Jack Troy stories, Page 4
Developer proposes Strip District apartments, grocery store on site of departing produce wholesaler
A proposed development in Pittsburgh’s Strip District follows a familiar pattern of replacing the neighborhood’s legacy industry, wholesale produce, with modern apartments and shops. New York City-based Midwood Investment and Development wants to take one of the Strip District’s last produce warehouses, tear it down and turn it into a...
Pitt lab launches $42M project to merge latest in wheelchair, robotic arm tech
A laboratory in Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square is poised to make the next breakthrough in wheelchairs, a mostly stagnant industry with huge quality of life implications for millions of disabled Americans. Researchers at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Department of Veterans...
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson works getting new hot strip mill
U.S. Steel announced Tuesday that its Edgar Thomson Works is getting a hot strip mill, part of a $14 billion investment package across all company facilities from new owner Nippon Steel. In a 17-page report on its integration with Japan’s largest steelmaker, U.S. Steel described the planned mill as “state...
Pittsburgh autonomous vehicle firm Aurora hits the gas on driverless truck rollout
Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation is accelerating the rollout of its driverless trucks as it looks to evolve from a promising experiment to a profitable enterprise. A new route that launched last week — the company’s second — runs from Fort Worth to El Paso in Texas. It spans about 600 miles....
Eye implant co-created by Pitt researcher helps the near-blind see again
A retinal implant the size of a strawberry seed co-created by a University of Pittsburgh researcher has helped partially restore vision for older people suffering from macular degeneration. The study was conducted in Europe and co-led by Dr. José-Alain Sahel, chair of Pitt’s ophthalmology department and director of the UPMC...
Rising health insurance costs are pinching business owners — and driving them to cheaper alternatives
It’s a never-ending battle for Rebecca Kasavich, owner of Copies at Carson, to fund health insurance for workers at her commercial print shop in Pittsburgh’s South Side. About 15 years ago, she made employees pay into their plans for the first time — a common move for businesses struggling with...
5 things to know about Obamacare open enrollment
Steep discounts for millions of Americans on Obamacare won’t expire until Dec. 31, but an exodus from the government health insurance program is expected to start Saturday when open enrollment kicks off for 2026. Nearly all people browsing Affordable Care Act plans will see higher prices than last year because...
Giant Eagle gives opening dates for standalone pharmacies in Mt. Washington, Sewickley
A former Rite Aid in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood will reopen Thursday morning as a standalone Giant Eagle Pharmacy. Much like the Rite Aid before it, the store at 211 Virginia Ave. will fill prescriptions and sell an assortment of health, beauty and wellness products. Where it will differ is...
Westinghouse strikes $80B deal with U.S. for nuclear reactors
Westinghouse Electric Co. announced Tuesday an $80 billion deal with the U.S. government to build nuclear reactors. It’s the latest push from the Trump administration to boost power production as artificial intelligence supercharges electricity demand, and yet another entry into the government’s growing portfolio of private-public partnerships. “This historic partnership...
Utility merger to fold Peoples Natural Gas into $63B conglomerate
American Water and Essential Utilities, two top players in the Pennsylvania utility market, have agreed to merge into a water, wastewater and natural gas conglomerate worth $63 billion. New Jersey-based American Water would absorb Essential in the $12 billion, all-stock transaction announced Monday, getting 69% control of the combined company...
United Steelworkers elects its 1st woman president
The United Steelworkers union, a Pittsburgh-based giant of organized labor, has selected its next leader. International Vice President Roxanne Brown secured the presidency in a unionwide election, the United Steelworkers announced Friday. Brown, a Black woman, is the 10th person to hold the top job — and the first who’s...
Pa. union organizer deems strike timing ideal for unionized Starbucks baristas
Starbucks Workers United is launching a strike authorization vote Friday amid stalled talks for a first contract between union baristas and the coffeehouse chain. Baristas are also planning 70 “practice pickets” in 60 cities as the vote unfolds to draw attention to their demands for better staffing, pay and working...
U.S. Steel to restart coke battery damaged in deadly blast
U.S. Steel is restarting one of two batteries damaged by a deadly explosion in August at its Clairton Coke Works. Battery No. 14 will go back online Thursday after about two months on hot idle, the company announced Wednesday. The battery needed substantial repairs after an Aug. 11 blast that...
‘Firing on all cylinders’: Natural gas producer EQT Corp. posts $407M profit
Pittsburgh-based natural gas heavyweight EQT Corp. posted a $407 million third-quarter profit, bolstered by a smooth integration with newly acquired competitor Olympus Energy. “Strategically, when we look at what we’re doing, it’s really simple: getting access to the best markets and supplying the best energy,” EQT CEO Toby Rice said...
Highmark plans to offer free subscriptions to weight-loss app Noom for 2M members
Highmark will start covering a version of Noom — a subscription-based app that claims to enable weight loss by harnessing psychological research — at no cost for nearly 2 million members next year. The health insurer announced the partnership Monday, touting it as a way for members to make lasting...
Facing burnout, stress and shortages, Pa. nurses push to limit patient workload
Some days, Ashley Grieco feels behind the moment she steps into the neonatal intensive care unit at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. On those difficult occasions, three critically ill babies might need her attention — all at once. Ideally, Grieco would spend more time with each infant, nurturing language skills by reading...
Facing burnout, stress and shortages, Pa. nurses push to limit patient workload
Some days, Ashley Grieco feels behind the moment she steps into the neonatal intensive care unit at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. On those difficult occasions, three critically ill babies might need her attention — all at once. Ideally, Grieco would spend more time with each infant, nurturing language skills by reading...
Report claims Heritage Valley Sewickley, St. Clair hospitals perform needless back surgeries
Two Pittsburgh-area hospitals and one near State College are being called out by a health care think tank for performing what it calls unnecessary back surgeries. A report released earlier this month by the Massachusetts-based Lown Institute says around 38% of spinal fusions performed at Heritage Valley Sewickley weren’t warranted,...
AHN signs deal to pull Heritage Valley hospitals into its network
Allegheny Health Network and the much smaller Heritage Valley Health System have signed a merger agreement, marking the latest push by the Pittsburgh region’s biggest hospital systems to expand their reach. Officials on Thursday announced the deal, which requires state and federal government approval. It would bring Heritage Valley hospitals...
Study questions value of beta-blockers for heart attack patients
Doctors are reassessing decades of standard treatment for patients who have had heart attacks after new research shows beta-blockers may be anywhere from useless to harmful in certain cases. The research was conducted in Spain and Italy and hit medical journals only in August, but it’s already started to impact...
Sticker shock: Pennie expects Obamacare premiums to soar even more than first feared
The end of enhanced Obamacare subsidies could be even more costly than initially feared for Pennsylvanians who use the health insurance program. Pennie, the state’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, now estimates the average enrollee will see premiums climb 102% if Congress lets the subsidies expire at the end...
UPMC enters takeover talks for Ohio’s Trinity Health System
UPMC is looking to absorb Trinity Health System and its four hospitals in eastern Ohio. CommonSpirit Health, the parent organization of Trinity Health System, said in a joint release Wednesday its has a nonbinding deal with UPMC to pursue a takeover agreement. “Over the next several months, both entities will...
Giant Eagle wades into pharmacy benefit management, promising transparency
As Giant Eagle expands its pharmacy business by absorbing customers from the failed Rite-Aid chain, it quietly has been making a bigger push into a more obscure sector of the industry: pharmacy benefit management. After dabbling for at least a decade in pharmacy benefit management, serving as the go-between among...
Soaring gold prices spell payday for some, but economic uncertainty for all
Now might be a golden opportunity to empty out the jewelry box. A palmful of gold necklaces, rings or other jewelry could fetch about $10,000 at precious metals dealers as gold’s price-per-ounce continues its record-breaking rise. “People cry, like shaking — they can’t believe the amount they’re getting,” said Jenn...
Meijer eyes Cranberry for superstore, gas station
Midwestern grocery chain Meijer is eyeing Cranberry as it pushes into Western Pennsylvania. A proposed development would give Meijer a 159,000-square-foot supercenter in the township, according to Ron Henshaw, Cranberry’s director of planning and development services. The store would offer groceries, apparel, garden supplies, drive-through pharmacy service and curbside pickup,...
