Tom Davidson stories, Page 49
Art Institute of Pittsburgh running out of money, federal overseer says
A federal receiver controlling the finances of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh is nearly out of cash to manage the entities he’s tasked to oversee. Mark Dottore, the Cleveland-based receiver in the case, wrote in a Feb. 7 letter to the Department of Education that he has $3.8 million on...
Frank Rossi, founder of the Pittsburgh Banjo Club, dies at 83
As is tradition, the Pittsburgh Banjo Club will practice Wednesday night at the Allegheny Elks Lodge on the city’s North Side. The group will attract a crowd of people of all ages and walks of life who come for the camaraderie, cheap drinks and, of course, the banjos. But absent...
New Kensington-Arnold district, teachers’ union making progress on contract
More than 18 months after their last teachers’ contract expired, negotiators in New Kensington-Arnold School District may be closing in on a new labor pact. Officials from both the teachers’ union and the district say they are making progress in resolving their differences. “We’ve been working without a contract for...
Century III Mall granted $5M line of credit to keep operating during bankruptcy
Owners of West Mifflin’s struggling Century III Mall have been granted a $5 million line of credit by a bankruptcy court to keep operating during its case even as it remains closed by order of the borough code enforcement office. West Mifflin ordered the mall’s closure on Feb. 6 and...
Western Pennsylvania girls officially join the Boy Scouts
Sarah Lenhart has been a Boy Scout in all but name for a long time. She started participating about eight years ago, when her older brother joined Boy Scout Troop 372 in Ligonier. She’s been part of the troop ever since. “I honestly did more, I think, than my brother,”...
Art Institute of Pittsburgh to close by March 31
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh will close March 31, according to a filing from the school’s parent company to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The plan, submitted to the state Jan. 28, will allow 286 of the 2,154 students enrolled in the school to complete their programs before it closes....
Tom Davidson: For the love of ‘Truck’ and the weather
My latest son could be born at any time. That’s what my wife and I have been saying for the last two weeks. Any time will likely mean Tuesday, but that’s a guesstimate at best. It’s made work and life interesting as I continually pelt her with “Are you OKs?”...
Pat Catan’s craft stores to close, some rebranded as Michaels
Most Pat Catan’s Arts and Craft stores will be closing soon, the company that owns the regional chain announced Wednesday. The Michaels Cos. Inc. will rebrand up to 12 of the Pat Catan’s locations as Michaels stores and close the remaining stores. There are 36 Pat Catan’s stores in the...
Opinions split on proposal to start deer season on the Saturday after Thanksgiving
Black Friday would become Buck Eve under a proposed change to Pennsylvania’s firearms deer season given preliminary approval this week by the state Game Commission. The start of the season would be the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead of the following Monday, which has been opening day for more than 50...
Pittsburgh police save baby who wasn’t breathing
A baby who wasn’t breathing prompted quick action by two Pittsburgh police officers and is recovering, according to a post on Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 5 Facebook page. The officers, Jena Bednarowicz and Bryce Valencic, were on patrol Sunday in the city’s Larimer neighborhood when they were dispatched to...
‘Hamilton’ brings history to life for Pittsburgh-area studentsVideo
“Hamilton” is more than a hit musical for more than 2,700 students in the region who’ve earned a spot to be in the room where it happens — the Benedum Center — on Friday. They include 55 students at Valley High School in New Kensington who have been studying the...
From 1 ATM to multiple branches, Bank of America eyes expansion in Pittsburgh
Bank of America has started its push into the Pittsburgh market. A few years ago, the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank had only one ATM in Downtown. There are now 17 ATMs, including one along Hulton Road in Oakmont. The bank, which serves about 66 million clients nationwide, opened its first brick-and-mortar...
Mercer County DA Miles Karson found guilty on obstruction, oppression charges
A jury spent about two and a half hours deliberating Friday before returning a guilty verdict in Mercer County District Attorney Miles K. Karson’s trial on charges of obstruction, official oppression and hindering prosecution of someone with whom he was romantically linked. “District Attorney Karson used the power of his...
Mercer County DA takes stand to defend himself from obstruction charges
Mercer County District Attorney Miles K. Karson has been practicing law in this western Pennsylvania county for more than four decades. In that time, he’s prosecuted and defended clients in a wide variety of matters. On Wednesday morning, Karson, a 73-year-old McKeesport native who lives in Sharon, was sworn under...
3 new police officers hired in New Kensington
New Kensington council Monday hired three new police officers to fill vacancies created by retirements, city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said. Michael A. McSherry of Leechburg, Jerry Hobeck of New Kensington and Jeffrey Vertullo of Export were selected from a list approved last week by the city’s Civil Service Commission. They...
New Kensington authorities raise water, sewer rates
Water and sewer bills are going up this year for people who live in Arnold, Lower Burrell, New Kensington and portions of Plum. The 15,000 water customers of the Municipal Authority of New Kensington, which also serves Upper Burrell and parts of Allegheny and Washington townships, will see a 12...
Bayer to close site in Robinson by 2020, cut nearly 600 local positions
Global pharmaceutical giant Bayer Corp. announced Tuesday it is closing its Robinson campus within the next two years. It will mean the loss of 569 jobs and 96 contractors, the company said in a statement. The news shocked Robinson officials, but the Airport Area Chamber of Commerce believed Bayer employees...
New Kensington working to require emergency lock boxes on new commercial buildings
New Kensington is on the way to becoming the latest municipality in the region to require new or newly-renovated commercial buildings to install a lock box to help first-responders gain access in emergencies. City council laid the groundwork this week to enable it to pass an ordinance Feb. 4 that...
New Kensington moving to hire more police officers
New Kensington council will be hiring three new police officers to fill vacancies created by retirements, city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said. Council is scheduled to vote on the hires at a special meeting at 4 p.m. Monday, once members receive an approved list from the city’s Civil Service Commission. That...
Direct flights to Birmingham, Memphis, Hartford coming to Pittsburgh airport
New year, new airline. That was the message officials had Wednesday when they announced a new carrier would be adding three new nonstop flights from Pittsburgh International Airport in the coming months. “It’s a perfect match,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Via Airlines will be adding direct flights to...
Police: Man who stole $4,000 from Pleasant Hills bank caught, confesses to robbery
Police arrested Tuesday a man suspected of robbing a Pleasant Hills bank this week. Richard D. Parrish, 40, of Jefferson Hills, allegedly confessed to robbing the bank once police tracked him down in Monongahela. Parrish is accused of robbing the Dollar Bank branch at 500 Clairton Boulevard at about 1...
Towering 45 feet above Lawrenceville, NREC’s latest robot is its tallest
A yellow steel structure has been looming 45 feet above Lawrenceville for about three months. You can see it from the 40th Street Bridge and from Polish Hill. Sometimes secretive about its projects, Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center isn’t exactly hiding its tallest robot. The 45-foot robot has...
3 passengers, driver injured when Port Authority bus crashes in Lawrenceville
Four people were hurt after a crash involving a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus Tuesday morning in Lawrenceville, according to authority spokesman Adam Brandolph. Port Authority police are investigating the crash, which happened about 7:45 a.m. Tuesday at the 62nd Street Bridge and Butler Street. The bus was outbound...
Suspect sought in Pleasant Hills bank robbery
Authorities are trying to identify a man who robbed the Dollar Bank branch Monday afternoon in Pleasant Hills. At about 1 p.m., a man entered the Dollar Bank branch at 500 Clairton Boulevard, handed a note to the teller demanding money and left the bank on foot with an unspecified...
Pittsburgh-based EQT confirms layoffs, but details are scant
Pittsburgh-based shale gas producer EQT Corp. confirmed Monday it had laid off employees but would not say how many. The company’s new management team has “taken a number of decisive actions to improve operational efficiency, cash flow and EQT’s financial position,” it said in a statement released Monday. “We are...
