Top Stories category, Page 1467
The Porch restaurants to reopen in Pittsburgh area
There will be two additional options for takeout this Memorial Day weekend. The Porch at Schenley in Oakland and The Porch at Siena in Upper St. Clair are reopening for takeout beginning Friday. The restaurants, operated by Pittsburgh-based Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, have been closed since March 18. Curbside pickup...
Products from Somerset’s Moo Echo Dairy should be discarded, state says
Several products from a Somerset County dairy farm should be discarded because they were not properly pasteurized, the state Department of Agriculture said. Products from Moo Echo Dairy were sold at several Westmoreland and Somerset county stores including Lapp’s Family Market in Unity Township, Dormina’s Kitchen Cupboard in Jenner Township,...
Pair plead guilty to drug charges stemming from Salem traffic stop
Two Allegheny County residents pleaded guilty to conspiracy, drug and other charges in connection with their September 2018 arrest in Salem Township. Police said Joseph J. Baughman, 38, of Green Tree, and Samantina Maria Perri, 31, of Crafton, were passengers in a car that was stopped for a traffic violation...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto urges URA to approve plans for Civic Arena site development
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is urging members of the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority to approve plans for redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site that include a new $200 million headquarters for First National Bank. The URA meets again on Thursday. Last week, its board delayed voting on the plans,...
Pennsylvania doles out $51 million to child care centers to help with reopening
More than $50 million from Pennsylvania’s first round of federal coronavirus aid will go to nearly 7,000 child care centers across the state, Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday. Wolf said reopening the state will require “robust and healthy” child care. Of the money, which is part of CARES Act funding...
Pennsylvania joins pilot program allowing SNAP users to buy groceries online
Pennsylvania will participate in a pilot program allowing recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to purchase their groceries online through participating retailers. “Many people have been purchasing groceries online to facilitate social distancing, but SNAP recipients were not able to do so due to federal restrictions on...
Free coronavirus testing available for uninsured Pennsylvania residents
The ability of uninsured Pennsylvanians to be tested for coronavirus was an early concern in the fight against covid-19. Now those without health insurance can be tested for free. Gov. Tom Wolf has announced that federal stimulus funds will be used to reimburse providers who test uninsured patients. Access to...
Peduto wants to block off streets for outdoor dining in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is exploring options to revive Pittsburgh’s restaurant scene with outdoor dining. “We’re in danger,” he said, when asked if some restaurants could close in the next year. “I think within the next month will be critical time. If we can get outdoor seating established this next...
WDVE’s Memorial Day 500 returns again this weekend
A pandemic can’t stop WDVE’s Memorial Day 500. The massive music countdown of the top 500 rock tunes of all time begins at 1 p.m. Friday and ends around 6 p.m. Monday, said John Moschitta, program director for WDVE/WXDX iHeartMedia Pittsburgh. (Update: The countdown began at No. 500 with “Everlong”...
Western Pa.’s libraries see e-books, audiobooks become more popular during pandemic
With libraries in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties closed since mid-March to stem the spread of the coronavirus, more patrons are using the electronic resources — books, audiobooks, movies and music, a trend that likely will continue when they reopen, library officials and library directors say. “There has been a significant...
Police search Unity property in Cassandra Gross disappearanceVideo
State police investigators equipped with an excavator, searched a Unity township property Wednesday possibly connected to the 2018 disappearance of Cassandra Gross. Just after 8 a.m., multiple marked and unmarked police cruisers drove down White Fence Lane, adjacent to Unity Cemetery, to serve a search warrant on Almira F. Stanko....
As Pa. fairs are canceled, communities miss out on tradition, social engagement
Rural communities across Pennsylvania are feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic as local fairs, often social epicenters during the summer, are canceled in accordance with state regulations. So far, 16 of the 108 fairs across the state have been called off, said Sally Nolt, president of the Pennsylvania State...
Tractor-trailer filled with Frito-Lay brand chips and more donated to Feeding Freeport
The Feeding Freeport drive-by meal program got a boost from Frito-Lay with a semi tractor-trailer loaded with Doritos, baked Ruffles potato chips, popcorn and more, much of it in individual servings. Feeding Freeport is a pop-up community effort that’s been at work since March 17 helping area residents impacted by...
Pittsburgh EMS recognized for quality of emergency pediatric care
Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services was recognized Tuesday for reaching the highest level of training in pediatric care, based on the state’s Pediatric Voluntary Recognition Program. Duane Spencer, manager for the EMS for Children Program in the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council, presented a certificate to bureau leaders for...
Pennsylvania food distributors receive $50 million for food box program
State and local food distributors in Pennsylvania are receiving a big financial boost to get food boxes to families in need. Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday state distributors will get $50 million of the $1.2 billion in funding for the program. The money will pay for the purchase of surplus...
In the market for a spaceship or jungle? Quirky Plum home for saleVideo
Strange noises are the first thing you notice when walking into Epoc I, the name of a Plum house that has been getting a lot of attention as of late. Not just regular noises, like a creaking door or the shuffling of feet or the pleasantries exchanged between host and...
Religious freedom bill proposed in Pennsylvania as churches navigate reopening
As some churches prepare to open, two Pennsylvania lawmakers want to prevent the state from restricting religious gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic or any future emergency. State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, said religious leaders have been confused about whether churches are affected by state-mandated coronavirus shutdowns. “Our religious community is...
Robert Levin makes 2nd bid to revive family furniture business
Robert Levin is back in the furniture business. Almost two months to the day after his deal fell through to repurchase the family-owned furniture chain he sold to Art Van Furniture in 2017, Levin has negotiated a deal in bankruptcy court to buy back the Levin brand. His $25.7 million...
Westmoreland County Prison guard charged with assaulting inmate
The alleged assault on an inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison at the hands of a guard last month was reported by Manor Police, who had just delivered the handcuffed prisoner to the jail, according to court records. Borough officers told county detectives they watched as James Mapp “was repeatedly...
Pa. Department of Health report sheds light on coronavirus impact in long-term care facilities
Brighton Rehab officials said early on in the pandemic they would operate under the assumption that all of the care home residents were positive for the coronavirus. That has nearly come to pass, data show: of the approximately 470 residents at the Beaver County facility, more than three-quarters of them...
My ‘decision to make’: Trump defends criticized use of malaria drugVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump emphatically defended himself Tuesday against criticism from medical experts that his announced use of a malaria drug against the coronavirus could spark wide misuse by Americans of the unproven treatment with potentially fatal side effects. Trump’s revelation a day earlier that he was taking hydroxychloroquine...
Elderly couple carried out of their Arnold house as fire rips through vacant house next door
Paramedics carried an elderly couple out of their Arnold home when it was threatened by fire Tuesday. Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading from the empty house it started at, and no one was hurt, officials said. Todd Hutchison said he called 911 to report the fire in the 1300...
Gov. Wolf on law allowing to-go cocktail sales: ‘I will sign it’
Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday he plans to sign legislation that would allow restaurants and bars to sell prepared beverages and mixed drinks and deliver them curbside. The governor noted it was overwhelmingly approved by the state House and Senate. Wolf did not indicate when he will sign the bill...
Coronavirus count in Westmoreland County falls by 1 as state refines data
The coronavirus case count dropped by one in Westmoreland County on Tuesday as the state continues to refine its numbers. The subtraction of one case brings the county total to 431, according to data from the Department of Health. Case and death counts by county have continued to fluctuate as...
Pennsylvania to send property tax/rent rebate checks sooner because of pandemic
About 500,000 Pennsylvanians who benefit from the state’s property tax and rent rebate program will be receiving their checks six weeks earlier than usual, state officials announced Tuesday. The move will help some of the state’s most vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic, state Treasurer Joe Torsella said. The rebates,...
