Top Stories category, Page 1494
Gov. Wolf: Northcentral, northwestern Pa. to be among first to reopen for business
Residents of northcentral and northwestern Pennsylvania are projected to be the first in the state to be released from Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order, and many retail stores in those areas should be able to reopen, under a statewide plan released Wednesday night. Wolf wants to begin easing some pandemic...
State Sen. Ward says covid-19 induced pain reaches across the state economy
The coronavirus is cutting a swath from hospital executive suites to Westmoreland County residents waiting weeks for unemployment checks, state Sen. Kim Ward told constituents during a teleconference Wednesday. The Westmoreland County lawmaker said she has reservations about the transparency of some of the decisions surrounding the state shutdown and...
Auto insurance companies sending money directly to customers as result of covid-19
Auto insurance companies are offering financial relief to customers while stay-at-home directives reduce the number of people driving during the coronavirus pandemic. Companies offering relief assistance include Erie Insurance, GEICO, Progressive, State Farm, Allstate and Travelers. Erie Insurance said it would provide $200 million in dividends directly to personal and...
Mineo’s Pizza in Squirrel Hill delivering pies in new ways during pandemic
Mineo’s Pizza House in Squirrel Hill will bring the pie to its customers. For a limited time, the pizza shop is offering delivery. This hasn’t happened in its 61 years of business, except for a short time in the 1970s. The covid-19 pandemic has restaurants exploring different ways to stay...
State awards $5.1M in grants to aid with remote learning during school closure
Nearly 100 school districts and schools statewide are getting part of nearly $5.1 million in state grants to help pay for remote learning efforts while classrooms are closed during the covid-19 pandemic. The grants can be used to buy laptops, tablets and internet hot spots; paper, postage and shipping; and...
Answering the Call: Pittsburgh nurse talks about impact of coronavirus on ICUVideo
Amber Holshue is a senior professional nurse II working in the adult intensive care unit at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. She has been an ICU nurse at Magee for four years. The covid-19 outbreak has made her work even more challenging. The hospital now cannot have visitors in the ICU ,...
Pittsburgh airport hosts hundreds for Community Food Bank distribution
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank distributed packages to hundreds of people in cars Wednesday during a drive-up giveaway at Pittsburgh International Airport. Officials said they served 812 vehicles from 1 to 3 p.m. in the airport parking lots. More than 40,000 pounds of food was distributed. Each care received...
During a pandemic, a simple cough can turn into a weapon
A woman coughs on a state trooper and claims she has coronavirus. A man coughs on a medical employee who is wearing a mask, telling her the mask won’t help her. The pandemic surging across the country has turned into a sick joke — and perhaps something more sinister —...
Pennsylvania boosting efforts to promote voting by mail
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is boosting its efforts to get voters to cast their primary election ballots by mail, saying it would help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The administration sent 4.2 million postcards to primary voters and is mounting an awareness campaign on radio, television, social media, streaming...
Here are the ZIP codes in Allegheny County with the most coronavirus cases
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus is now being released by ZIP code in Pennsylvania. The state Department of Health map includes information for all 67 counties. Allegheny County has also reported positive cases at the municipal level using an online map since late March. In Allegheny County,...
Town hall focuses on lack of resources for Pittsburgh black communities during coronavirus pandemic
The covid-19 pandemic has put a “glaring spotlight” on the inequities in social systems that hurt black families, community leaders said during a virtual town hall Tuesday. “All of these things make a perfect storm for the African American community,” said Trisha Gadson, CEO of Macedonia Family and Community Enrichment....
Lawsuit claims IUP manager fired for notifying staff of possible covid-19 exposure
A former supervisor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania claims in a lawsuit he was fired for telling employees a fellow worker had been exposed to coronavirus. Donald Woolslayer, the school’s director of facilities since 2016, claims he was terminated on March 31 — the day after he emailed a notification...
Adapting: Versatile Monroeville caterer changes business model in face of coronavirus restrictions
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways the global coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. Javid Shojaie has owned and operated Jaden’s Catering in Monroeville for 26 years. Before catering became part of its name, the business was a restaurant. The...
North Huntingdon man claiming to have coronavirus accused of coughing, spitting on troopers
A North Huntingdon man charged with burglary allegedly fought, coughed and spit on two state troopers, claiming he had coronavirus. Joseph R. Good Jr., 35, of Westmoreland City, was jailed Tuesday on multiple other criminal charges including aggravated assault and risking a catastrophe. State police charged Good with burglary, criminal...
Coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County hit 300
The coronavirus death toll in Westmoreland County remained at 25 on Wednesday while the total number of cases there hit 300, according to state and county officials. The state Department of Health reported nine new cases of covid-19 from 12 a.m. Tuesday and 12 a.m. Wednesday. County coroner Ken Bacha...
Pennsylvania reports 58 more coronavirus deaths as total cases top 35,000
The coronavirus death toll in Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,600 as the total number of positive cases rose by 1,156, state health officials reported Wednesday. The 58 new deaths bring the statewide total to 1,622. That includes 1,325 confirmed deaths and 297 probable deaths. Department of Health officials are defining confirmed...
Allegheny County reports 7 more deaths, 29 new coronavirus cases
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported seven new deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the total to 74. Of that total, 15 are designated as probable deaths from covid-19, meaning that those people did not have a positive test for the virus, but covid-19 is listed on their death certificate. Of the...
Trump tweets he’s ordered Navy to destroy Iranian gunboats
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has ordered the Navy to “shoot down and destroy” any Iranian gunboats that harass U.S. ships, a directive that comes a week after the Navy reported a group of Iranian boats made “dangerous and harassing approaches” to American vessels in the...
Coronavirus death toll hits 7 at Kane Regional’s Glen Hazel nursing home
Seven residents have now died from the coronavirus at a Kane Community Living long-term care facility, according to data from Allegheny County. All of the deaths occurred at Kane’s Glen Hazel location, where 62 residents have tested positive for the virus. There are no more pending covid-19 tests among residents...
Police: Suspect stole over $8,000 in items from Tractor Supply in East Huntingdon
State police are asking for help in identifying a suspect they say took more than $8,000 worth of items from Tractor Supply in East Huntingdon early Tuesday morning. According to a police report, someone cut a chain to enter a fenced lot of the Crossroads Plaza store, taking a Cub...
Donora widow recounts husband’s sudden health decline, death from covid-19
Rebecca Taquino says she knows it’s difficult to stay home, to forgo seeing family and friends, to sit still as spring fever sets in. It’s an inconvenience, she knows. But it’s not like planning your husband’s funeral. Devin Taquino, of Donora, died April 10, a little more than two weeks...
Face masks required in federal courthouses in Pittsburgh, Erie, Johnstown
Those entering federal courthouses in the Western District of Pennsylvania will have to wear face coverings, according to an order issued Tuesday by Chief Judge Mark R. Hornak. Hornak said the order is meant to protect the health and safety of those doing business in the courthouses. It is in...
Families displaced, 2 dogs killed when fire rips through Lawrenceville housesVideo
A fire ripped through three houses Tuesday night in Pittsburgh’s Upper Lawrenceville neighborhood, displacing multiple families and killing two pet dogs, initial reports indicate. Emergency dispatchers received a report of the residential fire on Wickliff Street, between 54th Street and McCandless Avenue, at about 7 p.m., an Allegheny County 911...
4 hurt when car crashes into historic West Overton buildingVideo
Four motorists were injured when a Kia crossover utility vehicle crashed into the historic Abraham Overholt Homestead on Tuesday evening in East Huntingdon. East Huntingdon Fire Chief Brian Kite said one of the occupants was airlifted to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh. The three others were taken by ambulance to...
Emergency food distribution at Pittsburgh International Airport set for Wednesday
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host an emergency food distribution at Pittsburgh International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Organizers plan to serve about 1,500 vehicles 1-3 p.m. in the airport parking lots. “The airport is an ideal location,” said Lisa Scales, food bank president and CEO. “It will be...
