Top Stories category, Page 1067
Allegheny Health Network moves forward with vaccination requirement; UPMC, Excela await court ruling
Leaders with UPMC and Excela Health said Thursday they will back off of covid-19 vaccine requirements while the federal mandates are challenged in court, though Allegheny Health Network’s top doctor said the health system’s Jan. 4 vaccine deadline remains firm. Separate federal mandates affecting both health care workers and workers...
Police: Man stabbed co-worker at Jeannette plant
Jeannette police on Thursday arrested a Derry Township man after he was accused of stabbing a coworker during a discussion over manufacturing safety protocols. Scott Lee “Woody” Woodmancy, 57, of Bradenville was accompanied to an office inside Omnova Solutions, located at 1001 Chambers Ave., around 10:30 a.m. to discuss “possible...
Pittsburgh City Council tweaks proposed parking code changes
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday tweaked proposed amendments to the city’s parking code, including a provision that would allow for new types of non-resident parking permits. The proposed legislation, introduced by Councilman Bobby Wilson in October, would allow people to get a non-resident permit if they are administering medical care...
Chef Kevin Sousa leaves new restaurant venture in Mount Oliver
Kevin Sousa’s dream of running a restaurant focused on food rooted in his family’s Italian heritage appears to be short-lived. Less than two months after opening Mount Oliver Bodega restaurant, the iconic and nomadic chef is cutting ties with RE360, the real estate company Sousa partnered with to create the...
Omicron coronavirus variant found in multiple states
NEW YORK — The omicron variant of covid-19, which had been undetected in the United States before the middle of this week, had been discovered in at least five states by the end of Thursday, showing yet again how mutations of the virus can circumnavigate the globe with speed and...
Raising Cane’s chicken tenders coming to Pittsburgh region
Pittsburgh, like most cities, has its share of fried chicken chain restaurants — KFC, Chick-Fil-A and Popeyes, to name a few. But now another very specialized fried chicken entity is ready to flock to the Steel City. Raising Cane’s chicken tenders is planning to open its first restaurants in Pennsylvania...
Delmont neighborhood plans 2nd year of ‘Monticello Lights’ charity decorating competition
When residents of Delmont’s Monticello Drive replaced their annual Christmas party with a drive-thru decorating competition during the pandemic last year, they were looking for a way to bring the community together safely and perhaps raise a little money for charity. Instead they ended up with more than $15,000 to...
People who use Great Allegheny Passage pump about $120M into economy, study finds
People using the Great Allegheny Passage pumped $121 million into local economies in 2019, according to a new study that gauged the economic impact of tourism along the 150 miles of trail stretching between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md. “I’m delighted that folks are using the Great Allegheny Passage and spending...
Citing revenue loss, state senator seeks to bring back Pa. Turnpike toll workers
A senator from northeastern Pennsylvania is spearheading efforts to bring back turnpike toll workers. Sen. Marty Flynn, D-Scranton, said his plan stems from the amount of tolls — $104 million – that went uncollected on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the past year. “Not coincidentally, that’s also when the PA Turnpike...
National drop in gas prices skips Pittsburgh area, frustrating drivers
Rick Toney was pumping gas as a kid in the 1970s. And he’s still doing it today for his cousin, Joe Shamey, owner of Shamey’s Gulf Service on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington. It’s one of the few, maybe only, full-service gas stations in the area. So Toney hears...
Jan. 6 panel votes to hold former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark in contemptVideo
WASHINGTON — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection voted Wednesday to pursue contempt charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who refused to answer the committee’s questions — but the panel agreed to let him come back for another try. The committee voted 9-0...
90% of Allegheny County employees comply with vaccine mandate; 2 sheriff’s employees suspended without pay
More than 90% of Allegheny County’s 5,000 executive-branch employees showed proof of getting vaccinated against covid-19 by Wednesday — the deadline to do so or risk being fired, county officials report. Just two of more than 200 employees with the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office — an independent entity — still...
Westmoreland 911: Crews responded to vehicle crash with entrapment in Salem
Crews responded to a vehicle crash with entrapment in Salem Township Wednesday evening, a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher said. Officials were called to the 1000 block of Brick Hill Road around 7:06 p.m. for reports of the crash that resulted in a vehicle overturning. According to the dispatcher, one person was...
GOP risks government shutdown to fight Biden vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON — The federal government could be heading for temporary shutdown, with Republicans poised to stall a must-pass funding bill in their effort to force a debate in Congress on rolling back the Biden administration’s covid-19 vaccine mandates for some workers. Conservative Republicans in the House and Senate who are...
Beaver County man gets 1 month behind bars in Capitol riot case
A Beaver County man will spend a month behind bars for participating in the storming of the Capitol in January, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Russell Peterson of Rochester — who bragged about his role in the insurrection on social media — also must pay a $500 fine, U.S. District...
Pennsylvania wine and liquor sales set another record, annual report shows
If you’re headed to a holiday party this month, chances are good that either Tito’s Handmade Vodka or Fireball Cinnamon Whisky will be on the bar. Unflavored vodka remained Pennsylvanians’ drink of choice during the 2020-21 fiscal year, bringing in $307.6 million and topping the sales list in 53 of...
Greensburg man jailed, accused of leading police on 108 mph pursuit
A Greensburg man accused of leading police on a seven-mile, high-speed chase that started in in the city and ended near Murrysville was arrested after an officer recognized his car parked at a grocery store and was able to identify him, according to court documents. Greensburg patrolman Hank Fontana Jr....
Jeannette teen seeks transfer of attempted homicide case to juvenile court
The lawyer for a Jeannette teen awaiting trial on charges that he attempted to kill two men in a shooting last year says the case should be prosecuted in juvenile court. Khalil Myers was 16 when he was charged in connection with a shooting on Oct. 21, 2020, in Jeannette...
Judge accuses Westmoreland district attorney’s office of misconduct in Stanko case
A Westmoreland County judge accused the district attorney’s office of misconduct in its handling of three criminal cases against a Unity man named as a potential suspect in the disappearance of a former girlfriend missing since April 2018. In a blistering 26-page opinion made public Wednesday, Common Pleas Judge Tim...
Pittsburgh region’s jobless rate falls to 5.9%; labor force shrinks
The Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate in October fell below 6% for the first time since the pandemic took hold of the economy in April 2020, a combination of more jobs being filled and, once again, fewer people in the labor force. “It’s just as if the economy is stuck in...
Western Pa. covid hospitalizations hit highest point in more than 10 months
As the threat of the omicron variant looms, covid-19 hospitalizations in Western Pennsylvania have hit their highest point in more than 10 months. Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 504 covid patients in hospitals, the most since there were 535 patients on Jan. 12, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department...
Pittsburgh City Council looks to ban parking in bike lanes, with some exceptions
Pittsburgh City Council advanced legislation that would ban parking in the city’s bike lanes, but there would be exceptions to the rule. The proposed ordinance, introduced by Councilman Bobby Wilson last week, would add bike lanes to the list of places city drivers can’t park. Other areas where parking is...
Pittsburgh man gets 1 year, 1 day in prison for throwing brick at police car during 2020 protest
A Pittsburgh man who threw a brick through a police cruiser window during protests last year was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day behind bars. George Allen, 33, of the city’s Sheraden neighborhood, also must spend three years on probation following his release from federal prison, U.S. Attorney...
U.S. reports 1st case of omicron variant in returning traveler
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler who returned to California after a trip to South Africa — as scientists around the world race to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous...
Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant stepping down to lead San Diego foundation
Grant Oliphant is stepping down as president of The Heinz Endowments, spurring a nationwide search for the next leader to helm Western Pennsylvania’s second-largest grant-making foundation. Oliphant — who has headed The Heinz Endowments for the past eight years — is leaving to become CEO of the San Diego-based Conrad...
