Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 18
Authority calls for voluntary conservation in response to state drought conditions
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County water customers are being asked to conserve water as drought conditions take hold throughout Pennsylvania. Conservation efforts are voluntary, and municipal authority officials said there is no immediate expectation mandatory cutbacks of water use will be required. “It’s not panic time. It’s nothing like that,”...
Judge rejects former Ligonier Valley police chief’s bid to dismiss sexual assault charges
A former police chief accused of sexually assaulting a patient at an addiction treatment facility will be tried on the charges, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Tuesday. Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio rejected a defense claim that the case against former Ligonier Valley police Chief John Berger was defective. The...
Provisional ballot challenges heard in Westmoreland County
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg students Sadiki Raessa and Brionna Woodson were anxious to cast their first votes in a presidential election. Raessa, 22, of Lancaster and Woodson, 21, of Philadelphia learned Tuesday their votes will not count. Both were among the 39 voters whose provisional ballots were rejected by...
Westmoreland County doubles scope of 2024 demolition program
Westmoreland County is doubling down on knocking down blighted properties this year. Commissioners this month approved demolition of an additional 13 dilapidated properties and, in doing so, signaled an expansion of a wide-ranging effort to reduce what is estimated to be as many as 1,500 blighted buildings throughout the county....
Man accused of shooting Mogie’s Lower Burrell pub owner remains hospitalized, criminal case on hold
The prosecution of a man accused in the fatal shooting last year of the owner of Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell has again been delayed. Nathan Salem, 45, has been in custody without bond since Dec. 21 after he was charged with criminal homicide and first-degree murder in the...
Jury finds Belle Vernon man guilty in Rostraver road rage killing
A Westmoreland County jury after more than two hours of deliberations Thursday night convicted a Belle Vernon man of third-degree murder for a road rage killing nearly three years ago in Rostraver. Prosecutors contended Anthony Hairston, 29, was guilty of the first-degree murder and the intentional killing of 59-year-old Holly...
Westmoreland County set to review, count provisional ballots
Westmoreland County on Friday will begin counting an estimated 1,200 provisional ballots cast at the polls on Election Day. County officials said it appears nearly 83% of Westmoreland’s more than 255,000 register voters cast ballots during the November presidential election. According to unofficial totals, more than 211,000 ballots were cast....
Trump’s victory fueled by growth in rural counties as he cuts into Democrats’ urban bases
Three factors emerged within the numbers behind Donald Trump’s victory Tuesday in Pennsylvania. Muted turnout in Philadelphia, the state’s largest city, and growing support for the former president in rural and urban centers combined to help pave the way to Trump’s victory. Also contributing was diminished backing for Vice President...
Reschenthaler heads to landslide win to retain U.S. House seat
Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler is expected to win a fourth term in Congress as vote totals continued to be tallied Tuesday night. According to unofficial results from the district’s five counties, as of 10 p.m., Reschenthaler had received 64% of the vote with Democratic challenger Chris Dziados receiving...
Democrats once dominated Westmoreland County. Here’s how Republicans won over the region
Bill Bretz had few options to further his political interests while a senior majoring in political science at Saint Vincent College. It was 1993. He was a Republican. “My professor told me that if I wanted to do anything in politics, I would have to change my party registration,” said...
‘Patience is the watch word’ on Election Day as votes are counted, expert says
Voters throughout the nation may have to wait days to learn whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump wins Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes, election officials say. But Pennsylvania is literally the keystone state to decide who wins the White House once Tuesday’s votes are counted. “Please be...
Westmoreland GOP leaders skip unity rally days after parade float depicted political violence
There was a unity rally planned for political party leaders in Westmoreland County Friday, but only one side came to the event. The noon observance was planned late Thursday after an entry in Mt. Pleasant’s Halloween parade this week depicted political violence. Organized by Westmoreland County Democrats and Mt. Pleasant...
Long delayed North Irwin bridge project slated for 2025
Reconstruction of a now demolished bridge in North Irwin could begin next year after Westmoreland commissionerssigned off on a financing deal that will allocate more than $5.8 million in state funds to complete the project, which has seen little movement over the last decade. County and local officials have sought...
Conflicts in Israel, Ukraine dominate foreign policy issues in presidential race
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series examining where presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on the biggest issues. Today’s segment focuses on foreign policy. ——— Foreign policy is one of the key issues for voters in the presidential election, as the conflicts in the Middle...
Probation sentence ordered for Monessen woman charged with assault on unborn child
A Monessen woman was ordered on Wednesday to serve two years on probation for what police said was assault against an unborn child. Brooke Linn, 18, was charged last month with one felony count of aggravated assault of an unborn child, simple assault and reckless endangerment in connection to an...
Indiana County man sentenced to prison for 2020 fatal crash in Derry Township
A Saltsburg man will serve up to five years in prison for causing a fatal crash four years ago in Derry Township Martin J. McKnight, 47, pleaded guilty this week to a felony charge of vehicular homicide for his role in a two-vehicle crash on Sept. 15, 2020. Police said...
Clinton backs Harris, defends Middle East policy during Pitt-Greensburg campaign stopVideo
Former President Bill Clinton gave an impassioned plea in support of Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign stop Tuesday afternoon at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Clinton spoke before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 who jammed into the Campana Chapel and Lecture Center in Hempfield. His...
Former President Bill Clinton to stump for Harris in Westmoreland County
Former President Bill Clinton will make three appearances Tuesday in Western Pennsylvania as the race for the White House reaches the homestretch. Clinton is scheduled to appear at events at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus and in McKeesport and Johnstown on behalf of the Harris-Walz campaign. It’s a race...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to murder-for-hire plot against sister
A Hempfield man faces up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to hire a hitman to kill his sister. Police said Peter Cute, 64, met with undercover detectives and offered to pay them $1,000 to murder his estranged sister, who he claimed prevented him...
Casey, McCormick make final pitches as Senate race reaches stretch run
The most expensive Senate race in America is coming down to the wire in Pennsylvania. Three-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey is attempting to fend off a challenge from Republican businessman David McCormick in a race that could tip control of the chamber. With just days until the Nov. 5 election, the...
Monroeville man charged in Rostraver tavern shooting pleads guilty
A Monroeville man was sentenced up to 15 years in state prison for his role in a shooting two years ago that left two men wounded in the parking lot of a now-shuttered Rostraver restaurant and bar. Darius Ronnel Hunter, 29, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of aggravated assault...
South Carolina man pleads guilty to attack on state troopers with giant seashell
A South Carolina man pleaded guilty Friday to assaulting to state troopers in the backyard of a Mt. Pleasant Township home with a giant seashell. Police said two officers sustained mild injuries when they were attacked while responding to a call from neighbors Aug. 31, 2022, about a naked man...
Police dogs working to sniff out potential threats mailed with ballots at Westmoreland courthouse
Police dogs are being used in the Westmoreland County Election Bureau and other courthouse offices to sniff out potential threats including drugs or explosives that could arrive among the thousands of mail-in ballots and other items arriving daily. “There were reports across the nation of elected officials receiving fentanyl-laced mail,”...
Drop box plan thwarted again by Westmoreland’s GOP commissioners
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners on Thursday rejected what likely was the final push before the Nov. 5 election to have at least one drop box at the courthouse for mail-in ballots. Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes declined to consider a proposal to allow voters to drop off ballots without...
Western Pa. counties prepare for Election Day as mail-in voting deadline looms
With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, Unity’s Joyce Jacobs was one of hundreds of people who lined up Wednesday to cast their ballots at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. Jacobs, a 53-year-old Trump supporter, said she never cast a mail-in ballot before. But this year...
