MANSFIELD, Ohio — They take their “get out of jail free” cards seriously here. When the historic Ohio State Reformatory closed here in 1990 after 94 years in operation, officials wanted to tear it down. Those vast expanses of green lawn were destined to become parking lots for the two new, modern prison facilities nearby. But razing the massive stone structure — the back walls alone were 25 feet tall, 6 feet thick at the base and up to 250 yards ...

Pittsburgh has spent millions making its streets safer for pedestrians. So why are people still getting hurt?

Leaks of fracking waste water from three impoundments in Washington County have contaminated soil and groundwater, prompting the state to issue a violation notice at one site and increase monitoring and testing at another. John Poister, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman, said the problems at three of Range Resources Inc.’s nine Washington County impoundments have raised concerns and increased regulators’ scrutiny. The impou...

Never one to consider playing football the sum of a man’s existence, iconic Steelers coach Chuck Noll often referred to the ends of NFL players’ careers as them getting on with “their life’s work.” Baron Batch got on with his on Aug. 25 of last year when, after a brief conversation in an office with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert, he learned that he was being cut, ending a two-year, four-month term of employment...

Confusion over where ride-share companies such as Lyft and Uber can pick up passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport prompted the Allegheny County Airport Authority to update its regulations July 1. But at present, ride-share companies are required to follow the same rules as any other non-commercial vehicle when picking up passengers at the airport, a spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. Even if the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission grants ...

Yellow Cab is preparing to ask the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for a rate increase, its first since 2006, even as it continues to try to fend off competition from ride- share companies Lyft and Uber. If approved as proposed, the rate increase also would add a $2 surcharge for trips on Friday and Saturday nights. In a July 31 memo to employees and drivers (explore below), Yellow Cab President James Campolongo wrote that Lyft and Uber ha...

The impending long-term closure of the inbound Liberty Tunnel is but one of several potential headaches for drivers this week. A major resurfacing project will get underway on Interstate 79 in Marshall; the city will repave a stretch of Penn Avenue, Downtown; and a monthlong ramp closure along the Parkway East in Squirrel Hill will continue. The inbound Liberty Tunnel will close at 8 p.m. Tuesday for painting, with the scheduled reopening at 6 a...

A charged but orderly hearing Tuesday evening drew a standing-room-only crowd of mostly supporters but also strong opponents of a Roman Catholic institute’s plans to temporarily shelter dozens of unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America. Supporters at the hearing, held at Sacred Heart Church’s fellowship hall in Emsworth, said they were proud of Holy Family Institute — a longstanding agency offering a wide range of services to childr...

Sitting inside a restaurant off a central Pennsylvania highway in 2008, Matt Shaner saw his future. Airing on one of the restaurant’s televisions was an interview with Jon Bon Jovi. But it wasn’t Bon Jovi’s rock-star life that Shaner wanted. It was what Bon Jovi was talking about: his Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul, which won the league’s championship that season. “A light bulb went off,” Shaner said. Over the next few years, t...