Top Stories category, Page 504
Harvison Road bridge in Penn Township slated for summer removal
A bridge carrying Harvison Road over the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County’s Penn Township will be removed this summer, according to the turnpike commission. The commission announced in 2021 that it would remove the bridge as part of a $300 million-plus project to widen the toll highway between the Monroeville...
Norwin hires firm for superintendent search
Norwin will pay a Harrisburg-area consultant nearly $20,000 to oversee the school district’s search for a new superintendent. The school board Monday split 5-4 on hiring Templeton Advantage LLC of Newport, about 25 miles northwest of Harrisburg. Templeton will charge Norwin $17,000 for its services, plus a maximum of $2,500...
Capital One to buy Discover for $35 billion in deal that combines major U.S. credit card companies
NEW YORK — Capital One Financial said it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, in a deal that would bring together two of the nation’s credit card companies as well as potentially shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by Visa and Mastercard. Under the terms...
Pittsburgh commission to vote on controversial plan addressing homelessness
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is poised to vote Tuesday on a controversial zoning change meant to tackle homelessness, one of the city’s most vexing and intractable problems. The move, pushed by two City Council members, would permit regulated homeless camps Downtown complete with utilities and perhaps even tiny houses. They would...
Fentanyl killed their kids. Now these moms are supporting Casey’s fight against the deadly opioid
Peggy Heidish’s son, Zachary, died last June of a fentanyl overdose just two months after he completed an inpatient recovery program to combat his opioid addiction. Heidish, of Edgewood, said her 35-year-old son came back home that spring in high spirits and was ready to move on with his life...
Wet winter storm hits California, closing regional airport and trapping people in swollen riversVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Another wet winter storm swamped California with heavy rainfall on Monday, flooding the runways at a regional airport and leading to several rescues on swollen rivers and creeks. The Santa Barbara airport, on the state’s central coast, closed Monday after as much as 10 inches of rain...
What Shapiro’s budget pitch could do for Pa.’s rural communities
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. BELLEFONTE — As the populations of Pennsylvania’s rural counties shrink, officials hope future state spending can help slow projected losses by making investments that attract...
FAFSA delays prompt Pa. state-owned universities to extend enrollment deadlines
Pennsylvania’s 10 state-owned universities are extending the deadline for thousands of prospective new students to review financial aid offers and decide whether to enroll for fall. The move is intended to mitigate delays being experienced nationwide with the U.S. Department of Education’s revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known...
Indiana County woman dead, child hurt in head-on crash along Route 217 in Derry Township
An Indiana County woman died and a 10-year-old child was flown to a hospital for treatment Monday after a head-on crash in Derry Township, officials reported. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said Regina L. Endress, 49, of Josephine, Burrell Township, was pronounced dead at the scene on Route 217 near...
Natural gas leak forces evacuation of Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School
A natural gas leak was discovered in Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School on Monday, a day during which no students or staff were inside the building. A handful of people who were in the Oakmont school in the morning, including custodians and a group conducting an architectural walkthrough, evacuated shortly before...
Mark Madden: Which Penguins will be next to have their numbers retired?
No. 68 is in the rafters at PPG Paints Arena. Sunday’s ceremony to honor Jaromir Jagr was among the best of its kind, as was Jagr’s charismatic speech. Jagr’s return to Pittsburgh was everything that could have been hoped for. His legend was heightened. The question now: Who’s the next...
Tim Benz: Emotions surrounding Jaromir Jagr’s jersey retirement were as unique as the player himself
In most situations, the jersey retirement process is a pretty easy one. By the very nature of the honor, the presumption is that whoever is getting their jersey retired in whatever city they used to call home is probably so beloved by the fans that the organization and the player...
What they’re saying about Jaromir Jagr’s jersey retirement
Jaromir Jagr watched his No. 68 float up into the rafters in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, a powerful moment in a long and storied career that still has yet to reach its conclusion. One matter Jagr — who both owns and continues to play for a Czech hockey team —...
Morning Roundup: Fire destroys Penn Township garage; McKnight Road restrictions begin
Here are a few morning news items for Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Penn Township garage destroyed by fire An explosion and subsequent fire destroyed a garage in Penn Township late Saturday night. TribLive news partner WTAE reports that dozens of firefighters worked late into the night battling a fire which...
Gov. Shapiro’s budget calls for deep cuts to cyber charter school funding; public schools in for windfall
A proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro to slash fees for cyber charter students could save public schools about $262 million a year. The move has public school officials singing Shapiro’s praises but leaves cyber school administrators anxious and frustrated. “This narrative that we are overfunded, we don’t agree with that,”...
Allegheny Township hit with $51,000 IRS penalty, trying to find out why
Editor’s note: This story was corrected on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to correct the attribution of a quote. Allegheny Township officials, and at least one resident, want to know why the township apparently is being fined $51,000 by the IRS. The fines might be connected to the township not properly...
Penn State dance marathon raises $17 million, beats record by $2 million
Their voices are likely shot, their ankles probably sore and they definitely could use some sleep. But the 700-plus dancers — and thousands more who participated in this year’s Penn State University IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon — know they made history, raising almost $17 million in the fight against childhood cancer,...
Penguins retire Jaromir Jagr’s No. 68 on ‘a great day for me’
There probably isn’t vocabulary — in any language — to fully explain what took place Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. Honestly, a gently affectionate 78-year-old lady from Czechia who speaks limited English probably did the best to illustrate the emotions that flooded the venue. She cried. Bawled, really. And her...
Mark Smail, leader of Smail Auto Group in Hempfield, dies unexpectedly
Mark Smail, a prominent Westmoreland County automotive sales executive whose family has been associated for half a century with selling cars, died Saturday after falling ill during a ride home from Seven Springs Mountain Resort. He was 62. Smail of Greensburg was a passenger in the car. He was transported...
‘You say Jaromir Jagr, they’re going to say Pittsburgh Penguins’
He chose his words carefully. And he took time to answer questions, wanting to provide thoughtful responses. After all, it’s been nearly 23 years since he was in Pittsburgh as a member of the Penguins. Jaromir Jagr held court with reporters Sunday, a handful of hours before the team is...
Suspect dead amid shooting that claimed lives of 2 officers, 1 first responder in Minnesota
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — A desperate call for help from a home in suburban Minneapolis early Sunday turned deadly for two police officers and a first responder who were shot and killed at the scene, according to officials. The suburban neighborhood in Burnsville, Minnesota, was ringed with police cars that kept...
Mainline Pharmacy to close 9 stores, including Harrison City site
Mainline Pharmacy has announced nine of its 11 locations will close in March, including stores in Harrison City and Blairsville. Mainline is among area independent pharmacies that contend payments they receive for many prescription drugs, as determined by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), are far less than the cost of the...
‘The cost of living in this country’: Experts, Pittsburghers reflect on Kansas City shooting
When news broke on Jeff “Mac” McCafferty’s TV about the Kansas City Super Bowl parade shooting, the retired Pittsburgh Public Schools history teacher instantly thought of two things. Pittsburgh. And St. Patrick’s Day. The longtime St. Patrick’s Day Parade chairman has for eight years helped organize the city’s largest annual...
‘There needs to be somebody that looks like me’: Pittsburgh nonprofit creates recreation opportunities for people of color
Jaiya Hughes loves everything about winter. When temperatures drop, Hughes, 10, cannot wait to don her snow coat and boots and hit the hills of her East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh, sled in hand. Her mother, Tazi Hughes, always joins in on the action. But when Jaiya sees fellow sled...
Runners shrug off cold in Pittsburgh Undie Run to help fight neurofibromatosis
“Aren’t you freezing?” The question was painfully obvious. But it was hard to avoid repeating it Saturday to runners young and old who huffed and puffed their way across the Roberto Clemente Bridge from Downtown Pittsburgh to the North Shore, wearing enthusiastic smiles, colorful skivvies and not much more in...
