Regional category, Page 248

Less than a month into a shutdown that forced colleges and universities across the country to transition to online classes, covid-19 is exposing new fractures in higher education. When students were forced to leave campus months before the end of the spring semester, residential campuses had to come up with...

Customers and employees will soon be required to wear masks inside businesses still operating, and those who don’t wear masks will be denied entry, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Wednesday. The order, which includes dozens of other requirements, will go into effect 8 p.m. Sunday. It dictates...

Smartphone companies have always gathered data on their users. But in the weeks since the covid-19 pandemic gained traction in the U.S., special attention has been given to data’s role in curbing the spread of the disease. Experts say data can be used to trace individuals’ contact with others who...

Coronavirus deaths in Pennsylvania crested 600 on Wednesday, though the total number of new cases remained below 1,200 for the second straight day. In numbers reported throughout Tuesday, 63 more people died from the virus statewide, bringing the death toll to 647. The Department of Health reported 1,145 new cases....

Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania is accepting donations again after closing its 27 stores in the state a month ago amid nonessential business shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic. No-contact, self-service donation areas at each of the organization’s store locations in Pennsylvania opened this week to accept donations from 9 a.m....

It’s tax day, or at least it would have been. When coronavirus turned the world on its axis, Congress and the Pennsylvania General Assembly reacted quickly to provide temporary relief. So, here are five things you need to know today: 1. The deadline for filing federal income tax returns has...

Pittsburgh International Airport will get a $36 million federal grant to help cope with the impact of coronavirus-related shutdowns. The grant represents the lion’s share of the $46.2 million provided to airports in Western Pennsylvania. The Federal Aviation Administration grants to the state’s 63 airports were part of the CARES...

Uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and business shutdowns ordered to control it appear to be good for the gun business in Pennsylvania. A surge in gun sales that started in mid-March as Pennsylvania’s coronavirus cases began to steadily increase caused a 14.4% year-to-year increase in the number of background...

Pennsylvania State Police arrested two people for allegedly growing hallucinogenic mushrooms in an Indiana Borough apartment. The suspects are a 39-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman. Charges are pending, and police have not identified the suspects to the public. Investigators received a tip about the apartment on the 900 block...

Gov. Tom Wolf said he believes it should be left to state governments — not the president — to decide when and how to loosen restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “We had the responsibility for addressing the needs that we all had, and that involved closing...

It’s a sign of the times. People hunkered down in their homes waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to recede can’t help sending messages to the outside world. While many are dispatching to a broad audience via social media, others are taking a rather analog approach. Messages of support and encouragement...

Sixty more people across Pennsylvania died from the coronavirus, state health officials said Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said 1,146 new cases of covid-19 were reported Monday, bringing the state’s running tally to 25,345. There were 1,366 new cases reported Monday and 1,178 on Sunday. The death toll now...

A Fayette County woman missing since last week was found safe, according to Pennsylvania State Police in Uniontown. Karissa Nicola, 30, was reported missing after she didn’t return from a walk along East Main Street in New Salem on Friday, police said. Troopers said public tips aided authorities in locating...

Drive-in theaters appear tailor-made for social distancing: Expansive fields of grass let vehicles park more than six feet apart, providing families with a safe night out in relative isolation. Yet drive-ins are subject to the conditions facing most businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Local drive-ins have sat empty since Gov....

Now that the covid-19 crisis has forced Pennsylvania schools to turn to online instruction for the remainder of the academic year, Carnegie Science Center is offering to help educators. The resources being offered include educational activities, videos and lesson plans on Carnegie Science Center’s new Online Educator Resources page. The...

Be sure to follow the traffic patterns the next time you’re in Giant Eagle. In an effort to step up the company’s fight to slow the spread of coronavirus, the supermarket chain is implementing one-way aisles. One-way signs will be added to the floors of each aisle to direct shoppers...

Ohio is cutting off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in counties bordering Pennsylvania, a response to “repeated instances” of Pennsylvanians going to Ohio solely to buy liquor, Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Any other time, we’d love to have visitors from PA, but right now this creates an unacceptable public health...

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry launched a job portal Monday, focusing on life-sustaining businesses that are hiring during the covid-19 pandemic. “Many life-sustaining businesses across Pennsylvania are hiring, and this new portal will help connect them with people looking for a job,” said Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry...

The Pennsylvania State Police training academy in Hershey will be closed for at least two weeks because a staff member tested positive for covid-19, state police said. The closure impacts 100 cadets, who will continue online instruction from home. Classes for the cadet class had been the only activities at...

A Montgomery County inmate is the first in the Pennsylvania prison system to die from complications related to covid-19, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced Monday. The inmate wasn’t identified by name. He was a 67-year-old black man serving a life sentence for a Philadelphia County first-degree murder conviction, officials...

While the adherence to the state’s stay-at-home orders is “bending the curve and diminishing the surge” of new cases, Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday he was not ready to predict when he will lift the sanctions against business activity that are crushing the economy. “There is no hard, fast metric...

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is holding its first drive-up emergency food distribution event in Butler. Food will distributed Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Butler’s Alameda Park. The event is part of the Food Bank’s new drive-up distribution model to reduce the spread of covid-19. Each...