Regional category, Page 188
Why Pa. Turnpike tolls soared — and will continue rising for next 30 years
Surrounded by bushels of fresh local peaches, Lori Hanscom spent an afternoon greeting truckers, commuters and vacationers from behind her fruit stand at the New Stanton rest stop along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Her day was filled with friendly chatter about the weather, traffic and which fruits were in season. One...
Pennsylvania school boards, including Hempfield, consider joining mask mandate lawsuits
Another year of traversing a landscape impacted by covid-19 has some school administrators seemingly gearing up to push back against pandemic-related mandates. A state-issued mask mandate for K-12 schools that went into effect early this month spurred several lawsuits that were filed across Pennsylvania by parents and lawmakers. The suits...
Giant Eagle will again require appointment for covid vaccinations
Giant Eagle pharmacies once again will require an appointment for anyone seeking a covid-19 vaccine, a spokesman for the company said Saturday. The grocery store/pharmacy chain had been taking walk-ins for the vaccine, but the appointment requirement is being reinstated because of an “anticipated increase in demand” spurred by the...
CNX Foundation seeks nonprofits to apply for grants
CNX Foundation of Pittsburgh is accepting applications until Oct. 31 from nonprofits aligned with its objective to make tangible impacts in local, underserved urban and rural communities throughout the Appalachian region that face socioeconomic challenges, the organization said. The key areas of the foundation’s focus include food insecurity, children’s health...
Dr. Freddie Fu, renowned Pitt surgeon, dies
Dr. Freddie H. Fu, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon who created the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s sports medicine program, died Friday in Pittsburgh. Fu was 70. He also was Pitt’s sports teams physician for some 30 years. “The University of Pittsburgh has lost one of its finest members,” said University...
Sixth person this month stopped with gun at Pittsburgh airport
A woman was stopped from taking a handgun aboard a plane at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, marking the sixth time this month someone was caught at the airport checkpoint with a weapon, Allegheny County Police said. A 31-year-old woman, who was not identified by police, was stopped by Transportation...
UPMC: Get covid booster shot if you’re eligible
Older Americans and adults with high-risk medical conditions should get a covid booster shot if they are eligible, UPMC doctors said Friday. “We want you to have the best possible immune response,” said Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chief medical officer and chair of emergency medicine. “We want you to be...
Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank announces coalition to deal with childhood hunger
Childhood hunger is becoming a bigger problem in Southwestern Pennsylvania than perhaps anyone could have anticipated. Roughly 96,000 children in the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s 11-county service area don’t have access to enough food, or food of an adequate quality to meet basic needs, according to Feeding America. Now...
Increased mosquito activity in Western Pa. spurred by recent rain, high humidity
Recent rain showers and high humidity have set the scene perfectly for a jump in mosquito activity in Western Pennsylvania. That’s why Karen Poh, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State University’s Department of Entomology, said she isn’t surprised there has been an uptick in mosquito activity in the region. Mosquitoes...
Pennsylvania Democrats ramp up effort to derail GOP election subpoenas
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Thursday stepped into the legal fray over the a Republican-controlled Senate committee’s attempt to subpoena voter and personal data for nearly 9 million Pennsylvanians. Republicans say they need the data so they can hire a yet to be named private company to conduct what...
Somerset County DA charged with raping woman in her home
HARRISBURG — An elected county prosecutor in Pennsylvania is accused of raping a woman he knew through work, leaving her home only after she told him she would not call police, authorities said. Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Lynn Thomas, 36, was accused of attacking the woman Saturday in her...
Winning Match 6 ticket worth $750k sold at Belle Vernon grocery store
A jackpot Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $750,000 was sold at a Belle Vernon grocery store this week, according to Pennsylvania Lottery officials. Lottery officials said the ticket, purchased from Duritza’s Market at 735 Henry St., correctly matched all six winning numbers, 4-30-33-43-47-48, during Tuesday’s drawing. The store will earn...
Woman charged in fatal Washington County hit-and-run
State police arrested and charged a woman in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in Washington County on Wednesday. Police said Jessica Renee Vanderlee, 39, of Washington was driving the vehicle that hit Justin Lyndell Gilbert, 19, of Tionesta around 4 a.m. in the area of 1940 West Chestnut St. in...
Somerset district attorney arrested for alleged involvement in sexual assault
The district attorney for Somerset County was arrested Wednesday for his alleged involvement in a sexual assault incident that occurred last week, state police said. Jeffrey Lynn Thomas is facing several charges including rape, indecent assault, strangulation, simple assault and criminal trespass that stem from an alleged incident Saturday, Sept....
Endangered piping plover at Presque Isle nests with 3 females; 2 chicks fledge
For the fifth year in a row, the federally endangered piping plover has nested at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, the only site in the state where the sparrow-sized, white-and-tan shorebird nests, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. But this year was a little different. Piping plovers are known...
More than 100 Penn State students suspended for bucking vaccine-or-test requirement
More than 100 Penn State University students are on interim suspension for failing to comply with the university’s covid-19 testing requirement, according to a release from the school. As of Tuesday, according to the release, 117 students at Penn State’s University Park campus have been placed on interim suspension after...
Man dies in hit-and-run outside Washington County grocery store
A 19-year-old man from Washington was killed in a hit-and-run in Washington County early Wednesday morning, the county coroner said. Justin Gilbert was hit by a vehicle traveling east on West Chestnut Street in Canton around 4 a.m., the coroner said. He was pronounced dead at the scene about an...
Tornado watch issued for most of southwestern Pennsylvania
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh issued a tornado watch on Wednesday afternoon for most of southwestern Pennsylvania. The watch, which lasts until 10 p.m., is also in effect for parts of Ohio and West Virginia. A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia...
Report: Pennsylvania casino revenues top $408M in August
Pennsylvania casinos generated more than $408 million in August, a significant increase compared to the same month last year, state regulators said. Casinos generated 31% more money last month compared to August 2020, when the facilities saw $310.7 million in revenues, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. However, dollars...
5 things to know about autumn as a new season arrives
Summer officially ends at 3:21 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, when the season changes. Here are a few facts and figures related to the third season of the year. Fall or autumn? The season also once was known as Harvest, relating to the full harvest moon this time of year and...
Portugal. The Man, Brittany Howard to play opening celebration at Public Lands in CranberryVideo
A pair of Grammy-winning musical acts are performing this weekend … at an outdoors store in Cranberry. Alternative rockers Portugal. The Man and Alabama Shakes vocalist/guitarist Brittany Howard are scheduled to play a free show at 3 p.m. Saturday at the grand opening celebration for Public Lands, a new outdoors-based...
3 seriously hurt in Butler County crash
Three people were seriously hurt in a two-vehicle crash on Route 68 in Butler County Monday night, according to state police. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. in Forward Township. According to state police, Chase D. Cooper, 27, no address given, was driving a pickup north on Route 68...
Ohio man arrested after high-speed chase on Pennsylvania Turnpike
An Ohio man was arrested after a high-speed pursuit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County on Sunday, state police said. State police said a trooper attempted to stop Kung’u Celli Njung’e, 26, of Trotwood, Ohio, for multiple traffic violations. He refused to pull over and a high-speed pursuit began....
Pittsburgh pediatrician hopes ‘a lot of kids’ get vaccinated by HalloweenVideo
Parents eager to get children under 12 vaccinated for covid-19 received some encouraging news Monday. Pfizer announced its covid-19 vaccine works for children 5 to 11 and that it will apply to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month for emergency use in that age group....
Pittsburgh man charged in Johnstown assault, chase
JOHNSTOWN — A Pittsburgh man is accused of assaulting a woman during a robbery late Saturday and then leading police on a nearly 8-mile chase. Johnstown police said Denzel Kendrick, 25, and another man followed the woman with their vehicle through a Solomon Homes parking lot — at one point...
