Top Stories category, Page 1208
Life during covid: Windber woman offers helping hand in a variety of ways
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series examining how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of members of our community. Donna LaMonaca is no stranger to helping others. A little less than a year ago, as the covid-19 pandemic ramped up across the world, the Windber resident...
University of Pittsburgh sees spike in covid cases
The University of Pittsburgh said it has seen an 83% spike in new covid cases this past week and four of its campuses are in a “guarded risk posture.” Thirty-six students have tested positive for coronavirus since March 16, and 45 are in isolation at the Oakland campus, according to...
Story of Wally Triplett, 1st Black football player to start for Penn State, to be made into movieVideo
It was a moment every high school football player dreams about. It was the mid-1940s, and Wally Triplett had just opened a letter from the University of Miami. The school was offering him a scholarship to play football for the Hurricanes. Triplett was ecstatic. His joy quickly evaporated when he...
In a battle to preserve history dating to 1770s, Westmoreland County running out of space
From British rule to the coronavirus, Westmoreland County government stores millions of paper records spanning more than two centuries of local history. Rows of boxes stacked to the ceiling hold government and court records dating to the time of King George III. They occupy thousands of square feet of warehouse...
Spring is here: 5 facts about the equinox
Saturday is the first day of spring — also known as the vernal equinox. Here are five questions answered to help you understand the science of the season. What’s an equinox? For two moments every year the sun passes directly above the equator — once in March and once in...
Duquesne public address announcer remembered for his passion, talent
Brian Klisavage, the official scorekeeper for Duquesne basketball since the 1980s, sat next to public address announcer Dominic Errico during dozens of games over the past seven years. No one had a better vantage point to feel Errico’s ability to bring a different level of energy to an arena. From...
Person dead after being struck by train near Route 837 in Washington County
A person was struck and killed by a train traveling near Route 837 and Jones Lane in Carroll Township, Washington County, on Friday afternoon. The Washington County Coroner’s Office said the victim was struck shortly before 4 p.m. along the Norfolk Southern Railway tracks that run between Route 837 and...
Burrell School District working on plan to help struggling students
Editor’s note: The original version of this story attributed school board President Pam Key’s remarks to a different school director. Burrell School District is working on a plan to help students in academic trouble, including those having problems with virtual learning. Superintendent Shannon Wagner told the school board Tuesday about...
Springdale father and son safe, sheltered after fire damages home
Kendall Collier was at work when he received an emergency call from his father Friday afternoon. “ ’Our house is on fire. Come home quick’ were his exact words,” Collier said, standing outside their three-story Springdale home. Firefighters from multiple departments responded to the two-alarm blaze around 2:30 p.m. along...
Penguins’ Lower Hill redevelopment minority workforce plan approved
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ plan to create more jobs for minorities and women as part of the Lower Hill redevelopment project finally appears to be a reality. The Penguins and their development partner Buccini Pollin on Thursday announced their minority and women business enterprise participation plan was unanimously approved by the...
Small pharmacies ‘beyond frustrated’ as Pennsylvania locks them out of vaccine process
As Pennsylvania officials work to roll back the number of covid-19 vaccine providers in an effort to streamline the process, several businesses across the region have learned they are slated to no longer receive first doses. Efforts to curtail the number of providers began in February, when Acting Secretary of...
Western Pa. districts welcome new student social distancing guidelines
News of updated student social distancing guidelines was met with enthusiasm Friday at Burrell School District, where Superintendent Shannon Wagner said about 70% of students have chosen in-person learning throughout the school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines will allow schools to relax social distancing measures in...
You’ll need more cash to play Pa. Lottery’s Cash 5
It will take double the cash to play Cash 5, the Pennsylvania Lottery’s longest-running jackpot game. The base ticket price will jump from $1 to $2, and Cash 5 will offer a revised game with a chance to win more prizes, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced. The changes will begin with...
Ex-Greensburg attorney disbarred by Pennsylvania Supreme Court
A Greensburg attorney who admitted in 2019 to stealing nearly $50,000 from a fraternal organization has been disbarred by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The state’s highest court this week issued a two-sentence order barring Donald Blake Moreman, 60, who lives in Bullskin, Fayette County, from practicing law in the state....
McKees Rocks business owners charged with storming Capitol, stealing police gear
A couple who owns a McKees Rocks contracting company was arrested on Friday with rioting in the U.S. Capitol in January — including kicking a door and stealing protective masks from a police bag. Debra Maimone, 27, and Philip Vogel II, 33, who operate Vera General Contracting and Cleaning Services,...
Covid cases jump in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania
More covid cases were reported Friday in Allegheny County than at any point in the past 10 days, according to the most recent health department data. An additional 346 cases were announced Friday, bumping the county’s seven-day average up to 262. That’s the highest level for that metric since March...
2 people escape Southwest Greensburg house fire
Two Southwest Greensburg residents escaped injury early Friday after a smoke detector alerted them to a fire in a bedroom and they fled their house, according to firefighters. Multiple area departments responded to the fire on the 400 block of Oakland Avenue at 3:35 a.m., according to Southwest Greensburg fire...
In dealing with immigration, Biden is using some of same tactics as Trump, leaving Democrats in political bind
WASHINGTON — Democrats who long blistered the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies are suddenly in a tough political bind. The Biden administration is responding to a wave of children crossing the southern border into the U.S. with some of the very tactics that evoked moral outrage from Democrats when former...
Shaler detective urged wife charged in Capitol riot not to go to Washington, chief says
Mike Heinl repeatedly asked his wife not to go to Washington, D.C., in early January, according to his boss. The Shaler police detective — who is attached to the FBI Pittsburgh Violent Crimes Task Force — didn’t condone Jennifer Marie Heinl’s participation in the events at the Capitol, Shaler police...
CDC changes school guidance, allowing desks to be closer
NEW YORK — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its social distancing guidelines for schools Friday, saying students can now sit 3 feet apart in classrooms. The revised covid-19 recommendations represent a turn away from the 6-foot standard that has forced some schools to remove desks, stagger scheduling...
Pittsburgh police looking for missing woman with dementia
Pittsburgh police are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing senior citizen. According to police, Maxine Gillis, 79, suffers from dementia. She was dropped off at a family member’s home by taxi around 1 a.m. Friday but did not show up in the 2100 block of Park Hill...
Fawn supervisor not eligible for reelection because he lives in Florida, objection claims
A Fawn supervisor seeking reelection should be removed from the Democratic primary ballot in May because he does not live in the township, an objection to his nominating petition claims. The objection filed by resident Tracy Volk, a registered Democrat, claims Supervisor David A. Norris, 79, has lived in DeLand,...
East Pittsburgh woman said man threatened to shoot her before taking baby that prompted Amber Alert, police say
A 20-year-old man who sparked an Amber Alert for a 1-year-old girl Thursday twice pointed a gun at the girl’s mother and threatened to kill the woman before taking their child, according to state police. The girl, taken from her mother’s East Pittsburgh home, was recovered safely by a SWAT...
Report: Pennsylvania casino revenues down slightly in FebruaryVideo
Following a strong start to the year, Pennsylvania casinos last month saw a slight drop in gambling revenue as they work to recoup from the economic impacts of the covid-19 pandemic. In February, revenues posted by casinos across the state came in at $301.9 million, a decrease of $2.36 million,...
Petition to rename Route 981 after late state Rep. Mike Reese gains traction
An online petition to rename a state highway after the late state Rep. Mike Reese has rocketed towards it goal of 2,500 signatures in short order. Mt. Pleasant resident Nick Molitor created the petition on Change.org, where more than 2,200 people have already shown their support. He never met Reese,...
