Teghan Simonton stories, Page 26
Route 51 Elizabeth Bridge to have short-term closure Thursday morning
The Route 51 Elizabeth Bridge will close for less than an hour Thursday, PennDOT announced Wednesday. Cable replacement work will occur at 9 a.m. on the bridge, in Elizabeth and West Elizabeth. The work will cause a short-term closure, no longer than 45 minutes, PennDOT said. Traffic will be detoured....
New report shows liberal arts education has a higher return on investment
A new report shows that a private, liberal arts education may have a better return on investment than attending a public university — but it will take some time. Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that bachelor’s degrees from private colleges typically have a higher return than...
Kiski Township’s 1st manager resigns
Kiski Township’s first township manager has resigned less than two years after taking the job. Donna Piper tendered her resignation for the position and supervisors will hold a special meeting Jan. 29 to accept it. Piper could not be reached for comment. Supervisor Chuck Rodnicki said he is unsure whether...
Sale of ‘Hometown Hero’ banners ending in Vandergrift
This year will be the final year Vandergrift residents can purchase Hometown Hero banners for display in the town. Ashleigh Hannigan, assistant treasurer of the Vandergrift No. 1 Fire Department, facilitates the program and said 2020 will be the last year she will sell banners. Hometown Hero banners are designed...
Route 51 in Moon reopened after landslide repairs
Repair work on Route 51 in Moon has been completed, two weeks after a landslide closed the road to traffic, PennDOT announced Friday. The slide occurred Jan. 2, dumping tons of debris onto the busy road and knocking down utility lines. More than 770 Duquesne Light customers were without power...
Curb ramps to be installed in Marshall
Curb ramps in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be installed on Perry Highway and Freeport Road in Marshall, PennDOT announced Friday. Construction will begin Monday and continue through Feb. 7. Crews from the A. Folino Construction Company will install sidewalks and ADA curb ramps on weekdays from...
Western Pennsylvania sets record for organ, tissue transplants in 2019
Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia set a record for organ and tissue transplants in 2019, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) announced. CORE, a nonprofit that coordinates organ, tissue and cornea donation, facilitated 661 transplants in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia last year — an increase from 2018...
Fort Pitt Museum cleans 18th-century Pittsburgh with a Q-tipVideo
Kneeling over the side of a massive diorama of 18th-century Pittsburgh, Mariah Simensky gently dabbed each tiny building, house, person and horse and buggy with a Q-tip dipped in water. It will take the visitor services and events coordinator at the Fort Pitt Museum in Point State Park about five...
Allegheny Health Network expands partnership with Johns Hopkins to women’s health
Allegheny Health Network and Johns Hopkins Medicine will expand an existing collaboration to focus on women’s health, pulmonary disease and lung transplantation, the organizations announced today. This new expansion will create one of the largest coordinated research programs for gynecological and obstetrical health research programs in the country. AHN and...
Single-lane restrictions planned on Parkway East
Single-lane restrictions will be in place Wednesday in the area of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel as crews do maintenance work, according to PennDOT. Westbound motorists along the Parkway East will encounter a lane restriction between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Squirrel Hill/Homestead exit. A restriction also will be in...
Vandergrift’s reorganization redo gets contentious as residents vent frustration
A Vandergrift Council meeting quickly became a shouting match Monday — complete with insults and banging fists — and left several residents frustrated with their elected officials. Council held a special meeting to redo its reorganization meeting of Jan. 6, after it came to light that five members and the...
2 guns confiscated at Pittsburgh airport security
Two guns were confiscated at the Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint in a span of three days, the Transportation Security Administration reported Monday. A woman from Cartagena, Colombia, was caught Saturday with a .38 caliber handgun. Then an Ohio woman was caught Monday with a .22 caliber handgun loaded with...
Allegheny Township considers pump station upgrades
Allegheny Township’s sewage authority plans to start interviewing engineering firms for potential upgrades to the community’s pump stations. Preliminary estimates from the township’s engineering firm, KLH, put the cost of the project around $1.5 million. The Municipal Authority of Allegheny Township met Wednesday to decide whether to move forward on...
Woman shot in leg in McKeesport
A woman was shot in the leg in McKeesport on Friday evening. Police received reports of the shooting at 9:14 p.m. at the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Garbett Street, according to a Allegheny County dispatcher. Police were responding to the scene. No further information was immediately available....
Authorities identify man killed in Hill District shooting
A Grove City man was killed in a shooting Friday in the Hill District, according to Pittsburgh Police and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Issa Noor, 18, was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. Friday at UPMC Mercy Hospital after being found with multiple gunshot wounds. Authorites responded to a ShotSpotter...
Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel to reopen by Monday
The Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel will reopen by Monday morning, Port Authority announced Friday. The tunnel has been closed since Tuesday due to landslides, caused by stormwater runoff. Crews had to clear trees and a Port Authority contractor removed dirt and mud to stabilize the hillside. Riders who usually commute...
3 arrests made in Verona burglary
Police arrested three men Friday in connection with a burglary in Verona. The burglary took place Dec. 17 on East Railroad Avenue. Among the items stolen were two handguns, Allegheny County Police said. During an investigation, county police identified James Caldwell, 26, and Zachary Rogowski, 20, both of Verona, as...
Roadwork on Interstate 79’s Neville Island Bridge cancelled for Sunday
A planned lane restriction on a northbound lane of Interstate 79 at the Neville Island bridge has been cancelled, PennDOT said Friday evening. Traffic was to be restricted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday while a PennDOT crew completed concrete patching work on the bridge, which carries I-79 into...
Missing paperwork causes Vandergrift Council to redo reorganization meeting
Vandergrift Council will redo its reorganization meeting after it came to light that five members hadn’t signed paperwork required by state law. The council will hold a special meeting Monday, Jan. 13, to reorganize, despite having already held a meeting for that purpose a week before. At the first meeting...
Former Ohio man pleads guilty in fraud scheme targeting casinos
A former Ohio resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related a fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady announced Thursday. The scheme targeted casinos throughout the East Coast, including some in Western Pennsylvania. Karl E. Wiley, 64, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. According to the...
Venango County man pleads guilty to federal drug charges
A Franklin man pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges resulting from an investigation by the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. Brian Salaj, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute...
Shaler Street Bridge restrictions to resume next week
The newly-constructed Shaler Street Bridge over Route 19 will be restricted to a single-lane next week, PennDOT announced Thursday. Crews from Swank Construction Company LLC will apply protective concrete coating to the bridge deck, sidewalks and parapets. The restrictions will occur from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday...
Western Pa. hospitals participate in state’s first Donor Day
Wednesday was Pennsylvania’s first Donor Day, recognizing and encouraging organ and tissue donation. Donor registration drives were held across the state, including at Allegheny General Hospital, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hamot hospital in Erie and Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. “The fact that one donor can save...
Allegheny Township resident remembered as hard-working, talented
Sue Hartford was constantly working on something. Her husband, Kevin Hartford, said she continued walking their dog regularly, even when she was wearing a chemo pump. She kept playing tennis and golf until last summer. She completed her final audio project for a client last Jan. 1, before going to...
Point Park introduces new master’s program for environmental journalism
Point Park University will offer a Master of Arts in Environmental Journalism degree, with courses starting this fall. The 36-credit program combines journalism courses with graduate-level environmental science courses. “A unique facet of this program is its focus on coursework in environmental studies, enabling students not only to understand the...
