took to social media to express...
Loaded gun found in Greensburg Salem High School student’s backpack, police say
A resource officer responding to a report of someone vaping marijuana in a bathroom at Greensburg Salem High School on Wednesday morning made another discovery: a loaded handgun hidden inside a student’s backpack, authorities said. City police continued questioning a 15-year-old student into the afternoon. Capt. Shawn Denning said the...
Pennsylvania court throws out state’s school mask mandate
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court ruled Wednesday that the state’s acting health secretary did not have authority to issue a mandatory school mask mandate at the beginning of this academic year. In a 31-page opinion, the court found that because there was no emergency declaration in place governing covid-19 in Pennsylvania at...
Wilkinsburg man accused of brandishing gun, threatening UPMC police officer
A Wilkinsburg man is accused of shoving, threatening and spitting on a police officer at UPMC Mercy after police said he became irate that a phone charger lent to him by a hospital staffer didn’t work. It wasn’t until Roderick Cook Jr., 28, flashed a gun at the UPMC officer,...
Pandemic adds stress to already strained rural fire departments
Over the past 30 years, fire departments in both urban and rural areas have struggled to recruit new firefighters into a profession that’s more than half volunteers. In rural America, the pandemic has brought the crisis to a new apex. Rural firefighters have been on the front lines of the...
North Huntingdon police: Couple arrested, nearly 6 bricks of heroin seized in undercover drug buy
A McKeesport couple accused of selling 282 stamp bags of heroin to an undercover police officer in North Huntingdon told police they were “only runners” who received heroin for making deliveries, according to court papers. The couple, Eric Carbonneau, 39, and Erin K. Manning, 43, were taken into custody by...
GOP state Sen. Jake Corman to run for governor
HARRISBURG — Jake Corman, the ranking Republican in Pennsylvania’s state Senate, will run for governor in next year’s election, a political adviser said Wednesday, entering a huge and wide-open GOP field of candidates that is unlike anything party officials have seen in at least decades. For weeks, Corman has been...
Police say woman dressed as FedEx worker stole packages from Pittsburgh home
A Pittsburgh woman is accused of dressing as a FedEx worker and stealing packages from a Mt. Washington home. Police charged Laura Woester, 50, with theft by unlawful taking after they say she took two packages from a home on Beam Way last week. According to a criminal complaint, officers...
Lower Burrell Cross on the Hill will continue to shine thanks to outpouring of support
All it took was a mention that the locally iconic Cross on the Hill needed repairs, and people across the country responded. “Donations are really rolling in,” said Karen Snair, executive director of the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison, which owns the 34-foot landmark. “We’re overwhelmed by the...
Inbound lanes of Fort Duquesne Bridge reopen after crash
One person was taken to the hospital after a crash on the Fort Duquesne Bridge Wednesday morning, according to an Allegheny 911 shift commander. Crews responded to the lower deck of the bridge shortly before 4:40 a.m. for reports of the wreck that left a car leaning up against a...
Spotted lanternfly numbers skyrocket in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
The spotted lanternfly — a beautiful but invasive plant hopper from Asia — continues its invasion of the region with a 1,722% increase in reports in Allegheny County, a 351% increase in Westmoreland County and a 177% increase in Butler in the past year. The insect doesn’t harm people, but...
Tips for getting rid of the invasive lanternfly
To slow the scourge of the invasive lanternfly, state experts weigh in on the many ways to kill the nectar-loving, honeydew-dropping pests. “The only good spotted lanternfly is a dead one,” said Amy K. Korman, an entomologist for 40 years and a horticulture extension educator with the Penn State Extension...
Person taken to hospital after Baldwin fire
One person was taken to the hospital after a fire early Wednesday in Baldwin, according to an Allegheny County 911 shift commander. Crews responded to the fire on Curry Hollow Road around 12:30 a.m. The person escaped from the home but was hospitalized with unspecified injuries, according to Tribune-Review news...
Police: Person in stable condition after Perry South shooting
A person is in stable condition after a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood Tuesday night, officials said. Officers responded to a Shotspotter alert near the intersection of Maple and McIntyre avenues around 11 p.m., said Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokeswoman Amanda Mueller. A victim later walked into a hospital with...
Pennsylvania Senate backs bill to allow guns to be carried without permit
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday approved two veto-bound firearms bills, including one to allow people to carry a loaded gun openly or concealed, without a permit, and another to punish municipalities that impose firearms ordinances that are stricter than state law. Despite a certain veto from Gov. Tom...
Judge refuses Trump request to block Jan. 6 records
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan declined to issue a preliminary injunction sought by Trump’s lawyers. Chutkan said President Joe Biden was...
Brian Williams says he’s leaving NBC News after 28 years
NEW YORK — Brian Williams, who remade his career as an MSNBC host after losing his job as NBC “Nightly News” anchor for making false claims about a wartime story, is leaving the network after 28 years. Williams said in a note to colleagues that “following much reflection,” he had...
Penn Hills police to increase presence at high school Wednesday following social media threat
Penn Hills students will see an increased police presence at the senior high school on Wednesday, after the department worked with school officials to identify the source of a social media threat. “While Penn Hills Police Department does not view this threat as credible and have been able to identify...
Oklahoma court overturns $465M opioid ruling against J&J
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million opioid ruling against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, finding that a lower court wrongly interpreted the state’s public nuisance law in the first case of its kind in the United States to go to trial. The ruling was...
