Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 8
Western Pa. hospitals penalized for high rates of avoidable patient infections, injuries
Several hospitals with ties to Western Pennsylvania are being slapped with fines for ranking among the 25% worst-performing nationwide when it comes to rates of potentially avoidable patient conditions such as infections and injuries. The 2021 fines for hospital-acquired conditions affect a total of 774 hospitals nationwide, Kaiser Health News...
Thousands await 2nd covid vaccine doses as Allegheny County Health Department confronts shortage
Thousands of people expecting to get their second covid-19 vaccine doses as soon as next week learned Friday the Allegheny County Health Department does not have enough supply for most of them. The health department expects to be able to give the second dose of the Moderna vaccine to only...
Grand jury indicts Butler man on child sex abuse charges
A Butler County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on child sex abuse charges, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Thomas Romspert, 29, of the city of Butler is the sole defendant in the three-count indictment made public this week, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. According...
‘Several’ covid-19 cases prompt Central Catholic High to close Oakland campus, go all-virtual
Central Catholic High School’s campus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood will close Thursday and students will switch to strictly online classes following multiple newly positive covid-19 cases in recent weeks. Diocesan officials said they made the decision to close the campus through at least next week in response to guidance issued...
Pittsburgh man accused of sex trafficking, faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted
A federal grand jury has accused a Pittsburgh man of sex trafficking an adult woman, prosecutors said Friday. Anthony Juskowich, 22, of the city’s Oakland neighborhood was named as the sole defendant in a one-count indictment returned by the grand jury on Thursday, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady....
John Fetterman: ‘Race played no role’ in shotgun-wielding chase of Black jogger he mistook for criminalVideo
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Thursday rebuffed criticism stemming from a 2013 decision to grab his 20-gauge shotgun and chase after someone he thought might be a shooter on the run but turned out to be an unarmed jogger. The incident resurfaced this week with the ambitious, progressive Democrat’s newly...
U.S. Marshals arrest North Side man accused in deadly Brighton Heights shooting
Federal and local authorities on Tuesday arrested a Pittsburgh man accused of killing a man and injuring another in a shooting this past summer in the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood, officials said. U.S.Marshals teamed up with Pittsburgh police officers to find suspect Darnell McFaddden, 24, of the city’s North Side...
Heinz Field could be covid-19 vaccine distribution site, but not enough doses available yet
Heinz Field has been offered up as a possible site for a mass covid-19 vaccine distribution — but there are no imminent plans to do so as Pennsylvania scrambles to get enough vaccine doses to people in top-priority groups. “We previously offered Heinz Field for use as a vaccination site...
Route 65 to be shut down for hours after tree topples onto tractor-trailer near Sewickley
A stretch of Route 65 near Sewickley reopened Friday night after being closed for about 6½ hours because of a tree that toppled onto a tractor-trailer. The southbound lanes of the busy highway parallel to the Ohio River reopened at about 9:30 p.m., while the traffic on northbound lanes was...
Covid-19 case halts Serra Catholic basketball games, practices
A newly positive covid-19 case has prompted Serra Catholic High School in McKeesport to halt its boys junior varsity and varsity basketball seasons, diocesan officials said Wednesday. All games and practices have been canceled until at least Saturday, Feb. 13 because school officials learned that “someone associated with the team”...
Beaver Falls, New Castle men accused of selling cocaine as part of gang
Two men from Western Pennsylvania have been indicted by a federal grand jury on Pittsburgh related to their alleged roles in a drug-related gang, federal prosecutors said. Brandon Quinn, 32, of Beaver Falls and Jeremiah Irving, 31, of New Castle are accused of plotting to sell large amounts of cocaine...
Washington County man charged by grand jury with scheming to sell cocaine
A Washington County man has been accused by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh of attempting to sell more than 500 grams of cocaine, federal prosecutors said. Patrick Ellis, 43, of the city of Washington, faces a narcotics charge in a one-count indictment in which Ellis is named as the...
St. Clair Hospital brings covid-19 vaccine to ‘thrilled’ seniors at low-income apartments
Most of the nearly 100 residents at St. Thomas More Manor, an eight-story apartment tower for low-income seniors in Bethel Park, have been eager to get vaccinated for covid-19. But like many people across Western Pennsylvania — and particularly, elderly people without access to cars and computers — they weren’t...
ATI union reports ‘no progress’ on contract talks amid sagging morale
Allegheny Technologies Inc. has resumed negotiations with the United Steelworkers, but union leaders reported Friday having made “no progress” a month before their existing contract is set to expire. Todd Barbiaux, president of United Steelworkers Local 1196, which represents union employees at ATI’s Brackenridge facility in Harrison, said lingering uncertainty...
ATI reports $1.12B loss in last 3 months of 2020; advances layoff, cost-cutting plans
Allegheny Technologies Inc. took a $1.12 billion hit in the last three months of 2020 and is moving forward with previously announced layoffs and cost-cutting measures by the end of this year, company officials said Thursday. Despite the steep losses, the global metals company’s fourth-quarter results weren’t as bad as...
U.S. Marshals nab fugitive linked to overdose death in Washington County
U.S. Marshals on Wednesday arrested a man wanted on charges of selling drugs that resulted in an overdose death in Washington County, officials said. Sherman Springer, known as “Detroit Shawn,” 48, had been on the run as a fugitive for more than seven months, since he was charged in late...
Duquesne University asked to bring back professor fired for using racial slur in class
A faculty-elected oversight body recommends that Duquesne University President Ken Gormley rehire Gary Shank, the education professor fired for using a racial slur during a virtual lecture on race and language in September. “While Dr. Shank’s use of the N-word was misguided, it was not malicious,” concludes a report by...
Butler County man sentenced to probation for gang-related heroin, cocaine trafficking charges
A Butler County man has been sentenced to time served and three years of probation for his role in a gang-related conspiracy to sell cocaine and heroin, federal prosecutors said. Ray Chrzanowski, 53, who previously had ties to Portersville and Zelienople, was nabbed as part of an FBI investigation into...
Washington County man gets 9 years behind bars for heroin, firearms charges
A Washington County man has been sentenced to more than nine years in prison for selling heroin and carrying a gun as a felon, federal prosecutors said. Matthew Curtis McCombs, 34, who previously lived in the city of Washington, pleaded guilty in November 2019 to possessing with the intent to...
Getting vaccinated: What you need to know
How many people have been vaccinated? In Pennsylvania, nearly 520,000 people — mostly health care workers — had received at least one vaccine dose as of Saturday. Of those people, 106,000 are fully vaccinated, state data show. However, those figures don’t include long-term care residents and staff being vaccinated via...
Oakland man gets 6 years behind bars for dealing fentanyl
A man from Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood has been sentenced to six years in prison for dealing fentanyl. William Lewis, 31, was convicted of possessing large amounts of fentanyl with the intent to sell the potentially fatal drug, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. The sentence comes eight months after Lewis...
Monroeville clinic to start vaccinating people 65 and older; supply ‘extremely limited’
People age 65 and older can sign up to get a covid-19 vaccine at a Monroeville clinic starting next week, Allegheny County health officials announced Friday night. An “extremely limited” number of appointments to receive the first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine will be available as soon as Monday...
Fatal stabbing victim in Clairton identified
Authorities have identified the victim of Thursday’s fatal stabbing in Clairton. Anthony Koontz, 55, died after being stabbed multiple times, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Emergency dispatchers were called shortly after 1:30 p.m. to the 400 block of Mendelssohn Avenue, according to the Allegheny County Police Department. Medics...
Post-Gazette reducing print edition to 2 days a week, cites plan to go all-digital
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is scaling back its print edition to two days a week as part of the 235-year-old newspaper’s transition to an all-digital news operation, documents show. The plan is to eliminate its Friday print edition beginning Feb. 27, according to a letter from Post-Gazette’s human resources manager provided...
Casey wants consequences for Congress members as pressure mounts to oust Trump
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called Monday for the impeachment of Donald Trump and consequences for members of Congress “who led the effort to overthrow a democratic election.” “If they refuse to resign their office, then Congress should begin to explore censure or expulsion,” Casey, D-Scranton, said in a statement provided...
