Deb Erdley stories, Page 20

Inmates in Pennsylvania’s 25 state prisons were quarantined to their cells following the first diagnosis of covid-19 in an inmate at State Correctional Institution at Phoenix, located near Philadelphia. Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel announced the quarantine at 10 p.m. Sunday. It is the latest move to contain and...

John McCarthy was thrilled when he found out he had been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to teach in Slovakia this year. It was the professional opportunity of a lifetime for the Robert Morris University history professor. McCarthy, 44, and his wife Ann, 41, looked forward to life in Bratislava. He...

An auto parts store in New Kensington. A Derry Township skilled nursing center. Colleges from Greensburg to Pittsburgh. All have reported positive coronavirus tests in recent days. And all are on their own to let others know about potential exposure. State officials no longer perform that service. The Pennsylvania Department...

Nearly a decade after state prosecutors charged former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky with multiple counts of child sexual abuse in and around campus facilities, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has closed its Title IX investigation. That portion of the Civil Rights Act prohibits...

Borrowers in default on federal student loans are getting a 60-day reprieve on collections and wage garnishments. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Wednesday announced that the move that will affect about 830,000 borrowers nationwide will last “at least 60 days from March 13, 2020,” as the U.S. battles...

Ensuring high school seniors graduate on time is among his top priorities as Pennsylvania grapples with the prospect of an extended school shutdown due to covid-19 fears, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said Wednesday. “We’ve put a full team on it to look at state and federal laws to work...

Both the state House and Senate passed a $50 million recovery package Wednesday intended to help families and businesses deal with the growing economic fallout from the coronavirus threat. According to press releases sent by several Republican senators, Senate agreed Wednesday the package after the House had done so earlier....

Food banks and volunteer fire companies across the region are in line for an infusion of cash, courtesy of Chevron, the energy company active in the Marcellus Shale region. Officials on Wednesday said the company is donating $60,000 — $10,000 to each to food banks in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington...

A brewing economic storm, fueled by a pandemic whipping up gale-force financial headwinds, is threatening to batter more than 1 million nonprofit organizations across the nation already struggling with increased demands for services. A plummeting stock market — down some 10,000 points, or about a third, in a month —...

Confusion is the order of the day in businesses across the Pennsylvania seeking clarity on Gov. Tom Wolf’s sweeping order closing non-life-sustaining businesses. Even as State Police prepared to begin enforcing the governor’s order Monday at 8 a.m., many insisted it was ill-constructed and could have unintended consequences. Greensburg lawyer...

Pennsylvania’s senators split on party lines Sunday night as Senate Democrats blocked a vote on a $1.8 trillion GOP-crafted coronavirus aid package, leaving party leaders desperately trying to negotiate a compromise Monday. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, voted in favor of the package Senate Republicans crafted. He said he...

Carnegie Mellon, California, Carlow and Slippery Rock universities joined the growing list of colleges and universities across the country canceling or postponing spring commencement ceremonies. Those decisions follow growing urgency in pronouncements from public health experts cautioning against public gatherings of 10 or more people. Carnegie Mellon Monday morning announced...

Millions of borrowers with federal student loan debt will get a brief break on interest rates for the next 60 days. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Friday afternoon announced the terms of the student debt relief President Trump promised last week. For the next two months, all borrowers with...

Philips Respironics, a medical manufacturer that produces ventilators and related breathing equipment, is increasing production and hiring assemblers at its Murrysville and Upper Burrell plants to meet demand spurred by the spreading coronavirus. The company is recruiting for more than 50 positions for assemblers on all shifts at the two...

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) Thursday moved to acknowledge sweeping changes that have forced colleges to shutter classrooms and move to online instruction due to coronavirus fears. Thursday, the agency’s board of directors moved to loosen the restrictions on about a half-dozen grant programs that affect about 210,000...

Point Park University postponed graduate hooding and commencement ceremonies scheduled for April 25. School President Paul Hennigan announced the decision Thursday morning. “I understand this news will disappoint many people, and I wish circumstances were different, but we must make the responsible decision to postpone the ceremonies,” Hennigan said in...

Four nonprofit foundations that serve the Laurel Highlands and Somerset and Cambria counties will collaborate to provide rapid response to the impact of the covid-19 virus among the region’s most vulnerable residents, officials said Wednesday. The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies (CFA), United Way of the Laurel Highlands, Lee Initiatives,...

With presidential primaries on hold because of public health concerns in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio, Pennsylvania’s primary scheduled for April 28 could well be the next postponed because of the coronavirus. As voters undeterred by the threat of exposure cast ballots Tuesday in special elections in three Pennsylvania...

The devil is in the details where coronavirus is concerned, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, said Tuesday. Red tape at the National Institutes of Health threatened to slow the certification of hospital-developed tests in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley Republican said, until he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the...

Westmoreland County Community College classes will resume via “remote teaching” Wednesday, college officials tweeted Tuesday. The school previously cancelled classes Monday and Tuesday to comply with the governor’s orders on social distancing. All classes, including those conducted at its Advanced Technology Center, will be conducted from off site locations for...

Pennsylvania’s largest foundations and a group of philanthropic institutions Monday announced the creation of a $4 million Emergency Action Fund and additional pledges of up to $6 million in aligned coordinated efforts to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus. The region’s four largest foundations—the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon...

College students working on off-site internships are among the latest group facing an interruption in their semester due to coronavirus precautions. On Monday, officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education ordered all graduate and undergraduate students from the 14 state-owned universities working at off campus placements including professional...

Faced with increasing questions about the covid-19, state Sen. Lindsey Williams announced Monday that she will host a tele-town hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday featuring Dr. Arvind Venkat, president of the Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians. “The covid-19 outbreak here in Allegheny County and across the country has raised many...

State Sen. Kim Ward has postponed a human trafficking discussion previously scheduled for March 26 at the Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood. A spokeswoman for Ward said the event — which was to have featured spokesmen for the U.S. Justice Department, the Pennsylvania State Police and domestic and sexual...