Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 2
Several dozen UPMC workers demand right to unionize in 1-day walkout against health giant
Medical scrubs emblazoned with pro-worker slogans blew in the chilly wind Thursday afternoon against the backdrop of Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower, home to the corporate offices of nonprofit health giant UPMC. Clipped to makeshift clotheslines tied to trees along Grant Street, the hospital uniform tops displayed hand-written messages such...
3 indicted in ‘grandparent scheme’ targeting Pa. seniors by posing as fake attorneys, bail bondsmen
A federal grand jury has indicted three out-of-state residents for targeting elderly Western Pennsylvanians in a so-called “grandparent scheme” that involved posing as attorneys and bail bondsmen to bilk their victims out of at least $250,000. Roderick Feurtado, 54, and Tarek Bouanane, 45, both of Las Vegas, and Roberto Gutierrez,...
Pitt gets $100M infusion to build biomanufacturing hub at Hazelwood Green brownfield site
Pittsburgh’s last brownfield-turned-tech hub just got another $100 million infusion. The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced Wednesday that it’s gifting the money to the University of Pittsburgh to develop a large swath of the 178-acre Hazelwood Green development along the Monongahela River into a biomanufacturing powerhouse. The $100 million grant...
UPMC Mercy hospital’s $510M expansion on track for spring 2023 opening
Hot orange sparks rained down on freshly erected steel beams Tuesday morning as construction workers welded and hammered while harnessed to high-rise scaffolds and aerial lifts overlooking the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. Two giant cranes rotated nonstop, hoisting building materials weighing thousands of pounds across the busy construction site of...
5 kittens abandoned in box left on Port Authority bus, in need of adoption
Someone abandoned five kittens on a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus Monday morning, officials said. The tiny, gray-and-white-furred felines were found huddled inside a cardboard box around 8:20 a.m. on a bus traveling in Wilkinsburg on the P3 route, according to Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph. With help from...
More Americans expected to enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans as costs drop, benefits increase
If you’ve shopped the Affordable Care Act marketplace for a health plan in recent years only to be disappointed by its price tags, you might want to try again. More Americans than ever qualify for federal subsidies to reduce what they spend on health insurance in 2022 — including millions...
Makerspace aims to help young people with mental health challenges at facility on Pittsburgh’s South Side
Noelle Conover said she worries that all too often, children who suffer from serious mental health problems and the facilities helping them don’t get as much attention, funding and resources as young people with other types of more visible ailments. She recalls the many resources made available to her and...
Highmark CEO David Holmberg’s pay dipped to $7.8M in 2020
Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg made $7.82 million in total compensation in 2020, about $325,000 less than the previous year, records filed Friday show. The reduced compensation and bonus package amid the covid-19 pandemic follows Holmberg reaping a pay increase of about $660,000 in 2019, an 8.8% hike, according to...
A dozen Western Pa. health systems pledge to comply with vaccine mandate for hospital workers
UPMC’s top doctor affirmed Thursday that Pennsylvania’s largest health system and nongovernment employer will comply with a newly issued federal mandate that all health care workers get vaccinated for covid-19 by early January, in line with prior pledges by competing medical providers in recent months. Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chief...
A dozen Western Pa. health systems pledge to comply with vaccine mandate for hospital workers
UPMC’s top doctor affirmed Thursday that Pennsylvania’s largest health system and nongovernment employer will comply with a newly issued federal mandate that all health care workers get vaccinated for covid-19 by early January, in line with prior pledges by competing medical providers in recent months. Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chief...
Pittsburgh International Airport military lounge gets upgrade with support from USO, Sheetz
Military service members now have an upgraded spot to relax and recharge between layovers at Pittsburgh International Airport. Buoyed by funding from Sheetz and individual donors, the United Service Organizations Inc. has invested in renovating the airport’s existing military lounge for active-duty as well as reserve members of the U.S....
Convicted child sex offender who escaped Pittsburgh halfway house caught in Spring Hill, officials say
A convicted child sex offender from Fayette County who escaped from a Downtown Pittsburgh halfway house three weeks ago was arrested this week by sheriff’s deputies at a North Side apartment, officials said. Tyree Lamar Hill — who also goes by Tyreek and has ties to Fayette City, Pittsburgh and...
Longtime nurse chief tapped to lead UPMC’s flagship hospital in Pittsburgh
A longtime champion for engaging front-line health care workers in executive decision-making will take the helm of UPMC’s flagship hospital operation at the start of next year. Sandra Rader — a seasoned chief nurse and vice president of patient care services before becoming chief operating officer — has been promoted...
Beverly’s Birthdays celebrates 1,000th party for low-income families at Penn Hills event
A long-necked llama bobbed its freckled snout above a huddle of baby goats, spurring squeals of delight from several children offering up handfuls of oat pellets and milk from bottles. Toddlers to preteens hailing from Verona and Penn Hills played with balloons twisted into creatures and swords, designed their own...
Former Mon Valley bank reopens as startup incubator
A shuttered bank branch in the Mon Valley has reopened as a nonprofit hub for small businesses and entrepreneurs, thanks to a new partnership fueled by a charitable gift in the form of a hefty real estate discount. The Mon Valley Business Resource Center — now open in the former...
Some UPMC workers plan 1-day strike, call for right to unionize without retaliation
UPMC’s recent move to dole out $500 bonuses did little to quell mounting concerns among some workers who accuse the health care giant of trying to squash their efforts to unionize. “There was no ‘thank you pay’ until we started organizing to strike,” Juilia Centofanti, a pharmacy technician at UPMC...
Police investigating role speed played in deadly I-79 bus crash
Two teen girls injured Tuesday in a deadly bus crash on Interstate 79 remained hospitalized Thursday morning while police continued to investigate why the bus rear-ended a flatbed tractor-trailer and how much of a role the bus’s speed played. Brylee Walker, 14, a passenger on the bus from Hermitage, Mercer...
Officials in Allegheny County expect higher voter turnout, thanks to mail-in ballots
Allegheny County officials are anticipating voter participation to be higher than usual for a municipal election, thanks to an influx of mail-in ballots. As of Monday afternoon, the county said nearly 94,000 mail-ballots had been returned. Election officials expect voter turnout to reach about 28% — much less than during...
Pittsburgh man found guilty of dealing fentanyl, meth out of Hazelwood home
A jury deliberated for less than an hour before convicting a Pittsburgh man of dealing fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine out of his home in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood, federal prosecutors said Monday. James Weldon Johnson, 36 — who goes by the nickname “300 Blocc Knocc” — was found guilty on...
New Kensington man gets 1 day in prison for stealing brother’s VA benefits
A New Kensington man will spend one day behind bars for stealing more than $130,000 of his older brother’s veterans benefits to buy himself luxury items — including a diamond ring, GMC Sierra pickup truck and Harley Davidson motorcycle. Andrew Ziacik, 57, also must pay $75,000 in restitution to his...
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto laments death of oldest brother
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s oldest brother died over the weekend. Guy Peduto III, a resident of West Virginia who grew up in the South Hills, died of unspecified causes Saturday morning, Peduto announced on his Twitter account. Peduto described Guy Peduto as not only his brother but also a good...
Police: 1 dead, 1 critical after motorcycles hit van that crossed center line in Elizabeth
A woman from Irwin died when the motorcycle she was driving hit a utility van that crossed the center line along McKeesport Road in Elizabeth Township on Sunday, according to police. The crash happened shortly before 5 p.m. when a utility van traveling eastbound veered into the westbound lane near...
3 arrested in assault of off-duty Pittsburgh police detective in Brookline bar
A Pittsburgh woman is charged with strangling and punching an off-duty detective at least 17 times in the face Saturday night at a South Hills bar. Angie Hindman, 44, of Beechview was arrested and booked into Allegheny County Jail following the assault that broke out at Brook-line N Sinker bar...
‘Monster Mashup’ event hosted by New Kensington Arts Center, Voodoo Brewery
New Kensington’s main drag was bustling Saturday evening with kids in costumes — from zombies and vampires, to fairies and butterflies, to movie villains and superheroes. They descended upon the New Kensington Arts Center on Fifth Avenue for a children-focused spate of Halloween-themed activities. Clad in a Spider-Man muscle suit...
3 seats up for grabs on Allegheny County Council; GOP candidate Joe Wise dies days before election
From sewer sludge to paid family leave to no-tax-hike pledges, a wide range of issues dominate the respective platforms of Allegheny County Council candidates facing off Tuesday. Six council races are on the general election ballot, but just three were contested in the general election. Joe Wise, a Moon Township...
