Tom Davidson stories, Page 25
Port Authority reports 7th covid-19 case; 3rd at West Mifflin garage
Another Port Authority employee who worked at the agency’s West Mifflin garage has been diagnosed with covid-19, authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said Monday. This is the seventh Port Authority of Allegheny County employee to test positive for covid-19 and the third maintenance employee who worked at the West Mifflin garage....
Where to buy liquor legally in Pennsylvania
With state liquor stores open on a limited basis and the Liquor Control Board’s online service working slowly, Pennsylvanians in search of booze have been driving over state lines to shop. It is possible to buy Pennsylvania-made liquor, legally. Below is a list of distilleries operating online that will ship...
Online sales keep Western Pa. breweries, distilleries, wineries in business during coronavirus pandemic
In the age of coronavirus, we drink alone. But sales figures from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, based on heavy traffic to its Fine Wine & Good Spirits website, and reports from distilleries and wineries in the region since the covid-19 pandemic shut down the Keystone State a month ago...
Police arrest East Liberty man accused in spitting at Edgewood Giant Eagle
An East Liberty man accused of spitting on a Giant Eagle employee April 1 in Edgewood was arrested Wednesday in Braddock by Allegheny County Sheriff’s detectives. Brandon Thompson, 23, was found at about 12:20 p.m. in a house in the 400 block of Library Street in Braddock. He was found...
State police: As gun sales increased, so did background checks during coronavirus pandemic
Uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and business shutdowns ordered to control it appear to be good for the gun business in Pennsylvania. A surge in gun sales that started in mid-March as Pennsylvania’s coronavirus cases began to steadily increase caused a 14.4% year-to-year increase in the number of background...
Man in Montgomery County prison is 1st Pa. inmate to die of coronavirus complications
A Montgomery County inmate is the first in the Pennsylvania prison system to die from complications related to covid-19, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced Monday. The inmate wasn’t identified by name. He was a 67-year-old black man serving a life sentence for a Philadelphia County first-degree murder conviction, officials...
Pennsylvania’s online liquor sales booming despite tricky website
Patience is said to be a virtue — and it’s a necessary one for those using Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine and Good Spirits website to get their fill of libations. The state Liquor Control Board has randomized access to the site to control traffic and is filling an unspecified number of...
Allegheny County: Third inmate at jail tests positive for covid-19
A third Allegheny County Jail inmate has tested positive for covid-19, according to updated information on the county’s website. The inmate is among 11 inmates and 15 staff members who have been tested for the disease, according to the county. Of those, three inmates and one staffer have tested positive....
Why a Pittsburgh-area family opted for unproven hydroxychloroquine for sick dad
Bob Schrecengost, a resident at Caring Heights in Kennedy, is one of the 759 Allegheny County residents diagnosed with covid-19. The McKees Rocks native turns 77 on Friday. Schrecengost has dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and has battled two recent non-covid-19 respiratory infections. Those conditions led his daughter, Lisa...
Adapting: Warrendale home builder adapting to construction cutbacks amid coronavirus
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways a global coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. Matt Moritz is still working as coronavirus spreads across the world. The 39-year-old Marshall man is president of Eddy Homes, a Warrendale-based family home building business....
Food bank hosting distribution at PPG Paints Arena
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will hold a drive-up food distribution Friday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Organizers plans to serve 1,300 vehicles between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the parking lots adjacent to the arena. The event is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Police....
Pittsburgh employees issued masks for coronavirus protection
Pittsburgh employees will be issued protective masks to wear during the course of their jobs, as recommended by health officials. Masks will be worn by police, firefighters, paramedics, animal care and control officers, park rangers, and those who work in other city departments, officials said. “We’ve got to model this...
#LoveFromPGH salutes those on front line of coronavirus responseVideo
Lights were shining throughout the region Tuesday evening as people saluted those on the front lines of the response to the covid-19 pandemic by turning on their lights at 8 p.m. for “Love from Pgh Illumination Ovation.” People took to social media to document it all, using the hashtags #LoveFromPGH...
Reservist from 911th Airlift Wing positive for coronavirus
A reservist who serves with the 911th Airlift Wing tested positive for covid-19 Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the unit. This is the first covid-19 case at the military base adjacent to Pittsburgh International Airport. The airman had no travel history to high-risk areas and was last on the...
Giant Eagle to limit number of people allowed in stores
Giant Eagle said Monday it will begin limiting the number of customers who can shop at each store at one time. “As supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies remain in operation as essential community resources, we believe it’s vital to heighten our social distancing and sanitization procedures throughout the store,” company...
Pennsylvania jobless claims exceed 1 million since outbreak
More than one million people filed unemployment compensation claims in Pennsylvania since March 15, state Department of Labor and Industry officials told reporters Monday. The exact number — 1,134,053 — eclipses any surge in unemployment in memory. It also represents a 2,735% increase in the number of claims (40,000) from...
Pittsburgh zoo announces furloughs for more than 40 employees
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is temporarily laying off one-third of its workforce because of the covid-19 pandemic, zoo officials announced Monday. “This was an incredibly painful and challenging decision,” zoo President and CEO Barbara Baker said in a statement. “Every effort was made and avenue explored in an...
Robocalls dwindle during coronavirus pandemic
Even the robots are listening to worldwide recommendations to keep our distance from each other. Although robocalls are automated, call centers where they’re managed are closed or have otherwise reduced their operations, Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus noted last week. Lazarus heard from a couple who noticed a...
Former East Carnegie fire chief accused of stealing $84K from department
The former chief of the East Carnegie Volunteer Fire Department is accused of stealing more than $84,000 from the department between 2012 and 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed this week. Adam Kauer, 38, of Bethel Park, turned himself in Wednesday to detectives from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s...
Giant Eagle in Shadyside offers special curbside pickup hours for health care workers
The Market District in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood will be offering reserved curbside pickup time slots for health care workers in the area, Giant Eagle announced Wednesday. “We are extremely aware of and grateful for the sacrifices health care workers make every day in order to provide much-needed care for our...
Lawrenceville’s Restaurant Depot not just for restaurant owners during coronavirus pandemicVideo
With restaurants open only for takeout and delivery, the wholesaler that supplies them is opening its doors to everyone during the covid-19 outbreak. Restaurant Depot’s location in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood became open to the public this week, company president Richard Kirschner said. “Imagine Costco and then just amplify that entirely”...
United Way, PA 211 helpline now offering text service to provide reliable covid-19 information
Phones are ringing day and night and staffing has been doubled to deal with the volume of covid-19 related calls at a United Way helpline established here nine years ago. Bobbi Watt Geer, president and CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania said calls to the regional 2-1-1 helpline...
Analyst: Egg prices jump as demand increases during pandemic
The price of an 18-pack of large eggs was $2.59 Monday at the Giant Eagle in the Edgewood Towne Centre. On Sept. 21, 2019, a similar package of eggs from the same store was $1.99. Nationwide, sales of eggs have doubled since January. People are buying more when they shop...
PNC, Eat’n Park team up to provide food with United Way of Southwestern Pa.
The charitable arm of Pittsburgh-based PNC is teaming up with the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania to create a fund to help feed families in the region during the coronavirus pandemic. The PNC Foundation made a $1 million donation to the United Way to create the Students and Families Food...
Shapiro: Pennsylvanians can’t be evicted during covid-19 pandemic
Landlords are not permitted to evict tenants during the state of emergency spurred by the covid-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday. All courts have been closed to eviction proceedings since March 18 through at least April 3 as part of a statewide shutdown to halt the spread...
