Top Stories category, Page 1503
6th Port Authority employee tests positive for covid-19; West Mifflin garage closed for ‘deep clean’
A Port Authority of Allegheny County maintenance worker has tested positive for covid-19, marking the second employee at the West Mifflin garage to contract the disease in two days, officials said Saturday. The latest employee to learn of the positive test result last worked on Monday, Port Authority spokesman Adam...
Vice President Mike Pence delivers Air Force Academy commencement address
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — In a symbolic show of normalcy, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a commencement address to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 2020 graduating class on Saturday — a trip aimed at showing the country is on course to gradually reopening after weeks of the coronavirus shutdown. Making...
Self-employed, independent contractors, others can now get state, federal jobless benefits
Pennsylvania’s self-employed workers and independent contractors can now file applications for unemployment benefits. The state’s Department of Labor and Industry said Saturday that workers who were previously ineligible for unemployment compensation will be permitted to seek benefits for wages lost because of the coronavirus pandemic. Department officials said state residents...
Westmoreland County adds 31 new cases of covid-19; state, local death tolls still don’t match
Westmoreland County reported 31 new cases of covid-19 on Saturday, for a total of 280 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease, state health department data show. The state continues to under-report the number of deaths attributed to covid-19 when compared to local data. As of midday Saturday, the state health...
Pennsylvania reports 80 new deaths from covid-19, total cases now crest 31,000
Eighty more people in Pennsylvania have died of covid-19, hiking the statewide death toll from the coronavirus disease up to 836, state health officials said Saturday. The state’s total number of confirmed cases has crested 31,000, with 1,628 new cases reported between Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. Positive cases of...
Former Treasury Secretary, Alcoa head Paul O’Neill dies at Pittsburgh home at age 84
Paul O’Neill wasn’t the type to put on airs. The plain-speaking former Treasury secretary and retired head of aluminum giant Alcoa was as comfortable in a corporate board room as he was donning blue jeans and hiking several blocks from his home in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood to have breakfast with...
Allegheny County coronavirus cases top 1,000; county notes more test results
Allegheny County saw a jump of 62 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours. New data released Saturday morning revealed that a total of 1,009 cases of the virus have been reported in Allegheny County since March 14, when the first positive case was identified. That compares to 22...
Sheetz designates special hour for high-risk shoppers
Sheetz stores will set aside one hour each on Sunday for customers who are high risk to contract covid-19. Sundays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. will be reserved for those who are at a higher risk to contract the disease brought on by the coronavirus. The program will be...
Westmoreland family wrestles with the ‘unfair way’ virus-stricken father diedVideo
Even as her memory increasingly slipped, James Bower Sr. insisted on caring for his wife and keeping the couple together on their three-acre homestead. But time was taking a toll on them both. Finally, about three years ago, his five children — four sons and a daughter — convinced him...
Youth minister at St. Bonaventure in Shaler tests positive for covid-19
A youth minister at St. Bonaventure Parish in Shaler has tested positive for covid-19, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh reported Friday. The person tested positive for the coronavirus disease on Thursday, but has not been around any parish youth members or involved in any parish gatherings since March 15...
Homewood homicide suspect, from Clairton, arrested by U.S. marshals in New Jersey
A Clairton man wanted in connection with a Homewood homicide was arrested Friday by U.S. marshals in New Jersey, according to Pittsburgh police. Sanders Barber, 44, was taken into custody by marshals and New Jersey State Police, on a Pittsburgh arrest warrant. Barber was charged April 8 with the fatal...
Fire leaves 6 New Kensington residents, their pets homeless
A lit candle knocked over by cats is being blamed for a fire that left six New Kensington residents and their pets homeless Friday afternoon. Fire Chief Ed Saliba said three of the six people living in the house were inside at the time of the blaze at 638 Fifth...
Allegheny County to send mail-in ballot forms to every voter; Gov. Wolf mulls pleas for mail-only election
Allegheny County elections officials have begun sending every resident eligible to vote in the June 2 primary election an application for a mail-in ballot — whether or not they requested one. Citing concerns over the highly contagious coronavirus , Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is urging everyone to consider voting...
Pitt plans for fall could include hybrid semester
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher is broaching the possibility that Pitt, one of the region’s biggest universities and a major factor in the local economy, may not be able to reopen for business as usual this fall. Like schools across the nation, Pitt was forced to close its campuses...
Unity opera prodigy to enjoy national spotlight on ‘Little Big Shots’Video
Victory Brinker has appeared at Carnegie Hall and has hit her mark before the camera for three yet-to-be-released films. On Sunday evening, the 8-year-old soprano will display her talents for her largest audience yet, singing a German-language aria from the opera “The Magic Flute” for millions viewing NBC’s “Little Big...
Giant Eagle to convert Parkway Center store to curbside pickup, delivery only
Giant Eagle announced Friday that it will convert its Parkway Center Mall location near Green Tree into a curbside pickup center, allowing the grocery giant to increase pickup and delivery orders its employees fill. “As we’ve been piloting creative solutions to increase our curbside pickup and delivery capacity, we have...
Gov. Tom Wolf lays out plan for reopening Pennsylvania’s economy
The plan to reopen Pennsylvania’s economy will be slow and gradual, hinging on a “regional, sector-based approach,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday, though he offered no timetable on when the plan would be enacted. The plan, available on the governor’s website, comes in three phases — relief, reopening and recovery...
Westmoreland reports no new coronavirus deaths; total cases up to 249
Westmoreland County officials continued to report 19 coronavirus deaths on Friday as state data showed nine new cases across the county. The coroner’s website, last updated Thursday morning, showed 19 cases: 10 men and nine women. The oldest covid-19 victim in the county was 109 years old, and the youngest...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slams feds for ‘passing the buck’ on coronavirus
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the federal government for “passing the buck” amid the coronavirus crisis — and President Donald Trump wasted no time in hitting him back for “complaining.” Cuomo accused Congress and President Donald Trump of ignoring the financial needs of hard-hit state governments...
New Pennsylvania coronavirus cases increase sharply; 49 more deaths reported
New coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania jumped by more than 1,700, a marked increase in new daily cases compared to the past week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Friday. State health officials also reported 49 more deaths, bringing the statewide death toll of 756. The Department of Health recorded 1,706...
Where to buy liquor legally in Pennsylvania
With state liquor stores open on a limited basis and the Liquor Control Board’s online service working slowly, Pennsylvanians in search of booze have been driving over state lines to shop. It is possible to buy Pennsylvania-made liquor, legally. Below is a list of distilleries operating online that will ship...
5 more coronavirus deaths reported in Allegheny County
Allegheny County reported 5 more deaths from the coronavirus Friday, bringing the countywide total to 43 deaths. The 43 people who have died ranged in age from 56 to 103 years, with the most deaths occurring in people over 70, county data show. The county also added 22 new cases...
How Pennsylvania residents continue to run for border to bootleg liquor
You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania, as the old tourism slogan goes. Friendsville Discount Liquors didn’t know just how many until the past month. “I’m getting bombarded by people in PA. We’re the first liquor store from the border,” said Kim Spear, manager of the small beverage shop in the...
Kane Regional’s Glen Hazel nursing home sees spike in coronavirus cases
At least 50 residents and 23 employees at one Allegheny County-owned nursing home have coronavirus, and employees at other county nursing homes have also tested positive. Four residents at Kane Community Living Center’s Glen Hazel location have died from the virus, which first appeared in the facility in late March...
Tarentum woman recovering from crash injuries sews hundreds of masks for others
Dawn Galia hasn’t been able to work since being involved in a car crash that she said nearly killed her and her husband in 2018. But when someone she knows put out a request for face masks to help combat the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19, Galia knew...
