Top Stories category, Page 1219
Doing what’s right: Inside restoration begins on tomb of Sutersville founderVideo
Frank Barbera knew if he was going to get inside the Suter mausoleum at West Newton Cemetery, it wasn’t going to be through the bricked-over front door. Instead, the former Sutersville mayor in November removed bricks covering the windows and shimmied his way into the structure that entombs Sutersville’s founder,...
Another ex-aide calls Cuomo’s office conduct inappropriate
NEW YORK — Another woman who worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo is describing conduct she felt was inappropriate for the workplace. Ana Liss, 35, told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Saturday that when she worked as a policy aide to the governor between 2013 and 2015, Cuomo...
Editorial: Keep on rolling up sleeves for the vaccines to beat down covid
The coronavirus pandemic has been a yearlong war. There have been front lines and battle plans, equipment deployed and troops activated. There have been far too many casualties. It has been approached as a national security issue because that is exactly what it is — a catastrophic event that threatens...
Leechburg church partners with Lower Burrell area charity to bolster food distributions
A Leechburg church has partnered with a Lower Burrell- area nonprofit to ensure food supply is not a problem in future free distributions. Twice last month, volunteers from Kiski Valley Community Church had to turn away families who waited for hours at the Leechburg Fire Hall for boxes of food....
Westmoreland County posts 61 more coronavirus cases
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 61 new cases of the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, as the area continues to stay below triple digit case counts. The county last saw a triple-digit count Feb. 3, and 18 of the 31 days since then have remained below 75 new...
Editorial: Total testing for covid at Allegheny County Jail is worthy goal
Jails check for a lot of things when processing someone who has been arrested. Suspects are checked for weapons or other potentially dangerous items. They are checked for contraband such as drugs. They are photographed, fingerprinted, patted down and looked over. During the course of a stay in jail, there...
Cleveland rocker, radio star Michael Stanley dead at 72
CLEVELAND — Michael Stanley, a Cleveland-based rocker who with his namesake band reached the Top 40 in the 1980s with the hits “He Can’t Love You” and “My Town” before going on to a long career as a radio disc jockey, has died. He was 72. Stanley died Thursday after...
1 year after covid hit Pa: nearly 1 million cases, more than 24,000 deaths
Pennsylvania health officials on Saturday reported 2,789 new coronavirus cases, exactly one year after the virus was first discovered in the Keystone State. Two people were reported quarantined on March 6, 2020 in the eastern part of the state after they were presumed positive to have contracted covid-19. Saturday’s data...
Biden, Dems prevail as Senate OKs $1.9T virus relief bill
WASHINGTON — An exhausted Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill Saturday as President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums. After laboring all night on a mountain of amendments — nearly...
Allegheny County reports 276 new covid cases, 3 deaths
Allegheny County on Saturday recorded 276 new coronavirus cases, as case counts and hospitalizations continue to decrease in the area. Reports haven’t reached 500 cases in nearly seven weeks and the county hasn’t reported any 1,000-case days in the past nine weeks, according to data from the Allegheny County Health...
Senate Dems strike jobless aid deal, relief bill OK in sight
WASHINGTON — Senate leaders and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin struck a deal late Friday over emergency jobless benefits, breaking a nine-hour logjam that had stalled the party’s showpiece $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill. The compromise, announced by the West Virginia lawmaker and a Democratic aide, seemed to clear the...
Altoona police arrest Pittsburgh man they say is connected to October murder in Indiana County
A man wanted in connection with a murder in Indiana County last fall has been arrested in Altoona. Terrion Gates was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and officers with the Altoona Police Department, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Gates was wanted on homicide, robbery and...
Westmoreland County gets $12.9 million for emergency rental aid for needy
Westmoreland County residents who are behind on their rent and facing possible eviction or unable to pay huge heating bills and fearing a utility shutoff can seek help through a $12.9 million federally funded program for emergency rental aid. “We’re seeing an increase in demand for rental assistance across the...
Some UPMC St. Margaret patients may have had health information ‘inappropriately disclosed,’ officials say
Health information of some UPMC St. Margaret hospital patients might have been “inappropriately disclosed” after an employee sent a medication administration report to an outside organization without a business need, UPMC officials disclosed Friday. According to a release from the health care network, officials learned of the the breach Aug....
‘We’ve had enough’: 95% of United Steelworkers support striking against ATI
A whopping 95% of 1,300 United Steelworkers agreed to authorize a possible strike against Allegheny Technologies Inc. after more than a year of stalled contract negotiations, union officials said. The vote included more than 420 members who cast their ballots at the union hall on Brackenridge Avenue by 5 p.m....
NASA’s new Mars rover hits dusty red road, 1st trip 21 feet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive. The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the red planet to seek signs of past life....
Landlord group sues Pittsburgh, city council over eviction moratorium
An organization representing landlords in the region is suing Pittsburgh City Council over its passing of an eviction moratorium to protect renters from eviction amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit, filed by the North Huntingdon-based Landlord Services Bureau, claims the ordinance passed by council earlier this week goes beyond...
Vaccination for Pittsburgh teachers to start next week, details still uncertain
Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement this week that teachers would be moved first in line to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Pittsburgh schools are poised to begin inoculating teachers next week. “The vaccinations of our teachers and school staff will add an additional layer of mitigation strategies we already...
Woman who sued BNY Mellon for wrongful termination over Antwon Rose post loses appeal
An appellate court upheld a federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former BNY Mellon employee who alleged racial discrimination after she was fired for writing on social media that a man should have driven a bus through a group of protesters in Pittsburgh. Lisa Ellis, of...
Pa. Game Commission says game-law violations dip slightly
Wildlife game law violations dipped slightly last fiscal year compared to the year before, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s recently released 2020 annual report. The Game Commission said it pursued 6,708 prosecutions for alleged game-law violations during the fiscal year that ended June 30, down 1.7% from the year...
Minimum wage hike falls short as Senate debates virus bill
WASHINGTON — The Senate seemingly killed progressives’ last-ditch effort to include a minimum wage hike in the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill Friday, as the chamber began climactic votes on the huge package embodying President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority. Senators voted 58-42 against the increase, though the vote...
Police charge Pitcairn man with rape of 11-year-old girl
Allegheny County Police have charged a 29-year-old Pitcairn man in connection with the rape of an 11-year-old girl. Joshua Davon Austin-Pollard faces multiple felonies, including rape and sexual assault. Police say the events took place at Austin-Pollard’s Third Street home three days after Christmas. The charges also include interference with...
3rd-degree murder count could be reinstated against Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s death
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a judge to reconsider adding a third-degree murder charge against a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, handing a potential victory to prosecutors. A three-judge panel said Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill erred last fall when...
Gov. Wolf: ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ in virus fight
HARRISBURG — One year after the discovery of the first coronavirus case in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday that it has been a tough and trying year, but there is hope and a light at the end of the tunnel with the growing availability of vaccines. Wolf, speaking at...
California would ban boys and girls sections at big retailers under proposed law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s large retailers would have to do away with boy and girl signage for toys and child care aisles, under a bill being considered by state lawmakers. Assembly Bill 1084 would require retailers with 500 or more employees “to maintain undivided areas of its sales floor where...
