Top Stories category, Page 1387
Summit Academy is 2nd WPIAL school to forgo fall sports
Summit Academy won’t play sports this fall, becoming the second WPIAL school to cancel athletics over covid-19 concerns. “This has to do with the health and safety of our students and staff members,” said athletic director Ryan Parrish, noting the school for at-risk boys faces challenges different than others. “Our...
Allegheny County reports 13 new coronavirus deaths
Allegheny County added 13 new deaths attributed to coronavirus to its totals Wednesday, but some of the deaths reach back into July. The county Health Department’s report brings the total covid-19 related deaths to 273. It was the highest single-day report since the outbreak began in March, with previous reports...
Board recommends suspension of Allegheny County judge for alleged racial comments
The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board on Wednesday referred charges against Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli to the state Court of Judicial Discipline and recommended that he be suspended. The allegations against him include six counts of judicial misconduct, including that he engaged in “racial or other harassment,”...
Pittsburgh’s North Shore restaurants endure summer without sports fans
Rico Lunardi opened the third location of Slice on Broadway, his local pizza chain in 2016 at PNC Park. He guesses he missed only five or six Pirates game nights since he opened the spot with a street entrance on Federal Street. “I will never be a professional athlete, but...
Gateway School Board allows Grace Life Church to continue services at high school despite concerns
The Gateway School Board narrowly voted down an administrative recommendation Tuesday to place a temporary moratorium on all facility rentals amid ongoing concerns of spreading covid-19. The vote, 5-4, means outside groups can continue to rent school district buildings throughout the school year. Those in favor of stopping facility rentals...
Monroeville nursing home reports 47 covid-19 cases, after reporting zero last week
A Monroeville nursing home has reported 47 cases of covid-19 to state health officials, after reporting none a week ago. Long-term care facility data from the state’s Department of Health shows that Monroeville Rehabilitation & Wellness Center reported zero cases of covid-19. In numbers updated on Tuesday, the center reported...
As Post-Gazette employee representatives consider a strike, analysts say strategy can be dicey
A strike is “in the arsenal” for newspapers to use in labor negotiations, said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute. But it’s “sort of the atomic bomb,” he said. Edmonds, referring to a potential strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, said these work stoppages once were commonplace...
Horses welcome — but not people, really — to horse show at North Park
Horses are encouraged — people, not so much — to attend the North Allegheny Horsemen’s Association Horse Show at North Park this Sunday. It’s one of the rare public events that Allegheny County Parks has approved during covid-19 pandemic regulations. The Allegheny County Health Department’s limit of 50 people to...
What Pittsburgh experts are saying about Russia’s covid-19 vaccine
Russia declared on Tuesday its covid-19 vaccine was ready for public use — an announcement met with global skepticism. While Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted the vaccine had proven to be efficient and had undergone proper testing, some health experts warned that it’s ill-advised to begin using a vaccine before...
Babcock Boulevard reopens following crash, ‘major power outage’ in North Hills
A vehicle toppled a telephone pole Tuesday afternoon in Ross, sending at least one person to the hospital and knocking out power for nearly 2,000 customers in the North Hills. Major intersections along Babcock Boulevard near McKnight Road and Siebert Road reopened Tuesday night after crews worked to clear the...
‘Where’s the chaos’?: At Pitt’s move-in day, a surreal silence amid a pandemicVideo
The University of Pittsburgh’s move-in day this year was, for perhaps the first time, a quiet one. The usual throngs of students and parents were instead just sporadic groups that trickled across campus. Traffic moved freely on Forbes and Fifth avenues. There were no lines for parking lots, no waiting...
Pennsylvania mayors appeal to Congress for federal aid
HARRISBURG — Mayors in Pennsylvania are challenging the state’s members of Congress to help them get direct budget aid from the federal government, warning that cities of all sizes face steep deficits and deep service cuts as a result of the coronavirus’ impact on the economy. With Washington in a...
Inquiry on Allegheny County judge’s alleged racist remarks coming to close
Six months after Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli was moved to administrative duties after allegations he made racist comments about a criminal court juror, an investigation by the state Judicial Conduct Board is wrapping up. “Judge Tranquilli has completely and fully cooperated with the investigation, and we...
Joe Biden selects California Sen. Kamala Harris as running mateVideo
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role Black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump. “I...
St. Clair Social gastropub opens at old Sharp Edge spot in Friendship
Friendship has a new neighborhood bar. St. Clair Social gastropub is open on South St. Clair Street in the former location of Sharp Edge, a pioneering craft beer venue that closed in 2018 after nearly three decades. SYN Bar & Taqueria + Pizzeria later operated in the space but closed...
Authority OKs $5.8M in contracts for Arnold Palmer airport terminal, runway expansions
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is moving ahead with interior and exterior improvements at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, at a cost of about $5.8 million. The authority this week awarded contracts for expanding the passenger holding room and for continuing widening and strengthening of the runway at the Unity airport....
Pennsylvania surpasses 120K cases of covid-19
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced 828 new covid-19 cases on Tuesday, making a solid two weeks in which daily cases were below the 1,000 mark. With its latest tally of cases, Pennsylvania’s total of covid-19 cases stands at 120,281. For the second time in the past week, the state...
Western Pa. colleges awarded federal funds to underwrite reopening costs
Seven local colleges and trade schools were awarded more than $900,000 in federal grants to help underwrite public health and safety plans for reopening shuttered campuses. The grants that flowed through the state are part of a $28 million pool of federal CARES Act money state officials set aside to...
Allegheny County continues to post lower new covid-19 case counts
For the first 11 days of July, Allegheny County posted 2,002 new cases of covid-19. In the first 11 days of August, the county had seen its new case count drop by more than 54%. On Tuesday, the county’s health department posted another day — its fifth straight — of...
Scientists uneasy as Russia approves 1st coronavirus vaccineVideo
MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, a move that was met with international skepticism and unease because the shots have only been studied in dozens of people. President Vladimir Putin announced the Health Ministry’s approval and said one of his two adult...
Norwin protesters: put students in class 5 days a weekVideo
The message about 60 Norwin students and parents sent to school officials as they gathered outside the administration building Monday was loud and clear: Let students attend school five days a week and scrap plans to offer three days of online instruction. “I don’t think our district is actually listening...
Post-Gazette staff votes to authorize strike
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s reporters, photographers, copy editors and artists authorized a strike in response to what union leaders describe as management’s unfair labor practices and negotiating tactics. Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh approved the measure with an 88-31 vote by secret ballot. Only four members of the 123-member...
Pa. leaders tell schools to be consistent but flexible in reopening plans, teaching methods
As schools prepare to resume teaching, the leaders of Pennsylvania’s health and education departments on Monday said districts should be consistent in approach but flexible in how they educate students. A spike in covid-19 cases in a county may require districts to change how they plan to teach students, said...
Trump abruptly escorted from briefing after shooting near White HouseVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted by a Secret Service agent out of the White House briefing room as he was beginning a coronavirus briefing Monday afternoon. He returned minutes later, saying there was a “shooting” outside the White House that was “under control.” “There was an actual...
Federal court dismisses former cop Michael Rosfeld’s lawsuit against Pitt
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by former police officer Michael Rosfeld against the University of Pittsburgh, finding that he resigned his position there willingly — and under duress. The 12-page opinion, issued by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, prohibits Rosfeld from further pursuing his complaint...
