Top Stories category, Page 1507
Fayette, Westmoreland residents support dairy farmer struggling through coronavirus pandemicVideo
Ben Brown said he was nervous Tuesday morning when he answered the telephone call from his wife, Mary Beth, as he was busy in the barn during a 24-hour shift pasteurizing milk on the family’s dairy farm in Fayette County. “The farm store wasn’t supposed to open for another hour...
Mom, son say Aramark fired them after they self-quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure
Two former employees of the Aramark industrial laundry facility in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood are accusing the Aramark Uniform and Career Apparel company of unfair labor practices. Angela Smith, 42, and her son, Kendall Smith, 21, both of Duquesne, said they were fired from their jobs at the facility after...
Gov. Wolf says states — not president — should decide when to lift coronavirus restrictions
Gov. Tom Wolf said he believes it should be left to state governments — not the president — to decide when and how to loosen restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “We had the responsibility for addressing the needs that we all had, and that involved closing...
Pennsylvania’s mail-in, absentee ballot applications surge for June primary
Pennsylvania counties have processed about 283,000 absentee and mail-in ballots for the June primary, and requests from Democrats are three times more common than from Republicans, state elections officials said Tuesday. The Department of State said 89,000 absentee ballot requests have already been processed, with the June 2 primary still...
Three Rivers Arts Festival canceled as Pittsburgh Cultural Trust extends suspensions
Another signature Pittsburgh event has been canceled. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announced Tuesday that the Three Rivers Arts Festival would be axed as the trust’s suspension of events was extended into mid-June because of the coronavirus pandemic. “As we continue to follow the leadership of Gov. Wolf and our public...
Shop ‘n Save donates $10,000 to Western Pa. food banks
The Shop ‘n Save grocery store chain is donating $10,000 to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Westmoreland County Food Bank as demand for their services has soared during the coronavirus crisis. The donation, funded by the brand’s independent retailers, is equivalent to 50,000 meals. “The customers and...
Signs of encouragement appear in windows across Western Pa.
It’s a sign of the times. People hunkered down in their homes waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to recede can’t help sending messages to the outside world. While many are dispatching to a broad audience via social media, others are taking a rather analog approach. Messages of support and encouragement...
Pennsylvania reports 60 more coronavirus deaths as total hits 584
Sixty more people across Pennsylvania died from the coronavirus, state health officials said Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said 1,146 new cases of covid-19 were reported Monday, bringing the state’s running tally to 25,345. There were 1,366 new cases reported Monday and 1,178 on Sunday. The death toll now...
2nd Monroeville firefighter charged with having sexual contact with minor
A Monroeville volunteer firefighter was arrested and charged last week with having inappropriate sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl. Ryan Costa, 26, of Monroeville is the municipality’s second volunteer firefighter in April to have been charged with inappropriate sexual contact with a minor. Gregory Allen Lauffer, 23, of Monroeville was...
Pittsburgh plans to refinance $161M in debt
Pittsburgh is preparing to refinance $161 million in debt while interest rates remain low, a move that officials say will result in significant savings. Margaret Lanier, the city’s treasurer and finance director, said the refinancing of nearly $161.3 million would cover capital bonds issued in 2012, 2014 and 2018. She...
Allegheny County reports 3 more coronavirus deaths, 17 new cases
Three more Allegheny County residents have died from the coronavirus, bringing the countywide total to 24, health department officials reported Tuesday. The people who died from the coronavirus ranged in age from 56 to 103. The Allegheny County Health Department also reported 17 new cases of covid-19, increasing the countywide...
App tells you where to find toilet paper, milk, other suppliesVideo
The search for toilet paper and milk just got a little easier. A new app is offering shoppers a guide to where products are plentiful or scarce. What started out in January as a crowdsourcing app for cyclists and runners to report unsafe conditions on city streets has become a...
Obama endorses Biden, says former VP has ‘qualities we need’Video
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden in a video on Tuesday, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party’s biggest fundraiser and one of its most popular figures. “I believe Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now,” Obama said...
Allegheny Health Network opens Braddock, North Side coronavirus testing sites
Allegheny Health Network has launched new coronavirus testing sites in Braddock and Pittsburgh’s North Side, the health system announced Tuesday. The Braddock testing site is located at the AHN Urgent Care at 501 Braddock Ave. The North Side testing site is at 1004 Arch St., at the former Divine Providence...
15 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Westmoreland County
Two more people died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the current death toll to 15, officials reported Tuesday. The majority of the county’s fatalities are linked to senior living communities, said Coroner Ken Bacha. The two most recent deaths occurred at hospitals, but were people who had been...
Drive-in theaters face uncertainty as coronavirus continues to spread
Drive-in theaters appear tailor-made for social distancing: Expansive fields of grass let vehicles park more than six feet apart, providing families with a safe night out in relative isolation. Yet drive-ins are subject to the conditions facing most businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Local drive-ins have sat empty since Gov....
Giant Eagle to have one-way aisles to combat coronavirus
Be sure to follow the traffic patterns the next time you’re in Giant Eagle. In an effort to step up the company’s fight to slow the spread of coronavirus, the supermarket chain is implementing one-way aisles. One-way signs will be added to the floors of each aisle to direct shoppers...
6 employees at Smithfield Foods plant in Arnold test positive for coronavirus
Six employees at the Smithfield Foods plant in Arnold tested positive for the coronavirus. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 President Wendell Young said four people reported positive tests last week, and two more tested positive as of Monday. He said those individuals have not been to work for...
Trump says his ‘authority is total’ when to ease coronavirus rules, not governorsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump claimed the authority Monday to decide how and when to reopen the economy after weeks of tough social distancing guidelines aimed at fighting the new coronavirus. But governors from both parties were quick to push back, noting they have the primary constitutional responsibility for ensuring...
Pennsylvania bill would ensure full pay for first responders stricken with coronavirus
State Rep. Eric Nelson this week proposed an amendment to state law that will ensure police and firefighters continue to be paid should they have to miss work because of the coronavirus. Nelson, R-Hempfield, said the proposed legislation will expand the state’s Heart and Lung Act that requires certain emergency...
Ohio cuts off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in Pennsylvania border counties
Ohio is cutting off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in counties bordering Pennsylvania, a response to “repeated instances” of Pennsylvanians going to Ohio solely to buy liquor, Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Any other time, we’d love to have visitors from PA, but right now this creates an unacceptable public health...
North Huntingdon woman accused of intentionally coughing on McDonald’s worker
A 47-year-old North Huntingdon woman who allegedly coughed on a McDonald’s worker and told the person “I hope you get covid-19” has been charged with assault, state police said. Sharon K. Powell is charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, reckless endangerment and simple assault in connection with the alleged incident at...
Procession honoring acting Aliquippa police chief stretches 2 milesVideo
A long line of police cruisers and emergency vehicles with sirens blaring escorted a hearse Monday carrying the body of Aliquippa’s acting police Chief Rob Sealock back home to Aliquippa. Sealock, 49, had been in UPMC Presbyterian hospital since March 26 after suffering a medical emergency while on duty and...
Wolf: ‘New normal’ will take time, 3 phases of response
While the adherence to the state’s stay-at-home orders is “bending the curve and diminishing the surge” of new cases, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday he was not ready to predict when he will lift the sanctions against business activity that are crushing the economy. “There is no hard, fast metric...
Ambridge police chief who died of coronavirus was retired Pittsburgh officerVideo
Ambridge police Chief Mark J. Romutis was lauded as “the people’s policeman” in a statement on the borough’s Facebook page. But he was more than that, former colleague Robert Swartzwelder said Monday. Romutis was “just an all-around wonderful guy,” said Swartzwelder, a Pittsburgh officer who is president of the Fraternal...
