Top Stories category, Page 1405
Pitt reopening plan spurs questions, concerns from student newspaper, neighborVideo
The University of Pittsburgh’s plan to reopen its Oakland campus in phases beginning Aug. 11 is raising questions among students and neighborhood residents. The hybrid plan, which calls for a mix of in-person and online classes, was months in the making. Among other features, the plan includes measures to reduce...
Emergency order halts in-person criminal hearings in Allegheny County Courthouse
In an emergency order spurred by another covid-19 case in the Allegheny County Courthouse, President Judge Kim Berkley Clark halted all in-person criminal hearings until further notice. She said more positive cases among court system employees are likely. The emergency order came late Friday afternoon, a day after a less...
John Lewis to lie in state at the Capitol next week
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Lewis will lie in state at the Capitol next week, with the public viewing extended over two days and moved outdoors to allow for social distancing and public health precautions because of covid-19, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday. The Georgia...
Pittsburgh Public Schools considering 9-week delay for classroom learning
The Pittsburgh Public School Board is considering whether to delay in-person instruction for the first nine weeks of the school year. Board member Kevin Carter, of District 8, introduced a resolution at the board’s legislative meeting Wednesday to postpone all in-class instruction for the first nine weeks of school and...
Pittsburgh man arrested in connection with police vehicle fire during Downtown protests
A Pittsburgh man facing charges in connection with a police vehicle fire during the May 30 protests Downtown has been arrested. Authorities said Devin Montgomery, 24, turned himself in to investigators Thursday. He’s accused of setting fire to an unmarked police vehicle near the Fifth Avenue entrance to PPG Paints...
Pennsylvania’s rate of covid-19 testing among lowest in country, data show
The percentage of Pennsylvanians being tested for covid-19 is among the lowest rates in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Commonwealth came in 47th out of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with 8,244 tests performed per 100,000 people, the...
Woman in serious condition after being hit, pinned by car in the Strip District
A woman has been hospitalized in serious condition after being hit and pinned by a vehicle in the Strip District. Authorities tell Trib news partner WPXI-TV that the woman was struck near the intersection of 17th Street and Liberty Avenue around 4 p.m. Thursday. Medics used airbags to lift the...
Driver of Officer Brian Shaw’s killer wants $2,500 returned from New Kensington stop
A New Kensington man who police said drove the vehicle from which convicted cop killer Rahmael Holt ran before fatally shooting a city officer wants police to return $2,500 they seized from him. A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday said he will conduct a hearing to reconsider the request from...
Trump calls off Florida segment of GOP National ConventionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s hopes to salvage a four-night celebration for his reelection campaign have been thwarted by spiking coronavirus cases across the Sun Belt, with the president announcing Thursday that he was calling off the public events of the Republican National Convention scheduled to be held in Florida....
Duquesne Light warns customers of ongoing phone scam
Duquesne Light is warning its customers about an ongoing phone scam. Numerous customers were targeted by a phony call that appears to show the company’s caller ID number to make the calls appear legitimate. Scammers tell the customers they have unpaid balances and threaten to terminate services unless customers make...
Target store coming to old Kaufmann’s building in Downtown Pittsburgh
If the old Macy’s and Kaufmann’s building was the target, the Minneapolis-based chain of discount retail stores has hit it. A Target store is moving into the first floor of the largely vacant building at 400 Fifth Ave. The store will take up approximately 22,000 square feet. It’s a welcome...
Pittsburgh officials not included on White House call warning city to step up virus fight
Pennsylvania state officials participated in a private phone call Wednesday in which Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force response coordinator, warned Pittsburgh and 10 other cities needed to get more “aggressive” with covid-19. After a story about the call was published by The Center for Public Integrity,...
Police: Derry Township woman slain in revenge shooting into wrong houseVideo
A Derry Township woman was killed Monday by a bullet shot into the wrong house in apparent retaliation over a drug deal gone wrong, state police said. Police on Thursday charged Nathan Joseph Quidetto, 20, last known to reside in the Hostetter area of Unity Township, in the shooting death...
PennDOT adds 3rd gender identity option for non-binary drivers
Pennsylvanians who identify as non-binary can now make that designation on their driver’s licenses or ID card, and anyone wishing to change that designation can do so without a physician’s or social worker’s signature. Having only male and female as designations “was not meeting the needs of our customers,” PennDOT...
Despite recent hot, dry weather, Western Pa. on pace for average rainfall
It may seem like Western Pennsylvania is experiencing extremely hot and dry weather conditions, but that’s largely because we have become used to higher-than-normal rainfalls. So far this year, the region is right on track for precipitation, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “Since Jan. 1, we have...
Pennsylvania school openings hinge on case counts, Health Secretary Rachel Levine warns
HARRISBURG — Every region of Pennsylvania has seen an increase in the rate of positive coronavirus cases and failing to stop that could jeopardize the reopening of schools for the fall semester, the state’s top health official said Thursday. In addition, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the majority of counties...
Ann Taylor owner files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
NEW YORK — The operator of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, the latest retailer to do so during the pandemic. Mahwah, New Jersey-based Ascena Retail Group Inc., which operates nearly 3,000 stores mostly at malls, had been dragged down by debt and...
Pennsylvania reports 962 new coronavirus cases, 16 additional deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 962 new coronavirus cases statewide and 16 additional deaths. The state’s total now sits at 104,358 cases and 7,079 deaths attributed to covid-19. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram The number of tests administered within the last seven days is 147,837, with 5,731 cases...
Apple Hill Playhouse is closing, leaving theater group seeking new home
The Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont is going dark. “The time has come” to permanently close the historic stage, executive artistic director Pat Beyer said. “I’m just too old to be in this game anymore. This is my 38th year,” said Beyer, 79. However, it’s just the barn that’s closing,...
Hempfield restaurant closed after mistaken covid-19 case, looks to reopen Friday
Rodney Yemc is at his wits’ end. His 25-year-old Hempfield business, Rodney’s Restaurant, has been closed for a week as he awaits coronavirus test results from as many as 25 employees who erroneously believed they were exposed to covid-19 by another worker. “This really puts you in a situation,” Yemc...
Allegheny County reports 147 new coronavirus cases, 15 new hospitalizations
Allegheny County on Thursday reported 147 new cases of coronavirus and two deaths. Of those cases, 140 are confirmed and seven are probable. That brings the total number of cases of covid-19 in the county to 6,817. There were 15 new hospitalizations, raising the total to 551, according to the...
1.4 million seek jobless aid, first increase since MarchVideo
WASHINGTON — The number of laid-off Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since the pandemic struck in March, evidence of the deepening economic pain the outbreak is causing to the economy. The rise in weekly jobless claims to 1.4 million underscores the outsize role the...
Man killed, woman injured in McKeesport shooting
A man was shot and killed in McKeesport late Wednesday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Niko Dawon, 31, of McKeesport, was shot in the 1200 block of Soles Street just before 11:30 p.m. He was taken to UPMC McKeesport, and died about an hour later, according to...
Chestnut Ridge golf resort near Blairsville going up for auction
A former U.S. Steel executive is selling a 345-acre golf course and resort just across the Westmoreland County line near Blairsville. The online auction for Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort & Conference Center, planned for noon Saturday, has attracted local and national attention. “We are seeing quite a bit of interest...
6 escape McKeesport house fire
Three adults and three children fled a house fire in McKeesport early Thursday, according to the McKeesport Fire Department. The fire in the 1600 block of Sixth Street started around 1:20 a.m. Nobody was hurt. Firefighters put out the fire within a half-hour, according to the department. There was heavy...
