In Brief
CRANBERRY TWP — Don Davis is the new general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Pittsburgh.
The hotel, which previously was a Four Points by Sheraton, transitioned into a DoubleTree by Hilton when Prospera Hospitality took over management in January.
Davis is responsible for overseeing all hotel operations.
A North Carolina native who lives in Cranberry Township, Davis has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry.
The hotel is undergoing an extensive renovation and will feature a new contemporary design.
PITTSBURGH — Jennifer Rochkind of Butler, a longtime social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was honored last month by U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald for an act of extraordinary kindness.Rochkind, who has worked with the VA in Pittsburgh for more than a dozen years, was honored July 20 at an event at the University Drive Campus of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. McDonald presented her a special VA coin.Rochkind was recognized for serving as a translator for the family of a veteran in hospice care.Officials said Rochkind, who once planned to be a Spanish teacher, kept up on her Spanish by traveling to Latin America on mission trips.The presentation was part of an employee town hall meeting, and it was McDonald's first visit to Pittsburgh since being appointed to run the department.
Even as an Oct. 1 deadline approaches to replace Americans' out-of-date credit cards with new cards embedded with computer chips, the vast majority of Americans still have not received their new cards and only a small minority are using the chips, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.The poll finds that roughly one in 10 Americans have received the new chip-enabled credit cards. Of those who have received the cards, only one-third say they've actually used the cards as intended in new credit card readers.
WASHINGTON — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell for a third straight week amid anxiety over developments in the U.S. economy that lifted bond prices.Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 3.91 percent this week from 3.98 percent a week earlier.personnel filen Funeral director Mark Thompson with Bauer-Hillis Funeral Home and Cremation Services is a certified funeral celebrant after attending InSight Institute Funeral Celebrant Training in June in Albany, N.Y. He is training in conducting funerals for families who want to have a personalized and individualized funeral service.
