Top Stories category, Page 1475
PennDOT to renew driver’s licenses with old photos during pandemic
A lot of people don’t like their driver’s license photo and, for the time being, Pennsylvanians won’t have to worry about taking one. PennDOT announced Tuesday it will use existing photos on file for customers who renew their driver’s license and identification card. The move is designed to lower the...
Allegheny County reports 15 new coronavirus cases, 4 deaths
Allegheny County officials reported 15 additional cases of covid-19 and four more deaths Tuesday. This brings the countywide totals to 1,526 confirmed or probable cases and 127 deaths since March 14, when the first case was reported. Tuesday’s new cases and deaths are up from Monday, when the county reported...
Goodbye to cold weather? Western Pa. is ‘trending toward summer’
As warmer temperatures move into the region this weekend, meteorologists predict the unseasonably cold weather will not return. “It’s one of those weekends we need,” said John Darnley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 70s Saturday and Sunday, with likely...
Pittsburgh construction boom continuing despite pandemic
The Pittsburgh Department of Licenses and Inspections has issued more than 1,200 construction permits for projects totaling $153 million during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Mayor’s Office. PLI personnel working from home issued 614 permits in March, 428 in April and 187 so far this month, the Mayor’s Office...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto, public safety officials to read bedtime stories to children
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and public safety officials will appear on social media channels three times weekly to read bedtime stories for children. The officials will read stories from books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which are available for free. Peduto will start reading at 7 p.m. on Mondays and...
3 more residents die of coronavirus at Kane’s Glen Hazel facility
Three more residents of Kane Community Living’s Glen Hazel location have died from the coronavirus, according to information from Allegheny County and Kane officials. Sixteen residents at the county-owned facility have died since the outbreak began. The Rivermont Drive facility is home to 174 residents, and 112 have been tested...
Business rally for loosening covid-19 restrictions set for Saturday in UnityVideo
A small-business rally is planned Saturday in Westmoreland County to urge less stringent restrictions from Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to phase in segments of the state’s economy curtailed during the coronavirus pandemic. About 60 small-business owners and supporters braved unseasonably cold temperatures Monday night outside Sharky’s Cafe on Route 30...
Fauci warns of ‘suffering and death’ if U.S. reopens too soon
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon during the coronavirus pandemic, it will result in “needless suffering and death.” Fauci is among the health experts testifying to a Senate panel. His testimony comes as President Donald...
Trump casts doubt on mail voting. His campaign promotes it.
While President Donald Trump claims mail-in voting is ripe for fraud and “cheaters,” his reelection campaign and state allies are scrambling to launch operations meant to help their voters cast ballots in the mail. Through its partnership with the Republican National Committee, Trump’s campaign is training volunteers on the ins...
Pennsylvania lawmakers’ spending on their own operations
HARRISBURG — The Associated Press combed through more than 6,000 pages of line items to get a clearer picture of how the Pennsylvania General Assembly spent taxpayer money on its own operations during the fiscal year that ended June 30. Highlights of the findings: • Total spending: The 253-member Legislature...
From frames to furniture to food, here’s how Pa. lawmakers spent millions of taxpayer dollars
HARRISBURG — It takes hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars a year for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to maintain one of the country’s largest legislative staffs, a small army that needs food, shelter, transportation, office supplies and modern electronics. An Associated Press review of invoices and more than 6,000 pages...
Water main break floods Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood
Part of Baldwin Road in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood is closed because of a water main break that sent a torrent rushing into people’s yards, according to Pennsylvania American Water The 12” water main broke around 5 a.m. Tuesday. Here's a look at some of the water in the backyards of...
84 Lumber builds addition for recovering Salem teenVideo
As a Salem teenager fights to regain the life she knew just a few short months ago, she has a brand-new, handicap-accessible wing in her home thanks to the generosity of 84 Lumber. In early January, Autumn Zundel, 13, was diagnosed with an anterior mediastinal mass between her heart and...
White House recommends tests for all nursing home residentsVideo
WASHINGTON — With deaths mounting at the nation’s nursing homes, the White House strongly recommended to governors Monday that all residents and staff at such facilities be tested for the coronavirus in the next two weeks. Why the government is not ordering testing at the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing...
Passenger trains suspended on Pittsburgh-to-Philadelphia route until June 1
Amtrak extended its suspension of passenger rail service until June 1 on the Pennsylvanian route between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and the Keystone route between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, a PennDOT spokeswoman said. Amtrak previously announced that service would be suspended until May 18, said PennDOT spokeswoman Alexis Campbell. The state provides...
Editorial: Giving SNAP funds to students is a late reaction
The biggest problem with bailing water out of the bottom of a leaky boat is that it doesn’t prioritize fixing the problem over dealing with the problem. Fill a bucket with water and dump it over the side? It might be the first instinct, but that water is immediately replaced...
Air quality in Western Pa. showed slight improvement in pandemic shutdown
As coronavirus restrictions closed businesses and reduced road traffic during much of March and April, some of the country’s most polluted cities experienced better air quality. Los Angeles, notorious for its heavy smog, at one point reported the cleanest air among any major city worldwide. By some measures, Washington, D.C.,...
Cinemark at Pittsburgh Mills mall closing
The Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer is losing one of its anchors. Cinemark on Monday confirmed that its theater at the mall is closing. “It will be a huge loss,” township Supervisor Lori Ziencik said. “We’re disappointed.” Cinemark spokeswoman Caitlin Piper said the theater is “permanently closing as it is...
Billion-dollar overhaul of Pittsburgh International airport on pause amid pandemic
A $1 billion-plus overhaul of Pittsburgh International Airport is indefinitely on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, Allegheny County’s aviation chief said Monday. But the project remains necessary for the airport’s future, Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said. Her assessment was echoed by national aviation experts. The airport...
State says workers don’t have to report if business reopens illegally
Pennsylvania workers who refuse to report to any business that opens in violation of Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders will not lose their unemployment benefits, a state official said Monday. “If a business opens in defiance of the governor’s orders … those employees may stay home and not lose their benefits,”...
Pennsylvania schools planning to reopen in fall, says education secretary
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is planning to allow schools to return to the classroom in the fall but continues to prepare for a worst-case scenario. “It is fully our intent that we’re going to be at a place where we are going to reopen schools for the next academic...
Gov. Wolf: No timeline on Pennsylvania counties transitioning from yellow to green phase
Southwestern Pennsylvania is poised to transition from the red to yellow phase of the state’s tiered reopening plan, leaving many residents and business owners wondering how long it will be before the region is allowed to go green. Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday that has not yet been decided. “We...
Execution notice signed for convicted cop killer Eric Frein
Convicted cop killer Eric Frein has been scheduled for execution, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced Monday. According to a release from the department, Secretary John Wetzel signed a Notice of Execution setting June 22, 2020 as the date of execution for Frein. A Notice of Execution was signed for...
West Wing visitors, staff now required to wear masks
WASHINGTON — The White House is requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or face covering after coronavirus scares near President Donald Trump. A memo sent to all staff outlined the new directive Monday after two staffers last week tested positive for covid-19. The memo says:...
Pennsylvania state senator calls for resignation of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine
A state senator from Franklin County has called for the immediate resignation of Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, saying her actions were a major factor in the large number of covid-19 cases and deaths in the state’s nursing homes. Sen. Doug Mastriano, a first-term Republican representing Franklin, Adams and...
