Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1477
Kennywood to go dark Mondays, Tuesdays through the summer
Kennywood Park announced Friday it will operate only five days a week through the remainder of the 2020 season. The West Mifflin amusement park will be shut down Mondays and Tuesdays, Kennywood said via its social media. Some important calendar updates to share: Going forward, Kennywood will be closed on...
Westmoreland County covid-19 new case counts trending downward
For the fourth time in the past week, Westmoreland County’s count of new covid-19 cases was under 20. The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s latest report adds 18 new cases to the county’s total, with one additional death being reported. Of those new positive cases, all have been confirmed. The total...
Pennsylvania reports highest new covid-19 case count in over 2 months
The Pennsylvania Department of Health posted its highest number of new cases of covid-19 in two and a half months on Friday. The day’s report of 1,213 new cases was the highest new daily total since May 10, when 1,295 new cases were counted. The state has amassed a total...
New covid-19 cases, hospitalizations rise for 3rd straight day in Allegheny County
The Allegheny County Health Department announced a record 22 new hospitalizations for covid-19 on Friday, along with 198 new cases. Both figures represent the third straight day those numbers have gone up. With Friday’s report, Allegheny County surpasses the 7,000 case mark, with a total of 7,015 cases since the...
Five-alarm apartment fire displaces residents in BellevueVideo
Meredith English says he didn’t even know the Bellevue apartment house in which he lives was on fire Friday morning until a neighbor burst through his door. “I didn’t smell any smoke, didn’t know there was anything going on,” said English, 72, who lives in an attic apartment of the...
Let’s go Bucks: Gov. Wolf’s tweet to Pirates wished good luck with gaffe
Gov. Tom Wolf wished the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies good luck for the MLB season. Or at least tried to. Wolf tweeted the message Thursday afternoon, but included the wrong spelling of the Pirates’ nickname, writing “Bucks” instead of Bucs. @GovernorTomWolf That’s a swing and a miss, sir! But...
Pitt reopening plan spurs questions, concerns from student newspaper, neighborVideo
The University of Pittsburgh’s plan to reopen its Oakland campus in phases beginning Aug. 11 is raising questions among students and neighborhood residents. The hybrid plan, which calls for a mix of in-person and online classes, was months in the making. Among other features, the plan includes measures to reduce...
Emergency order halts in-person criminal hearings in Allegheny County Courthouse
In an emergency order spurred by another covid-19 case in the Allegheny County Courthouse, President Judge Kim Berkley Clark halted all in-person criminal hearings until further notice. She said more positive cases among court system employees are likely. The emergency order came late Friday afternoon, a day after a less...
John Lewis to lie in state at the Capitol next week
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Lewis will lie in state at the Capitol next week, with the public viewing extended over two days and moved outdoors to allow for social distancing and public health precautions because of covid-19, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday. The Georgia...
Pittsburgh Public Schools considering 9-week delay for classroom learning
The Pittsburgh Public School Board is considering whether to delay in-person instruction for the first nine weeks of the school year. Board member Kevin Carter, of District 8, introduced a resolution at the board’s legislative meeting Wednesday to postpone all in-class instruction for the first nine weeks of school and...
Pittsburgh man arrested in connection with police vehicle fire during Downtown protests
A Pittsburgh man facing charges in connection with a police vehicle fire during the May 30 protests Downtown has been arrested. Authorities said Devin Montgomery, 24, turned himself in to investigators Thursday. He’s accused of setting fire to an unmarked police vehicle near the Fifth Avenue entrance to PPG Paints...
Pennsylvania’s rate of covid-19 testing among lowest in country, data show
The percentage of Pennsylvanians being tested for covid-19 is among the lowest rates in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Commonwealth came in 47th out of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with 8,244 tests performed per 100,000 people, the...
Woman in serious condition after being hit, pinned by car in the Strip District
A woman has been hospitalized in serious condition after being hit and pinned by a vehicle in the Strip District. Authorities tell Trib news partner WPXI-TV that the woman was struck near the intersection of 17th Street and Liberty Avenue around 4 p.m. Thursday. Medics used airbags to lift the...
Driver of Officer Brian Shaw’s killer wants $2,500 returned from New Kensington stop
A New Kensington man who police said drove the vehicle from which convicted cop killer Rahmael Holt ran before fatally shooting a city officer wants police to return $2,500 they seized from him. A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday said he will conduct a hearing to reconsider the request from...
Trump calls off Florida segment of GOP National ConventionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s hopes to salvage a four-night celebration for his reelection campaign have been thwarted by spiking coronavirus cases across the Sun Belt, with the president announcing Thursday that he was calling off the public events of the Republican National Convention scheduled to be held in Florida....
Duquesne Light warns customers of ongoing phone scam
Duquesne Light is warning its customers about an ongoing phone scam. Numerous customers were targeted by a phony call that appears to show the company’s caller ID number to make the calls appear legitimate. Scammers tell the customers they have unpaid balances and threaten to terminate services unless customers make...
Target store coming to old Kaufmann’s building in Downtown Pittsburgh
If the old Macy’s and Kaufmann’s building was the target, the Minneapolis-based chain of discount retail stores has hit it. A Target store is moving into the first floor of the largely vacant building at 400 Fifth Ave. The store will take up approximately 22,000 square feet. It’s a welcome...
Pittsburgh officials not included on White House call warning city to step up virus fight
Pennsylvania state officials participated in a private phone call Wednesday in which Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force response coordinator, warned Pittsburgh and 10 other cities needed to get more “aggressive” with covid-19. After a story about the call was published by The Center for Public Integrity,...
Police: Derry Township woman slain in revenge shooting into wrong houseVideo
A Derry Township woman was killed Monday by a bullet shot into the wrong house in apparent retaliation over a drug deal gone wrong, state police said. Police on Thursday charged Nathan Joseph Quidetto, 20, last known to reside in the Hostetter area of Unity Township, in the shooting death...
PennDOT adds 3rd gender identity option for non-binary drivers
Pennsylvanians who identify as non-binary can now make that designation on their driver’s licenses or ID card, and anyone wishing to change that designation can do so without a physician’s or social worker’s signature. Having only male and female as designations “was not meeting the needs of our customers,” PennDOT...
Despite recent hot, dry weather, Western Pa. on pace for average rainfall
It may seem like Western Pennsylvania is experiencing extremely hot and dry weather conditions, but that’s largely because we have become used to higher-than-normal rainfalls. So far this year, the region is right on track for precipitation, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “Since Jan. 1, we have...
Pennsylvania school openings hinge on case counts, Health Secretary Rachel Levine warns
HARRISBURG — Every region of Pennsylvania has seen an increase in the rate of positive coronavirus cases and failing to stop that could jeopardize the reopening of schools for the fall semester, the state’s top health official said Thursday. In addition, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the majority of counties...
Ann Taylor owner files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
NEW YORK — The operator of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday, the latest retailer to do so during the pandemic. Mahwah, New Jersey-based Ascena Retail Group Inc., which operates nearly 3,000 stores mostly at malls, had been dragged down by debt and...
Pennsylvania reports 962 new coronavirus cases, 16 additional deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 962 new coronavirus cases statewide and 16 additional deaths. The state’s total now sits at 104,358 cases and 7,079 deaths attributed to covid-19. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram The number of tests administered within the last seven days is 147,837, with 5,731 cases...
Apple Hill Playhouse is closing, leaving theater group seeking new home
The Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont is going dark. “The time has come” to permanently close the historic stage, executive artistic director Pat Beyer said. “I’m just too old to be in this game anymore. This is my 38th year,” said Beyer, 79. However, it’s just the barn that’s closing,...
