Stephanie Ritenbaugh stories
UPMC to reinstate medical mask policy
Pittsburgh health care giant UPMC is requiring masks at its facilities as it sees an increase in cases of covid, flu and other illnesses. “UPMC is seeing an increase in cases of respiratory viruses, including covid, influenza and RSV,” according to a statement from UPMC. “To protect the health and...
AHN expands services at Downtown Pittsburgh clinic
Allegheny Health Network is adding services to its primary care clinic in Downtown Pittsburgh. The Express Care services at its clinic on Penn Avenue are available for minor health conditions such as cold, flu and covid-19 symptoms; rashes and infections; and other afflictions. Testing also is available for covid, flu,...
PPG expands in Europe with new facility in France
Pittsburgh-based paint and coatings company PPG has opened a facility in France to improve its operations in Southern Europe and North Africa. The $17 million aerospace application support center in Toulouse, France, will provide filling and packaging capabilities for aerospace materials, including coatings and sealants for aircraft, according to the...
Company proposes underground limestone mine in Washington County
A Clarion County company is hoping to expand its limestone mining operations in Washington County. A public meeting will be held Wednesday night to discuss a proposal for the underground facility. The 336.7-acre mine, proposed by Neiswonger Construction Inc., would be dug beneath the Maggie Lynn Quarry that the company...
Developer plans apartments, townhouses at UPMC South Side hospital site
A developer is planning to replace a former hospital on Pittsburgh’s South Side with apartments and townhouses. Walnut Capital has acquired the 5.5-acre former UPMC South Side hospital complex on Mary, Jane and Josephine streets in the South Side Flats for $9.3 million. The deal was inked in November through...
Vento’s Pizza in East Liberty reopens under new family ownership
Vento’s Pizza, the East Liberty restaurant that has been home to “Franco’s Italian Army” for decades, is up and running again. After its longtime owner retired and closed the pizzeria in February, a new family has taken over. They’re working with the Vento family to keep the spirit of the...
‘8 seconds to get to shelter’: Hamas attack survivors share their stories in Squirrel Hill
Shani Teshuva always felt safe in kibbutz Zikim, along the beach in Southern Israel, just north of Gaza. On Oct. 7, she planned to ride her bike, as she often did on Saturdays. But she allowed herself 10 extra minutes to leave her home. “Those extra 10 minutes are the...
Survivors of Hamas attack to speak in Squirrel Hill as Hanukkah begins
Hila Fakliro was a bartender during an all-night music festival in Israel on Oct. 7. At daybreak, she looked up at explosions in the sky. She thought they were fireworks. Hamas fired rockets from Gaza during a terrorist attack that killed hundreds of festival attendees. Fakliro ran. She hid in...
Record 200.4 million people shopped between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday
With many retailers closed on Thanksgiving, Black Friday sales events have been repeating how they started — with caffeine-fueled customers lining up in the early hours to snag doorbuster deals, rather than leaving the turkey and stuffing early to start their holiday shopping. At Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, not opening...
Highmark reports profit as post-covid health care system steadies
A growing insurance business and rising patient volumes at Allegheny Health Network helped boost Highmark Health’s first nine months. Highmark Health, the parent company of the 14-hospital Allegheny Health Network, reported a profit of $431 million on $20.3 billion in revenue. That’s an increase over the same period last year,...
Vandergrift-area, Pittsburgh companies get millions in federal funding for clean energy expansion
Two companies in Southwestern Pennsylvania will get millions of dollars in federal funding to expand the manufacturing of clean energy technologies in the region. In Parks Township, Colorado- based Alpen High Performance will partner with Kensington HPP to retrofit KHPP’s facility on Industrial Park Road to make high-performance, energy-efficient glass for...
Southwestern Pennsylvania jobless rate remains at record low
The unemployment rate in Southwestern Pennsylvania held steady at a nearly 50-year record low in October, according to state data. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh region was unchanged last month at 3.5%, the lowest since records dating back to January 1976, according to the state Department...
Cranberry Township McDonald’s franchise owner fined over child labor violations
The Cranberry Township-based company that operates five McDonald’s restaurants in the region has been fined for violating federal child labor regulations. The U.S. Department of Labor said it found that Endor Inc. employed 34 children to work later and longer than permitted by law. The department’s Wage and Hour Division...
Pittsburgh ice skating event brings together different faiths
The Rev. Jonathon Jensen says it’s remarkable how unremarkable it is — at least for Pittsburgh. For the third year, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims will lace up their ice skates, groove to music and grab a slice of pizza together Saturday at Hunt Armory in Shadyside. “We’re all very...
‘Save Lucas’: 10-year-old Indiana Township boy in dire need of another liver transplant
Lucas Goeller is looking for another miracle. At age 2, Lucas received a lifesaving liver transplant on July 1, 2015, at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh from a 3-year-old Nebraska girl, Olivia Swedberg. Olivia died of brain cancer a day earlier. Lucas had waited 18 months for a match. Doctors...
Holiday spending expected to grow as discounts, flexible spending plans heat up
The Casselberry family juggles a lot in December. One of their sons celebrates a birthday, and the holiday season kicks into full gear. Shopping at Walmart in Cranberry earlier this month, Josh and Riva Casselberry and their boys, Elliot, 4, and Sullivan, 2, took advantage of a break in their...
UPMC reports $177M loss so far this year
Health care giant UPMC reported an operating loss of $177 million during the first nine months of the year, attributing the decrease to rising labor costs and supply markets, increases in medical claims as more patients accessed care, pharmaceutical expenses and legal settlements. The loss during the period that ended...
Tracking of covid-19 cases shifts as virus rides periodic waves
Over the past few years, checking the number of weekly covid-19 cases on a health department online tracker became second nature for a lot of people concerned about how the virus impacted their communities. The type of data available is now a lot different in much of Pennsylvania. “The covid-19...
New president named at #1 Cochran
Auto dealer #1 Cochran has named a new president. Denny Patton, current vice president and chief operating officer, will succeed Rob Cochran as president. Cochran, who has held the role since 1992, will remain CEO and transition to chairman. Cochran will maintain his involvement in the business. He said the...
‘Not science fiction:’ Robotics Network’s Discovery Day showcases tech in Pittsburgh
The humanoid robot waved at the crowd, folded its arms toward its chest, and bowed in greeting. Then it stepped sideways to show some motor skills. It’s a prototype of Agility Robotics’ bipedal robot, Digit, which is meant to work in warehouses alongside humans to handle the more tedious and...
Kraft Heinz announces new leadership
Packaged food giant Kraft Heinz announced changes to its leadership team in the coming year, months after naming a new chief executive. The maker of Heinz Ketchup and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese appointed Carlos Abrams-Rivera as CEO and a member of the board, effective Jan. 1. Until then, Abrams-Rivera will...
Here’s what to know about 2023 Light Up Night
Pittsburgh kicks off the holiday season with Highmark Light Up Night on Saturday. This weekend will also be the debut of a new light display at Point State Park. Duquesne Light’s familiar “Tree of Lights” at the park’s fountain was retired after 30 years in 2021. It will replaced with...
Highmark CEO’s pay tops $9.47 million in 2022
Highmark President David Holmberg took home about $9.47 million in 2022, an increase of 9.6% over his compensation in the previous year, according to financial statements filed Friday. For Holmberg, who also serves as board chairman, that pay package includes a base compensation of about $1.57 million and bonuses and...
Pittsburgh office market stabilized in 3rd quarter after being pummeled by pandemic
Office vacancies in Pittsburgh stabilized in the third quarter after the market was pummeled by a pandemic that forced many workers out of offices and into their homes, according to reports from two real estate firms. “One of the reasons why you haven’t seen much adjustment to the overall vacancy...
Ohio just legalized recreational marijuana. What does that mean for Pennsylvania?
On Tuesday, Ohio became the 24th state to legalize recreational use of marijuana after having a medical-only program in place. Now all of Pennsylvania’s neighbors, except West Virginia, allow recreational marijuana use. Pennsylvania passed medical marijuana laws in 2016. Pennsylvania medical marijuana patients must now be diagnosed with at least...
