Top Stories category, Page 1427
38 new covid-19 deaths, 636 additional cases reported in Pennsylvania
There were 38 new covid-19 deaths and 636 additional cases reported statewide by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday. The state total is now 87,242 cases with 6,687 deaths; about 633 patients are considered probable cases. According to the Department of Health, the most severe cases are seen in...
Petition drive calls for dropping derogatory ‘squaw’ from Fox Chapel, O’Hara parks, roads
Three women — including a member of Fox Chapel council — are leading an effort to drop the word “squaw” from local parks, roads and waterways because it is considered an ethnic and sexual slur against women of Native American descent. It’s not the first time one of the women,...
Pittsburgh officials to enforce fireworks laws, restrict large gatherings during July 4th weekend
Pittsburgh’s public safety agencies are taking a different approach to monitoring gatherings to mark Independence Day because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We all know that these are uncertain and trying times,” Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said in a statement. “But if we can pull together as a city and...
110 new coronavirus cases reported in Allegheny County, 1 death
Allegheny County health officials reported 110 new cases of covid-19 Wednesday, along with four hospitalizations and one death. Wednesday’s update brings the county to 2,870 total cases of the virus, 397 hospitalizations and 187 deaths. There have been around 56,000 tests administered in the county since the start of the...
Row House Cinema’s online video festival is the cat’s meowVideo
It’s “purr-fect, a-meow-zing and totally fur-tastic.” It’s the Quarantine Cat Film Fest, a 70-minute compilation reel available for online viewing courtesy of Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville. Row House is no stranger to cute cat videos, having previously screened the national CatVideoFest and its own Pittsburgh Pretty Kitties festival, a...
Alcohol ban protest organizer’s West Deer bar reports positive covid-19 test in employee
The sports bar owner who was organizing a protest against Allegheny County’s covid-19 restrictions closed his West Deer business Tuesday night after an employee tested positive for the virus, according to a post on the bar’s Facebook page. Xtra Innings Sports Bar and Grille on Saxonburg Boulevard is owned by...
Penn State planning to equip all police officers with body cams at all 22 campuses
Penn State plans to equip all campus police officers with body cams within the next year to “be more transparent and accountable,” according to a news release by the university. Penn State announced Tuesday morning that, after extensive research, it will purchase body cams for every officer — about 150...
3 suspects sought in shooting in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill
Pittsburgh police said they are searching for three suspects in connection with a shooting in the city’s Troy Hill neighborhood on Monday. Officers from the Zone 1 station in the North Side responding to a call for a person shot along the 1400 block of Claim Street around 6 p.m....
Greater Latrobe OKs 2% tax hike, realigns administrators
Property owners in the Greater Latrobe School District will see a 2% hike in real estate taxes for the coming school year as the district balances a $57 million budget in the face of revenues that have taken a hit during the covid-19 pandemic. The school board on Tuesday approved...
Marcellus Shale Coalition strikes back at grand jury report blasting fracking industry
The trade group representing the unconventional drilling industry fired back at the state attorney general and the grand jury report released last week that blasted the industry and the state departments charged with overseeing it. “The attorney general’s report exhibits a jarring lack of reality as to how shale gas...
Man taken into custody following a SWAT standoff in Sharpsburg
A man was taken into custody following a SWAT situation in Sharpsburg on Tuesday night. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said the incident began around 7:45 p.m. at a home along the 200 block of Tenth Street. News partner WPXI said a person was apprehended shortly before 10 p.m. No...
Trump’s deference to Putin back under harsh scrutiny after Russian bounty reportsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin is back under the microscope amid accusations that he ignored intelligence that Russia offered to pay Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Democrats returning from a classified briefing at the White House on Tuesday pledged to get to the...
Pittsburgh man faces federal charges in police car fire during May 30 protests
A Pittsburgh man faces federal charges, accused of setting fire to an unmarked police car during a protest downtown. Devin Montgomery, 24, was charged with malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives in connection with an incident May 30 near the Fifth Avenue entrance to PPG Paints Arena. Authorities...
FEMA grant funds protective gear for firefighters, ambulance crews in Western Pa.
Eighteen fire departments and emergency medical service organizations in Westmoreland County will receive personal protective equipment through funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. All told, the FEMA grant of nearly $875,000, coordinated by the Nanty Glo Fire Department in Cambria County, will provide protective gear to 67 first-response agencies...
Hermitage police issue plea, announce DNA probe in 50-year mystery of newborn’s remains
Hermitage police believe they can identify the parents of a newborn girl whose remains were found 50 years ago near a dirt road in Mercer County. They’re also asking the person who left the baby off Lynnwood Drive all those years ago to come forward and explain what motivated that...
Focus on covid cases could be wrong way to interpret Allegheny County surge, experts say
Allegheny County’s surge in daily cases of covid-19 has suddenly become steep, but health experts say the tally does not show the full story. “I think that focusing on the sheer number of cases is not the best way to look at this,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious...
New road salt methods saved Pittsburgh $1 million last winter, city says
The City of Pittsburgh picked a typically steamy summer day to announce that it saved $1 million from new methods of salting roads last winter. Using new technology and a different salt mixture, Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works used only 376 tons of salt per inch of snow that fell....
The Clarks to play Sunday, kick off virtual Allegheny County Parks Summer Concert Series
It might not be that much-missed concert in the park, but Allegheny County Department of Parks kicks off its Summer Concert Series with The Clarks at 7 p.m. Sunday on Pittsburgh’s CW television station. “Although the pandemic is limiting our ability to gather in large groups, Allegheny County is honoring...
Labor, business group says Pittsburgh can become high-tech manufacturing hub
A group of labor, business and civic officials on Tuesday laid out a plan for Western Pennsylvania’s traditional industries to partner with emerging technology companies to create manufacturing jobs. Members of the Pittsburgh Works Together coalition said during a virtual news conference that following the plan could make Western Pennsylvania...
Garrett Rolfe, ex-Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks, granted bond
ATLANTA — A judge on Tuesday ruled that the former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks can be free on bond while his case is pending. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick set a bond of $500,000 for Garrett Rolfe, who faces charges including felony murder in...
Answering the Call: AHN respiratory therapist helps patients recover from covid-19Video
Just when many people thought the worst of the coronavirus pandemic had passed, covid-19 cases are on the rise again in southwestern Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, Allegheny County reported its highest number of daily cases — 109 — including seven hospitalizations. The numbers are a concern for health care professionals like...
Pittsburgh Council nixes consultant for review of police actions during protests
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday voted down a request by the Citizen Police Review Board to hire a Texas-based company for an independent review of police actions during recent protests. The review board had requested $25,000 to hire Densus Group to assess police use of force during protests Downtown and...
Wall Street tacks more onto its best quarter since 1998
Wall Street capped its best quarter since 1998 Tuesday with more gains, a fitting end to a stunning three months for investors as the market screamed back toward its record heights after a torrid plunge. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, bringing its gain for the quarter to nearly 20%. That...
In solar project, Pitt looks to the sky in latest renewable energy endeavor
The University of Pittsburgh has signed an agreement to buy all of the solar energy produced by a planned local solar plant, which amounts to about 13% of the Oakland campus’s energy consumption. The announcement came last week from Aurora Sharrard, Pitt’s director of sustainability. It is part of the...
Hempfield Area lays out preliminary reopening plans
Hempfield Area School District has released plans for reopening schools this fall. The phased approach would welcome students back to physical locations starting Aug. 27, with staggered schedules dictated by grade level, a letter written by Superintendent Tammy Wolicki reads. Under the initial plans, kindergarten students will attend school on...
