Top Stories category, Page 1379
State declares drought watch for Armstrong and Butler counties, asks for 5% cut in water usage
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a drought watch Friday for 16 counties, among them Armstrong and Butler. The agency is asking residents in those counties to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 5%. Varying drought conditions in impacted communities could cause water suppliers or municipalities to request more cuts...
Car overturns on Route 356 in Allegheny Township
A motorist was trapped in a vehicle that went over a guardrail and overturned off Route 356 in Allegheny Township on Friday night, according to dispatches from Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety. Emergency responders were at the scene around 7:45 p.m. and were cutting brush around the vehicle to...
Lawsuit alleges misuse of Terrible Towel trademark on face coverings
The owner of the Terrible Towel trademark, created by beloved Pittsburgh sports broadcaster Myron Cope more than 40 years ago, is suing an Indiana County store over its sales this summer of “The Terrible Mask.” The lawsuit, filed by the Eamon Foundation in federal court in Pittsburgh, accuses the defendants...
Feds accuse 26 of being part of fentanyl-trafficking ring tied to Shot Boyz gang, Latrobe drug dealing
A federal grand jury this week indicted more than two dozen people for their alleged roles in a fentanyl-trafficking ring that stretched into Westmoreland County. The 17-page indictment unsealed Friday is the culmination of a five-month wiretap investigation that included law enforcement from Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Latrobe, federal agents and more....
Allegheny County Airport Authority sues IT company for alleged cybersecurity failures
The Allegheny County Airport Authority this week sued an information technology company, alleging that it failed to properly perform cybersecurity services, leading to vulnerabilities in its network that were ultimately critiqued by the federal government. The lawsuit against Involta LLC was filed Tuesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. It includes...
University of Pittsburgh announces required course on racism for incoming students
The University of Pittsburgh will require first-year students to complete a new course on anti-Black racism. In a letter to students Wednesday that also clarified updated covid-19 procedures, Provost Ann E. Cudd said the course, which will be free of charge and count for one academic credit, is part of...
Tarentum’s Hometown Restaurant closed, victim of pandemic restrictions
After over 25 years in business, Tarentum’s Hometown Restaurant has closed. Rebecca Coy owned and operated Hometown Restaurant. She spent 25 years waking up at 4:30 in the morning to get to the restaurant before breakfast at 6 a.m. She made everything, from breakfast to salad dressing. “Everything was homemade,”...
Indiana Township woman who killed FBI agent seeks compassionate release after contracting coronavirus
The woman who shot and killed an FBI agent as he attempted to serve an arrest warrant at her home in Indiana Township in 2008 is asking for compassionate release from prison because she is still recovering from a covid-19 infection. Christina Korbe, who is serving a 15-year sentence at...
Mayor Peduto shakes up Pittsburgh police units after escalating clashes with protesters
Pittsburgh Police Special Response Teams trained in traditional crowd-control tactics will no longer be the first line of response during protests, Mayor Bill Peduto announced Friday, two days after police clashed with protesters just blocks from his front door. It’s one of a number of changes Peduto laid out in...
PIAA ignores Gov. Wolf’s recommendation, allows fall sports to start Monday
High school football season starts Monday, along with soccer, cross country, girls volleyball and all other PIAA fall sports. The PIAA board of directors ignored Gov. Tom Wolf’s strong recommendation and voted Friday to let fall sports start as scheduled, but the PIAA left the responsibility with individual school districts...
Auditor general: Brighton Rehab refused to let state watchdog examine the nursing home’s finances
Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center blocked the state’s chief fiscal watchdog from examining the Beaver County nursing home’s financial records earlier this year, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said . DePasquale disclosed Brighton Rehab’s refusal to cooperate — or even take an initial meeting to discuss the possibility of cooperating...
Pittsburgh school board member forgets to turn off camera as she showers during virtual meeting
A Pittsburgh Public Schools board member learned the hard way Wednesday the mishaps that can happen in virtual meetings. Veronica Edwards was accidentally seen disrobing and stepping into the shower during the district’s public online agenda review meeting, which was streamed live. “Hopefully, someone can learn from my experience and...
Gilpin woman lives in subterranean house that she designed, built
Can you dig it? Judy Quick can. The 77-year-old Gilpin woman lives in a custom-built, subterranean home. “I mow my roof,” Quick said while giving a tour of her unorthodox three-bedroom, two-bathroom home that’s on more than 11 acres in rural Armstrong County. She said advantages of underground living include...
Allegheny County schools can play football under health department’s 50-person limit
The PIAA voted to allow high school sports to proceed on schedule. Allegheny County schools got a double dose of good news. Allegheny County schools will be able to play games at home, the WPIAL and Allegheny County Health Department announced Friday in a joint statement. The county’s 50-person limit...
Dark money mystery: Top Pa. lawmaker helped raise cash for nonprofit whose agenda is largely a secret
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — In early March, a little-known Pennsylvania nonprofit called the Growth and Opportunity Fund Inc. hosted a gathering of...
2 Pittsburgh-area restaurants closing: Larder of East End and Mt. Lebanon’s The Fairlane
Pittsburgh’s restaurant scene continues to endure losses as Larder of East End and Mt. Lebanon’s The Fairlane will close their doors permanently this weekend. Larder is a collaborative venture between chef Justin Severino and his partner Hilary Prescott, and East End Brewing Co. owner and head brewer Scott Smith. The...
Pa. lawmakers concerned ‘guidance’ for schools could open the door to covid-19 lawsuits
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 weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — As students prepare to begin a highly unusual school year, Pennsylvania lawmakers on Wednesday told Wolf administration officials...
Indoor air purification systems play supporting role in covid-19 prevention measures
A mask mandate, a no-smoking policy and a suspension of indoor dining were among the measures Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore took to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus when it reopened in early July. That same week, the World Health Organization acknowledged airborne transmission of the virus, particularly...
Westmoreland County reports 18 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County had 18 new cases of covid-19 Friday, according to the state Department of Health. The county’s total cases are now 1,696 with 1,643 confirmed and 53 probable. The seven-day average for the county is 15 cases. Westmoreland has reported 287 coronavirus cases so far in August. Westmoreland County...
Pennsylvania reports 693 new coronavirus cases, 20 new deaths
Pennsylvania on Friday reported an additional 693 cases of covid-19, bringing total cases to 127,633, according to the state Department of Health. The seven-day average has dropped to 669 cases, its lowest since July 6. The state is reporting 510 patients currently hospitalized, 93 of which are on ventilators. Pa....
Allegheny County’s 7-day average of coronavirus cases drops to lowest since June
Allegheny County’s seven-day average of new covid-19 cases on Friday dropped to 68 as 80 new instances were reported. It’s the lowest average recorded since late June. The seven-day average peaked at 206 on July 17 and has been steadily dropping. The county’s total cases are now 9,756. Of those,...
‘Nation’s eyes are on us’: Pa. in swing-state spotlight as Biden accepts nomination, Trump stumps near Scranton
Joe Biden aimed to rally American voters remotely during his address broadcast Thursday night, capping off the Democratic Party’s first all-virtual convention and four days of speeches equating voting for Biden as a vote to save democracy itself. “This is a life-changing election that will determine America’s future for a...
Biden seeks Democratic, national unity in convention finale
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden vowed to unite an America torn by crisis and contempt Thursday night, accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in an unfinished personal quest that has spanned three decades and been marred by personal tragedy, political stumbles and more dynamic rivals. The past hurdles fell away as...
More than 30 weigh in on Unity debate about backyard chicken regulations — some pro, some con
Unity’s supervisors on Thursday heard from more than 30 residents debating whether township zoning regulations should be changed to provide greater allowance for backyard chickens on smaller properties. Jeff and Kristin Kuhns are appealing a zoning violation notice stemming from the 20 chickens they’re raising on less than the minimum...
Group stages protest, march in downtown GreensburgVideo
A group of about 40 people held a protest Thursday evening at the corner of Main and Otterman streets in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The group held up signs and chanted slogans invoking victims of police violence in cases such as those that led to the deaths...
