Regional category, Page 5
East Suburban Artists League marks 60th anniversary
The first East Suburban Artists League show took place in 1965, in an empty storeroom next to the old Murrysville A&P store. Local developer Orin Sampson donated the storeroom and some 4-by-8-foot boards to display paintings. With the first ESAL show taking place on a freezing cold weekend in late...
Farmers market nutrition programs receive federal funding cuts, delays
Federal funding used to pay for food for low-income families and seniors has been cut by half and delayed, with fewer vouchers available, officials say. The cuts affect vouchers given to those eligible for the Women, Infants and Children Farmers Market Nutrition Program for low-income families and the Senior Farmers...
Bicycle sales hang on despite post-covid sales decline
At the height of the covid-19 pandemic, Chris MacTaggart and his friends had no problem following federal guidelines for outdoor recreation. In May 2020, he and two other cyclists started riding around Pittsburgh to get coffee once or twice a week. It was typical of covid-era social distancing in many...
Deal struck to preserve Cigna members’ access to AHN facilities
Thousands of Cigna Healthcare insurance members will keep full, in-network access to Allegheny Health Network following a contract agreement between the organizations. The deal was reached Friday after a monthslong dispute, the second in the past two years. It ensures more than 20,000 Cigna members in the region can continue...
State senate approves Sunday hunting; measure moves to House
A state bill that would repeal Pennsylvania’s ban on Sunday hunting is headed to the House for a vote after the Senate passed it Thursday. Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League President Klint Macro said members of the group have been in favor of opening up hunting on Sundays for decades. He...
What do new flu vaccine standards mean?
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) upheld recommendations for the fall flu vaccination to be administered to anyone 6 months and older, as long as the shots are completely mercury-free. While some Western Pennsylvania doctors say the new recommendations won’t change...
Dog tag flag memorial will be on display in early July at Flight 93 park
Patriot Park, at the northern boundary of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, will host a veterans memorial exhibit featuring an American flag created from more than 7,000 military dog tags and 50 gold stars. The Veterans and Athletes United Fallen Heroes Global War on Terror Memorial Flag...
GetGo’s sale to Canadian company gets Federal Trade Commission approval
Giant Eagle’s sale of its GetGo gas stations and convenience stores looks like it’s a go. The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday gave the green light to Canadian-based Alimentation Couche-Tard to proceed with its acquisition of GetGo. The transaction is expected to close within the upcoming days, according to a...
ICE arrests 14 at Marshall Township Mexican restaurant
Community activist Jaime Martinez rushed to Tepache Mexican Kitchen & Bar’s Marshall Township location after learning 14 people had been arrested by immigration agents. Martinez and eight other members of Casa San Jose, a nonprofit that works to support Pittsburgh’s Latino community, arrived at the restaurant Wednesday afternoon. “I see...
Tips to avoid dehydration in Western Pa.’s extreme heat
As temperatures hover around the 90s, health experts are stressing the importance of staying hydrated and taking precautions against the summer heat. Dr. Brent Rau, medical director for Allegheny Health Network’s Department of Emergency Medicine, said there’s no set amount of water to drink that will stop someone from becoming...
HVAC workers power through heat wave
Alyssa Seibel isn’t the technician one expects to see if their AC unit buckles under this week’s intense summer heat. Under 5 feet tall, blonde and 19 years old, Seibel, an HVAC tech apprentice with MW Mechanical Services in New Kensington, is just one of a battalion of HVAC workers...
Local veterans inducted into Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s ‘In Memory’ program
Several local veterans were inducted into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s “In Memory” program during a mid-June ceremony in Virginia. Thirty soldiers from Pennsylvania were part of a group of 770 inducted during a ceremony held June 14 at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Va. The ceremony...
Gambling regulators approve bans for 15 scofflaws who join 1,390 others who can’t bet in Pa.
Three people who left children unattended while they gambled at Philadelphia-area casinos were among those banned from gambling at casinos, using online betting sites or video gaming terminals in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday placed a total of 15 people on its involuntary exclusion lists. There are...
Giant Eagle buys prescription files from another 15 Rite Aid stores, completing buying spree
Giant Eagle has purchased prescription files from another 15 Rite Aid stores as part of a fourth and final wave of transfers from the bankrupt pharmacy chain to the Cranberry-based grocer. Altogether, Giant Eagle has bought files from 83 Rite Aid stores across Pennsylvania and Ohio since late May. The...
1.7 million window AC units recalled nationwide
With extreme heat plaguing Western Pennsylvania, window air conditioners are working overtime across the region. But residents should double check their model. Midea recently recalled about 1.7 million U and U+ window air conditioners nationwide for risk of mold exposure, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Included in...
New Castle voice coach accused of sexual communication with teen
A New Castle voice coach has been accused of making online sexual advances and requesting nude photos from a 15-year-old student, according to Pennsylvania State Police. According to a criminal complaint, the student began taking voice lessons from Justin Bryan’s New Castle home in 2019. During the covid-19 pandemic, Bryan...
Environmental groups demand Nippon Steel work to cut emissions after buying U.S. Steel
With U.S. Steel’s $14.9 billion sale to Nippon Steel made official last week, environmental advocates say it’s time for corporate leadership to take make real strides toward limiting pollution. “U.S. Steel has gotten everything that it wished for in this deal with Nippon,” said Matt Mehalik, executive director of the...
With nowhere to hide, these workers are left with no choice but to endure sizzling temps
It was so hot Tuesday that Chris Kelly had to pull his roofing crew from their regularly scheduled job. “Once it hits about 85 or 90 degrees, we don’t even install because the shingles will heat up to the point that walking on them will scar them,” said Kelly, owner...
At Home store in Pleasant Hills to close amid company bankruptcy
One of the Pittsburgh region’s four At Home stores is set to close amid the company’s bankruptcy, according to court filings. The Pleasant Hills store on Clairton Boulevard is one of 26 stores initially closing, the company said. No one answered the phone Tuesday, and a message seeking comment went...
Fayette County man killed in air compressor explosion
A 69-year-old Fayette County man died Sunday after an air compressor in his garage exploded. At 9:45 p.m. Sunday, troopers responded to a home on Pleasant View Road in Menallen Township and found William Jesko severely injured, according to WTAE. Police said Jesko was working in his detached garage near...
Armstrong School District furloughs 7 full-time teachers, 2 part-timers
The Armstrong School District on Monday voted 7-2 to furlough seven full-time and two part-time teachers, and a nurse, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. School Board President Jason Elkin told WTAE that district administration originally recommended 14 positions be cut. “We were attempting to do what is most fiscally...
Residents seek relief as extreme heat prompts surge in hospital visits; cooling centers open
Hospitals throughout Western Pennsylvania are seeing a spike in patients with heat-related emergencies, officials said Monday as extreme heat blanketed the region. At UPMC, the region’s largest hospital network, the number of people with heat-affected illnesses has gone up “dramatically,” said Dr. Donald Yealy, chief medical officer. “Absolutely, there’s zero...
Giant Eagle workers to see 3% to 5% raises under new union contract
More than 5,000 unionized Giant Eagle employees will see pay raises ranging from 3% to 5% each of the next four years under a new contract. The workers also will continue to have no-cost health benefits, a 401(k) and pension plans, depending on their role with the Cranberry-based company, according...
Highmark joins major insurers in prior authorization reform
Highmark was among more than 50 health insurers who pledged Monday to speed up and slim down prior authorization, the process through which patients and their doctors must seek insurance approval for certain care before it’s administered. “It’s all about decreasing the administrative burden,” said Highmark Chief Medical Officer Tim...
Blairsville Chamber Music Festival returns bigger than ever
Due to an overwhelming positive response in its previous years, the Blairsville Chamber Music Festival will return for another year from June 26-29. The festival was founded in 2022 by Blairsville native Sarah Marshall and her husband, violinist Avital Mazor. The couple was based in New York, but after multiple...
