Megan Guza stories, Page 23
South Hills pain doctor charged with writing illegal narcotic prescriptions, insurance fraud
A South Hills doctor spent years prescribing narcotics to patients at his pain clinic who did not need them, sometimes giving patients injections against their wishes to line his own pockets, according to a 242-count indictment returned this week. John Keun-Sang Lee, 78, is charged with violating federal narcotics laws...
Pa. Department of Health moves to new federally run vaccine locator map
Pennsylvania has revamped the map used to help residents locate covid-19 vaccine providers, moving to a federally run search tool that will let users narrow their search to a specific brand of vaccine, officials said Friday. It is another move in the state’s push to get 70% of adults vaccinated....
Couple charged with handcuffing children, locking them in basement of Mt. Oliver home
An Allegheny County couple faces a slew of assault charges for forcing their children to sleep in locked basement rooms, physically abusing them and handcuffing them, according to police. Richard Hayes, 37, of Mt. Oliver Borough, and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Natosha Bell, of Rankin, both face more than a dozen...
Part of Fort Duquesne Boulevard to close for 5 months, host arts fest, markets
Part of Fort Duquesne Boulevard will close for five months to make room for more events in Downtown Pittsburgh, city officials said Thursday. The closure will begin Monday and run through Oct. 7. The boulevard’s westbound lane — the side closer to the river — will be blocked off from...
Steelers cornerback Justin Layne takes plea deal in Ohio case, felony gun charge dropped
Steelers cornerback Justin Layne on Wednesday had a felony gun charged dismissed as part of a plea deal in Ohio, landing him probation and a suspended jail sentence, court records show. Layne was pulled over early April 23 for speeding in Willoughby, a Cleveland suburb, and cited for speeding, driving...
Prantl’s hit with health citations for opening Squirrel Hill bakery without permit
The Allegheny County Health Department has shut down and cited Prantl’s Bakery for opening a new location in Squirrel Hill without a health permit, department records show. The bakery’s new location on Forbes Avenue was shut down by health inspectors April 28 for operating with a health permit, failing to...
Activists call for Pittsburgh to cancel bid for supplies of less-lethal weapons
Activists on Wednesday called on Pittsburgh officials to cancel a bid seeking supplies of “less-lethal” weapons like the ones deployed against protesters in Pittsburgh and other cities during civil unrest. “These munitions are turned on people fighting for the rights of Black and brown community members,” said Joshua Friedman, of...
Son of Holocaust survivors, designer of Berlin’s Jewish Museum chosen to lead Tree of Life rebuildVideo
The son of Holocaust survivors will help rebuild the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the congregation’s board of trustees announced Tuesday, 2½ years after the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in the country. Daniel Libeskind was selected unanimously by the Tree of Life - Or L’Simcha board of trustees to...
U.S. Steel nixes $1 billion upgrades at Mon Valley Works facilities
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel will cancel plans for more than $1 billion in upgrades and investment at the Mon Valley Works facilities, CEO David Burritt said in a letter to the community released Friday. The projects, worth more than $1.2 billion collectively, were announced just under two years ago, in May...
Pa. drug overdose deaths rose in 2020, likely fueled by pandemic, officials say
Overdose deaths in Pennsylvania ticked upward in 2020 after two years of relatively stable numbers, something officials say is likely the ripple effect of a pandemic that caused an influx of stress and isolated people from their support systems. “The uncertain, stressful and isolating nature of the pandemic has caused...
Report: Pittsburgh paid more than $460K to settle police-related lawsuits last year
Pittsburgh paid out more than $400,000 to settle five lawsuits brought against the city and its police bureau in 2020, according to an annual report released this week. In that same time, 15 more lawsuits were filed against 22 officers, including several that stem from protests against police brutality in...
Wolf takes on vaccine hesitancy ahead of Washington County walk-in clinic
Walk-ins will be welcome at a Washington County vaccination clinic on Thursday and Friday, state and local officials have announced, in the latest attempt to entice as many Pennsylvanians as possible to get the covid-19 vaccine and inch society toward herd immunity. “We need to make sure the demand stays...
Pittsburgh police release 2020 annual report; chief pledges transparency, accountability
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police released the department’s annual report on Tuesday, a 169-page document giving a breakdown of everything from the race and gender of the city’s victims and offenders to the number of lawsuits filed and settled against the department and individual officers. Chief Scott Schubert called 2020...
Here come the 80s: Wild weather not unusual for April, experts say
The tail end of April has been both lion and lamb in terms of weather. A little less than a week ago, Southwestern Pennsylvania recorded more than an inch of snowfall and a low temperature of a balmy 32 degrees. About 1.6 inches fell, according to the National Weather Service,...
Pennsylvania officials set sights on vaccinating homebound residents
As the pace of covid-19 vaccinations continues to accelerate in Pennsylvania, state officials have turned their attention to people who are unable to leave their homes. “Now we’re at the point where supply is coming close to demand,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday during a news conference in Reading. “We...
3 peregrine falcon chicks hatch in Cathedral of Learning nest
Three peregrine falcons hatched Sunday in the nest atop the Cathedral of Learning, according to Pittsburgh’s National Aviary. The first chick hatched around 3 a.m., according to social media posts from the Aviary. The second and third had emerged by about 10:45 a.m. A fourth egg remains. Morela, a female...
Braddock Council candidate, 2 other Allegheny County men arrested in Altoona on heroin trafficking charges
Three Allegheny County men — including a candidate for Braddock Council — were arrested in an alleged drug-trafficking operation in Blair County, according to Altoona police. Raemon Prunty, 21, is listed as running for a council seat in Braddock in the municipal elections in May, according Allegheny County election information....
Weekend road work continues on Parkway East in Pittsburgh, Parkway West near Robinson
Lane closures and traffic stoppages on both the Parkway East and Parkway West will continue Saturday night through the rest of the weekend, according to PennDOT. In Robinson, Moon and North Fayette townships, shoulder-patching work on the Parkway West will happen — weather permitting — until around 10 a.m. Sunday...
State trooper in Beaver tried to fix ticket for friends, police say
A Pennsylvania State Police trooper faces misdemeanor charges after he tried to make a traffic ticket disappear for friends, authorities said Thursday, according to charges filed by PSP internal affairs. Trask Alexander, a trooper from Troop D in the Beaver County barracks, is charged with tampering with records, tampering with...
Child bitten by rabid bat in Pitcairn prompts health department warning
A bat with rabies bit one child and might have been handled by several others in Pitcairn earlier this week, prompting a warning from the Allegheny County Health Department. The bat was captured Monday near Second Street at Center Avenue. A resident brought it to the health department for testing,...
‘I’m not going to let this guy die’: Pittsburgh cops on foot patrol save unresponsive man
Pittsburgh Police Zone 3 Officer Aundre Wright wasn’t supposed to be walking the beat in Homewood on Tuesday. He and three other officers weren’t supposed to be headed the direction they were going. But he was and they were. Because of that, a man who might otherwise have died is...
Allegheny, Westmoreland bars and restaurants hit with covid mitigation violations
Nearly 20 bars and restaurants in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties received violations from the state police last month for violating pandemic-related mitigation measures, records show. For more than a year, bars and restaurants have faced some degree of restriction – measures meant to slow the spread of covid-19. Many of...
Lawyer: Video shows Aaron Donald did not beat up man in South Side brawl
An attorney for Pittsburgh native and NFL defensive standout Aaron Donald says the L.A. Rams player helped save the man accusing him of assault from further injury, contradicting claims from this week Donald beat up the man in a South Side melee. Attorney Casey White said there’s no dispute Devincent...
Body of missing Beechview man found in Ohio River
The body of a Beechview man missing since late January was found Thursday night in the Ohio River, authorities said. Thomas Hughes, 25, was found in the river near Monaca, according to Pittsburgh police. The Beaver County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy and determine a cause and manner...
Pittsburgh police report another black bear sighting, create email for wildlife concerns
Pittsburgh police reported another black bear sighting on Thursday, the latest in a string of reports in the city and Allegheny County. This time the bear was spotted on Lemington Avenue in Lincoln-Lemington. Police reminded anyone who comes across a bear to leave it alone, refrain from feeding it and...
