Top Stories category, Page 975
Pa. House passes bill to bring back whole milk to school lunches
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania state House nearly unanimously passed a bill that would return whole milk to schools in the state. If enacted into law, the Whole Milk in Pennsylvania Schools Act would permit schools to serve whole milk and reduced-fat milk, aka 2% milk, to students. Currently, schools are...
Rotating bathroom schedule at Kiski Area High School reduces student vaping, vandalism
A Kiski Area High School student started an online petition this month calling for all the school’s bathrooms to be open, all of the time. As the petition gathered more signatures, Principal Chad Roland called in the student this week to explain why the school began rotating bathroom closures, starting...
Perry Academy principal placed on leave as Pittsburgh Public Schools conducts investigation
A principal at Pittsburgh’s Perry Traditional Academy has been placed on leave pending an internal investigation. Pittsburgh Public Schools is investigating his role in breaking up a fight on a school bus outside the school, according to a statement obtained by Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. The school district declined to...
A native son: Faith and family are the foundation for the priesthood
Deacon Christopher James Pujol stood near the fifth row of pews from the back at Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church on Monday morning. He was replaying the memory of him as a 7-year-old making his First Holy Communion. “I was sitting right here,” he said, as he smiled recalling...
Dillner Family Farms in West Deer becomes Allegheny County’s 40th preserved farmland
Dillner Family Farms in West Deer has become the 40th farm in Allegheny County to be protected by a conservation easement. Following the state Department of Agriculture’s decision in October to support the farm, the Allegheny County Conservation District and county Agriculture Lands Preservation Board made the preservation official Monday....
Dispatcher: Person injured after vehicle hits Allegheny Township home
At least one person was injured when a vehicle hit a house on White Cloud Road in Allegheny Township. The vehicle hit the house at around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. A gas meter was damaged during the accident and power is out in the...
Emergency response at Pennsylvania American Water facility in Baldwin Borough
Allegheny County hazmat teams and Baldwin Borough first responders were called out to the Pennsylvania American Water facility Thursday afternoon. County dispatchers said an incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. at 380 Becks Run Road. It was unclear what caused the emergency. No injuries were reported as of 6:20 p.m....
Saint Vincent College responds to racism claims following weekend lecture
Saint Vincent College this week denounced racism in the aftermath of a symposium held on the Unity campus last weekend that drew criticism of comments from a speaker who suggested Vice President Kamala Harris ascended to her job only because she is Black. Nine lectures were part of a two-day...
Man expected to enter federal plea in 1995 fire that killed 3 firefighters in Pittsburgh
A man whose homicide conviction in a 1995 fire that killed three firefighters on Pittsburgh’s Bricelyn Street was overturned by a state court because of prosecutorial misconduct is scheduled to enter a plea in the case in federal court. Greg Brown Jr., 44, is expected to enter what is called...
Pa. primary election 2022: See how much money the GOP candidates for governor have raised
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — With just over a month to go until the May primary election of 2022, the nine candidates vying for...
U.S. mortgage rates hit 5% for first time since early 2011
Mortgage rates in the U.S. surged, reaching 5% for the first time in more than a decade. The average for a 30-year loan jumped from 4.72% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. The last time rates hit 5% was in February 2011. Borrowing costs have been soaring...
A safe bet: If you want a casino job, odds are on your side
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — As a casino dealer, Shamikah Townsend knows when the odds are in her favor. And they definitely are right now. While working at one Atlantic City casino last year, she went to a job fair held by a different one, and was surprised at how instantly...
Jeannette native killed in Phoenix; police charge husband with homicide
Police in Arizona arrested the husband of a Westmoreland County native, accusing him of fatally shooting her at their Phoenix home last month, according to police and news accounts. Investigators said family members of Amy Jo Jacobelli Malobicky, 54, reported she and Paul A. Fratella, 43, had been involved in...
Pa. board passes 4th year of state universities’ tuition freeze
HARRISBURG — Students at Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities won’t see tuition increase next year under a unanimous vote Thursday by the the system’s board. The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors passed what will be the fourth year of flat tuition, as the struggling system hopes the Legislature will...
Proposal would create formal partnership between Pittsburgh, school district
Legislation introduced to Pittsburgh City Council would form an official partnership between the city and Pittsburgh Public Schools in an effort to address the learning gap resulting from the covid-19 pandemic and the pre-existing racial achievement gap in the city’s schools. The legislation explains that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission...
Russian warship Moskva sinks after Ukrainians claim strike
KYIV, Ukraine — The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war, sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel...
Pittsburgh claims damages exemption for cop who beat up teen caught smashing pumpkins
The state Supreme Court must decide if the City of Pittsburgh should be responsible for paying a $75,000 jury award against an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer who chased down and assaulted a teenager who had been smashing pumpkins in his neighborhood nearly 10 years ago. The appellate court heard arguments...
Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter, make it ‘maximally trusted’
In 10 days, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gone from popular Twitter contributor and critic to the company’s largest individual shareholder to a would-be owner of the social platform — a whirlwind of activity that could change the service dramatically given the sometimes whimsical billionaire’s self-identification as a free-speech absolutist....
Police: Tarentum couple accused of child abuse after 5-month-old found to have broken bones
A Tarentum couple has been accused of child abuse after a doctor treating their 5-month-old son for a shoulder injury told police the boy suffered 10 previous fractures for which he did not receive medical treatment. Ryan Scholl, 22, and Breanna Airgood, 26, of the 400 block of West Ninth...
Pittsburgh region’s economy rebounding from pandemic more slowly than other metro areas
The Pittsburgh region has the slowest employment growth coming out of the pandemic among the nation’s 40 largest metropolitan areas, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Pittsburgh’s labor force participation remains nearly 5% below what it was before the pandemic and is well below the U.S....
Pfizer to seek covid booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds
Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its covid-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids. U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50...
Google says it will invest $15M in Pa. this year, including Bakery Square expansion in Pittsburgh
The tech giant Google said it will invest more than $15 million in Pennsylvania this year, including plans to add another floor at its Bakery Square campus in Pittsburgh’s East End. The company said it plans to invest $9.5 billion in offices and data centers across the country this year,...
Clean air group asks for more Allegheny County Health Department oversight over Neville Island scrap yard
One year after a fire at the Metalico plant on Neville Island, residents from the area delivered a petition to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald asking for increased health department oversight over the scrap yard. The April 2021 fire at Neville Recycling burned for hours before crews brought the flames...
Bloomfield Starbucks becomes 1st unionized location in Pennsylvania
Workers at the Starbucks on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood unanimously voted to form a union Wednesday. The Bloomfield store was the first of the chain’s locations in the Pittsburgh region to file to unionize — and the first in the state to vote in favor of unionizing. Workers...
Shooting in Homewood South leaves 1 in critical condition
A male victim was in critical condition as a result of a shooting Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh’s Homewood South neighborhood, according to a city Public Safety spokesperson. City police responded at about 6:45 p.m. to the 7300 block of Idlewild Street following a ShotSpotter alert and a call to 911....
