Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 73
Celine Dion cancels stop at PPG Paints Arena as health woes continue
Celine Dion has canceled the Pittsburgh stop of her “Courage World Tour,” the singer announced Saturday on her website. Dion was expected to perform at PPG Paints Arena on April 20. According to the post, the songstress is dealing with health issues and recovery is taking longer than expected. Dion...
More than 100 firefighters battle blaze in Kittanning
A massive fire early Saturday spanned multiple structures along Orr Avenue in Kittanning, displacing up to 10 residents and leaving a storage facility in a pile of rubble, fire officials said. No one was injured in the blaze, which began at about 1 a.m., said Kittanning Fire Department Chief Buzz...
Pedestrian identified who was fatally struck by Port Authority bus
A woman hit by a Port Authority bus on Tuesday died from her injuries, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The victim was identified as Dal Rai, 64, of Whitehall. Rai was struck just after 6:15 a.m. in the 600 block of Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh. She was taken...
Ministry eyeing February opening for Brackenridge homeless facility
By this time next month, a former Brackenridge personal care home will be nearly ready to welcome new residents. The owner of the building, Allegheny Valley Association of Churches (AVAC), is performing minor construction to reconfigure the site as a homeless facility. “We are hoping to be ready to house...
Green space in Sewickley area to grow more than 90 acres
A network of connected green space in Sewickley Hills, Ohio Township and Franklin Park is expected to grow by nearly 95 acres. Allegheny Land Trust, a non-profit that protects Pittsburgh-area land from development, was awarded $728,200 through recently announced state grants to help purchase the land. Money was made available...
Highlands property taxes unlikely to increase more than 4.9% — if at all
Highlands School Board next week will consider limiting any real estate tax hike for next school year to 4.9%. The board is expected to vote on staying under an inflation-based cap assigned each year to each school district in the state. The district’s limit is up from this school year’s...
North Park expected to expand through 2-acre Hampton parcel
It’s been years in the making, but a long-sought-after property in Hampton is finally expected to be purchased by Allegheny Land Trust to expand North Park. The two-acre site is situated adjacent to the park and would provide a connection to Pine Creek. ALT, a non-profit that works to protect...
New Harrison commissioners take office
Harrison Commissioners welcomed two new members during a reorganization meeting on Monday, Jan. 3. Jim Erb and Jamie Nee, both Republicans, were elected to four-year terms in November. They will take the place of Democrats Bill Heasley and Gary Lilly, who did not seek reelection. Also during the meeting, Gary...
Freeport Area High School goes remote after surging covid counts
Freeport Area High School students will switch to remote learning through Friday because of elevated covid cases and ongoing in-school transmission, district officials announced. The shutdown impacts the high school only. A covid dashboard on the district website confirms 31 active cases at the high school, 29 of them in...
Highlands School Board could make masks optional next week
The Highlands School Board next week will consider reversing its mandatory mask policy, allowing students, staff and visitors the option to choose. “We should not be imposing rules on our parents,” board member Judy Wisner said. “They should be free to make their own decisions.” Wisner added that “the sooner...
Missing Knoxville teen found safe
A 13-year-old girl who was missing since Thursday has been located, Pittsburgh police said. Sarai Stevens had last been seen on Suncrest Street in the city’s Knoxville section. Police said Stevens was returned home safely. Further details were not available....
Bed, Bath & Beyond to close its North Hills store
A McKnight Road shopping staple is closing in Ross. Bed, Bath & Beyond announced plans to close 37 stores across the country, one of them in the busy North Hills shopping district. New Jersey-based Bed, Bath & Beyond is a favorite destination for shoppers scouting housewares, small appliances and trendy...
Weather cancels in-person learning at Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools students will learn from home Friday because of snow- and ice-covered roads, officials announced. Students can access their lessons in the online platform Schoology. The day will follow the regular bell schedule of each school. Earlier this week, the district closed several schools because of covid-related staffing...
1 resident dead, another injured in Beechview house fire
One person died and another was injured early Friday in a fire in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. Emergency crews responded at about 2 a.m. to the house fire in the 700 block of Sebring Avenue. Authorities said the crews found a woman, 79, and man,...
Geyer Road in Shaler to close through January
Motorists who travel along Geyer Road in Shaler will need to find a detour. The road is expected to be closed through late-January, beginning Thursday, PennDOT announced. The shutdown impacts the section from Mt. Troy Road to Babcock Boulevard. Contractors will be on site for drainage repairs which will close...
Bus driver shortage causing ’emergency’ in Woodland Hills School District
A covid-related bus driver shortage in Woodland Hills School District is creating an emergency for student transportation, officials said. The district is without at least 10 drivers, a situation that creates a hardship for about 665 students in district communities, district spokesman Andrew Chiappazzi said. “We provide transportation not just...
Pittsburgh Public Schools adds more buildings to weeklong remote learning
Five more Pittsburgh Public Schools will move to remote learning through the end of the week, bringing the number of schools to 14 that will be closed for in-person learning because of staffing shortages. The district added Arsenal 6-8, Liberty PreK-5, Manchester PreK-8, South Hills 6-8 and Whittier PreK-5, saying...
UPMC Children’s adds covid unit as precautionary step as hospitalizations rise
A second covid-19 unit has opened at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to prepare for the potential of rising cases. It is a precautionary step, hospital officials said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 114% increase in admissions for covid-positive children — from...
Pittsburgh police issue warrant for driver in deadly Strip District crash
Pittsburgh police have issued an arrest warrant in connection with a fatal 2021 crash in the Strip District, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Leonard Saus is wanted on charges of vehicular homicide stemming from the crash on April 24. Police said Saus was driving an SUV that sped through...
Port Authority services impacted by covid cases as 7th transit driver dies from virus
A seventh Port Authority employee has died, officials announced, as covid-19 and its omicron variant continue to take a toll on the transit service in Allegheny County. The employee, a five-year bus driver, died Jan. 3, according to Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph. Nearly 30 employees of the transit service...
GoFundMe set up for Tarentum hit-and-run victims
A Tarentum woman is fighting for her life after being left in critical condition from a Dec. 30 hit-and-run crash, according to her family. Lyric Manley Jackson and her 9-year-old daughter Symia Jackson were struck by a vehicle while walking along East Seventh Avenue, near the Tarentum Bridge. The driver...
District Association’s Follies raises money for projects from Harmar to Aspinwall and beyond
Fresh off the success of the Follies fundraiser, filled with jokes and jabs, the District Association of the Fox Chapel Area is eyeing ways it can use proceeds from the event to enhance life across the Lower Valley. The Follies, a light-hearted, self-deprecating musical, raised more than $85,000. “For a...
NASA: Exploding meteor had same energy as 30 tons of TNT
NASA is weighing in on the New Year’s Day boom heard across the Pittsburgh region. Researchers confirmed an exploding meteor was the “likely culprit” and estimated the size of the object at about one-yard wide, with energy the equivalent of 30 tons of TNT, according to the NASA Meteor Watch...
Pittsburgh police seek man in connection with Downtown shooting
Pittsburgh police said they are seeking a man in connection with a Dec. 9 shooting in Downtown that left another man in critical condition, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Andre Douglas Davis, 34, of Pittsburgh, was charged Sunday with aggravated assault and gun charges in connection with the shooting...
Covid causes weeklong closure of St. Gregory Catholic School in Zelienople
Covid-related staffing shortages will close a school in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh this week. St. Gregory Catholic Elementary School in Zelienople will switch to remote learning after seven staffers tested positive for covid-19, Principal Erin Rice said. “Although we seemed to have conquered the odds and provided in-person learning...
