Deb Erdley stories, Page 7
3 candidates vie to fill vacancy in 59th district special election
Ligonier Democrat Mariah Fisher, Unity Republican Leslie Baum Rossi and Ligonier Libertarian Robb Luther will square off Tuesday in a special election to fill the vacancy in the 59th Legislative District created by the Jan. 2 death of state Rep. Mike Reese. Reese, a 42-year-old Republican rising star from Mt....
Pa. politicians walk fine line on vaccine endorsements to hesitant constituentsVideo
As vaccine rates slow with the threat of a new surge looming this fall, elected officials on both sides of the aisle are stepping forward to encourage constituents to get a covid-19 vaccine — even as they acknowledge this is a personal decision. While experts say such efforts could be...
4 seek GOP primary nod for supervisor in Mt. Pleasant Towship
Mt. Pleasant Township voters will be sending a new face to the three-member board of supervisors this fall for the first time in years with the retirement of Jack Rutkowski. Five candidates — four Republicans and one Democrat — are seeking nomination to run for the post and an opportunity...
With eye on more fans in stands, the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates urge people to get covid vaccine
Representatives of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers and Penguins joined U.S. Sen. Bob Casey on Friday to reiterate their commitment to help educate and facilitate vaccination of people who remain hesitant to get the covid-19 vaccine. The teams were among the first organizations in the region to open venues to host...
Republican Sen. Kim Ward endorses covid vaccine for return to normalcyVideo
State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward is encouraging constituents to get the covid-19 vaccine. The Hempfield Republican, who has been at odds with Democratic leaders over the covid-19 shutdown for the past year, went public with her endorsement in a radio interview with 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR news station. “It’s...
Westmoreland County Community College freezes tuition
Westmoreland County Community College trustees froze tuition for the coming year. That means tuition for Westmoreland County residents will remain at $1,995 plus fees per semester for 12–18 credits. “We know our students have had a challenging year and we want to show our support of their pursuit of their...
Saint Vincent College goes into lockdown as covid-19 numbers surge
Saint Vincent College went into lockdown status Thursday evening as the number of covid-19 cases on campus surged. College President the Rev. Paul Taylor ordered the campus community to shelter in place and all classes to be conducted remotely as of 3 p.m. Thursday. His order came as the campus...
Pa. State System moves ahead with mergers of 6 universities, including California, Clarion, Edinboro
Plans to consolidate six struggling state-owned universities into two mega schools with six campuses were approved for public comment Wednesday morning. The board of governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education voted to begin a 60-day comment period on a plan to consolidate and rename California, Clarion and...
Hempfield casino and restaurant owners deny discrimination allegations
A spokesman for the owners of Live! Casino and Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen + Bar denied a former employee’s allegations of racial discrimination at the restaurant located inside the Hempfield casino at Westmoreland Mall. “Live! Casino Pittsburgh and Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen + Bar are proud of the jobs we...
California, Clarion and Edinboro could be renamed under consolidation plan
California, Clarion and Edinboro universities will get a new name under a consolidation plan likely to be approved Wednesday for a 60-day public comment period. The necessity for a single name as well as a pledge to keep all three campuses open and fully operational are among the points made...
Former cook at Westmoreland casino eatery alleges racial discrimination, harassment
A former line cook at celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen + Bar filed suit with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying he was subjected to racial discrimination, harassment and workplace retaliation at the popular restaurant at Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Westmoreland Mall. Speaking at a protest in the...
Covid-19 shattered enrollment patterns at region’s community colleges
Community college enrollment booms when the economy busts. That was an accepted fact, proven time and again during the cycles that characterize the U.S. economy. But the covid-19 pandemic, which sent the world into a series of lockdowns, shattered that pattern. Although the region’s community colleges were expecting an enrollment...
State greenlights $48 million in transportation infrastructure projects
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority on Wednesday approved more than $48 million for 116 new multi-modal transportation infrastructure projects in 45 counties, including a dozen in Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. The authority approved two Alle-Kiski Valley projects, including a $200,000 Rankin Street revitalization project in Arnold and $375,000 for...
From stone mason to stone scholar, IUP senior, Fayette Co. native earns coveted Goldwater Scholarship
Susan Adams won’t take offense if anyone refers to her as an accidental scientist. The 24-year-old native of Smock, a tiny Fayette County village near Uniontown, never imagined herself immersed in any kind of science, let alone geology. She graduated from Uniontown Area High School and the masonry class at...
Southmoreland school board member dons paper bag in protest of mask policyVideo
A retired school psychologist and veteran member of the Southmoreland School Board is gaining notoriety after she attended a meeting Thursday with a paper bag pulled over her head. A video recording of the meeting on YouTube shows Catherine Fike sitting at one the end of the meeting table with...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition for a 3rd year
Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will hold the line on tuition for an unprecedented third consecutive year. That means in-state students at schools that charge flat-rate tuition will pay $7,716 a year for basic undergraduate tuition. At Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the only local university in the state system that assesses...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition for a third year
Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities will hold the line on tuition for an unprecedented third consecutive year. That means in-state students at schools that charge flat rate tuition will pay $7,716 a year for basic undergraduate tuition. At Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the only local university in the state system that...
‘Mt. Pleasant’s answer to George Bailey’: Robert Levin reopens family’s flagship furniture storeVideo
When Robert Levin inked a deal last spring to acquire 17 of his former family furniture and mattress stores from a bankrupt Michigan-based chain, it was cause for celebration. But something was missing. On Wednesday, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when Levin — along with business...
Georgia college president tapped to lead Point Park University
Point Park University’s board of trustees Monday announced the appointment of Donald J. Green as the school’s eighth president. Green, who is president of Georgia Highlands College, a multi-campus state college in the University System of Georgia, will take the helm at Point Park this summer, officials said. He succeeds...
Leading the class: Seton Hill, Saint Vincent found ways to bring students back safely
Jessie Delio was thrilled when she learned Seton Hill University would welcome students back to classrooms at its hilltop campus in Greensburg last fall. Like millions of other college students across the country, the Erie woman gathered her books, packed her bags and headed home in spring 2020 when schools...
Colleges prepare for a freshman class unlike any other after a pandemic year
As elementary and high schools plot strategies to combat lost learning over the pandemic year, colleges and universities across the region are preparing to support a freshman class unlike any they have ever welcomed. Thousands of high school students poised to attend college next fall likely will be stepping out...
Pennsylvania’s push for vaccine equity has been a challenge
Getting shots into the arms of the state’s most vulnerable elderly and minority residents remains a challenge, even as vaccine begins a steady flow into Pennsylvania, state officials said Tuesday. It took the combined efforts of three managed care giants tasked with reaching out to the marginalized and those most...
A man ahead of his time: Sen. John Heinz remembered 30 years after tragic death
Henry John Heinz III was a man in his prime. The 52-year-old U.S. senator and heir to the H.J. Heinz food empire had everything going for him April 4, 1991, the morning he climbed aboard a small, twin-propeller plane in Williamsport. The short flight to Philadelphia was for him to...
Trib’s Steve Adams was among a group of students who got first look at the Unabomber
Steve Adams was a graduate student studying journalism at the University of Montana when a call came in from the New York Times on April 3, 1996. The FBI was on the verge of arresting a reclusive mountain man believed to the infamous Unabomber. The paper wanted to hire a...
FBI profiler donates Unabomber files to Cal U forensic sciences program 25 years after arrest of Ted Kaczynski
When FBI agents arrested Ted Kaczynski at his remote Montana cabin 25 years ago today, they knew a lot about the famous recluse whose 17-year string of bombings killed three people and injured 24. Much of what they knew, right down to the bomber’s unusual linguistic stylings, came from the...
