August 29, 2020 3:15 am
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen today announced that the department’s order to stem the spread of coronavirus cases in the county has been amended to increase the limit on outdoor events and gatherings to 100. All other requirements of the July 17, 2020 order remain in effect. The newly amended order takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2020. The step was taken due to the decrease in the county’s positivity rate and rolling daily average of case counts over the past month. All provisions of the Order of the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Directing Targeted Mitigation Measures, dated July 15, 2020, also remain in effect. The following provisions remain in effect in Allegheny County:
· Indoor and outdoor seating areas for sit-down, dine-in service at bars, restaurants, and private catered events shall be closed to patrons by 11:00 p.m. Take-out sales continue to be permitted after 11:00 p.m., consistent with applicable Pennsylvania law.
· The use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, is prohibited at all indoor and outdoor dining facilities and indoors at casinos.
· Events and gatherings other than those in businesses in the retail food services industry are limited to indoor events and gatherings of more than 25 persons are prohibited; and outdoor events and gatherings of more than 100 persons are prohibited.
August 28, 2020 1:32 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Civil rights advocates have begun gathering to highlight the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Thousands gathered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” address, a vision of racial equality that remains elusive for millions of Americans. And turnout has been lighter than initially intended due to city-imposed coronavirus pandemic restrictions that limit out-of-state visitors to the nation’s capital. Satellite march events have been planned in a handful of states, including South Carolina, Florida and Nevada. (Photo: CNN)
August 28, 2020 4:25 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – More than 50,000 people forced to flee their homes are being allowed to return after firefighters made progress in putting out massive and deadly wildfires in Northern California. Cooler weather, higher humidity and an influx of equipment and firefighters helped hard-pressed crews battling some of the largest fires in recent state history. Evacuation orders for more than 20,000 people in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties were lifted Wednesday and Thursday, and orders for another 35,000 people in the wine country also were downgraded. The fires burning in and around the San Francisco Bay Area have killed seven people.
August 28, 2020 4:25 am
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) – The remnants of Hurricane Laura are unleashing heavy rain hundreds of miles inland from a path of death and destruction left along the northwest Gulf Coast. Forecasters say an eastern turn by Laura, which is now a tropical depression, could make it a looming threat to the Mid-Atlantic states over the weekend. Laura crashed ashore Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane near the Louisiana line with Texas. It was one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., packing 150-mph winds. Laura destroyed buildings, toppled trees and killed at least six people in the U.S. Forecasters say it could still pack a punch en route to the East Coast.
August 28, 2020 4:24 am
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Prosecutors have charged a 17-year-old from Illinois in the fatal shooting of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the wounding of a third. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley filed five felony charges against Kyle Rittenhouse Thursday afternoon. He could face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, the most serious crime in Wisconsin. The shootings late Tuesday followed the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black father of six who was left paralyzed from the waist down. Blake’s shooting has made Kenosha the latest focal point in the fight against racial injustice that has gripped the country.
August 28, 2020 4:23 am
TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, intends to leave office because of declining health, according to his political party. In a country once known for its short-tenured prime ministers, the departure marks the end of an unusual era of stability that saw the Japanese leader strike up strong ties with President Donald Trump even as Abe’s ultra-nationalism riled the Koreas and China. While he pulled Japan out of recession, the economy has been battered anew by the coronavirus pandemic, and Abe has failed to achieve his cherished goal to formally rewrite the U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution because of poor public support.
August 28, 2020 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump blasted Joe Biden as a hapless career politician who will endanger Americans’ safety as he accepted his party’s renomination on the South Lawn of the White House. While the coronavirus kills 1,000 Americans each day, Trump defied his own administration’s pandemic guidelines to speak for more than an hour Thursday night to a tightly packed, largely maskless crowd. Facing a a moment fraught with racial turmoil, economic collapse and a national health emergency, Trump delivered a triumphant, optimistic vision of America’s future. But he said that brighter horizon can only be secured if he defeats Democrat Joe Biden, who currently leads in most national and battleground state polls.
August 28, 2020 4:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican state lawmakers remain at odds over how to update Pennsylvania’s voting laws to handle an expected avalanche of mail-in ballots in November’s presidential election in the battleground state. Wolf, a Democrat, laid down several markers Thursday for what he is seeking. In part, Wolf called for lawmakers to allow counties to begin processing mail-in ballots three weeks before the election and to require them to count ballots that arrive up to three days after the Nov. 3 election. In the meantime, Philadelphia on Thursday accepted a $10 million grant to help it advance an ambitious election plan.
August 28, 2020 4:17 am
PennDOT is hosting a virtual plans display proposing a new bridge over Buffalo Creek in East Finley Township. The plan calls for a concrete box structure that will carry Chapel Hill Road over the water. Work will also include roadway approach repairs as well as guide rail replacement. A five-mile detour will be put into place, utilizing Cracraft Road, South Bridge Road and Pleasant Grove Road. Residents can provide feedback on the project at the PennDOT District 12 website. Plans will be available online until September 7th. Construction is set to begin in the Spring of 2021, and last until October of that year.
August 27, 2020 1:26 pm
(WPXI) – Allegheny County officials may soon be easing some coronavirus restrictions. There were only 14 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, the lowest number since mid-June. Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department said she’s considering easing restrictions because the current mitigation efforts are working. One of the restrictions she’s willing to ease is the maximum number of people allowed in outdoor gatherings, which in Allegheny County is currently 50 people. Bogen didn’t say when a change could be made for outdoor settings, but she’s actively monitoring the situation. “I am reconsidering our limits on outdoor gatherings and will announce any changes when they’re made. I won’t be increasing capacity to 250 — the state’s limit at this time,” Bogen said. “The 250 limit on indoor gatherings will remain unchanged. The limit is set by the state and the health department cannot modify a state order to make it less restrictive.”
