Top Stories category, Page 1222
Pet store Petagogy grows customer base, plans move to downtown Greensburg
Owners of a local pet supply store found a paws-itively purr-fect new location to set up shop, in downtown Greensburg. Petagogy will wrap up business April 18 at its Hempfield location, on Route 30 across from Ferrante’s Lakeview banquet facility, with plans to reopen on April 21 on Greensburg’s East...
Gov. Wolf: Teachers, school staff move to front of line for Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine
Most teachers across Pennsylvania could be vaccinated and ready to return to classrooms by the end of March, state officials said Wednesday as they announced that educators and school staff will receive priority for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Gov. Tom Wolf said giving educators the first shot at the...
Fundraising efforts strong to repair fire-damaged ArtHouse in Homewood
As the fire was burning on Valentine’s Day, Vanessa German walked toward the house. Firefighters stopped her. “They said, ‘You can’t go in there,’ ” said German this week, standing outside the house — the ArtHouse on Hamilton Avenue in Homewood. This was the place she founded. The place for...
Top Pa. senator appoints colleague’s wife to lucrative Gaming Control Board seat
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The top Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate has quietly appointed the spouse of a colleague to a coveted spot...
Editorial: A good step for Penguins fans, but caution is on deck
The Pittsburgh Penguins took their shot two weeks ago when they asked the state for a little more freedom. PPG Paints Arena was only allowed to have 500 people at games — including the players, the coaches, the guy who drives the Zamboni, the workers who run the lights, the...
Abortion concerns prompt archdiocese warning on vaccine
NEW ORLEANS — Roman Catholic leaders in St. Louis and New Orleans are advising Catholics that the covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, newly approved for use in the U.S., is “morally compromised” because it is produced using a cell line derived from an aborted fetus. The New Orleans archdiocese...
U.S. forces: Rockets hit airbase in Iraq hosting U.S. troops
BAGHDAD — At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi military said. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., coalition...
Woman claims she was bitten by rat at Allegheny County Jail
Chavail Futrell got picked up on a bench warrant for missing court and was held at Allegheny County Jail on Feb. 8. Even though there were holds on her for minor drug charges out of Allegheny and Fayette counties, both were lifted by Feb. 10. Still, Futrell, 35, wasn’t released....
Pittsburgh police cracking down on off-road vehicles riding on city streets, tip line set up
Pittsburgh public safety officials have created a tip line to crack down on people riding off-road vehicles on city streets and sidewalks. Authorities said the increase in so-called “flash mobs” and “ride-outs” that involve groups of people riding all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles on city streets and...
Coroner: Mt. Pleasant man killed after rear-ending a truck in East Huntingdon
A Mt. Pleastant Township man died Tuesday when his car rear-ended a tractor-trailer in East Huntingdon. The crash occurred as Lawrence L. Savage, 46, was driving on Route 31, near Old Route 119, before 2:30 p.m., according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Savage failed to slow down for an...
As virus-era attacks on Asians rise, past victims look back
Nearly a year after they were almost stabbed to death inside a Midland, Texas, Sam’s Club, Bawi Cung and his two sons all have visible scars. It’s the unseen ones though that are harder to get over. Cung can’t walk through any store without constantly looking in all directions. His...
Penguins fans eager to return to PPG Paints Arena
It was a great day for hockey — especially for Pittsburgh Penguins fans returning to PPG Paints Arena to enjoy the game in person. Tuesday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers marked the first hockey night in Pittsburgh with fans in attendance since last March. Gov. Tom Wolf eased some...
Budget nominee Tanden withdraws nomination amid opposition
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, has withdrawn her nomination after she faced opposition from key Democratic and Republican senators for her controversial tweets. Her withdrawal marks the first high-profile defeat of one of Biden’s nominees. Eleven of the 23...
2 motorists flown to hospitals after truck-SUV collide on Route 22 in SalemVideo
A woman driving an SUV and a man driving a tractor-trailer were flown to area hospitals after their vehicles collided Tuesday evening on Route 22 in Salem Township. The crash was reported before 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Route 119. All lanes of Route 22 in the vicinity were...
Brackenridge steelworkers to vote on ATI strike authorization
The United Steelworkers local representing employees at Allegheny Technologies Inc. facilities in Harrison has scheduled a strike authorization vote. The union’s 10 locals with ATI are scheduling the votes this week after its contract with ATI expired on Sunday without the sides agreeing on a new one. Locals 1196 and...
Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Festival returns in a new format
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will return this June in a hybrid format, featuring both in-person and virtual events. But none of the real-life events will take place in Point State Park or Gateway Center, where the festival is traditionally held. Organized by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the...
Biden vows enough vaccine for all U.S. adults by end of May
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated, as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved...
People rally at Rep. Conor Lamb’s Penn Hills office in support of $15 minimum wage increaseVideo
Joy Darden-Pipkins has been taking care of her godmother for around 20 years without being paid. “It’s a labor of love,” she said, adding she is grateful to be married to a man who makes enough money to pay the bills and the mortgage. Darden-Pipkins was one of around 30...
‘Such a relief’: People flock to Heinz Field for covid vaccine clinic by Giant Eagle, SteelersVideo
Debbie Andres had reason to smile beneath her purple mask Tuesday afternoon as she strolled outside Heinz Field and prepared to drive home. The sun was shining. And after several bleak winter weeks of trying to book an appointment with any provider she could find, the 63-year-old Harrison woman managed...
FBI Director Christopher Wray calls riot at Capitol ‘domestic terrorism,’ warns movement is growing
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray bluntly labeled the January riot at the U.S. Capitol as “domestic terrorism” Tuesday and warned of a rapidly growing threat of homegrown violent extremism that law enforcement is scrambling to confront through thousands of investigations. Wray also defended to lawmakers his own agency’s handling...
Biden’s plan to distribute virus aid benefits Democratic-led states, some GOP governors say
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Biden administration’s plan to funnel more coronavirus aid into states with greater unemployment has irked governors with lower jobless rates. The $1.9 trillion relief bill working its way through Congress allocates extra money to larger, mostly Democratic-run states with higher unemployment rates, while rural Midwestern and...
Lawyer for man suspected in Unity woman’s disappearance wants evidence tossed in federal firearms case
The attorney for Thomas George Stanko questioned in federal court Tuesday the reliability of a witness and police interpretation of jailhouse phone calls that led state troopers to find 17 guns on his Unity property and in a storage unit. Attorney Komron Jon Maknoon said investigators may have misrepresented what...
Bankruptcy judge approves sale of Conneaut Lake Park
CONNEAUT LAKE — A federal bankruptcy court judge has approved the sale of a century-old amusement park in northwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeffrey Deller on Tuesday morning approved the sale of Conneaut Lake Park to Keldon Holdings LLC for a cash price of $1.2 million. An auction...
Pa. lawmakers urge improvements in vaccine distribution for seniors
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday implored state officials to do better at getting covid-19 vaccines to seniors while the Health Department said the new approval of a third vaccine will help. “This is unacceptable,” state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, said during a House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee...
Eviction ban passed by Pittsburgh City Council
Pittsburgh City Council moved forward Tuesday with a temporary ban on evictions during the emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation, spearheaded by Councilwoman Deb Gross, with support from Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration, and several city activists, was unanimously approved, but only after extensive discussion among council members. They...
