Megan Guza stories, Page 21
Worker who fell from South Park agricultural building identified
Officials have identified a worker who fell to his death last week at the South Park fairgrounds. Frank ‘Frankie’ Scabilloni, 59, of Bethel Park, fell from the grounds’ agricultural building Wednesday morning. The incident happened about 10:13 a.m. at the fairgrounds on Brownsville Road, said Lt. Venerando Costa. The building...
Law ‘diverts punishment’ to drug addicts, Pa. judge says in vacated conviction
Advocates tallied a win — albeit a narrow one — in federal court this month when the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a Montgomery County woman’s conviction and 21-year sentence for sharing a fatal dose of drugs with a friend. A divided three-judge panel ruled that the federal drug...
Experts: Pa. law intended to punish drug dealers in overdose cases could be backfiring
A decade ago, amid rising casualties from drug abuse, a Pennsylvania drug law was revised to target dealers responsible for overdose deaths. The new statute was termed “drug delivery resulting in death,” or DDRD in legal shorthand. It called for 20- to 40-year prison sentences for anyone who sells or...
Pennsylvania mask mandate ends Monday
Pennsylvanians can go maskless starting next week unless it is required by the business or building they’re in. The state mask mandate will expire at 12:01 a.m. Monday as promised, Department of Health officials said Friday. “We are continuing to make progress toward stopping the spread of covid-19 throughout the...
‘This stuff has got to stop’: Pittsburgh police, community members plead for end to surging violenceVideo
Preeti Tuli wept Thursday, baring her pain to strangers, TV cameras and Pittsburgh as a whole, hoping the reality of her grief might help stem the surge of citywide shootings, like the one that took her son in February. “He was a good kid,” she said of her son, Ahmir...
Longtime Pittsburgh zoo leader Dr. Barbara Baker announces retirement
Dr. Barbara Baker, chief executive of the Pittsburgh zoo for more than three decades, plans to retire from the post as soon as a successor is secured, zoo leadership said Thursday. Baker called her 31 years at the zoo “an honor and privilege.” “I have been blessed to lead such...
Worker killed in fall at South Park Fairgrounds
A man died Wednesday when he fell from a roof at the South Park Fairgrounds, according to Allegheny County Police. The incident happened about 10:13 a.m. at the fairgrounds on Brownsville Road, said Lt. Venerando Costa. He said a 59-year-old man fell through a skylight in the Agricultural Building. Police...
Fireworks task force patrolling Pittsburgh through July 5
Pittsburgh police began their annual crackdown on illegal fireworks this week, sending an eight-member task force out each night until July 5 to deal with illegal personal-use fireworks that can cause fires and injuries. Already this year, fireworks are suspected in two fires: a car fire in Pittsburgh earlier this...
Allegheny County robbery spree suspect arrested in Indiana
An Idaho man is accused in a string of armed robberies in Allegheny County and eastern Ohio, authorities said Tuesday. Miambo Maombi, 21, was arrested June 16 in Hendricks County, Ind., after police say he ran away from a traffic stop. Allegheny County Police said they believe Maombi could be...
Woman killed, husband injured by falling tree branch in Upper St. Clair park
A South Fayette woman died early Friday from injuries suffered when a tree branch fell on her in an Upper St. Clair park, officials said. Kara A. Leo, 40, was hiking with her husband Thursday evening in Boyce Mayview Park, according to officials and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. The...
Advocacy groups gather in Pittsburgh to call for divestment in policing, reinvestment in community needs
Advocacy groups met in Downtown Pittsburgh on Thursday to call on lawmakers and leaders to divest in police resources and invest in community concerns they say are the root cause of violent crime. “The safest communities are not the communities with the most police,” said Jasiri X, co-founder of the...
In Allegheny County, 420 ‘breakthrough’ covid cases out of more than 600K fully vaccinated residents
There have been 420 so-called “breakthrough” cases of covid-19 in Allegheny County, officials reported Wednesday, out of more than 600,000 fully vaccinated residents — which is less than one-tenth of 1%. Cases are considered to be a breakthrough case if they occur in someone who is fully vaccinated. Only 11...
Pittsburgh man charged with touching 2 teen girls on Kennywood ride
A Pittsburgh man was charged with touching two teenage girls’ legs on a ride at Kennywood, following them after they told him “no,” and then running from West Mifflin police when confronted, police said Wednesday. Miguel Corio-Marcos, 22, faces nearly a dozen charges, including corruption of minors, unlawful contact with...
Pa. physician general, local health leaders tour UPMC outpatient facility to tout treatment, continue vaccine pushVideo
UPMC Mercy’s South Side Outpatient Center sat dormant and quiet for about a year before it became the epicenter of some of the health care system’s covid-19 programs. The focus of the Mary Street site has evolved since the pandemic began, concentrating on testing first with a UPMC-developed test and...
Nearly all Allegheny County seniors at least partially vaccinated against covid, health official says
Almost all senior citizens in Allegheny County are at least partially vaccinated against covid-19, a virus that ravaged the older population, including those in care facilities, both locally and nationwide, officials said. Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen noted the milestone after a tour of UPMC’s vaccine and testing...
Investigation continues into fatal crash into North Side plasma clinic
Biomat USA on Pittsburgh’s North Side remained boarded up on Monday, two days after an SUV slammed into the plasma clinic at a high rate of speed, killing two employees and one person inside the car. Pittsburgh police provided no updates on the investigation, and it remained unclear what caused...
Military training could mean low aircraft over Pittsburgh region
The Department of Defense is conducting training this week in and around Pittsburgh, which could mean low-flying aircraft overhead, officials said. The planned training and exercises are in conjunction with state and local law enforcement, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said, and will run through Saturday. Authorities said residents might “see...
Thinking of skipping your 2nd covid shot? Here’s why that’s a bad ideaVideo
The increased availability of the covid-19 vaccine — and the myriad options for where one can receive it — has hampered efforts to track just how many people are skipping their second dose, which experts say is crucial to having the highest immunity possible against the virus. Data from UPMC...
Fight, gunfire outside Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh sparked by child’s shooting hours earlier
A fight between two sides of a child’s family over her shooting led to another shooting Thursday night in front of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, according to police. The fight was sparked by a shooting hours earlier in the city’s Homewood section, investigators said. In that incident, a 6-year-old...
Pittsburgh animal control officer charged with felony animal cruelty
A Pittsburgh animal control officer dragged a dog through a parking garage on a control pole so violently that one witness said it looked like he was “mopping the floor” with the dog, according to charges filed Thursday. James Genco III, 46, is charged with one felony count of aggravated...
Pittsburgh’s Yeshiva Schools to buy former St. Rosalia school and convent
A new school is set to move into the former St. Rosalia School and convent in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood – the Yeshiva School’s boys’ campus. Yeshiva School leaders announced the purchase and move Thursday, noting that the renewed campus will be ready for the fall school year. The boys’ school...
Pennsylvania reports 17% drop in DUI arrests amid pandemic year
Pennsylvania State Police reported a 17% drop in DUI arrests in 2020, a year that saw weeks of stay-at-home orders and months of business shutdowns. According to a report released Thursday, state troopers made 18,412 arrests for driving under the influence in 2020. That’s down from 22,139 in 2019. Those...
Advocates for Pittsburgh-area sex workers call on officials for decriminalization
An activist group advocating for sex workers in the Pittsburgh area is calling on Democratic mayoral nominee Ed Gainey and other lawmakers to decriminalize sex work and end enforcement of prostitution charges, according to an open letter from the group. Pittsburgh’s Sex Worker Outreach Project, or SWOP-Pittsburgh, also called on...
Investigators believe Penn Hills teen’s killing was retribution for theft
Investigators believe a Penn Hills teen was killed last month as retribution for stealing drug proceeds two days earlier, according to charges filed. Deontae Deshawn Nalls, 21, was charged Monday with homicide in connection with the death of 17-year-old Darin Hobdy on May 23 on Vantine Street in Wilkinsburg. Two...
1 charged in Penn Hills teen’s killing, police seek more suspects
Allegheny County police on Monday arrested one man in connection with a Penn Hills teen’s death last month, and authorities said they are looking for more suspects. Devontae Nalls, 21, is charged with homicide in connection with the May 23 shooting death of Darin Hobdy. Hobdy, 17, was one of...
