Top Stories category, Page 1077
Pa. officials calling thousands in effort to address bus driver shortage
Pennsylvania officials are searching statewide for school bus drivers as the driver shortage plaguing the nation continues to hit close to home. PennDOT is reaching out to about 375,000 people across the state who have commercial driver’s licenses to highlight the need for bus drivers and the process for obtaining...
Biden signs bill to avert partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden on Thursday evening signed legislation that would avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday. The back-to-back votes by the Senate and then the House averted one crisis,...
Natural gas prices surge, meaning higher heating bills likely coming for customers
People using natural gas to heat their homes should brace for higher prices this winter. Wholesale prices of the fuel have nearly doubled from a year ago for reasons including the pandemic, foreign sales and fallout from Hurricane Ida. The effects from that perfect storm might begin as soon as...
At last minute, Pa. lawmakers vote to extend dozens of covid-19 waivers
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 — The Pennsylvania legislature unanimously voted Wednesday to extend dozens of regulatory waivers put into place last year to help...
Biden plan at stake, Pelosi pushes ahead for $3.5T deal
WASHINGTON — With President Joe Biden’s government overhaul at stake, Democrats charged into trouble Thursday as a promised vote on the first piece, a slimmer $1 trillion public works bill, faltered amid stalled talks on his more ambitious package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assembled her leadership team for an early...
Former Ace Hotel in East Liberty reopens with new name, new management
The Ace Hotel in East Liberty has reopened with new management and a new name after closing in the midst of the pandemic. Now called Kasa at the Maverick, the hotel on South Whitfield Street is now operated by Kasa, a chain with hotel and short-term apartment locations in more...
Powerball jackpot rises to $620 million, 6th largest largest ever
DES MOINES, Iowa — After nearly four months without a big winner, the Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $620 million, making it the sixth largest ever for the lottery game ahead of Saturday night’s drawing. There have been 39 drawings in a row without a Powerball grand prize...
Woman who survived 1918 flu, world war succumbs to covid
She lived a life of adventure that spanned two continents. She fell in love with a World War II fighter pilot, barely escaped Europe ahead of Benito Mussolini’s fascists, ground steel for the U.S. war effort and advocated for her disabled daughter in a far less enlightened time. She was,...
It’s flu vaccine time, even if you’ve had your covid shots
Amid all the focus on covid-19 vaccinations, U.S. health experts have another plea: Don’t skip your flu shot. Flu cases have dropped to historically low levels during the pandemic. The U.S. and Europe experienced hardly any flu last winter, and the Southern Hemisphere just ended its second flu season of...
4 Franklin Regional students, driver injured after school van crashes into Murrysville Eat ‘n Park
Four students and a driver were injured Thursday morning when a school van crashed into the Eat’n Park restaurant on William Penn Highway in Murrysville, according to authorities. The 7 a.m. incident involved a van contracted from A.J. Myers & Sons transportation company that was carrying five high school students...
Pittsburgh Brewing Co. puts its name on brewery being developed in East Deer
Those traveling along Route 28 will see a new addition to the East Deer brewery being developed as the new home of Iron City Beer. Company spokeswoman Anna Angotti said signage displaying “Pittsburgh Brewing Co.” was installed on the sprawling, 140,000-square-foot facility over the weekend. “We are making small progress...
Jeannette man ordered to stand trial in connection with teen’s shooting
A Jeannette man will stand trial in connection with the shooting of a 17-year-old boy in the city on April 7. After listening to the teen’s testimony Wednesday, District Judge Joseph DeMarchis ordered Brandon Lee Ingram, 24, to stand trial on charges of solicitation to commit homicide, solicitation to commit...
Pittsburgh Public Schools names longtime administrator as interim superintendent
Pittsburgh Public Schools has named one of its longtime administrators to serve as interim superintendent to replace Anthony Hamlet, whose resignation is effective Friday. Wayne Walters, who serves as assistant superintendent of professional development and special programming, was named interim superintendent during a school board meeting Wednesday. Walters will be...
Former Westmoreland County sheriff’s retrial set for March
The public corruption retrial for former Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held is scheduled for March, more than two years after voters ousted him from office. The case against the two-term sheriff has been in limbo since Held’s first trial ended in December 2018 with jurors unable to reach a unanimous...
Covid cases, deaths rising among younger Allegheny County residents
As covid-19 cases have continued to rise, particularly among younger people, so too have deaths, said Allegheny Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen. Five people in the 25- to 49-year-old age group have died so far in September, Bogen said. “If you’re young and healthy and you get covid, there’s a...
Postal Service changes may slow some deliveries, boost first-class prices for holidays
Folks dropping letters in the mail starting Friday may want to add a few extra days for transit if their missives are going cross-country. Likewise, anyone sending packages and cards around the holiday season will want to have a smidge of extra cash on hand to pay the postage piper....
Loaded hand gun is 5th caught at Pittsburgh International Airport in 6 days
A Farmington man carrying a loaded Ruger 9mm handgun with seven bullets was stopped before he could board a flight Tuesday at Pittsburgh International Airport. Transportation Security Administration officers stopped the man after spotting the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine. They alerted Allegheny County Police who then confiscated the...
Westmoreland election bureau director post to remain vacant
Westmoreland County commissioners said Wednesday they will not hire a new election bureau director until after voters cast ballots in November. Officials said interviews are ongoing to fill the job that has been vacant since June, when commissioners fired the elections director after she served just 10 controversial months on...
Saturday service set for Pittsburgh police officer who was killed by covid
Officials on Wednesday confirmed that covid-19 was the cause of death for a Pittsburgh police officer who died earlier this week. Brian Rowland, 47, died Sunday at St. Clair Hospital. Officials did not immediately release Rowland’s cause of death in their Monday announcement, saying only that it came after “a...
FBI Pittsburgh offering $5,000 for information on stolen service weapon
The FBI’s Pittsburgh office is offering a reward for the return of a gun stolen from an agent’s vehicle Tuesday in Schenley Park. The reward, worth up to $5,000, is for information leading to the recovery of the Glock 19M 9mm, officials said. The FBI vehicle itself was stolen from...
New records reveal the cost of Pa.’s failure to clarify rules around addiction treatment and marijuana
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 — The failure by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to clarify federal rules around addiction treatment funding and medical marijuana caused...
Allegheny County: All executive branch employees must be vaccinated by December
All employees working for Allegheny County’s executive branch must be vaccinated against covid-19 by Dec. 1, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Wednesday. “As we continue to see cases of covid in our county, and different populations being affected than were previously, it is even more important that our workforce be...
Crumbling foundation at Cross on the Hill poses safety hazard, donations sought
Major structural repairs are being eyed for the Cross on the Hill, an Alle-Kiski Valley icon that shines from the bluff over the Allegheny River in Lower Burrell. A crumbling foundation will require up to $10,000 to fix, said Karen Snair, executive director of the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches...
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show adds fall edition
A smaller version of the annual spring Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show – The Pittsburgh Fall Home Show – will bloom Oct. 8-10 at the David Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. The 10-day spring show, a staple for four decades, was postponed until March 2022. Organizers decided to host an abbreviated...
1 dead in South Greensburg crash that shut down Route 119, pickup truck driver had heart issueVideo
A Pitcairn man died and a Latrobe policeman was injured Wednesday morning in a crash along Route 119 in South Greensburg, authorities said. Robert J. Borst, 57, of Fourth Street died as a result of cardiovascular disease, the Westmoreland County Coroner said. Borst was pronounced dead at Excela Westmoreland Hospital...
