Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1548
Pennsylvania reports jump of 310 coronavirus deaths as it continues to catch up with data
Continued work by the state Department of Health to catch up with coronavirus numbers from all 67 counties has resulted in another jump in deaths on Thursday, this one by more than 300. The 310 new deaths, which occurred over the course of several weeks rather than one day, brings...
Greensburg debates looser food truck restrictions
Greensburg is revisiting its food truck ordinance, and reviving a debate about whether mobile eateries help the local economy or jeopardize brick-and-mortar restaurants. The city implemented its current ordinance in 2016 over the objections of food truck operators. It limits trucks operating on city streets to between the hours of...
$3.9 million awarded to support Tree of Life shooting victims, survivors
Nearly $4 million will go toward victims and survivors of the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. The money from the Office for Victims of Crime — just under $3.9 million — comes from a grant from...
Allegheny County reports 6 more coronavirus deaths, 45 new cases after delays in reporting
Allegheny County officials reported 45 additional cases of covid-19 and six more deaths Thursday, bringing the total to 1,439 confirmed or probable cases and 117 deaths countywide. That’s compared to 10 additional cases and seven deaths reported Tuesday and 19 additional cases and two deaths reported Wednesday. The 45 cases...
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival canceled
The Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, scheduled for July 2-5 in Twin Lakes Park, has been canceled. “It was a difficult decision for the board to make, and we waited as long as we possible could,” said Executive Director Diane Shrader. “But public safety has to come first, and there...
33 million have sought U.S. unemployment aid since coronavirus hitVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions...
Westmoreland coronavirus death toll rises by 1 to 32
A man died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the death toll to 32, officials said Thursday. Coroner Ken Bacha is keeping a running total on his website because he is being notified of the deaths sooner than the state health department, which is tracking the virus across Pennsylvania....
Outer Banks set to reopen to visitorsVideo
Three counties on North Carolina’s tourist-reliant Outer Banks announced plans Wednesday to lift coronavirus-related visitor restrictions, although they warned of the need to continue to practice social distancing amid the ongoing pandemic. In a joint statement, officials in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties said restrictions on entry for visitors will...
Postal Service extends holds on mail during pandemic
Those living within the U.S. Postal Service’s Western Pennsylvania District, which stretches from to Erie to Morgantown, W.Va., and as far east as Altoona, can place a hold on their mail for more than 30 days beginning next month, because of the pandemic. The Postal Service said late Tuesday it...
Pittsburgh Parking Authority lays off 36 enforcement officers, cites revenue decline
The Pittsburgh Parking Authority has laid off 36 enforcement officers because of declining meter and garage revenues during the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Thursday. David Onorato, the authority’s executive director, said revenue from parking meters and authority-owned garages was down by more than 90% in April. He said the...
Verona man charged with assault in connection with altercation at Giant Eagle while not wearing a maskVideo
A Verona man faces disorderly conduct and assault charges in connection with an incident at a Monroeville Giant Eagle in which he was not wearing a mask, police said. Nick Conley, 37, said he has shopped in various stores without a mask, even after covid-19 reached pandemic proportions in March,...
Pittsburgh Food Bank responding to covid-19 needs in variety of ways
Since mid-March, images of long lines of cars waiting for boxes of food being distributed by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank have become a common sight. “I know that in March our pantry network contributed a million more pounds of food than it did the previous March,” said food...
New Kensington man returned from Florida to face charge that he killed Brackenridge man
The New Kensington man accused of fatally shooting a Brackenridge man in an Arnold kitchen in January was returned Wednesday night after being extradited from Florida. Mario Matthew Gatti, 30, was arraigned before Allegheny Township District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec for allegedly shooting Michael Coover Jr., 33, of Brackenridge on...
Gov. Wolf signs order granting civil immunity to health care providers during covid-19 pandemic
Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday that could shield health care workers from potential lawsuits while confronting the covid-19 pandemic. The order grants civil immunity to individual licensed, certified and registered health care workers acting in “good faith” across all types of state-defined health care facilities — among...
Many new Allegheny County coronavirus cases linked to long-term care facilities
Nearly half of recent cases of the coronavirus reported in Allegheny County are linked to long-term care facilities, Allegheny County Health Department officials said Wednesday. Between April 20 and May 5, county health department staff started investigations on 352 new cases of covid-19. Of that total, 123 people, or 35%...
Big ‘thank you’: Cheswick resident and pizza shop owner feeds health care workers during National Nurses Week
Arslan “Allen” Ovezgylyjov came to the U.S. from Turkmenistan, central Asia, in 2008 in search of a better life. “I can’t say thanks enough to be living in the United States and to have my business and my family here,” said the Cheswick resident. “I have made a life here,...
Peduto: Coronavirus could bring pop-up drive-in theaters to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is looking for creative ways to allow safe social activities — including pop-up drive-in theaters — if coronavirus restrictions are necessary through summer months, Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday. Peduto, addressing reporters during a teleconference, said traditional activities such as Little League baseball, the city’s annual Fourth of July...
Pittsburgh HIV/AIDS advocate August Pusateri dies
August “Buzz” Pusateri played an integral role in the Pitt Men’s Study, a confidential research study of the natural history of HIV and AIDS. Not only did he believe in the importance of recruiting volunteers to help further research, he was one of the project’s first volunteers. Twice a year,...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg weighs in on Trump v. Pennsylvania birth control case from hospital bedVideo
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made history as a lawyer, scoring courtroom victories for clients in sexual discrimination cases. On Wednesday, the 87-year-old justice made history again — this time by participating in oral arguments in a pivotal hearing on insurance coverage for birth control from her room at...
Pennsylvania to hire civilians to ramp up coronavirus contact tracing
Pennsylvania will hire civilians to bolster contact tracing across the state in an effort to better contain and mitigate the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday. The group, called the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps, “will reduce our unemployment rate while making a lasting health and economic contribution to our Commonwealth,”...
Some beaches popular with Pittsburghers have reopened, others waiting during pandemicVideo
Western Pennsylvanians eager to get to their favorite beaches once stay-at-home orders are lifted might have to wait a little longer as beach towns rebound from effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Down the East Coast from New Jersey to Florida, officials are working to determine the best times to reopen...
Rats are eating each other in Pittsburgh amid waste shortage caused by coronavirus closures
Turf wars among rats that are resorting to cannibalism because of less available garbage to scavenge isn’t something just happening in New York, New Orleans or some other far-away metro areas during the coronavirus pandemic. “It is no different here in Pittsburgh as just like these metro cities, with restaurants...
PWSA: Water in shuttered buildings could contain contaminants like Legionella
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is warning building owners that water in structures shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic could contain contaminants. PWSA advised owners Wednesday to develop a water management plan before reopening buildings for employees and the public. Water standing in pipes for long periods can contain contaminants,...
Police: Dispute over ‘intimate partner’ led to killing of Pitt coronavirus researcher
The recent murder-suicide in Ross Township that left two men dead from gunshot wounds was the result of a long-running dispute over an intimate partner, according to investigators. Bing Liu, 37, was shot to death inside his condominium at The Mews of Town North shortly after noon May 2. He...
Google’s Pittsburgh office raises $110,000 for families hit by coronavirus crisis
Google’s Pittsburgh office has raised over $110,000 for the GiveDirectly relief fund which will provide $1,000 direct cash payments to area families hardest hit by the covid-19 crisis. In all, the money donated by Google employees and Google.org will go to support 110 local families. Google.org’s seed donation is part...
