Western PA Local News category, Page 1198
Penn Hills School District to go remote Wednesday due to bad weather forecast
Penn Hills School District will switch to remote learning Wednesday due to expected poor weather. School board President Erin Vecchio said district officials did not want to take the risk of something happening to students and staff on the way to school in the morning. “We can’t put the kids...
Strip District development with nearly 300 apartments, dozens of townhouses earns approval
Plans for a Strip District development with nearly 300 apartments and dozens of townhouses are moving forward. Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission approved plans Tuesday for The Brickworks Residential Development. It includes eight buildings on a 3.45-acre lot at 2121 Smallman St. Plans call for two six-story apartment buildings with 114 rental...
Unity woman pleads guilty to assaults against teens, nurse
A Unity woman was ordered to serve five years on probation after she pleaded guilty Tuesday to assaults against a high school student in 2019 and an attack of a hospital nurse a year later. Susan Barkley, 44, previously served nearly two years in jail and at a mental health...
Westmoreland DA says catalytic converter theft ring probe ongoing
Three Chicago men charged this week with stealing catalytic converters from dozens of businesses and individuals in Westmoreland, Allegheny and Fayette counties are likely part of a larger theft ring that is still active, investigators said Tuesday. “The brazen acts of these suspects not only cost innocent drivers and business...
Hempfield Area school board changes meeting structure
The Hempfield Area school board is making slight changes to the way its two monthly meetings operate. Beginning February, the month’s first meeting will serve as a pre-agenda, non-voting meeting, during which board directors will discuss issues. The month’s second meeting will then act as a voting meeting, during which...
13-year-old arrested in connection with robbery, abduction of Pittsburgh pizza delivery driver
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 3 robbery and abduction of a pizza delivery driver in Pittsburgh’s Elliott neighborhood. Pittsburgh police did not identify the teen. Police spokeswoman Amanda Mueller said the boy has not been charged as an adult because of his...
Judge laments behavior of Rostraver elected officials
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday made it clear he is frustrated with the ongoing dispute among elected officials in Rostraver who are at odds amidst a court-ordered ban of one commissioner from attending some government meetings in person. “I didn’t come up with this solution. I just agreed to...
Medical examiner releases cause of death for toddler killed in Shaler fire
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday that a 2-year-old girl killed in a Shaler house fire died of smoke and fume inhalation. The death of Danika Deramo was ruled an accident. The fire happened Jan. 13 at 750 Falls Run Road, a wooded side street near the township’s...
Pittsburgh declares homelessness a public health emergency, looks for solutions
Homelessness has been declared a public health emergency in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh City Council approved legislation Tuesday asking the mayor, city housing authority and several city departments to come up with proposals to address homelessness in the long term, as well as temporary, immediate solutions to help homeless people right away....
Pittsburgh City Council approves plan for medical debt relief
Pittsburgh City Council passed legislation Tuesday to use $1 million in covid-relief funding to alleviate residents’ medical debts. Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, who introduced the legislation last month, had initially suggested contracting with the New York-based nonprofit RIP Medical Debt to buy dischargeable health care debt from hospitals and...
Commissioners approve plans for Raising Cane’s in Oakland
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved plans to convert an existing restaurant in the city’s Oakland neighborhood into a Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. The restaurant chain is planning to open a location at Fifth Avenue and Atwood Street in a building that formerly housed the restaurant and bar Thirsty...
Prosecutors: Former Latrobe man was methamphetamine distributor
A former Latrobe man was sentenced earlier this month to five years in a federal prison in connection with drug trafficking activity involving methamphetamine across the region. Joshua Birrell, 40, was ordered to spend four years on supervised release after the prison term. Prosecutors said he was one of several...
District judge not at fault for crash that injured 13-year-old girl in Butler County
Authorities in Butler County said a district judge who struck a teen crossing Route 228 near Mars Middle School on Nov. 30 has been cleared of wrongdoing. Saxonburg District Judge Sue Haggerty was behind the wheel when a 13-year-old girl walked into the path of her vehicle about 5:30 p.m.,...
Dolls, tea and history: Hampton museum helps make learning fun
Barbie may be ready to turn 65 in 2024, but dolls have been a staple of children’s playthings since the days of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. As such, miniature versions of people already had been around for the millennia by the time of the United States’ founding in the...
Contractors hit with $1.1M fine for illegal asbestos removal at Churchill property
The Allegheny County Health Department has fined a contractor nearly $1.1 million for illegally disposing of asbestos while renovating the former Westinghouse headquarters in Churchill. An environmental group called the contractor’s disregard for the asbestos-containing material “unconscionable” and said the fine “is a victory for public health.” “Their reckless behavior...
After 35 years, police ID woman killed in fiery Turnpike crash in Somerset County
Forensic genealogy testing helped investigators finally identify a 26-year-old woman as the second victim in a 1987 double-fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, authorities said. Linda J. McClure, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, was a passenger in a tractor-trailer that crashed Oct. 22, 1987, while traveling east near mile marker 119.4 in...
Allegheny County releases public health plan for next 5 years
As Allegheny County transitions between health directors and is poised to elect a new county executive this year, its Health Department has released a plan that lays out public health goals for the next five years. The 2023-27 Plan for a Healthier Allegheny released Monday was completed under former Health...
Gainey orders review of Pittsburgh’s ‘purely public charities’ to see if they meet tax-exempt requirements
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey signed an executive order Tuesday calling on the city’s finance and law departments to investigate whether the city’s purely public charities meet requirements for tax-exempt status. Purely public charities are nonprofits that, under the state’s definition, must advance a charitable purpose, donate a substantial portion of...
Pennsylvania gambling revenue hit another record high in 2022
Pennsylvania’s legalized gambling industry raked in another record haul in 2022 with revenue nearly half a billion dollars higher than the previous year. In 2022, the combined revenue of slot machine, table games, sports wagering, iGaming, video gaming terminals and fantasy contests totaled $5.21 billion compared to $4.73 billion in...
Pittsburgh Kids Marathon to debut sensory inclusive heat
The lights and sounds of the 2023 Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Kids Marathon will be dialed back briefly for the event’s first-ever sensory inclusive heat. “Our mission is to inspire any and all to move, and this offers that chance for people who might not feel comfortable in a large crowd,” said...
Penn Hills council selects Pittsburgh firm to design VOPP bike/walking trail
A Pittsburgh branch of an engineering and design firm has been tasked with crafting a near 14-mile bike and walking trail. Penn Hills council unanimously voted Jan. 23 to select TranSystems to develop the VOPP Trail – Verona, Oakmont, Penn Hills and Plum. Municipal planning director Chris Blackwell said Penn...
Charity party kicks off annual Pink Day fundraising
Pink Day’s first fundraiser of the year is here. The Marconi Club Pink Day Extravaganza 2023 is scheduled for Saturday in downtown Leechburg. All proceeds benefit Leechburg’s Pink Day, a daylong festival dedicated to supporting breast cancer research and held every September on Market Street. Pink Day events have raised...
Penn Hills counselor organizes 3rd annual awards ceremony recognizing social workers
As the founder and co-owner of Hand in Hand Counseling Service in Penn Hills, Sharise Nance is familiar with the stress social workers in Western Pennsylvania face at work. Nance said she began to see fellow social workers, mental health therapists and frontline workers struggle with what she called “compassion...
Morning Roundup: Police say Sewickley man stole postal truck, drove wrong way on I-79
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023: Police say Sewickley man stole postal truck, drove wrong way on I-79 Pennsylvania State Police say a postal worker from Sewickley stole a mail truck from Allegheny County and drove it into Greene County, leading...
Family seeks to buy guitar that late Irwin guitarist sold
Family and friends of an Irwin guitarist who died of cancer last year are hoping to buy back a guitar he sold several years ago to keep as a family remembrance. The problem for those who want the guitar back is that the late Jacob “Jake” Hursh sold it around...
