Top Stories category, Page 1238
Fish fry sponsors reminded of covid guidelines, need for health permit
Health officials in Allegheny County reminded Lenten fish fry sponsors they must have a health permit and follow the state’s covid-19 mitigation guidelines. Health permits are required for all facilities serving food, including temporary fish fries. Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Aaron Aupperlee said sponsors should submit their temporary permit...
Covid hospitalizations continue to drop in Pennsylvania
Covid hospitalizations in Pennsylvania are on a downward trend, decreasing more than 500 in a week. Data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health shows the number of coronavirus patients dropped 544 from 3,768 a week ago to 3,224 Wednesday. The number also shrunk by 57 from Tuesday’s 3,281. There are...
Westmoreland County shows signs of covid cases dropping
Westmoreland County’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases (90) remained in double digits for the fourth straight day after averaging triple-digit new cases every day from Nov. 12 through Jan. 30. The county on Wednesday reported 115 additional covid-19 cases, as well as four deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department...
Dick’s Sporting Goods sues Baseball Reference over GameChanger trademark infringement
A Dick’s Sporting Goods subsidiary is suing the company that operates the popular Baseball Reference website, alleging trademark infringement. GameChanger, which is owned by Dick’s, is a software application for youth baseball and softball. The app provides statistics tracking, as well as the ability to live stream games. According to...
Allegheny County adds 33 covid-19 deaths to total
Allegheny County reported 33 more covid-19 deaths Wednesday, according to the county’s Health Department. The newly reported deaths range from Dec. 19 to Monday, with four of the deaths occurring in December. The county attributed some of the new deaths to data imported by the state from the Electronic Death...
Here’s how Pa. ranks in vaccination rollout nationwide
If it feels like the coronavirus vaccine rollout in Pennsylvania is among the worst in the country, you’re not wrong. According to data compiled by the Associated Press, Pennsylvania is tied for 39th among the 50 states in terms of the percentage of the population that has received at least...
Pittsburgh School Board postpones discussion of building closures
Pittsburgh Public School Board members voted on Tuesday to table discussions on closing or reconfiguring several district buildings. Officials had proposed major changes to the district’s footprint Monday evening. District officials said the changes, which consisted of closing seven schools and six buildings, as well as opening two new schools...
Wolf launches a budget fraught with deficits, uncertainty
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will ask lawmakers Wednesday to raise income taxes on higher earners and give public schools a massive boost in aid, even as he faces a gaping deficit and uncertainty over how much more pandemic relief the federal government will send. Because of the coronavirus pandemic,...
Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ lands 2 Golden Globe nominations
NEW YORK — David Fincher’s vision of a bygone Hollywood “Mank” topped nominations to the 78th Golden Globe Awards on Wednesday with six nods, leading Netflix’s overall domination in a pandemic-marred movie year. The film about “Citizen Kane” co-writer Herman Mankiewicz, landed nominations for best film, drama; best actor for...
Biden, Treasury Secretary Yellen say GOP virus aid too small
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden panned a Republican alternative to his $1.9 trillion covid rescue plan as insufficient as Senate Democrats pushed ahead, voting to launch a process that could approve his sweeping rescue package on their own, if Republicans refuse to support it. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen...
Minority Leader McCarthy meets with Marjorie Taylor Greene; House GOP faces decision point
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met with hard-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as Republicans wrestled over how to handle a bipartisan outcry over her endorsement of outlandish conspiracy theories and of violent, racist views. Aides to McCarthy and Greene offered no immediate comment after the two spent around...
Westmoreland County fields bids to print, mail ballots for primary
Westmoreland County has received proposals from seven companies to print and mail ballots for the spring primary, including one from the Cleveland-based firm that has yet to be paid as a result of production delays last fall that impacted thousands of local voters. Elections Bureau director JoAnn Sebastiani said Midwest...
Pittsburgh police issue warning after almost 50 vehicles stolen in city last monthVideo
Pittsburgh police have issued a warning after they said almost 50 vehicles were reported stolen in the city last month. At least 16 vehicles were left running and unoccupied with the keys inside, police said. Of those, seven were left unattended by people warming up their vehicles due to cold...
Police: Stabbing in Pittsburgh’s South Side, suspect in custody
Charges are pending against a Pittsburgh man authorities said stabbed a teenager in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood. Taylor Clark, 32, was apprehended after a street fight near the intersection of East Carson and South Seventh streets around 7 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri reported. The victim, an...
Police apprehend Pittsburgh man accused of beating woman with a tire iron after escaping house arrest
A suspect accused of beating a woman with a tire iron earlier this year after escaping from house arrest was apprehended Tuesday evening. The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office announced that sheriffs picked up Richard Robinson, 52, of the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Robinson had been wanted since Jan. 26 on...
DA directs case closed in snow-related murder-suicide
The triple shooting in Plains Township motivated by a dispute about snow removal will be officially ruled a murder-suicide, according to the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities said Jeffrey Spaide, 47, shot and killed his neighbors, James Goy, 50, and his wife Lisa Goy, 48, on Monday morning as...
VA Pittsburgh Health Care sets covid vaccine clinic for senior veterans
The VA Pittsburgh Health Care System is offering a walk-in covid-19 vaccine clinic for eligible senior veterans Saturday at its University Drive campus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but requested arrival times are broken up based on the first letter of each veteran’s last...
Should cancer patients get the covid vaccine?Video
Many oncologists are being asked by their patients if they should get the covid vaccine when it becomes available to them. Some cancer patients are afraid that adding one more thing during treatment may not be good. Dr. Stanley Marks, chairman of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and a nationally...
Biden signs immigration orders as Congress awaits moreVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a second spate of orders to undo his predecessor’s immigration policies, demonstrating the powers of the White House and its limitations without support from Congress. His orders on family separation, border security and legal immigration bring to nine the number of executive...
Crack’d Egg restaurant asks to withdraw bankruptcy filing
The Crack’d Egg, a Brentwood restaurant that is embroiled in a legal dispute with Allegheny County, is seeking to withdraw its separate Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. A hearing on the bankruptcy matter is scheduled for Feb. 23. In the Monday filing, the restaurant’s attorneys wrote that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
Another path to justice for survivors of clergy sex abuse faces uphill battle in Pa. legislature
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 — When Republican state Rep. Jim Gregory learned Monday from Gov. Tom Wolf that an administrative error will delay a...
Biden, Yellen say GOP covid relief too small, Democrats push onVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden panned a Republican alternative to his $1.9 trillion covid rescue plan as insufficient Tuesday as Senate Democrats pushed ahead, voting to launch a process that could approve his sweeping rescue package on their own, if Republicans refuse to support it. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet...
Arrest warrant issued for man accused of shooting pregnant woman in Leetsdale
Editor’s note: This issue went to press on Feb. 4. For more recent developments in this case, visit sewickleyherald.com. Allegheny County police have issued an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with the Jan. 25 shooting of a pregnant 20-year-old woman in Leetsdale. Investigators charged Roderick Ferguson, 19,...
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, will step down as CEO
NEW YORK — Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookstore and built it into a shopping and entertainment behemoth, will step down later this year as CEO, a role he’s had for nearly 30 years, to become executive chairman, the company announced Tuesday. Bezos, 57, will be replaced...
Alejandro Mayorkas becomes first Latino, immigrant to lead Department of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday as President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary, the first Latino to fill a post that will have a central role in the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, a sweeping Russia-linked cyber hack and domestic extremism. Mayorkas was confirmed by a...
