Patrick Varine stories, Page 121

In April, business owner Rose Morris began taking the medical-grade fabric her company, Abram’s Nation, typically uses to create safety beds and began using it to create machine-washable fabric masks. The Hampton Township company ended up donating more than 1,000 of the masks to local nonprofits, groups and businesses. But...

Murrysville officials may look at updating their zoning laws to promote growth and provide housing opportunities for older residents looking to downsize. “I think that, generally, the philosophy in the past has been to have developers extend utility lines, have bigger lots, and I don’t want to say we were...

The Richard King Mellon Foundation plans to add another $10 million to its earlier $15 million covid-19 response grant package, officials announced Thursday. The $25 million total commitment includes a new $2.5 million higher-education initiative, aimed at helping area colleges and universities safely reopen in the fall. “Education always is...

Kennywood and Sandcastle will postpone a planned reopening Monday, park officials announced Thursday. Allegheny County officials announced additional restrictions on businesses and public gatherings amid a weeklong spike in covid-19 cases. “While we are looking forward to the start of our summer season, we understand the reasoning behind the recent...

Two additional suspects were charged in connection with a June 23 home invasion in White Township, according to state police. Police said Spencer M. Hayes, 19, and Frank J. Williams IV, 20, both of Philadelphia, were charged Tuesday with robbery, criminal conspiracy, terroristic threats, theft and related charges following a...

As covid-19 cases increase in southwestern Pennsylvania, educators are just one of the groups struggling to see what their future may look like. School districts across the nation are looking at the myriad forms that fall classes could take, and it is just one of the areas R.K. Mellon Foundation...

Westmoreland County on Monday reported 20 new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The countywide case total is now 640, with 38 deaths. There have been no reported coronavirus deaths in the county since May 18. Of the total number of covid-19 cases...

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday reported 492 new coronavirus cases and eight new deaths. That brings the statewide total to 85,988 cases and 6,614 deaths. The state considers 2,414 patients as probable cases, but they are not confirmed. More than half of coronavirus cases in the state are...

State officials are asking Pennsylvanians to weigh in via a survey on plans for the roughly 2.2 million acres of land that make up its state forests. “As the department moves forward in developing a new strategic plan, those who appreciate, work in or recreate in Pennsylvania’s forests have a...

Allegheny Health Network’s mobile covid-19 testing unit will be in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and Hazelwood neighborhoods, Clairton and Duquesne next week. AHN personnel will operate the testing vehicle from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates: • June 29: Pittsburgh Housing Authority, 2435 Chauncey Drive in the Hill...

• Delaney Bortz, Brianna Fait, Paige Kaye, Alexis Salvio and Kayleigh Ventrone of Delmont; Autumn Alko, Kelsey Fritz, Kathleen Kimmich, Zachary Recklein and Kaylin Sundin of Export; and Joseph Constantin, Makenna Grieco, Emma Jakiela, Lindsey Lamagna, Nicole Lamagna and Alexandra Zorzi of Murrysville were named to the spring 2020 dean’s...

The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association on Wednesday issued a statement supporting police-reform legislation passed by the state House and Senate. “As troopers, we believe our Call of Honor is nothing less than a sacred oath. Every trooper must memorize it. In particular, it includes this line: ‘It is my duty...

State police are seeking a Finleyville woman who on Tuesday left the Renewal Community Corrections Center in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood without authorization. Police said Linsey R. Williams, 32, of Finleyville, signed out of the center, and upon her return was not able to clear the center’s metal detector. She then...

An employee at a Sheetz location in Ohio Township has tested positive for covid-19, company officials announced Wednesday night. An employee from the store at 1910 Mt. Nebo Road tested positive. The employee has not worked at the store since June 17, according to Sheetz spokesman Nick Ruffner. “According to...

While mile-long lines of cars outside the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank are not the norm these days, the need to provide food to struggling families in Southwestern Pennsylvania remains. “We’ve been in response mode to the crisis for the last three months, and we continue to see a higher...

Members from the nonprofit group Feeding the Spirit are used to sitting down with nearly 100 people each week for their annual free meal at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Greensburg. Since the covid-19 pandemic began, that hasn’t been an option — but it didn’t stop the nonprofit’s members, who...

While organizers will skip the festival that usually accompanies it, the annual “Fireworks Over Fayette” display will take place on June 28. Fayette Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Muriel Nuttall said chamber officials had concerns about going ahead with the event. “Our show costs upwards of $10,000 each year and...

Carnegie Museum is scheduled to reopen next week, with museum officials requiring all visitors over age 2 to wear masks and instituting a timed ticketing system to ensure the building does not exceed 25% of its capacity. The museum, which reopens June 29, will have directional signs for visitors and...

The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s Academy of Music announced a slate of one-hour online summer courses. Classes will include the academy’s annual exploration of the various periods of classical music, along with technique courses and a “Life in Music” series: • “Classical Chatters” explores the four basic periods of classical music...

Murrysville council awarded a $78,000 bid last week for maintenance repairs to three bridges in the municipality. Plum-based Pugliano Construction will perform maintenance work on the Heather Highlands, Cal-Ken Court and Logan Ferry Road bridges, which were identified for repairs as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s bi-annual inspections....

After a soft reopening last week, the Greensburg YMCA closed again Friday afternoon and will remain shut down until at least Monday to allow time to sanitize after a person who used the facility tested positive for covid-19, YMCA officials said. The YMCA closed when the state Department of Health...