Stephanie Ritenbaugh stories, Page 4

Phylliss Ewell was a home health aide who loved caring for people in need. She was a single mother who worked two, sometimes three, jobs to support herself and two children she raised in Duquesne in the 1970s. Despite Ewell’s multiple jobs, the family still qualified for programs such as...

Two local banks have agreed to merge. Butler-based NexTier Inc. plans to acquire Mars Bancorp Inc., according to a joint announcement by the two companies. The Mars-based bank will operate under NexTier’s brand. “We believe the merger with Mars Bank provides NexTier the opportunity to provide additional banking services to...

A Pittsburgh startup that makes technology to track the comings and goings of products on a store’s shelves has struck a deal that will deploy its technology at 7-Eleven convenience stores in the region. Shelfmark, an Uptown-based tech firm, has installed its small cameras in the ceiling at 11 7-Eleven...

Fast-casual restaurant chain Honeygrow is adding a second location in the Pittsburgh region. The Philadelphia-based eatery, which specializes in made-to-order stir-fry, salads and honeybars, plans to open a location in Monroeville this fall at a newly constructed shopping center at 3975 William Penn Highway, where it will join Mission BBQ,...

Highmark Health plans to bring more of its remote workforce back into the office in September. While about 20,000 of the Pittsburgh-based health care giant’s clinical workers at Allegheny Health Network have been on-site during the pandemic, other employees worked remotely where possible. Highmark estimates about half of its 12,000...

After five months of serving as the interim chief executive of Giant Eagle Inc., Bill Artman has been named to the position permanently. Artman took over leadership of the O’Hara-based grocer in late March, replacing Laura Shapira Karet, who had been at the helm for 11 years. Artman, a long-time...

Sheetz Inc. plans to build a $145 million facility in Findlay, Ohio, to boost the convenience store chain’s food preparation and distribution as it aims for further expansion. The project will create more than 700 jobs over five years, the Altoona-based company said Monday. “We’re excited to bring new opportunities...

Auto retailer #1 Cochran has snapped up another dealership, acquiring South Hills Honda in Peters Township. The deal is the fourth acquisition for the company this year and fifth in the last 10 months. South Hills Honda makes the first Honda store in #1 Cochran’s Pittsburgh market and second overall...

An industrial site near the former Heinz plant on Pittsburgh’s North Side is welcoming new tenants — and developers of the site have an eye on future expansion along the Allegheny River. New Jersey-based distributor Champion Container Corp. has moved into the first phase of the River Avenue Distribution &...

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday appointed Jennifer Berrier, the former secretary of Labor & Industry under Gov. Tom Wolf, as the agency’s new executive director. Berrier takes over leadership of the agency on Sept. 11. The PUC regulates electric, natural gas, pipeline, rail, telecommunications, water and wastewater services....

More people are using UPMC’s insurance options, particularly in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh-based health care giant reported an 11% increase in insurance enrollment, bringing membership to about 4.5 million during the first half of 2023. UPMC attributed the growth to its expansion of behavioral health and Medicaid products into the...

In a North Shore building that once warehoused Heinz condiments, Microsoft engineers are building infrastructure that stores a precious commodity: data. The product today isn’t necessarily physical, like a ketchup bottle, but for big companies, having large-scale, high-performing data storage is “their livelihood,” according to Ron Bianchini, distinguished engineer at...

Cleveland-Cliffs, the steelmaker attempting to acquire the historic Pittsburgh company U.S. Steel, wrote a letter demanding that U.S. Steel disclose any other buyout offers it has received. Last week, the United Steelworkers union (USW) said it would only back the Cleveland-based steel producer in acquiring U.S. Steel. The letter, dated...

Dick’s Sporting Goods said on Tuesday that retail theft has hurt its profits, one of the reasons the Findlay-based chain is laying off an unspecified number of employees. “We are conducting a business optimization of our organization to better align our talent, organizational design and spending in support of our...

North Shore-based aerospace parts maker Arconic finalized its acquisition by private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, Inc. The $5.2 billion deal, which will take the company private, was announced in May. Arconic will continue to operate under its name and brand. “The closing of this transaction with Apollo Funds brings new...

Talks are intensifying between U.S. Steel and potential suitor Cleveland-Cliffs about a possible takeover. The United Steelworkers union (USW) said this week it only would back the Cleveland-based steel producer in acquiring the iconic Pittsburgh company. In announcing the potential agreement, Cleveland-Cliffs said it “is the only realistic buyer able...

An online dashboard has been launched to provide data on Downtown Pittsburgh as it attempts to reinvent itself after the covid-19 pandemic. IndexPGH is designed to provide metrics including monthly visitors, public transportation ridership, hotel occupancy as well as health and public safety. The numbers are collected by the Allegheny...

UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers will test a vaccine to prevent breast cancer in what they say is a revolutionary step in the fight against the most common cancer in women. The seed money — $100,000 — to launch the clinical trial came from the Wexford-based nonprofit, Glimmer of...

MedExpress Urgent Care is eliminating nursing positions at its nearly 150 locations. Tribune-Review news partner WTAE-TV reported that the workers are being let go in an effort to revamp the clinic’s staffing model. It’s unknown how many workers will be affected or what the new staffing plan is. Several nurses...

Sustainable Pittsburgh wants Southwestern Pennsylvania to be a leader in the growing field for clean jobs. The Downtown Pittsburgh-based nonprofit has been selected by Jobs for the Future as a Quality Green Jobs Regional Challenge Member. The organization will join other groups across the country to prepare individuals for climate-resilient...

Despite a slight increase in the number of covid-19 cases across the country, rates remain low, and they are far below the past few summers, both regionally and nationally. “Overall, we’ve had a pretty flat trajectory,” LuAnn Brink, chief epidemiologist for the Allegheny County Health Department, said Monday. “The changes...

Ownership of a Bakery Square food hall has officially changed management after about two months of shakeups among the restaurants inside. The site off Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s East End is now called City Kitchen, with management operations fully shifted from New York City-owned Galley Group to Shaka Restaurant Group....

As working parents of a child just beginning to crawl, Ben and Trudi Shertzer began the search for a day care. They soon discovered what a headache it can be to find a place that both has availability and won’t bust the budget. “It’s an unexpected cost,” said Trudi Shertzer....

The unemployment rate in the Pittsburgh area inched down to 3.9% during the month of June, a new record low. The drop of two-tenths of a percentage brings the rate to the lowest point since 1976, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry. David...

Randy Kovitz is a middle-class actor. It’s a title he says he’s proud of, with a resume showing credits from film, television and commercials. His first role was in George Romero’s cult classic and genre-defining movie “Dawn of the Dead,” a cult classic, filmed at Monroeville Mall. He received $50...