Latest news with #SouthwesternPA
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Over 1,000 customers without power as severe weather hits Southwestern Pennsylvania on Sunday
Over 1,000 people are without power as severe weather has hit the Southwestern Pennsylvania area. PHOTOS: Severe storms, heavy rain hit local communities on Sunday West Penn Power reports 1,313 power outages in Pennsylvania. Of those, local counties report: Allegheny County - 10 power outages Butler County - 388 power outages Fayette County - 358 power outages Indiana County - 40 power outages Washington County - 141 power outages Westmoreland County - 107 power outages Click here to report a power outage to West Penn Power. Duquesne Light Company reports 177 power outages in Allegheny County and only one in Beaver County. Click here to report a power outage to Duquesne Light Company. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area pharmacy owner reacts to Trump's executive order cutting drug prices
President Trump is making a move against Big Pharma. On Monday, he signed an executive order setting a 30-day deadline for drug companies to lower prices on prescription drugs. "It's great they're going to lower brand-name drug prices to help seniors out," said Erich Cushey, the owner of Curtis Pharmacy. Cushey has four locations in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The executive order comes at a time when independent pharmacies are facing many challenges, including low reimbursements and more competition. Cushey told KDKA what, if any, impact the order could have. "The bigger issue in this whole system are the pharmacy benefit managers, which are the companies between us and your insurance plan. There's a lot of drug rebates in that system, upwards of 60, 70 percent of the list price," Cushey said. "So, if the president's going to remove rebates, it's a huge win for everybody." Right now, it's unclear how the order will work. However, we do know that the president wants to price match with other countries, which reportedly are paying less compared to Americans. "Starting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the health care of foreign countries," the president said on Monday. Cushey said this is just step one. He wants to see more. "Fair and transparent drug prices," he said. "Remove the rebates, here's the price, here's the dispense fee for us to give you your medication. You know what we're paying, we know what we're getting paid and it's a lot less than everybody else." It's unclear how quickly Americans will see lower prices and what authority the government has to direct drug pricing.
CBS News
10-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission launches review after last month's severe storms
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will undertake a post-storm review following last month's deadly storms that severed electric service to more than 500,000 customers across the southwestern Pennsylvania region. Led by the Commission's Bureau of Technical Utility Services, the review will "examine how utilities responded to this significant event, assess the impact of the storm on infrastructure and operations, and identify opportunities to improve planning and resilience for future storms," according to a news release from the PUC. "This was not a routine weather event," said PUC Chairman Steve DeFrank. "The intensity and scale of the damage - impacting electric systems, roads, communications networks, and other infrastructure - demand a closer look. As we continue to recover, we also need to understand what happened, what worked, what didn't, and what can be done better moving forward." The review will explore storm-related issues involving Duquesne Light and FirstEnergy utilities. Officials will examine issues like outage causes, review the efficacy of utility emergency response plans, and provide recommendations that utilities, communities, residents, and businesses can take to better prepare for future extreme weather. "Our goal is to evaluate every storm to learn, adapt, and strengthen Pennsylvania's utility systems," said PUC Vice Chair Kimberly Barrow. "It is important to study how storm intensity, patterns, and impacts are changing so that we can better prepare and protect our communities." According to Commission records, Duquesne Light has not experienced storm-related outages of this magnitude since at least 1993. "The strength of our utility network lies not just in how we respond to today's challenges, but in how we prepare for tomorrow's," Chairman DeFrank added. "We regularly examine the impact of major storms in Pennsylvania because every emergency situation is a learning opportunity - and we are committed to turning those lessons into action."
CBS News
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Pittsburgh Film Office gives reviews of suggested movie tariffs
The reviews are pouring in on the plan President Donald Trump pitched to put 100 percent tariffs on films made outside the United States. No final decisions have been made, but reaction from film industry leaders has been rolling in. "There's a lot more production leaving the country than there used to be," said Dawn Keezer, the executive director of the Pittsburgh Film Office. She said the discussion around potential movie tariffs is putting the film industry in the spotlight and spreading the word about how something needs to be done to bring more production back home. "My first reaction was, wow, this is great. It's going to make everybody come home, right? It's really going to fix it. But look, who knows what all the rules are really going to mean?" Keezer said. "I personally believe that it's a lot easier to incentivize versus punish. And I would love to see it as more of what we can do to encourage work in this country, and I really worry about Southwestern Pa.," she added. Pittsburgh has long been known for its role in the film industry. "We've had over 250 film and TV projects filmed here since 1995," Keezer said. "We played home to 'Batman.' We played home to 'Jack Reacher.' We've had Tom Hanks here twice. We've had Christian Bale here three times." Keezer said 2024 was a slow year for the Pittsburgh area, but they've hit the ground running in 2025. "'Mayor of Kingstown' is here. They're wrapping up season four here in about another four to six weeks or so. And we're hoping they come back for season five and six, seven, eight, however many more we can get. We're getting ready to start production on the feature film 'Hershey,' which, of course, is great. Pennsylvania history, all about how the Hershey Company got started. We've got another feature coming very quickly and a potential TV series," she said. Keezer said they're not typically competing on a global scale, but they lose work to Canada all the time, like CBS' show "Watson," which came to Pittsburgh for four days to get establishing shots. "That show was written by a Pittsburgher, Craig Sweeney. It was set in Pittsburgh. And they're filming in Vancouver, and they're filming because it's a $16 million difference between filming in Vancouver, Canada, and filming here," she said. The White House said no final decisions have been made about the film tariffs. And how those would work is not even in the script yet. The president plans to meet with industry leaders to hash out a plan. "I'm actually going to meet with some because, you know, there's some advantages, I guess. And I'm not looking to hurt the industry. I want to help the industry," President Trump told reporters this week. "What I think President Trump was very successful in doing is igniting a much-needed conversation about the state of our film, television, streaming industry on a global scale. People forget that this is really a business," Keezer said. "What we can look at is the fact that something needs to be done. So, come up with a plan to be able to encourage the production to come back might be the plan. And maybe that's a tariff. But until you actually see all the details of something, how would you even know?" she added. While industry leaders wait for more answers from the White House, Keezer hopes state lawmakers raise Pennsylvania's film tax credit program from $100 million a year to $300 million. She believes adding a federal incentive to the states' tax incentives would encourage people to keep production in the U.S. She also mentioned how other countries have federal film offices and the U.S. does not.
