Western PA Local News category, Page 1200
The Stroller, Jan. 23, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Tickets on sale for Feb. 11 cash bash in East Vandergrift...
Pittsburgh police take 4 suspects into custody after South Side standoff
Four male suspects wanted on warrants were taken into custody Monday morning by Pittsburgh police following a standoff at a home in the city’s South Side. The incident began shortly before 1:30 a.m. when police said they spotted one of the suspects on a deck of a residence in the...
Area couples wait longer to adopt from pandemic-curtailed pool of newborns
The stars were aligned when Rob and Samantha Lauricia added a baby boy, Sal, to their family last February. After a little more than a year of preparation and paperwork, the Irwin couple became eligible to adopt a child on Jan. 19, 2022. When they welcomed Sal into their home...
Police: Man found dead of gunshot wound in Hill District apartment
A man has died after being shot in the face Sunday evening in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers were dispatched to the 2100 block of Bedford Avenue shortly before 6:20 p.m. for reports of a man with a gunshot wound. Officers found the victim, who...
Sculptures, favorable weather help draw large crowd for Ligonier Ice Festival
The Ligonier Ice Festival had the perfect blend of elements working in its favor this past weekend. The rain held off, and temperatures were brisk but not bitter cold for late January. Add to that no competition from a Steelers playoff game, and the result was thousands of people walking...
Kiski Area nationally recognized for gender diversity in computer science
The Kiski Area School District has been nationally recognized for achieving high female representation in Advanced Placement computer science. Kiski Area High School announced last week that it earned the 2022 College Board Female Diversity Award for AP Computer Science Principles. It’s the first time the district has earned an...
Fallen Officers Food Drive seeks donations to benefit food banks
The fifth annual Fallen Officers Food Drive will collect nonperishable food Jan. 28 at Mogie’s Irish Pub to benefit the Westmoreland County Food Bank and the St. Margaret Mary Food Bank in Lower Burrell. The food drive is operated by volunteers, including many active and retired police officers, to help...
Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department expands police dog program
The Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department is adding another police dog to its force. Veegee, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, will be flown from Oregon to Pittsburgh this week and begin training to earn a police certification from the North American Police Work Dog Association. Upon completing several months...
Woman accused of driving car during crack cocaine bust in New Kensington faces felony charges
The driver of a car that was targeted in an undercover operation that led to the arrest of a suspected crack dealer has been ordered to stand trial on felony drug charges. Investigators say Tasha Tierra Williams, 41, of the 200 block of 15th Street in Arnold was behind the...
Faces of the Valley: Julia Strzesieski returns to her roots for role at Harrison library
Julia Strzesieski graduated from Highlands in 1979 and hit the road for California. She graduated from San Francisco State University and spent 42 years building an award-winning marketing career with a focus on sustainability efforts. Now, the 61-year-old is back in Harrison in hopes of using her experience to bolster...
Building the Valley: Buffalo Township woman launches Bubbly Bar and mobile bartending business in Freeport
As effervescent as her adult beverages, Nikki Wright of Buffalo Township is adding spirits to Freeport with her new Bubbly Bar and bartending business at 506 High St. A longtime mixologist and bartender for restaurants and caterers in the region, Wright struck out on her own in February 2021. She...
Allegheny Township man accused of strangling woman ordered to stand trial on felony charge
An Allegheny Township man was ordered to stand trial for allegedly strangling a woman. Robert Lee Stewart, 52, of the 1200 block of Hancock Avenue, was charged with a felony count of strangulation along with counts of simple assault and harassment. Allegheny Township police wrote in a criminal complaint charging...
Murrysville Council approves 2nd fracking well operation on Plum border
Murrysville Council last week unanimously approved what will be the municipality’s second unconventional gas drilling operation on a property straddling the border with Plum. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy is seeking to build the Hermes unconventional gas drilling well on a 147-acre property just southwest of the Rolling Fields Golf Club, on...
Excela Westmoreland receives statewide recognition for patient safety
Excela Westmoreland Hospital is one of 21 hospitals across Pennsylvania to be honored through the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania’s annual Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition program. The program, which started three years ago, celebrates top-performing hospitals with low rates of health care associated infections, such as central line-associated...
Greensburg Central Catholic alumni to be honored at auction
A Navy submarine officer, an English teacher at a school for migrant children and an attorney whose nonprofits have served thousands of children form the latest class of distinguished alumni of Greensburg Central Catholic High School. The 2023 Distinguished Centurions are: Lt. Comm. Christopher Jessel (Class of 2004) of Norfolk,...
Former Harrison bar-restaurant Bird Dog’s on the market for $750,000
A prime piece of commercial real estate is for sale in Harrison. Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill, a 7,000-square-foot space along Freeport Road, is on the market. The asking price is $749,900. The restaurant opened at 2615 Freeport Road in October 2018 by township resident Bruce Daniels and his...
2 males in critical condition from shootings on Pittsburgh’s South Side
Two males found shot on Pittsburgh’s South Side late Saturday night were reported in critical condition, Pittsburgh police said. A juvenile boy was transported to a hospital with wounds to the abdomen and a graze wound to the face, police said. He was found in the area of Color Park...
Calabrian Girl Tours allows Americans to live — and eat — like Italians
For several years, Ladles restaurant in Springdale has offered fine Italian food along with other homemade dishes. But now, Ladles owner Kathy Marsico is offering connoisseurs of all things Italian an opportunity to take a deep dive into the Italian way of life. Marsico is sharing aspects of her Italian...
Laurel Highlands Pour Tour 3.0 adds new craft beverage makers
Craft beverage makers in Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties usually join the Laurel Highlands Pour Tour to increase traffic and increase sales at their establishments. For Shane Hissem, owner of Tap-It Brewery & Grill in Mt. Pleasant Township, it was the other way around. As more customers found the new...
Out & About: The Westmoreland’s Art on Tap 2.0 showcases local flavors
For Jen and Scott Orris of Hempfield, the Jan. 13 Art on Tap 2.0 at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art was more than just a relaxing end to the work week. The evening kicked off Jen’s 50th birthday celebration, which also included a private party the following night at...
Police: Ohio woman accuses New Kensington man she met on Facebook of holding her captive in basement
A New Kensington man was arrested after a woman from Ohio told police the man stole her cellphone and kept her captive in his basement for several hours when she visited him after meeting on Facebook. Steven Daniel Best Jr., 39, of the 200 block of Fifth Avenue was charged...
Hempfield junior firefighters — tomorrow’s firefighters — undergo critical training
Fifteen-year-old Kayden Lawther stood in her firefighter’s bunker gear Saturday in Hempfield’s future fire department headquarters, learning with other junior firefighters how to use a large tarp to cover furniture or create a chute to drain thousands of gallons of water poured onto a burning house. What would motivate seven...
Ligonier Township will seek input on next steps for Ligonier Beach
Some people around historic Ligonier Beach almost seem resigned to the fact that they may never swim at the shuttered resort again, but the site could be redeveloped for other recreational uses. Ligonier Township will conduct a feasibility study that will including speaking to residents to gauge their level of...
Export veteran among five family members to serve during World War II
At one point during World War II, Donna Miller’s grandmother had three sons serving in the military at the same time, part of a group of five family members who served over the course of the war. “My aunt, Esther Schriever was in the Navy, and then there was my...
How can college students stay safe? Regional college officials weigh in
Since November, the murders of four University of Idaho students have captivated cable news audiences, permeated social media dialogues and caused some college students to question their safety on and around their campuses. The four students were fatally stabbed in their off-campus rental home in the early hours of Nov....
