Paul Guggenheimer stories, Page 43
Pa. health departments expands covid testing sites through faith-based organizations
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Friday an aggressive plan to deal with disproportionately higher rates of covid-19 in African American communities. In order to reduce the spread of the virus in areas where people have a greater chance of contracting it, beginning Saturday testing sites will be opened in...
Harmar candy store struggles to stay in business
A little sweetness can go a long way in hard times. Just ask Robert Wyant, 47, who realized a lifelong dream two years ago when he created “Oh How SWEET It Is,” an old-fashioned candy store on Freeport Road in Harmar. “I’ve lived in this community for a lot of...
Unemployment rate in Pa. drops to 8.1%, but economists remain wary
The state Department of Labor & Industry reported Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% in September, down 2.3 percentage points from August. The current figure is nearly double the unemployment rate of September 2019, which was 4.6%. Still, Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh...
Encompass Health discontinues outpatient rehab services in Harmar
Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Harmar has discontinued its outpatient rehabilitation services following a drop in patient volume because of the covid-19 pandemic. The cut in services, which took effect Sept. 30, affects patients who are not hospitalized but undergoing physical, occupational and speech therapy and recovering from bone breaks,...
412 Food Rescue hosting virtual concert fundraiser with Wiz Khalifa
A virtual “Yinz Citizen” concert and fundraiser hosted by 412 Food Rescue and featuring appearances by Wiz Khalifa, Anti-Flag, The Commonheart, Joe Grushecky, Donnie Iris and others is set for Nov. 12. The event is designed to raise money for 412 Food Rescue’s work to combat hunger and food waste....
Allegheny Valley schools superintendent wants K-6 students back in classroom
Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Pat Graczyk is proposing expanded in-person learning at Acmetonia Elementary School. “I’m asking the board for our elementary students (K-6) to come back four days a week for in-person learning starting on Oct. 26,” he said. Under Graczyk’s proposal students would be in classrooms Monday,...
Game 7 Gang moves 60th anniversary of Pirates’ World Series celebration to PNC ParkVideo
They came to PNC Park on Tuesday with their memories, their stories and their folding chairs. The Game 7 Gang’s 60th anniversary celebration of Bill Mazeroski’s World Series-winning home run was pushed to the current home of the Pittsburgh Pirates by the pandemic. So, the diehard fans who annually celebrate...
Gisele Fetterman grateful for support after enduring racial slurs while shopping
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, said Monday she is grateful for the support she has received after a stranger verbally attacked her at a grocery store near her home. “Everyone from the governor (Tom Wolf) to our attorney general (Josh Shapiro) to our senator (Bob Casey), they are...
Staff member at Allegheny Valley School District’s Acmetonia Elementary tests positive for covid-19
The Allegheny Valley School District was notified Friday that a staff member at Acmetonia Elementary School has tested positive for covid-19. The last date of possible exposure at the school was last Tuesday. “We were made aware by the staff member that they tested positive on Friday,” superintendent Patrick M....
Hockey referee plans to keep officiating after attack at New Kensington arena
When Mario de Leon returned home from refereeing an adult league hockey game Oct. 2, his wife saw the cut on his nose and wanted to know what had happened. He decided not to tell her, but then a court summons showed up. A Buffalo Township man accused of attacking...
Allegheny Conference summit focuses on economic recovery from pandemic
An economic summit focused on restoring the Pittsburgh region’s economy to pre-pandemic levels was held last week by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. As part of the summit, the organization prepared a robust report on how severely the region’s economy has been disrupted during the pandemic. The report did...
1960 Pirates legends recall Bill Mazeroski’s ‘amazing’ home run that won World SeriesVideo
Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Oct. 10, 2020. Dick Groat vividly recalls the moment he realized the Pirates could beat the heavily favored Yankees in the 1960 World Series. It was the top of the ninth inning of Game 1 at Forbes Field, and the Pirates were...
Consolidation of Springdale, Cheswick police forces working well one year later
It’s been just over a year since Springdale Township commissioners approved merging the township’s police department with Cheswick’s to create the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. The merger appears to be going smoothly with consolidation bringing more efficient policing. Both municipalities contribute equally to the department’s roughly $450,000 annual budget,...
Pittsburgh Opera to host live, in-person audiences for ‘Cosi fan tutte’
Mozart may not have envisioned singers wearing masks when he created “Cosi fan tutte,” but that’s the plan when the Pittsburgh Opera performs it in front of a live audience. The opera, which revolves around the theme of fiancée swapping, is the opera’s opening production of its modified 2020-21 season....
‘No room in hockey’ for assault on referee in New Kensington, players say
Adult recreational hockey league players and referees said Thursday a player who allegedly assaulted a referee in an adult league game at Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington should be dealt with harshly. The incident happened Friday at the Craigdell Road arena. Jeremy Gregory Gilbert, 43, of Buffalo Township was...
Pittsburgh DJ Sean McDowell ranks Eddie Van Halen among greatest guitarists
Longtime WDVE disc jockey Sean McDowell has no doubts about guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen’s place in rock history. “I’ve always had him at number five on my list of the greatest rock guitarists ever,” said McDowell. “I’ve always had him there, at least since 1978, along with (Jimi) Hendrix,...
Mother of Jamain Stephens blasts Trump’s statements about covidVideo
The mother of Jamain Stephens, the California University of Pennsylvania defensive lineman and former Central Catholic High School standout, has confirmed that her son died of complications of covid-19. Kelly Allen made the statement about her son’s Sept. 8 death Tuesday on MSNBC. At the time of Stephens’ death, Central...
Wilkinsburg writer Deesha Philyaw a finalist for National Book Awards
A Wilkinsburg woman well known for her writing about race, gender, parenting and culture is now receiving national recognition for her fiction. Deesha Philyaw is among five finalists in the fiction category of the National Book Awards for her story collection “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” her first book...
Pittsburgh officer returns to work 2 years after Tree of Life shooting
It was a long road back from the Tree of Life shooting, but Pittsburgh Police SWAT Officer Timothy Matson is on the job once again. Matson returned to work Monday, according to a social media post. He return comes nearly two years after he suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the...
Lifelong Pirates fan writes book on 1960 championship season
Wayne Stewart remembers running home from school in Donora on Oct. 13, 1960. He was 9 years old and was hoping to make it in time to catch the end of Game 7 of the World Series between the Pirates and the New York Yankees on TV. The game was...
New overtime rules go into effect Saturday in Pennsylvania, more workers eligible
Workers making about $35,600 or less per year are eligible for overtime beginning Saturday in Pennsylvania. That’s when the state’s new overtime rule takes effect. “Tomorrow marks the first update to the commonwealth’s overtime regulations in more than four decades,” Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said in...
Harmar Village Care Center workers picket for better wages, health careVideo
Caryn Nelson stood along Freeport Road in Harmar on Thursday afternoon holding a sign that read “Heroes Deserve Health Care.” Nelson, 31, of Lower Burrell, is a certified nursing assistant and part of a group of employees of Harmar Village Care Center picketing in front of the facility. “We aid...
Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes to deliver Caliente pizzas
Imagine ordering a pizza, driving to pick it up and having a Super Bowl MVP run it out to your car. It could happen. October is National Pizza Month and Super Bowl XLIII MVP and former Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes is partnering with Caliente Pizza & Draft House. The...
Fireball streaks across the sky over PittsburghVideo
A comet-like object streaked quickly across the early morning sky of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, a burst of bluish-white light before disappearing into the darkness. While there were reports of a giant meteor being visible on the East Coast, this particular object was actually something much smaller. “A tiny piece of...
Carnegie Mellon University scientists solve 90-year-old math puzzle
Think solving a math problem isn’t exciting? Try telling that to John Mackey, part of a team of Carnegie Mellon University computer scientists and mathematicians that spent four months solving the last piece of Keller’s conjecture, a geometry problem that’s been out there for over nine decades. “I was really...
