Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1465
Penn Hills School District reopening plans call for mix of in-person, online classes
Penn Hills School District administrators recommend a hybrid in-person learning model, and an online learning option for families to start the upcoming school year. “This is not forever,” Superintendent Nancy Hines said after Wednesday’s safety/buildings and grounds committee meeting. “This is just to start.” Back-to-school plans were formally revealed that...
75 years after atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima, area vets believe U.S. did right thing
They are called the “hibakusha,” the survivors of the atomic bombs that fell on Hiroshima 75 years ago today and on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. Their stories are hard to hear. One survivor visiting Boston in 1985 for Hiroshima’s 40th anniversary reduced a group of reporters to tears. The...
After summer of delays, Lazy River reopens at Sandcastle
The Lazy River earned its name this summer. The Sandcastle Waterpark attraction, where guests float along a quarter-mile on inner tubes, took its time and waited until the final few weeks of the season to start flowing again on Wednesday. “We appreciate everyone’s patience while we completed necessary work,” said...
Shadyside’s Rodef Shalom offers classroom space to Falk Laboratory School students
With back-to-school just a few weeks away, many local schools are scrambling to find ways to adhere to covid-19 guidelines regarding social distancing. School officials are looking to reduce student density on campus and space desks 6 feet apart, while still providing a good learning environment. Meanwhile, at Rodef Shalom...
Century III Mall’s JCPenney to close
The JCPenney store at Century III Mall has been added to the list of 151 locations closing nationwide. It was the last surviving store in the long-struggling mall, which closed last year after West Mifflin Code Enforcement declared it “unsafe and uninhabitable” due to a broken water and fire suppression...
Washington County woman accused of locking sister in cage wanted for skipping hearing
A Washington County woman accused of locking her adult sister in a cage is wanted on a bench warrant for allegedly skipping a court hearing, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. Leona Biser, 51, originally was charged in January by the state Attorney General’s Office. She allegedly kept her 53-year-old sister...
Loves Furniture hiring to staff some of former Levin’s sites acquired in bankruptcy court
Loves Furniture, a new retail chain that formed when a private equity firm recently bought 27 Art Van, Levin and Wolf outlets in bankruptcy court, is looking to hire 1,000 workers in three states — including people to staff at the Mt. Pleasant store that for a century served as...
412 Food Rescue holding more distributions Friday and Saturday as need increases
With no end in sight to the pandemic, there seems to be no forseeable end to food insecurity induced by covid-19. Layoffs, particularly in the service industry, combined with the end of the $600 a week federal boost to unemployment on July 31, mean one box of food can make...
College parties, school openings, contact sports pose challenges in Allegheny County’s ‘war’ against covid-19
Allegheny County’s new cases of covid-19 fell sharply in the past two weeks, but the region still has “lots of community spread,” and officials have concerns about schools and sports programs safely resuming in coming weeks. That was the scenario laid out Wednesday by the county’s public health chief. In...
Missing 5-year-old girl found in Herminie
First responders have found a 5-year-old girl who was missing for about two hours Wednesday afternoon, according to the Sewickley Township Emergency Management Agency. The girl went missing around 4:30 p.m. in the area of Highland Avenue in Herminie, Sewickley Township, according to Westomreland County 911. She was found safe...
Pa. lawmakers propose 1st dog license fee increase in 24 years
State lawmakers on Wednesday called for an increase in the cost of a dog license — the first in more than two decades in Pennsylvania — in an effort to keep the state’s Bureau of Dog Law from going into the red. The bureau, part of the state Department of...
Steelers ticket holders have until Aug. 14 to request full refund for 2020 season
The Pittsburgh Steelers set an Aug. 14 deadline for season-ticket holders to request a full refund or credit for games played with fans in attendance at Heinz Field this season. The Steelers already have refunded the cost of tickets for the two home preseason games that were canceled because of...
Pitt to launch study of medical marijuana use to ease pain in sickle cell patients
Finding a way to use medical marijuana to treat sickle cell anemia will be the focus of a $3 million research program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It is part of a 10-year agreement with Goodblend Pennsylvania LLC, Pitt’s new affiliate in medical marijuana research. State officials...
Norwin parents to protest hybrid school reopening plan
A group of Norwin parents who want their children in school all week rather than two days plan to protest Monday. “We want to get the kids back to school five days a week. It’s like they (district administration) quit on us,” said Leslie Savage of Irwin, whose son is...
Arnold man found guilty of intimidating witness before his son’s cop-killer trial last year
The father of the man sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw was convicted Wednesday for the intimidation and retaliation of a potential witness at his son’s trial last year. After nearly six hours of deliberations, a Westmoreland County jury found Gregory Paul Baucum,...
Millvale police searching for man accused of beating cousin with baseball bat
Millvale police are searching for a man who they say beat his cousin within inches of his life during an afternoon fight on Aug. 1. Julio Jenaro, a borough resident, is wanted on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and two counts of reckless endangerment after being accused of beating...
Better Business Bureau issues warning about possible scams related to census
The Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania issued a warning regarding potential phishing scams related to the census. The census, which determines how federal funds are distributed along with the number of congressional seats each state is allocated, has been sending emails encouraging people to respond to the once-a-decade survey...
Republic, United airlines could lay off nearly 250 Pittsburgh-based employees because of pandemic
Nearly 250 employees of two of the airlines that serve Pittsburgh International Airport could be laid off Oct. 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to filings with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. They include 66 United Airlines employees and 183 employed by Republic Airways. Each airline filed...
New Kensington officials want local control over use of fireworks
New Kensington will urge its state representatives to repeal the law that legalized fireworks in Pennsylvania. In a resolution city council approved Monday, the city said it will make the request “since calls for more local control over the usage of commercial fireworks has been largely ignored by the Pennsylvania...
Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure goes virtual this year
Thousands of Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure participants may not be gathering in Schenley Park this year, but event organizers are not letting that stop their mission. The race, which typically draws 15,000 people to the Flagstaff Hill section of the park, will celebrate its 28th year virtually, said...
2 tornadoes confirmed in eastern Pennsylvania during storm
PHILADELPHIA — The National Weather Service has confirmed that tornadoes touched down in Bucks and Montgomery counties during Tuesday’s storm. The weather service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey said more details would be provided later such as the strength and exact location of the storms, which were among six...
Continuing recent trend, Pennsylvania reports under 1,000 new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania added 705 new covid-19 cases and 12 deaths on Wednesday. Wednesday marks the eighth straight day the state has posted new cases below 1,000. In that eight-day span, they have averaged 791 new cases a day, which is 17.3% less than the previous eight days (956 between July 21-28)....
Maryland men arrested in alleged 3-county robbery spree
Police arrested two Maryland men early Wednesday for an alleged armed robbery spree that authorities say spanned three counties. Rexford Enoch Prince-Wright, 23, and Elijah Sayon, 22, both of Hagerstown, face robbery charges in connection with four incidents early this week, according to Allegheny County Police Sgt. Todd Dolfi. County...
Westmoreland County adds 11 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County added 11 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. With the 11 new cases, the county’s total rose to 1,475 since the first cases were reported in March. All 11 cases were confirmed, bringing the county’s total to 1,437 confirmed and...
Hampton police arrest mother, daughter on felony drug charges
A woman and her daughter are facing drug charges after Hampton Township police say they saw one of them visiting the home of a known narcotics dealer, according to authorities. Hampton police detective Robert Grondwalski was working an undercover detail on July 27 when he said he spotted Ember Alt,...
