Stephanie Ritenbaugh stories, Page 3
PNC moves forward with layoffs and other expense reductions
As PNC Financial Services moves forward with layoffs throughout the financial firm, the company is eying more reductions in costs. On Tuesday, PNC said it would cut an undisclosed number of workers. In a statement, the Downtown Pittsburgh banking firm said it is reviewing its organizational structure, which “includes a...
AHN, Johns Hopkins end cancer center partnership
After nearly a decade, Allegheny Health Network and Johns Hopkins are ending their cancer center collaboration. The affiliation between the Pittsburgh-based health care system and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins was established in 2014 and ended earlier this year. AHN will continue to partner with Johns...
Columbia Gas tests hydrogen blends in natural gas appliances
Near Beaver Valley Mall in Center, a micro-village is undergoing an experiment. They call it Safety Town. Small cabin-like structures surround a tiny house that’s been outfitted with the usual natural gas appliances you’d find in any home — a stove, water heater, washer and dryer and fireplace. There, Columbia...
RIDC sells historic roundhouse in McKeesport
A remnant of U.S. Steel’s operations in McKeesport has a new owner. RIDC has sold the historic McKeesport Connecting Railroad roundhouse to W&E Investment LLC for $273,000. The four-acre parcel is located at RIDC’s Industrial Center of McKeesport. The McKeesport Connecting Railroad was a division of U.S. Steel that connected...
‘He saved my life’: Hillandale Farms founder donates $25M to Pitt after back surgeries
The pain in Orland Bethel’s lower back and hips became excruciating. In 2014, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis — a narrowing and squeezing of the nerves and spinal cord. The 87-year-old Greensburg resident consulted with six orthopaedic surgeons. They told him they would need to “cut a chunk of...
Essential Utilities sells 3 microgrids in Allegheny County for $165M
Water and natural gas utility, Essential Utilities, Inc. is selling three non-utility microgrid and district energy properties — at Pittsburgh International Airport, a local hospital and Allegheny County government buildings — for $165 million. The buyer is Cordia, a Phoenix-based energy company that is looking to expand its footprint in...
President of Trulieve Cannabis retires
The president of Trulieve Cannabis Corp. has stepped down, effective Oct. 1. Steve White will continue to serve as a strategic adviser for the cannabis company until his anticipated retirement at the end of this year. Mr. White co-founded Harvest Health & Recreation in 2011 and served as its CEO...
Viatris to sell several business segments for almost $7 billion
Pharmaceuticals giant Viatris Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell several business segments in a planned divestiture. The Cecil-based company will sell substantially all of its Over-the-Counter (OTC) business, Women’s Healthcare business, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients business in India. The company is also selling commercialization rights that were acquired when...
Pittsburgh Speaker Series kicks off this week, without Jane Fonda
The slate for this season’s Pittsburgh Speakers Series at Heinz Hall features an Emmy-winning TV host, a Hollywood legend, and an explorer/filmmaker. Van Jones, CNN host and president of Magic Labs Media, will kick off the Speaker Series this week on Wednesday. The Emmy Award-winning producer and political commentator worked...
Self-driving vehicle testing in Pittsburgh area shifting gears to focus on trucking industry
Not long ago, cars topped with a futuristic apparatus could regularly be seen cruising along Pittsburgh’s streets, testing technology that allowed the vehicles to get around without a person steering the wheel. But such car sightings have become rare as the autonomous vehicle sector has refocused from the hype of...
Cancer diagnostics firm says it’s growing on the North Side
After outgrowing its space in Harmar and moving to Pittsburgh’s North Side in May, Castle Biosciences has doubled its workforce. The company, which specializes in cancer diagnostics, employed about 70 people in September and plans to hire an additional 10 more by the end of the year, according to Kristen...
Duquesne Light says backup plan in place as union authorizes strike
If contract negotiations are not successful with Duquesne Light, workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers say they are prepared to walk off the job. As a public utility, Duquesne Light is required to have continuity plans in place that are approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission....
PPG leadership to transition officially in October
PPG is officially handing leadership of the Pittsburgh-based specialty coatings company to Tim Knavish, effective Oct. 1. The board of directors unanimously elected Knavish, 58, as president and CEO, succeeding Michael McGarry, 65, who served as chairman and CEO from 2016 to 2022 and is retiring as executive chairman. Knavish...
Pittsburgh had record low unemployment rate in August, state says
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the seven-county Pittsburgh region hit a new low in August. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the area fell one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to a record low of 3.6%, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1976,...
Alcoa names new CEO in abrupt transition
Alcoa Corp. has replaced CEO Roy C. Harvey with the company’s chief operating officer, William F. Oplinger. Oplinger will serve as president, CEO and a member of Alcoa’s board of directors, the North Shore-based company announced Monday. The abrupt move went into effect Sunday. Harvey had been CEO since the...
U.S. Steel to test technology for capturing carbon emissions at Mon Valley Works
U.S. Steel plans to test new technology to capture emissions at its Mon Valley Works in Allegheny County. The Pittsburgh steelmaker is partnering with the National Energy Technology Laboratory to use an “advanced membrane technology” to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock. The unit is...
Gambling brings home $457M for Pa. in August
Gambling in August climbed over the prior year, with much of the haul for Pennsylvania taxpayers coming from online games. But the August total was a slight drop compared to revenue in July, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Gaming raked in $457.15 million in August, a year-over-year increase...
Dr. Richard Moriarty, founder of Mr. Yuk sticker, dies at 83
When people found out Dr. Richard Moriarty was the man behind the Mr. Yuk sticker, they would say how the sticker saved them from drinking something that could have killed them. Or that the 1970s commercial, where a narrator with a menacing laugh warns kids that “Mr. Yuk is mean...
Self-driving truck startup launches in Pittsburgh
Almost a year after Argo AI closed its doors in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, the founders of that autonomous automobile startup have embarked on a new venture focusing on self-driving trucks. Called Stack AV, the firm plans to use self-driving technology to improve efficiency and enhance safety in the trucking industry....
Neuroscience Institute facility planned on Allegheny General Hospital campus
A five-story building at Allegheny General Hospital will be converted into a Neuroscience Institute for the acute treatment and long-term holistic management of neurological diseases. Construction at James and Hemlock streets on Pittsburgh’s North Side is underway and expected to be completed late next year. The project in the 80,000-square-foot...
Pitt Seed program invests in projects proposed by faculty, staff
Boosting the teacher pipeline in Pennsylvania and helping marginalized students succeed in college are among the five projects that have been selected for investment by the University of Pittsburgh. The program, called Pitt Seed, provides internal financial support for pilot projects that have growth potential and could have direct impact...
Striking workers returning to Wabtec’s Erie plant after new contract
Union workers are returning to Wabtec’s Erie plant this week after a 10-week strike. About 1,400 members of UE Locals 506 and 618 ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the Pittsburgh-based locomotive manufacturer last week. “This contract represents a substantial improvement over what Wabtec had on the table in...
Drew’s Family Restaurant, a fixture in Forest Hills, is on the market for $1.5M
A restaurant that’s been a longtime staple in the Forest Hills community is up for sale. Drew’s Family Restaurant has been listed by Century 21 Fairways for an asking price of $1.5 million. The listing describes it as a turnkey restaurant. The Ardmore Boulevard eatery was opened by Spiro Countouris...
UPMC names new chief financial officer
UPMC has tapped Frederick Hargett as its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1, succeeding Edward Karlovich. Hargett comes to UPMC from Novant Health, Inc., a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based health system that encompasses 16 medical centers, more than 1,900 physicians and outpatient surgery centers, rehabilitation programs, diagnostic imaging...
‘More than just a woman’s fight’: Stories of the Equal Pay Act
It was pretty obvious there was something wrong with the newspaper job listings. The postings were separated between men and women — the latter often advertising lower-paid gigs. It was a common practice until a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said job listings could no longer be segregated. “I learned...
