Top Stories category, Page 1213
Authorities investigating fatal Big Beaver fire as a homicide
A man is dead after an early morning house fire in Big Beaver that authorities say is being investigated as a homicide. Beaver County Emergency Management Agency officials confirmed the coroner’s office was dispatched to the scene of the fire on the 1000 block of Shenango Road in Big Beaver...
Pittsburgh Parks & Rec reaches food distribution milestone during pandemic
Many organizations have had to reinvent themselves since the start of the pandemic one year ago and the City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks & Recreation is no exception. While Citiparks recreation and senior centers have been closed to activities during the pandemic, many have been repurposed as safe sites...
As pandemic continues, GOP lawmakers prepare for retreat at pricey Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. A version of this story originally appeared in our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — When Republican lawmakers come together for their annual retreats this month and next...
Survivors struggle as scientists race to solve covid mystery
There was no reason to celebrate on Rachel Van Lear’s anniversary. The same day a global pandemic was declared, she developed symptoms of covid-19. A year later, she’s still waiting for them to disappear. And for experts to come up with some answers. The Texas woman is one of thousands...
Democrats bank on relief aid to win back wary working class
JEANNETTE — When Joe Biden visited this corner of southwestern Pennsylvania in the final weeks before the election, his goal wasn’t to win it so much as to show the area’s overwhelmingly white working-class electorate that his party was at least willing to try. “A lot of white, working-class Democrats...
North Country Brewing owner contends Pa. officials unfairly targeted restaurants during pandemicVideo
The owner of North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock believes he did everything right. When faced with the initial covid-19 shutdown orders implemented by the governor a year ago — the first of which, right before St. Patrick’s Day, cost him about $32,000 in wasted food — Robert McCafferty closed....
Colleges weigh a return to in-person commencement
One year after a global pandemic shuttered campuses across the country, colleges and universities in Western Pennsylvania are weighing the return of an annual rite of spring — commencement ceremonies. The University of Pittsburgh, the region’s largest school, has announced it will stagger smaller in-person ceremonies at its Oakland campus...
No matter how you slice it, today is Pi(e) DayVideo
To mathematicians, today is Pi Day — 3.14 is the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle. Get it … March 14 … 3.14. But to bakers, it’s apple, cherry, cream or even a whiskey-infused Pie Day. “Every day is pie day here,” said...
‘Absolutely beautiful’: West Penn Hospital staff gave Harrison man 2nd goodbye with dying mother
It was time. The soulful tones of Diana Ross’ version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” playing from a nurse’s cellphone cut through the surreal moment. Motown music, her favorite, was the soundtrack to 74-year-old Josephine Ferguson’s final breaths, after covid-19 devastated her previously healthy body. Gregory Del Duca, her...
‘Reverberation of grief’: Covid losses take toll on Western Pennsylvania residents, communities
It has been nearly a year since the world of Ludmil Velev changed forever. For a few months in early 2020, his mother was visiting Pittsburgh from Bulgaria, thrilled to be with her granddaughter. “I’m happy I spent time with her,” said Velev, 44, of Greenfield. “She was extremely happy...
Shotgun blast through floor strikes teen in Swissvale, police say
A Swissvale teen suffered a gunshot wound Saturday after police said someone fired a shotgun in the apartment below during a domestic dispute. Allegheny County Police said they were notified of a domestic call on the 2300 block of Woodstock Ave. at approximately 4:30 p.m. A man inside a residence...
Fire destroys vacant house, damages nearby garage in Harrison, fire chief says
A fire was reported at a vacant house in Harrison on Saturday afternoon. Hilltop Hose Fire Company confirmed it responded to the blaze, as did volunteers from Citizens Hose. The fire was reported at 4 p.m. at 67 River Ave. in the Natrona neighborhood, according to an Allegheny County 911...
Carlow University tags Pitt executive as university’s 11th president
Carlow University officials launched a national search effort when university president Suzanne K. Mellon announced her decision to retire on June 30. But they didn’t have to look far to find what they called an ideal leader for the 92 year-old Oakland-based university. On Friday, Carlow trustees announced they have...
Woman hospitalized after being mauled by dogs in Pittsburgh
A woman was hospitalized after being mauled by dogs in Pittsburgh on Saturday morning. Pittsburgh Police, EMS and Animal Care and Control responded to a report of a dog attack on the 1000 block of Blackadore Street in the Homewood North neighborhood around 9:10 a.m. Police officers found a woman...
Pittsburgh firefighters battle 3-alarm fire at Marshall-Shadeland home
Firefighters were battling a fire Saturday afternoon at a home in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. The three-alarm blaze was reported on the 2800 block of Shadeland Avenue, according to a tweet from the Pittsburgh Fire Fighters. Just after 2 p.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety reported that the fire was under control. No...
Pennsylvania ramps up covid vaccines in past week; cases, hospitalizations roughly constant
The latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health shows that, of Pennsylvania residents who have received covid-19 shots, more are fully inoculated than those who have received partial doses. Meanwhile, cases, hospitalizations and deaths haven’t seen significant fluctuations one way or the other, but remain on a downward trend....
About 3,500 high-risk people return to PNC Park to receive 2nd covid vaccine shot
About 3,500 high-risk seniors will receive their second dose of the covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic at PNC Park on Saturday. Allegheny Health Network (AHN) hosted a clinic at on Feb. 20, during which 3,500 people in Phase 1A of the state’s covid-19 vaccine distribution plan received their first...
Monroeville man dies in Murrysville motorcycle crash
A 24-year-old Monroeville man died Saturday morning of injuries he suffered in a motorcycle crash Saturday in Murrysville. The Westmoreland County Coroner identified the man as Robert S. Mahan. According to Murrysville police, Mahan was headed south on Sardis Road near Cal-Ken Court about 12:45 a.m. when his motorcycle collided...
Editorial: The day the schools closed down
It was supposed to be just 10 days. That was where it all started March 13, 2020. School superintendents across Pennsylvania had met in a teleconference with then-state Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera that morning about how to move forward as the coronavirus pandemic was going from something happening in...
Overtime, hazard pay boost Westmoreland County employee wages in 2020
Nearly a quarter of Westmoreland County employees were forced to sit home without a paycheck for several months last year while furloughed during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Other staffers, though, more than doubled their annual salaries though hazard pay and overtime. A Tribune-Review analysis of overtime and...
It’s been a year. When will the pandemic end?
It’s not likely covid-19 will be completely eradicated, at least not any time soon. That would be the best case scenario, said Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology at UPMC. The worst case would be that the virus continually evolves to become more deadly and...
Mass vaccination programs pave the way for gradual return to school in Pennsylvania
Matt Jones breathed a sigh of relief Friday as he met with Jeannette High School Principal Joe Baker to chart the latest stage in a phased-in return to five-day-a-week in-person classes. Like fellow school administrators across the region, the superintendent of Jeannette schools has spent countless hours on the phone,...
Greensburg man killed in Route 30 motorcycle crash
A 44-year-old Greensburg man was killed in a motorcycle crash Friday evening on Route 30 in Unity. State police said Allen D. Wallace was speeding on his 2010 Yamaha motorcycle shortly after 9 p.m. when he collided with a 2020 Kia Sportage traveling in the same direction. Police said Wallace,...
IRS says new round of covid relief payments on the way
WASHINGTON — Along with daylight saving time, this weekend could bring Americans fatter bank balances. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday that processing of the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in...
More than half of Pittsburgh Public Schools employees receive covid vaccines
More than half of the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ teachers and staff will be at least partially vaccinated by the end of this weekend, following a series of clinics that started this week, district officials said. “This is the end of a pretty fantastic week,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said Friday. Rodney...
