Top Stories category, Page 1530
Allegheny Co. reports 10 new coronavirus cases, Westmoreland adds 2 as Pa. total rises to 268Video
Allegheny County reported 10 new coronavirus cases and Westmoreland County added two, according to information released Friday. The 10 new cases bring Allegheny County’s total to 28. Five of those are hospitalized and the rest are in isolation at home. Westmoreland County reported two new cases, for a total of...
Pittsburgh police chief frustrated by lack of communication from Gov. Wolf over shutdownVideo
Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said Friday the bureau learned about Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to shut down non-life-sustaining businesses on the news Thursday night and said communication from the state has been lackluster. The governor’s order stating “non-life-sustaining” businesses in Pennsylvania close to help slow the spread of the...
Income tax filing deadline moved from April 15 to July 15
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the Trump administration has decided to push the income tax filing date to July 15 from April 15. Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday saying that at President Donald Trump’s direction “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July...
Westmoreland, Monroeville malls closed per Wolf’s order
Westmoreland and Monroeville malls announced Friday they have closed in accordance with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order that all non-life-sustaining businesses temporarily shutter to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Restaurants at the mall will be permitted to remain open for take-out or delivery orders only. Both malls, which are...
Wolf’s shutdown could be more harmful than coronavirus, health expert says
With Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement Thursday that all non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania should close, we spoke to Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician Dr. Amesh Adalja for a reaction from a medical expert. A senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Adalja works on pandemic preparedness,...
Adapting to Coronavirus: Back home in Beaver County, a Pitt freshman learns at a distance
Editor’s note: Adapting to Coronavirus is a regular series spotlighting the ways a global pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. The coronavirus pandemic has caused global disruption to governments, economies and the daily lives of millions. College students haven’t been left out of that mix...
Most renters will not receive protections under White House proposal
NEW YORK — Most Americans who rent their home, many of whom have lost their jobs in the sudden economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak, will not be eligible for eviction protections, despite what President Donald Trump said this week. Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s plan...
Flood advisory in effect for Western Pa. counties
Allegheny and several surrounding counties are under a flood advisory until mid-morning Friday. Meteorologist Lee Hendricks, with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said the region could see up to an inch of rain Friday morning falling on saturated ground and streams that are already fairly high. The advisory, which...
UPMC emergency medicine doctor reacts to first coronavirus death in state, dispels mythsVideo
The first death related to coronavirus has been recorded in Pennsylvania and cases continue to rise in the state. So how should citizens deal with the spread of virus as it hits home? We posed that question and others to Dr. Adam Tobias, emergency medicine physician at UMPC. In an...
Woman killed in fire in Greenfield
A woman was killed early Friday in a fire at a home in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood, public safety officials said. The victim was on the second floor of the home on Bigelow Street, where the fire broke out about 3:20 a.m. Fire crews and EMS responded to the duplex in...
Deal to save Levin’s falls through; stores close, but owner hints at possible return
Two weeks after announcing a bid to buy back his family’s furniture company, Robert Levin on Friday announced the deal fell through. Levin said he learned Thursday that Michigan-based Art Van Furniture LLC, which bought Levin Furniture in 2017, decided not to proceed with the terms of their agreement. Instead,...
Some PNC branches to close, others to operate ‘drive-up’ services amid coronavirus
Temporary changes have been made at PNC Bank offices to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, officials announced Thursday. Beginning Friday, the Pittsburgh-based bank will keep about three-quarters of their branch locations open, offering drive-up services only. A full list of PNC Bank locations can be found on their...
Westmoreland Transit Authority offers solo rides for seniors, reduces trips to Pittsburgh
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority is temporarily cutting routes to downtown Pittsburgh as the number of riders dwindle due to the spread of the coronavirus. Several morning and evening trips are getting cut, including three morning Route 1F trips, three evening Route 1F trips and one evening Route 2F trip....
Editorial: Wolf’s excessive attack on the Pa. economy will hurt lives
There is no business that isn’t life-sustaining. Every business in Pittsburgh, and Greensburg, and the Alle-Kiski Valley, in Pennsylvania and beyond. They all sustain life. Maybe they don’t all serve the food that fuels a body, but they provide the paychecks that put food on the table. And so it...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto self-quarantines at home
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will be in a self-quarantine in his home for 14 days after two people he had contact with in Washington, D.C. last week tested positive for the coronavirus. Peduto made the announcement in a video posted to the City of Pittsburgh Twitter account Thursday night. “I...
Gov. Tom Wolf’s business shutdown order draws support, criticism
Gov. Tom Wolf’s order Thursday to close all non-life-sustaining businesses will strain local businesses and local communities, but it may be the state’s best shot at controlling the spread of the coronavirus, some public and health officials said. “Having these nonessential stores closed is having an impact on small businesses...
Nearly 200 Allegheny County Jail inmates set for release amid coronavirus concerns
Nearly 200 Allegheny County Jail inmates have been or are slated to be released in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Staff from across the court system are working to identify inmates who are appropriate to release, and 189 have been identified thus far, according to a...
Gov. Wolf orders ‘non-life-sustaining’ businesses to close physical locations to halt coronavirus spreadVideo
Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses in Pennsylvania to close Thursday night in an effort to slow the spread of covid-19. The order took effect at 8 p.m. Businesses that refuse to close down will face “enforcement actions” beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, beer...
Some Pa. school districts stop mandatory instruction, grading during closure
Some school districts have stopped assigning mandatory work during the state’s mandatory 10-day closure after a conference call with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and district leaders. After Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement last week that schools should close to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, Woodland Hills Superintendent James Harris...
Allegheny Health Network suspends patient visits
Allegheny Health Network is suspending all patient visitation at its hospitals, outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgery centers until further notice, the network announced Thursday. The health system said the policy, which goes into effect at 7 p.m. Thursday, aims to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19...
‘Significant hospitalization rates’: Coronavirus taking a toll in Pa.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly across Pennsylvania, the state is seeing “significant hospitalization rates,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “It really is varying day to day,” Levine said during a daily covid-19 update. The reported average hospitalization rate is about 10%. Levine said Pennsylvania’s rate...
After public criticism, Pa. turnpike to reopen restrooms at service plazas Friday
After four days of public criticism, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission reversed course Thursday and announced it will reopen all 17 of its service plazas beginning at 7 a.m. Friday In a news release, the agency said restrooms inside all service plazas will be open 24 hours. The outdoor portable toilets...
UPMC doctor on coronavirus: ‘Fear can be a very healthy thing’
The fear and anxiety that is gripping the nation as coronavirus cases soar is not necessarily a bad thing, a top UPMC doctor leading preparations at the Pittsburgh-based health giant said Thursday. “Fear can be a very healthy thing,” Dr. Don Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine, told the Tribune-Review....
Italian death toll overtakes China’s as virus spreadsVideo
ROME — The death toll in Italy from the coronavirus overtook China’s on Thursday in a stark illustration of how the outbreak has pivoted toward Europe and the United States. Italy, with a population of 60 million, recorded at least 3,405 deaths, or roughly 150 more than in China —...
Changes coming to census as officials limit face-to-face contact in midst of coronavirus
Census officials are limiting face-to-face contact with people residing in nursing homes and those who utilize soup kitchens and shelters as the coronavirus continues to spread. In an effort to keep the public safe while obtaining a complete count, census officials are asking nursing home administrators to help residents reply...
