Regional category, Page 268
Stimulus checks made out to deceased people should be returned, government says
The last thing Lori Hughes expected to receive in the mail was a $1,200 stimulus check made out to her mother, Sharyn Davis, who died last July. The 54-year-old Smithton resident is now left deciding the best course of action for sending the money back to the federal government after...
Community-supported agriculture thriving during pandemic
Community-supported agriculture has been around for years, said Don Kretschmann, owner of Kretschmann Family Farm in Beaver County. But now, during a public health crisis, the assets of local, organically-grown produce is really catching on. Moreover, the long-standing distribution method is built for the time of social distancing: Most customers...
Honeybees can gang up and fry Asian giant ‘murder hornets’
If they follow their Japanese counterparts, maybe U.S. honeybees could surround and fry an invading Asian giant “murder hornet” entering its hive, according to a Carnegie Museum of Natural History expert. Agriculture authorities in Washington State are creating a national buzz trying to eradicate the aggressive and invading Asian giant...
Baking supplies, other staples remain low — or altogether gone — at local grocers amid pandemic
Baking is helping people pass the time under stay-at-home orders, gauging from aisles normally filled with flour, sugar and brownie mixes at several local grocery stores. Cake mixes, chocolate chips and other staples were hard to come by at Target and Giant Eagle in North Huntingdon this week. Stocks of...
UPMC officials say small Mother’s Day visits OK as they push Pennsylvania to reopen
UPMC’s top emergency medicine expert said Thursday that people can go out and “safely” partake in small Mother’s Day visits, maintaining his suggestion is not in conflict with the stay-at-home order that will remain in effect for Allegheny and 42 other counties this weekend. “I think having a visit with...
Pennsylvania’s pause on evictions and foreclosures extended
People can’t be evicted from rental properties and mortgage foreclosures will remain halted through July 10, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday. But rents, including back rent, and unpaid mortgage payments still will need to be paid, Wolf and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a joint livestream. A...
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...
GetGo donates Girl Scout cookies to educators during Teacher Appreciation Week
Giant Eagle’s GetGo Cafe and Market convenience chain is celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week by giving teachers in the Pittsburgh region a cookie break. GetGo has purchased $25,000 worth of Tagalongs, Samoas, Thin Mints and other Girl Scout cookies for the doubly sweet gesture. Store officials noted the covid-19 pandemic has...
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...
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...
Limited in-store sales to resume at 77 Pennsylvania liquor stores
State liquor stores in Clarion, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango counties will be the closest to Pittsburgh resuming limited in-store public access on Friday, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Wednesday. The 14 stores in the four counties north of Pittsburgh are among 77 Fine Wine & Good Spirit locations in...
Network funneling drugs from Philadelphia to Indiana County area dismantled
A network that brought drugs from Philadelphia to Indiana County and the surrounding area for distribution has been dismantled and seven people were arrested, according to federal authorities in Pittsburgh. Investigators said that the network funneled crack cocaine and methamphetamine across the state and distributed it to street-level dealers and...
Cold, snow and new record low in forecast for Pittsburgh area
The Pittsburgh area is poised to set a new record low temperature Friday night into Saturday morning, and some snow accumulation will be possible in the highest ridge tops, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Wednesday. The high and low temperatures through Saturday are expected to be well below the...
Coroner: Driver hit pedestrian in Washington, Pa.
A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in Washington, Pa. Tuesday night, according to the Washington County Coroner’s office. The name of the pedestrian, who was later pronounced deceased, was being withheld pending notification of family. It was not clear if the person was killed by the impact, or if...
PHEAA extends grant application deadline to May 15
Prompted by a sharp reduction in financial aid applications from students who plan to go to college, the state’s Higher Education Assistance Agency said Tuesday it is extending the deadline for applications to Friday, May 15. The original deadline was May 1. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is urging...
Farmers, farmers market vendors can get free equipment needed to join SNAP program
Farmers market vendors and direct-marketing farmers can apply for a grant to get free, wireless point-of-sale equipment to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the state said. The electronic devices were made available at no cost through a federal grant awarded to the Human Services Department by the U.S....
PennDOT says $800M in federal aid needed to keep non-critical projects rolling
Facing a drop in gas tax revenue from fewer motorists driving at a time when the Pennsylvania Turnpike won’t turn over more than $100 million due in July, PennDOT might delay noncritical bridge and highway projects if the state does not get $700 million to $800 million in covid-19 federal...
Pennsylvania’s backlog of 3,000 untested rape kits now under 100, auditor general says
Four years after the state Auditor General’s Office found that more than 3,000 untested rape kits were sitting idly in police departments across Pennsylvania, that number has dropped to fewer than 100, the office announced Tuesday. “While important progress is being made, I’m concerned that nearly 100 victims of sexual...
Allegheny Health Network resumes elective surgeries, increases in-person appointments
Allegheny Health Network this week resumed elective surgeries and appointments at all of its medical facilities in response to the region’s decline in new coronavirus cases. The health care provider said it is “returning to a more normalized schedule and protocols for medical appointments and non-emergent surgical procedures after six...
Trib offers HSSN services to produce, livestream Western Pa. graduations
As high schools try to plan Class of 2020 graduation ceremonies amid the uncertainty of coronavirus restrictions, HSSN has added its video capabilities to their menu of options. HSSN, the High School Sports Network of Trib Total Media, is offering high school administrators across the region its video production and...
Gov. Wolf offers little detail on when next areas of Pennsylvania could move to yellow phase
Gov. Tom Wolf on a call with reporters Tuesday remained tight-lipped as to when he might announce which Pennsylvania counties will be next to see pandemic-related restrictions eased. “There is no schedule,” Wolf said of when he will announce more counties. “That would be arbitrary.” The governor reiterated what has...
Fallingwater to offer virtual summer camps, online concert
Fallingwater is closed to the public at least through May 15, as part of precautions against spread of the coronavirus. But the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural gem in Fayette County, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy that operates the famous rural residence, are offering several online programs. Virtual summer camps for...
School districts plan summer learning, fearing learning loss from time outside classroom
After spending nearly a month out of class for a pandemic, Pittsburgh Public Schools is hoping the summer might provide an opportunity to make up for lost time – but planning the programs has become a challenge. The district is looking for ways to modify and extend the annual Summer...
Osprey in Indiana County was shot, Pa. game commission seeking tips
A fatally injured osprey discovered April 28 in rural Indiana County, north of Blairsville, was shot, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. “We just received the necropsy report and the osprey was indeed shot by an unknown individual. We’re still looking for any and all information from the public to...
