Deb Erdley stories, Page 29

Deb Erdley
Deb Erdley
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Bloody weekend renews hope of passing new gun control measures in D.C., Pennsylvania
A weekend of bloodshed, bookended by mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, may have moved the needle on gun control measures. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, says he is optimistic the bill he and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., first partnered on in 2013 to expand background...
Visits to border detention centers widen Congressional divide 
Detention facilities that house migrants and asylum seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border are a frequent stop for members of Congress and the Trump administration. And Democrats and Republicans increasingly return home with anecdotes supporting their often-opposing positions. They may have visited the same facilities but offer different perspectives on what...
DirecTV drops KDKA due to contract stalemate with CBS
DirecTV customers across the region on Saturday found KDKA-TV, the CBS local affiliate, was no longer available through their subscription service. They were among some 6.5 million DirecTV subscribers across the nation affected by the blackout, the result of a stalemate in talks between CBS and AT&T over the cost...
Sweltering heat drives cool escapes across Westmoreland
When a heat wave began to settle over the region like a damp wool blanket Saturday morning, Westmoreland County residents turned to time-honored escape routes to beat the heat. Pools, lakes and ice cream stands all benefited as the National Weather Service charted the heat index — a combination of...
Bear bites staffer during safari tour at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
A guided safari tour through Nemacolin Woodlands Resort took a dangerous turn Saturday morning when a Himalayan bear reached through a wire fence and bit a Nemacolin employee’s arm. A spokesman for Nemacolin said resort associates had to engage the bear to get it to release the employee’s arm. The...
Accident closes portion of Clay Pike
Clay Pike in Sewickley Township was closed this morning from Orchard Driver to Fowler Lane, following a one vehicle accident at 7:23 a.m. Emergency dispatchers said State Police and volunteer firefighters from Herminie and Rillton responded to the scene where a driver was briefly trapped in the vehicle, but later...
4 teens shot at Clairton graduation party, all listed in stable condition
A graduation party in Clairton turned tragedy early Saturday morning when four teenagers were shot. Allegheny County Police are investigating the events leading up to the shootings at the party in the 600 block of Waddell Avenue. The four victims — between the ages of 14 and 18 — were...
The unlikely pairing of the professor and the lifer yields results for Pittsburgh Police
No question, they made for an odd couple. The college professor and the inmate serving life in prison for second-degree murder were indeed an unlikely pairing. It began in 2011 when Duquesne University professor Norman Conti met inmate Robert Wideman when he took a group of students into the now-shuttered...
Elections experts say cybersecurity threats demand federal funding
Unfunded cybersecurity needs are leaving state and local election officials to stand on the front lines of threats from sophisticated international interests, a new report asserts. “Defending Elections,” a report from the Brennan Center for Justice, highlights growing concerns that myriad unmet security needs pose a threat to fair elections....
Labor dispute escalates as Pitt declines to comply with subpoena
Relations between officials at the University of Pittsburgh and the leaders of a faculty union drive deteriorated this week after Pitt officials refused to comply with a sweeping subpoena from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Pitt faculty representatives filed for a union election in January, following a lengthy organizing drive...
Penn State holds the line on tuition
It may be hot outside, but there’s a slight breeze blowing for thousands of Pennsylvania families awaiting tuition bills from Penn State. Trustees Thursday voted to freeze tuition at its main campus for an unprecedented second consecutive year . The vote called for holding base undergraduate tuition for Pennsylvania residents...
Westmoreland bands to jam for childhood cancer foundation
Ed Kelso believes in serendipity. It took a lot of happy coincidences for a dozen local rock bands — including Kelso’s Highway Louie — to come together with a new original album just as the staff at Applebee’s in North Huntingdon was looking for a project for its annual fundraiser...
Pennsylvania homicide rates flare in July
When tempers flare as the mercury climbs, homicide rates in Pennsylvania do likewise. When the number crunchers at the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts began analyzing statistics for criminal homicide they found the highest percentage of those convicted of the offense between 2014 and 2018 — 11% — were...
Robert Wideman begins new life in Pittsburgh halfway house after 44 years in prison
Last winter, after seven unsuccessful appeals to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, Robert Wideman had given up hope of ever leaving the state prison system that had been his home for more than four decades. On Wednesday, Wideman, who finally was released from prison last week after a final appeal...
Pa. schools ahead of laws governing sex assault reporting
Pennsylvania colleges and universities looking to update their policies on reporting sexual assault might want to look to the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt made significant revisions to its policies on reporting sexual assault and harassment more than three years ago. It is among several colleges and universities that had similar...
Penn State’s Eric Barron third highest paid public university president
Penn State alumni can claim boasting rights this week thanks to a ranking that has nothing to do with college sports. A survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education found Penn State President Eric J. Barron was the third highest paid public university president in the nation last year when...
Lower Burrell woman’s story personifies failures in Medicaid waiver program
Fran Morgante brushed back her mother’s hair tenderly as she offered the tiny elderly woman a drink of water on a hot June day. Vilma Morgante, who celebrated her 100th birthday June 21 in her Lower Burrell home, never asked much of the world. Her one desire: to die in...
WCCC to offer Culinary Quick Start program
Aspiring chefs can dip a toe in the water at Westmoreland County Community College next month. Citing “hundreds of immediate openings for line and prep cooks in professional kitchens,” WCCC officials announced they will offer a Culinary Quick Start program, encompassing three weeks of evening classes, beginning Aug. 19 at...
Marijuana surplus poses problem in Oregon
Five years after it legalized recreational marijuana, Oregon has a new problem and it’s not the munchies. Stateline reports a large surplus of recreational weed in Oregon storehouses and processing plants has led to concerns that licensed growers may turn to the black market or look across state lines to...
Former Pa. Congress members tackle civics education
It might be time to hit the civics books. Citing recent surveys that found only 26% of Americans could name all three branches of government and 37% could not name any of the rights guaranteed by First Amendment, a coalition of former Pennsylvania members of Congress is joining with eight...
AG report: Unnecessary standardized tests cost Pa. taxpayers $18 million
Pennsylvania taxpayers are paying nearly $18 million a year for unnecessary standardized tests administered to high school seniors across the state, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale charged in a report issued Wednesday. The 18-page report “Where did your money go?” examines the costs associated with the Keystone Exams. DePasquale said his...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition, Pitt hikes rate
For the first time in 20 years, and the second time ever, tuition will not rise this year at the 14 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Basic tuition for in-state undergraduate students will remain at $7,716 for the 2019-20 school year. That comes after a...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition, Pitt hikes rate
For the first time in 20 years, and the second time ever, tuition will not rise this year at the 14 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Basic tuition for in-state undergraduate students will remain $7,716 for the 2019-20 school year. That comes after a unanimous...
Greensburg author Scott Brown recounts heartfelt tales of region’s opioid epidemic
If the stories in Scott Brown’s new book, “Hope and Heartbreak: Beyond the Numbers of the Opioid Epidemic,” sound familiar, it might be because they are. Brown, a Greensburg native and former sports reporter for the Tribune-Review, ESPN and Philadelphia Inquirer, mined a decade of reports on the epidemic to...
Just for kicks: college majors of the U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer players
So, just for kicks, what did the best female soccer players in the world study years ago when they were still in college? The members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, who just won the World Cup ,hailed from colleges and universities scattered across the nation. Joshua Kim, of...


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