Jonathan D. Silver stories, Page 2

Yes, you could find beer flowing into waiting steins, polka music drifting through the air and the occasional lederhosen or dirndl darting through the crowds at Sprankle’s Octoberfest in Saxonburg. But strolling through the fairgrounds Saturday, you would be just as likely to run across a 20-foot python, a rescue...

The National Transportation Safety Board has opted not to investigate this month’s massive fatal explosion in Plum based on preliminary information that the source of the blast was inside the home that blew up — not in an outside pipeline. That could change, as more details emerge about the disaster...

State inspectors sweeping the Plum subdivision where a massive house explosion last weekend killed six people have detected low levels of combustible gas in the vicinity of the blast. They are awaiting test results to identify the vapor and determine its source. The mere presence of such gas does not...

Stating that he is “extremely concerned” after a house blew up in Plum over the weekend, killing six people and causing catastrophic damage, Gov. Josh Shapiro has broadened the probe into the disaster by ordering the state Department of Environmental Protection to launch an investigation. The governor’s directive was issued...

Allegheny County’s top emergency management official confirmed Thursday that investigators have not uncovered any links among five house explosions in Plum since the mid-1990s, including the one Saturday that killed six people and decimated part of a subdivision. Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown, who is also the county fire marshal,...

Peoples natural gas company officials said Wednesday there does not appear to be a common denominator linking last weekend’s fatal house explosion in Plum with four previous blasts in the borough since the mid-1990s. “At this point, there’s not any indication of any relationship,” said spokesman Nick Paradise, adding that...

The nursing license of a Harrison woman charged with purposely administering fatal doses of insulin to two patients has been suspended indefinitely. Defendant Heather Pressdee, a registered nurse since 2018, agreed to the suspension sought by Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. Prosecuting attorneys for the bureau signed off...

It’s certainly no Herr’s, much less a Neville. But Brunot Island — small, scrappy and often overlooked locally compared to its better-known cousins — is no slouch when it comes to its place in Pittsburgh history. Nestled snugly in the Ohio River just a few miles from The Point and...

From coast to coast, officials have tried to block Terence Keel from getting autopsy reports as he studies jail and police-custody deaths. But after clashing with recalcitrant civil servants in California, Illinois, Maryland and Texas, the UCLA professor said no state has vexed him like Pennsylvania. In his quest for...

A 26-year-old man was fatally stabbed Sunday evening in Tarentum. Allegheny County Police are investigating the incident, which took place about 6:25 p.m. in the 100 block of Davidson Street. The victim was taken by private vehicle to a hospital where he died. Police ask anyone with information to call...

Back in the good, old days, Roosevelt Park in Arnold served as far more than a playground. There was roller skating. Dancing. Entertainment. The city would feature horror movies and the Three Stooges on outdoor screens. And in the winter, someone would open the fire hydrants and flood the concrete...

Two cars collided Sunday afternoon outside the parking lot of the Golden Dawn supermarket in New Kensington, leaving one driver with a headache and both vehicles needing to be towed. The accident occurred about 1:52 p.m. at Camp Avenue and Freeport Road. Early indications were that a black Dodge Nitro...

Susan Mangel didn’t mince words about the implosion Friday of the two towering and iconic smokestacks that have dominated Springdale’s skyline for decades. “It was a disaster,” declared the 22-year resident of Duquesne Court, heaving a sigh from her perch on a porch swing as she gently rocked Saturday in...

A combat-hardened ex-Army Ranger from Glenshaw who breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and fought with law enforcement officers was sentenced Wednesday to 66 months in federal prison. Robert Morss, 29, a former Shaler Area School District substitute history teacher, was convicted in August by a federal judge...

Year after year, a devastating mixture of dirt, debris, leaves and water conspired to clog drains and severely corrode the special steel used to build critical components of the Fern Hollow Bridge a half-century ago, federal investigators announced Thursday. But a report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board didn’t...

If they couldn’t erase the deeds, some chose to erase the alleged perpetrator. “For the past 4 1⁄2 years there’s been an effort to not speak the name of the defendant, to not look at photos of the defendant,” Jordan Golin, president and CEO of Jewish Family and Community Services,...

Left behind: Families that suffer a police death walk a unique path, one marked by an overwhelming loss that often is abrupt, violent and public Each year, roughly 150 law enforcement officers across the country die in the line of duty. They lose their lives in any number of ways....

Each year, roughly 150 law enforcement officers across the country die in the line of duty. They lose their lives in any number of ways. Some are shot, stabbed or beaten; others are killed in vehicle crashes; still others are felled by heart attacks linked to work stress or other...

As Quaker Valley School District’s police chief, Aaron Vanatta is responsible for the well-being of 1,900 children. But, on Wednesday, he needed to tend to a student outside his jurisdiction: his daughter, a seventh grader 40 miles away in Washington County. A morning flurry of hoax threats that triggered lockdowns,...

The government office that fights Medicare fraud has put UPMC and one of its star surgeons on a “high-risk” list after determining that they pose a “significant risk to federal health care programs and beneficiaries.” U.S. officials took the action after Pittsburgh’s multi-billion-dollar health system settled a sweeping Medicare fraud...

Loni Hutchens choked up remembering how her knees buckled when she heard that Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was gunned down. Kim and Dale Davis explained that whenever an officer is shot, they agonize over whether it’s in Pittsburgh, where their son patrols on the midnight shift. And Lisa Ingle...

Monday’s fatal shooting of a McKeesport police officer marks two line-of-duty deaths already this year for law enforcement in Western Pennsylvania after more than a five-year gap since an officer was last shot.. The McKeesport officer, Sean Sluganski, was killed while responding to a request to perform a check on...

Federal investigators on Thursday released more than 2,000 pages of records they have examined as part of their investigation into the collapse of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge nearly a year ago, but many critical details, such as the cause of the catastrophic failure, remain undisclosed. The update, which includes only...

South Braddock Avenue at Forbes Avenue. South Braddock Avenue at Forbes Avenue. Check for an accident there. Caller reporting a vehicle off the bridge. Said the bridge gave out. Bad connection. The female was screaming on the line. — Emergency dispatch, Allegheny County, 6:41 a.m., Jan. 28, 2022 ▪ ▪...