Megan Guza stories, Page 28
Not enough covid vaccine to go around, top Western Pa. doctors warn
Top medical leaders in Western Pennsylvania warned Wednesday there is no adequate vaccine supply to meet demand prompted by expanded eligibility in the state, according to a strongly worded letter from the group. Leaders issued the letter in response to the state’s push to get more vaccines into arms, including...
Man stomped in November assault dies, Pittsburgh police investigating as homicide
A man who was stomped into critical condition in a Hill District home in November died this week, according to Pittsburgh police, turning an assault investigation into a homicide case. Raymone Curry, 27, was still awaiting a preliminary hearing for the alleged assault of Gregory Hill on Nov. 12 when...
Feds: Oakdale man stormed Capitol with baseball bat, stole chair
An Oakdale man climbed through a broken window of the U.S. Capitol building during a Washington, D.C., riot earlier this month, taking a chair from inside and attempting to smash a window with a baseball bat, according to federal charges filed Tuesday. Jorden Mink, 27, faces a half-dozen charges including...
Pa. residents 65 and older eligible for covid vaccine but most providers don’t have supply
Pennsylvania will prioritize people 65 and older and others with certain conditions for covid-19 vaccination, though many providers say the supply of vaccine is so low they cannot begin vaccinating any more groups. Cindy Findley, deputy secretary of Health and head of the state’s covid-19 vaccine task force, said Tuesday...
Biden picks Pa.’s Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant health secretaryVideo
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, as his administration’s assistant secretary of health. The move is being championed by civil rights organizations as it would make her the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Biden, in announcing the...
Here are 5 things to know about Inauguration Day
Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday in an inauguration ceremony that, amid violent threats and a deadly pandemic, will look unlike any other. What’s the schedule of events? The ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. with the playing of the national...
Pittsburgh City-County Building closed for Inauguration Day out of ‘overabundance of caution’
Offices in the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh will be closed Wednesday out of an “overabundance of caution” as rumors persist regarding potential unrest on Inauguration Day. In a letter to city employees Thursday, Mayor Bill Peduto said those who normally work in the Grant Street building should work from...
Giant Eagle, Rite Aid tapped as covid vaccine providers
Giant Eagle pharmacies will be part of the effort to get more covid-19 vaccine to the public as more and more doses become available, Pennsylvania health officials announced this week. TopCo Associates, which runs Giant Eagle’s pharmacies, was tapped by the Department of Health, along with Rite Aid, to provide...
1st gun of 2021 caught at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpointVideo
Another year, another traveler forgetting to remove a gun from a carry-on bag at Pittsburgh International Airport. Transportation Security Administration officers at the airport stopped a Beaver County woman Thursday morning with a small, foldout .22-caliber handgun in her bag, according to Allegheny County Police and TSA officials. Security officials...
No specific threats in Pa., but police in Harrisburg bolster security
Pennsylvania Capitol Police and state police said Thursday there are no specific threats against the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, though the departments say they are prepared should rumors of attacks come to fruition. “We have no specific intelligence relative to the Capitol Complex,” state police Lt. Col. Scott Price said...
State police cite 8 restaurants for covid violations in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
Pennsylvania State Police cited eight restaurants in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties for allegedly violating covid-19 restrictions last month, and the Allegheny County Health Department has shut down several establishments in the first two weeks of the year. The number of violations issued by state police was down across the two...
Pittsburgh FBI ‘not aware of any threats’ locally leading up to inauguration
Federal agents in Pittsburgh said they are not aware of any violent threats in the region as rumors circulate online about attacks before the presidential inauguration in specific cities. In addition, an individual in the Pittsburgh area was named in the weekend’s federal report that warned of possible further violence,...
New Pa. websites promote restaurants and show violators of covid measures
New interactive dashboards announced Tuesday by state officials allow users to find open Pennsylvania restaurants, which are offering takeout and those accused of violating covid-19 mitigation measures. The Covid Inspection Dashboard allows users to search restaurants by name, county, city or ZIP code. The dashboard lists whether any violations have...
Officials: UPMC ‘absolutely prepared’ to give more covid vaccinations
UPMC officials said Tuesday they are “absolutely prepared” to distribute more covid-19 shots now that the federal government has encouraged states not to hold back vaccines reserved for second doses and to prioritize anyone age 65 and up. “We are absolutely prepared to administer those vaccines,” Chief Quality Officer Tami...
Pa. health secretary says ‘it’s a misconception’ that covid vaccines are sitting dormant
Pennsylvania’s top health official said the state could “soon” move to Phase 1B of the covid-19 vaccination plan but revealed little about when that will be and what it will look like. The state so far has administered 285,671 doses of the vaccine, said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine,...
Updated Pa. vaccination plan adds new phase for more essential employees
Pennsylvania officials continue to retool the state’s vaccination plan to fall in line with recommendations from federal groups and further define who can get the vaccine and when, releasing the fourth iteration of plan on Friday afternoon. “It will take several months before there is vaccine available for everyone,” said...
U.S. Customs officers seize 60 fake Steelers Super Bowl rings ahead of playoff game
U.S. Customs officers seized 60 fake Steelers Super Bowl rings last month that, if authentic, would have been worth nearly $100,000, a spokesman for the department said. Customs and Border Protection officers seized the packages, which arrived from China, between Dec. 9 and 23, according Steve Sapp, a spokesman for...
Dom Costa, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Kraus announce bids for Allegheny County sheriff
Dom Costa, a former state representative and police chief, and Kevin Kraus, the current second in command of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, both announced their respective bids for sheriff on Friday. Kraus comes with the endorsement of current Sheriff William Mullen, who has served in the position since 2006....
1 Pennsylvanian dead, a dozen others arrested in Capitol chaos
One Pennsylvanian died and at least a dozen others were among those who were arrested Wednesday night amid violence and chaos in Washington, D.C. Thousands of PresidentTrump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as legislators gathered to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s election win. Four people died: One woman was shot, and...
1st covid-19 variant case identified in Pennsylvania
The first case of the covid-19 variant initially seen in the United Kingdom last month has been identified in Pennsylvania, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “Public health experts are still in the early stages of working to better understand this new variant, how it spreads and how...
Allegheny County officials worried about large New Year’s parties leading to covid spread
Allegheny County officials remain concerned about a post-holiday surge in covid-19 cases, as case investigators have already begun receiving reports of cases stemming from parties and travel. Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the county health department, said cases and hospitalizations hit a peak in late November and early December and...
Allegheny County, Pittsburgh officials monitor D.C. unrestVideo
Allegheny County and Pittsburgh law enforcement are on alert in the event the unrest in Washington, D.C. becomes an issue locally, officials said late Wednesday afternoon. “I can tell you that, locally, we have no reports of anything,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said prior to the start of the...
Happy ending for puppy snatched from Squirrel Hill owners
A puppy snatched from her owners Tuesday night in Squirrel Hill has been reunited with her family, police said. Daphne, a 4-month-old mixed breed, was returned to her family by Pittsburgh police Zone 4 Cmdr. Daniel Herrmann. Police said the pup was found by Public Works employees in the Blue...
UPMC employees get 2nd dose of covid vaccine, describe ‘first step’ toward ending pandemic
Fifteen UPMC employees received covid-19 vaccines Tuesday, 10 of whom became the first employees to receive a second dose and complete the full course of the vaccine. “I feel like it’s the first step in ending this,” said Alli Okonak, a certified registered nurse practitioner who has been working at...
Pa. will get more covid vaccine this week, availability to general public still ‘months’ away
Thousands more doses of covid-19 vaccines are set to arrive in Pennsylvania this week, with more than half reserved for health workers awaiting their second dose of the two-dose vaccination, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday. So far, 135,044 people across the state have received the vaccine in...
