Regional category, Page 220
Abuse survivors and advocates push emergency measure for May ballot
A bipartisan team of Pennsylvania lawmakers will invoke a rare emergency provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, seeking to restore a constitutional amendment ballot question long sought by victims of child sex abuse. An administrative error by the Department of State, discovered late last month, prevents the question from appearing on...
West Mifflin woman killed in Fayette County crash
A West Mifflin woman was killed Friday in a one-vehicle crash in Fayette County, according to state police and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Hope Marie Derry, 29, was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed on Route 51 in Perry Township at about 9:45 a.m., troopers said. Police...
Week in review: Top election official resigns, covid vaccines and Iron City BeerVideo
Pennsylvania’s top election official announced her resignation after the agency made a mistake that will delay a statewide vote on whether survivors of decades-old sexual abuse should be able to sue the perpetrators and institutions that covered up the crimes. Secretary Kathy Boockvar resigned Friday, , Gov. Tom Wolf announced...
Bear with us: PA Black Bear den webcam goes live
The Pennsylvania Game Commission launched a live webcam on a bear den under a porch in Monroe County this week. It’s the same den where the commission installed a webcam two years ago. The adult bear hibernating there currently could be the same one, the commission said in a press...
Route 65 to be shut down for hours after tree topples onto tractor-trailer near Sewickley
A stretch of Route 65 near Sewickley reopened Friday night after being closed for about 6½ hours because of a tree that toppled onto a tractor-trailer. The southbound lanes of the busy highway parallel to the Ohio River reopened at about 9:30 p.m., while the traffic on northbound lanes was...
2nd gun spotted this year at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint
A Beaver County man with a loaded handgun was stopped Thursday at the main security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport, but Allegheny County police determined he’d inadvertently left the weapon in an inner coat pocket. County police said they don’t expect to charge the Aliquippa man, who had a concealed...
‘Pink hat lady’ from Mercer County arrested for alleged involvement in Capitol riot
A Mercer County woman being sought by police for her involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot last month has been taken into custody. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that Rachel Marie Powell, 40, of Sandy Lake, was arrested Thursday night in New Castle. She is charged with obstruction, depredation of...
Getting covid vaccine doesn’t mean losing your mask, experts say
As covid-19 vaccination efforts ramp up, health experts are urging people not to skimp on mitigation measures even after they receive the vaccine. Optimism about the vaccine is warranted, but that doesn’t mean vaccinated people should disregard mitigation efforts like mask wearing and social distancing, said Dr. Graham Snyder, UPMC’s...
Some Western Pa. Sam’s Club pharmacies to begin offering covid-19 vaccines
Walmart and Sam’s Club will begin offering covid-19 vaccines at select pharmacies beginning next week. Four local Sam’s Club stores — located in Hempfield, Monroeville, Trinity Point and West Mifflin — are among participating locations. Select locations in 22 states are slated to begin administering the vaccines through the Federal...
Folk singer-songwriter and political activist Anne Feeney dies at 69
A fierce activist who lent her voice and music to a range of grassroots causes — a self-described “hellraiser” and “troublemaker” — Anne Feeney spent decades turning the push for social justice into lyrics. “Anne, like a laser, would identify these issues and help people understand these in a very...
Kentucky man, living in Fayette County, arrested as part of Capitol attack
A Kentucky man who was living in Uniontown was arrested Thursday and accused of spraying officers with mace during the attack on the Capitol last month. Peter Schwartz, 47, is charged with four counts, including forcible assault on an officer; two counts of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful...
Agents visit Mercer County home of pink hat woman pictured at Capitol riot
SANDY LAKE — Federal agents on Thursday were at the Mercer County home of a woman who told a magazine this week she was at the U.S. Capitol last month during the riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, a TV station reported. WKBN-TV said investigators were conducting court-authorized activity...
Bloomfield gallery Boxheart will feature artists from Lawrenceville, Uniontown
Working with clay during his first ceramics class at Corning Community College, just over the Pennsylvania border in New York, Travis Winters thought for the first time that art was something he could do long-term. “It opened up my eyes to what art was,” said Winters, 35, who now lives...
Western Pa. lawmakers sound off on Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal
Local lawmakers’ early reactions to Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget fell along party lines Wednesday, with Republicans condemning the proposed personal income tax increase, while Democrats praised the increase in school funding and proposed minimum wage hike. Here’s what they had to say: Rep. Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny): “I’m happy that...
Pa. officials hope direct shipment of covid vaccine to pharmacies will ease supply woes
Pennsylvania health officials hope additional covid-19 vaccines going directly from the federal government to some pharmacies will begin to chip away at their massive waitlists as millions remain to be vaccinated. The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it would begin sending vaccines directly to states’ retail pharmacy partnership locations. In...
2 Indiana County schools temporarily placed in lockdown after reports of shooting
Two schools in Indiana County were temporarily locked down Wednesday afternoon as state police investigated reports of a shooting at an apartment in Homer City, state police said. Trooper Clifford Greenfield said Homer City Police and state police responded to reports of a disturbance and shooting in an apartment on...
Federal grand jury investigating Brighton Rehab in Beaver County
A federal grand jury is investigating Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center and its corporate ownership, the Tribune-Review has confirmed. The privately owned Beaver County nursing home is the site of one of the nation’s deadliest covid-19 outbreaks and continues to confront legal challenges on multiple fronts. At least 76 Brighton...
Pittsburgh region struggles to recover as unemployment rises slightly
The Pittsburgh area’s recovery from depths of the pandemic-caused recession slowed in December, as 5,300 jobs were lost in the region, pushing the unemployment rate up slightly at the end of the year, the state said Tuesday. “We‘re still kind of scuffling along,” said Frank Gamrat, executive director of the...
Things to do in Western Pa.: Feb. 3, 2021Video
Feeling down after Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter? Maybe what you need is a good laugh. You’re in luck. Arcade Comedy Theater has a reading of classic Black sitcoms, South West Communities Chamber of Commerce has a comedy date night and Rowhouse Cinema has its annual “Sweded”...
‘America’s Got Talent’ is looking for talent on the East Coast with another round of virtual auditions
If you’ve got talent, now is the time to show it off. The “America’s Got Talent” TV show is hosting virtual auditions for the East Coast on Friday as the show gears up for its 16th season. Because of the covid-19 pandemic, there will not be any in-person auditions this...
VA Pittsburgh Health Care sets covid vaccine clinic for senior veterans
The VA Pittsburgh Health Care System is offering a walk-in covid-19 vaccine clinic for eligible senior veterans Saturday at its University Drive campus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but requested arrival times are broken up based on the first letter of each veteran’s last...
Bear harvest in Pittsburgh region slips 24%, also declines across Pa.
Pennsylvania had the sixth best black bear harvest in 2020, taking 3,608 bears. However, last year’s harvest was 20% lower from 2019 statewide and 24% lower in the southwestern part of the state. In 2019, hunters set a record in harvesting 4,653 bears. The annual average has been running 3,675...
‘Silence of the Lambs’ house in Fayette County sells again
The sale of a Fayette County home made famous by its appearance in “The Silence of the Lambs” couldn’t have been more timely. The Perryopolis home — at 8 Circle St. — sold last week, just a few days shy of the 30th anniversary of the release of “The Silence...
Lawsuit alleges prison guards sexually abused Fayette County inmate
An inmate at SCI Fayette is suing five officers, alleging they sexually abused him and then forced him to cut off his dreadlocks in retaliation when he complained. Abdul Murray, 40, has been at the state prison in La Belle since June 2015 and served as a block worker and...
High school musical season is again up in the air as pandemic continuesVideo
To stage or not to stage, that is the question for area high schools as musical season approaches. As many productions fell prey last year to the pandemic, school personnel and students didn’t think they would be facing the same challenge this year. But they are. With gathering size and...
