Top Stories category, Page 1071
URA loan to help bring music, restaurant back to Pittsburgh’s James Street Gastropub
A $500,000 loan from Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority could help bring music back to the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood. The loan to 422 Foreland LLC, which owns the former James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy at Foreland and James streets, is part of an effort to revitalize the site. The company...
Beaver County baby dies after ingesting heroin, mother charged
A 10-month-old girl died over the weekend, two weeks after ingesting heroin at a Beaver County home in September. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner said Myla Rushman died Saturday at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The incident happened in the 1000 block of Rice Avenue in Ambridge on Sept. 25....
State police looking for man after ‘dangerous’ pursuit in Somerset County
State police are looking for the driver of a vehicle after a pursuit in Somerset County last week. State police said they were unable to find Mark Lynn Boden, 27, of Johnstown, after the chase on Thursday that started on Glades Pike and continued for about 5 miles before ending...
Police: 3 men shot in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Three people were hospitalized Monday evening after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood, police said. Public Safety Spokesperson Cara Cruz said officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert for multiple rounds fired shortly after 7 p.m. in the 200 block of Devilliers Street. Police found a man with a gunshot...
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issues executive order banning vaccine mandates by private entities
AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday issued an executive order prohibiting any entity in Texas from mandating covid-19 vaccinations for employees or consumers, an expansion of a prior order limited to government entities. Abbott also asked lawmakers to tackle the issue during the current special legislative session, ensuring that...
Salem’s Market to open grocery store at former Shop ′n Save site in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
A new grocery store has been chosen for the former Shop ′n Save site at the Hill District’s Centre Heldman Plaza, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. The URA said it will enter into lease negotiations with Salem’s Market & Grill, a locally owned, family-run grocery store. This...
Heinz Field management: Fans aren’t allowed to scatter a loved one’s ashes inside stadium
A fan scattered ashes of a family member at Heinz Field during the Steelers’ 27-19 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday, a team spokesman said. “Heinz Field management does not permit or condone such actions,” Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said in a statement. Pennsylvania does not have a state...
Pa. state universities enrollment drops to lowest point since 1986
Enrollment declined 5.4% across Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities this fall, slipping to 88,651 — a low not seen in 35 years. Officials were anticipating a slight decline in enrollment, but nothing prepared them for the totals the universities reported after three weeks of classes. Enrollment has not been this low...
GOP wants personal voter data to root out fraud, but Pa. already uses a more secure system
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 — Pennsylvania has spent nearly half a million dollars over the past six years to find and remove outdated registrations...
Pittsburgh’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s back after covid hiatus, aims to raise $425K toward care, cure
A socially distanced sea of more than 1,000 people is expected to walk along the Monongahela riverfront Saturday morning motivated by a shared goal — supporting those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and the researchers striving to cure it. The crowd of fundraisers will march a roughly two-mile loop from Highmark...
Family celebrates Nobel Prize winner from Pittsburgh
By all accounts, Joshua Angrist was one of those cool kids you would have wanted to hang out with at Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill. He was a partier and an artist. But a future Nobel Prize winner? “I think if you were to look at Josh’s activities in...
Pa. attorney general Josh Shapiro jumps into ’22 governor’s race
Pennsylvania’s high-profile attorney general, Josh Shapiro, will formally announce his candidacy for governor on Wednesday, entering the 2022 race months after making his intentions known and effectively clearing the field of potential rivals for the Democratic nomination. Shapiro, a familiar presence on cable TV news who has spent nearly two...
Police looking for thieves who stole 35 catalytic converters from Salem RV dealership
State police are trying to figure out who stole thousands of dollars worth of catalytic converters from exhaust systems of 35 vehicles parked in the lot at a Salem recreational vehicle dealership along Route 66. The thefts took place about 2 a.m. Oct. 2 at Valero Century RV, just north...
A year later, Pittsburgh Columbus statue remains covered in Schenley Park
A year after the Italian Sons & Daughters of America sued the City of Pittsburgh over its proposed removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus at Schenley Park, the case remains in limbo — and the 13-foot-tall statue remains covered. An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge who is presiding over...
Penn State’s The Corner to resume open houses monthly in New Kensington
The veil of mystery surrounding The Corner will be lifted this week in New Kensington. The Corner, a Penn State program at 701 Fifth Ave., will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The Corner opened in 2017. “There’s a bit of a mystique about what...
Man robbed at gunpoint during ATV sale in Beaver County
A man was robbed of more than $4,000 at gunpoint Friday when he met someone to buy an ATV in Beaver County, state police said. State police said the victim, a 24-year-old man from Conneautville in Crawford County, arranged to meet the seller in the 400 block of Upper Service...
Pittsburgh-raised researcher wins Nobel Prize in economics with 2 others
STOCKHOLM — Three U.S-based economists — including one raised in Pittsburgh — won the 2021 Nobel prize for economics on Monday for pioneering research on the labor market impacts of minimum wage, immigration and education, and for creating the scientific framework to allow conclusions to be drawn from such studies...
Merck asks FDA to authorize promising anti-covid pill
WASHINGTON — Drugmaker Merck asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its pill against covid-19 in what would add an entirely new and easy-to-use weapon to the world’s arsenal against the pandemic. If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration — a decision that could come in a matter of weeks...
Monroeville man dies after being thrown from ATV in Penn Hills crash
A Monroeville man died Sunday in Penn Hills in a crash involving a vehicle and an ATV, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said the crash happened around 7:30 p.m. in the 200 block of Universal Road. First responders found Eric Lavrinc, 57, who had been thrown from his ATV....
Report details little has changed at Pennsylvania casinos when it comes to worker diversity
A new report from state regulators shows that ethnic diversity among employees at Pennsylvania casinos hasn’t changed much in recent years. According to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the majority of employees across the state’s 16 licensed casinos are white, matching trends seen at the facilities for...
Small businesses navigate ever-changing covid-19 reality
NEW YORK — For a brief moment this summer, it seemed like small businesses might be getting a break from the relentless onslaught of the pandemic. More Americans, many of them vaccinated, flocked to restaurants and stores without needing to mask up or socially distance. But then came a surge...
Feats of Strength/Airing of Grievances: Plenty of both after Steelers barely hold on to beat the Broncos
It took a few minutes to find my Steelers “Feats of Strength” file on my computer. I couldn’t remember where it was saved. It’s been a while since I’ve needed to access it. It’s been difficult to find many good things to write about after Steelers games the past three...
North Huntingdon church offers blessings for pets, support for animal rescue groups
The Rev. Brenda Barnes gave kisses, and got some, after delivering her Sunday sermon. The pastor applied a kiss, as well as anointing oil, to animals that were cooperative, as she conducted the annual Blessing of the Pets from noon to 2 p.m. at the pavilion of New Hope Presbyterian...
Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue into Monday
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Monday following a weekend of major service disruptions. By late morning Monday, Southwest had canceled about 365 flights — 10% of its schedule for the day — and more than 600 others were delayed. The Dallas-based airline blamed air traffic control issues...
Navy nuclear engineer charged with trying to pass secrets
WASHINGTON — An engineer who worked at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin faces federal espionage-related charges for allegedly trying to sell U.S. military secrets to an undercover agent posing as a foreign government representative, the Justice Department said Sunday. In a criminal complaint detailing espionage-related charges against Jonathan...
