Deb Erdley stories, Page 24
20 years ago, Y2K became the crisis that wasn’t
The lights stayed on. The lines stayed open. And 1999 ended with a whimper rather than a bang. I wrote those words in a news story for the Tribune-Review at the end of my shift as the calendar turned from Dec. 31, 1999, to Jan. 1, 2000. It had been...
New overtime rule affects 61,000 in Pennsylvania
A new year could mean additional earnings for thousands of Pennsylvanians as a new federal rule guaranteeing overtime pay goes into effect. The rule that takes effect Wednesday guarantees time-and-a-half payments to nearly all hourly employees who work more than 40 hours per week as well as most salaried workers...
Greensburg man was local icon at Mt. Odin
For nearly 40 years, Russ Bell was Mr. Mt. Odin. If you were a golfer and you lived in Greensburg, chances are you knew the good-natured man who guided the expansion of the city golf course from nine to 18 holes and made sure the greens at the course were...
Jeannette hemp plant fined, permitted to reopen
The owners of a shuttered hemp processing facility in Jeannette may resume limited operations under the terms of a Christmas Eve consent agreement with the state that calls for it to pay a $29,000 fine for air quality violations. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered Patriot Shield Pennsylvania to...
Theft of payroll documents left 1,800 Excela employees’ data at risk
A stolen briefcase containing payroll documents from an Excela Health employee this fall left the personal data of 1,800 workers at risk, hospital system officials confirmed. Authorities said they were notified around 6 a.m. Oct. 8 of the theft of a briefcase from an unlocked car parked outside a home...
Latrobe Area Hospital Aid Society continues to fill in the gaps in health careVideo
A community came together and persevered when the wives of doctors and civic leaders joined to form the Latrobe Area Hospital Aid Society in 1907. More than 100 years later, in an era marked by the demise of such organizations in communities large and small, the group’s leaders came together...
Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher gets raise, will make $828,000 in 2020
University of Pittsburgh officials say Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, who is completing his sixth year at the helm of Pitt, is a keeper and they’d like to make good on his desire to continue in office through retirement. Eva Tansky Blum, who chairs the Pitt board of trustees, said Gallagher’s performance...
Activists across Western Pa. to rally for Trump’s ouster on eve of House impeachment vote
Local police say they are confident they are prepared for impeachment rallies planned across the region Tuesday evening. Activists calling for the impeachment and removal of President Trump have scheduled five rallies at locations across the region at 5:30 p.m. on the eve of the U.S. House of Representatives’ historic...
Online child pornography accounts for more than 3 out of 4 Pa. cyber crime convictions
Computer hacking and election tampering dominate the conversation about cyber crimes, but a new study by the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts found an even more insidious offense tops the list of criminal convictions for cyber crime: child pornography. Online child pornography accounted for more than three out of...
Sage’s Army to sponsor free Sober New Year’s Eve event near Latrobe
Sage’s Army, a Westmoreland County addiction prevention and support organization, will hold its first Sober New Year’s Eve Party, Monday, Dec. 31 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church Hall on Route 981, near Latrobe. The free event, featuring live music, food and drinks and...
Community honors retiring county Commissioner Chuck Anderson and his wifeVideo
Chuck Anderson stepped back, a look of genuine surprise on his face. The luncheon at Lakeview Lounge had been advertised as the regular monthly meeting of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, an event that typically draws about 30 retired military officers. On Wednesday, more than...
John Sphon named new CEO at Excela as rating agency downgrades bonds
John Sphon, a longtime Excela Health executive, was named CEO of the Westmoreland County hospital and health system Tuesday. Sphon’s appointment followed the announcement five days ago that Moody’s Investors Service had downgraded $63 million in outstanding Excela bonds from A3 to Baa1. In a statement on the downgrade, Moody’s...
Elite athlete from Greensburg never thought she’d end up running for her lifeVideo
In the beginning, Cheryl Collins Gatons began running for fun. It was a great way to blow off stress after work. She never imagined she would end up as a two-time qualifier for the Olympic marathon trials, or that years later she would start running for her life. The 52-year-old...
Ligonier Town-Wide Open House focuses on holiday spirit
With apologies to the snowman that couldn’t make it, it really was beginning to look at lot like Christmas in Ligonier on Sunday. Despite a scarcity of the white stuff, the quaint Westmoreland County mountain community nestled in the Laurel Highlands managed to radiate holiday spirit during its Town-Wide Christmas...
From Belschnickel to Santa Claus, Westmoreland historians trace Christmas traditionsVideo
It’s hard to see how Belschnickel could have been mistaken for Santa Claus. But back in the days when Western Pennsylvania was the edge of the frontier and colonists were beginning to talk revolution, there’s a good chance children who never heard of Santa were more familiar with the ornery...
Lawmakers call for alternatives to indefinite drivers’ license suspensions
Ever-soaring traffic fines have created a new class of desperadoes in Pennsylvania. Young drivers who fail to pay traffic fines are then slapped with indefinite drivers’ license suspensions, and they risk even higher fines when they get behind the wheel. Make no mistake, this is a large class. A pair...
Rep. Reschenthaler bid to question whistleblower during impeachment hearing fails
Another bid to question the whistleblower whose complaint triggered the impeachment inquiry into President Trump fell flat Wednesday. A motion by U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, to subpoena the whistleblower failed when members of the House Judiciary Committee, voting on party lines, moved to table his motion and adjourn. Reschenthaler,...
Sage’s Army gets nearly $600K to expand addiction outreach, support
Carmen Capozzi was overwhelmed when his 20-year-old son, Sage, died of a heroin overdose in a Hempfield motel room in March 2012. But the Irwin contractor collected himself, took his grief, molded it into an anti-addiction campaign and Sage’s Army was born. For 7½ years, working on a dream and...
Staycation: Artisans, Amish featured in unique day trip to Mercer County and VolantVideo
One in an occasional series highlighting “staycation” ideas found in our own backyard: Take Interstate 79 north from Pittsburgh. Travel 60 miles to the Grove City exit. Just this once, ignore the college and the outlet mall most people associate with Grove City. Instead, head west for a day trip...
Kiski School announces new scholarship
A Westmoreland County boarding school announced Tuesday that it will begin offering a full scholarship for one student every year, beginning in the 2020-21 school year. Officials at the Kiski School, an all-boys boarding school with about 190 students in grades 9-12 in Loyalhanna Township, said a new $1.15 million...
Carnegie Mellon scientists read emotions in the brainVideo
A neuroscientist at Carnegie Mellon University is translating science fiction into science fact. And the latest developments in his work are pretty amazing. As recently as a decade ago, CMU professor and researcher Marcel Just made headlines around the world with news that scientists could tap enhanced MRI technology coupled...
Buzz around esports squad at Robert Morris University brings energy drink deal
College-level esports finally may be getting a little respect. They haven’t signed any deals to replace college football on Saturday afternoon TV. And it’s not exactly Gatorade, but the Robert Morris University esports team has a new corporate partnership deal with Mountain Dew AMP Game Fuel, an energy drink especially...
Task force recommends eliminating state grand jury reports
Pennsylvania should consider abolishing the kind of grand jury report that detailed extensive allegations of child sexual abuse among Catholic clergy, a task force of lawyers, judges and legal scholars said. In the report released last week, the result of a two-year review of the state grand jury system also...
Locals react to impeachment proceedings against President Trump
The Tribune-Review sought reaction to the impeachment proceedings against President Trump in the U.S. House of Representatives. Here is some of what people in Western Pennsylvania had to say: Sindy Diaz, 48, of Greensburg, Republican “I believe this sham impeachment is a giant waste of the taxpayers money and time....
Andrew Johnson, Nixon, Clinton, Trump: Duquesne’s Ken Gormley weighs in on presidential impeachmentsVideo
After traveling the country promoting his New York Times bestseller “The Death of American Virtue: Clinton v. Starr” in 2010, Ken Gormley was encouraged that Americans were on track to heal the bitter divisions that grew during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. That optimism was misplaced, Gormley concedes. “Sadly,...
