Western PA Local News category, Page 1258
Penn Hills paramedic remembered as an eager public servant
Penn Hills resident Nicholas Theofilis dedicated his life to public service. The Eagle Scout had dreams of working in the medical field, and while in high school, already had begun training as an emergency medical technician. Those dreams were cut short when the 23-year-old paramedic died Nov. 27 while on...
Police look for hit-and-run driver who injured bicyclist in Indiana County
State police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck and injured a bicyclist Wednesday morning in Indiana County. The cyclist, a 31-year-old Saltsburg man, was treated for moderate injuries at Indiana Regional Hospital. Police said he was riding in the area of Rose Street and Robertshaw Drive, near the...
Citing competition and cost, Penn State looks to reunite its 2 law schools
Penn State University’s two separately accredited law schools would be reunited into one under a recommendation from university President Neeli Bendapudi. She and other leaders Tuesday cited an “extremely competitive legal education marketplace” and a desire to better focus resources in explaining the plan to combine Penn State Dickinson Law...
East Huntingdon landfill seeks OK for expansion plans
The state is seeking responses to an East Huntingdon landfill operator’s air quality plan for handling emissions from a proposed 82-acre disposal site. Approving the plan would extend the life of the 620-acre landfill outside Scottdale by 18 years. The state Department of Environmental Protection is taking comments until Dec....
Guns seized at Pittsburgh airport down from record levels, but still a problem, TSA says
Traffic is gradually returning to normal at Pittsburgh International Airport, but the number of firearms seized at the airport’s checkpoints doesn’t appear to be going back to pre-pandemic levels. The Transportation Security Administration wants to keep it that way. On Wednesday, agency officials held a news conference at the airport...
Stroke in people Kris Letang’s age, condition not as rare as one might think, experts say
Medical experts Wednesday were not surprised to hear the details of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang’s stroke, saying it might even be considered commonplace for people built as he is. Dr. M. Shazam Hussain, a board- certified neurologist and the director of Cleveland Clinic’s Cerebrovascular Center, estimates one in every...
Nostalgic 3-day festival offers holiday fun in Vandergrift
When people call Denise Lewandowski “Crazy Christmas Lady,” she considers it a compliment. Lewandowski, of Vandergrift, proudly embraces her holiday moniker. She wore a sweatshirt with that phrase on it while preparing Wednesday for a big holiday event this weekend in Vandergrift. She talked about her passion for all things...
Arnold Palmer airport gets extra $2 million in state funds
The state has given a $2 millon boost to the proposed project to double the size of the terminal at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe. The Westmoreland County Airport Authority has been awarded an extra $2 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funding, increasing the state’s commitment to...
Cooper-Siegel, Sharpsburg libraries conduct needs survey of Fox Chapel Area communities
Cooper-Siegel Community Library in Fox Chapel and the Sharpsburg Community Library in Sharpsburg are conducting a survey of residents in and around the Fox Chapel Area School District to better understand the changing needs of the community and ensure that the libraries are investing their resources to maximize the benefits...
Date set for special election to replace the late state Rep. Tony DeLuca
A special election to fill the late state Rep. Tony DeLuca’s vacant seat will be Feb. 7, outgoing House Speaker Bryan Cutler announced Wednesday. DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, passed away in October after a brief battle with lymphoma, but his name still appeared on the November ballot, and he was reelected...
Cleveland man arrested in connection with killing of woman found in Wilkinsburg
Authorities have arrested a Cleveland man wanted in connection with the killing of Adrianna K. Taylor, whose body was found Thanksgiving night in a Wilkinsburg backyard. Anthony Kennedy, 43, surrendered himself to Allegheny County police at police headquarters at 2 p.m. Wednesday and was placed into custody of the U.S....
Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship holds annual student summit
Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship held its Sixth Annual Entrepreneurial Summit on Nov. 11 with the theme “Social Entrepreneur.” Twelve seventh and eighth grade student businesses from five schools throughout the Pittsburgh region participated in the event at Commonwealth Charter Academy in Homestead. The purpose of the event was...
Latrobe police say $4,240 in lottery tickets, cigarettes stolen from Puff N Stuff
A Greensburg man is accused of breaking into a Latrobe store and stealing $4,240 worth of lottery tickets and cigarettes, according to a criminal complaint. Patrick S. Barry, 35, who told a judge he is homeless during his arraignment Tuesday, is charged with burglary, theft and criminal trespass. Latrobe police...
‘Dateline’ profiles murder in Africa of Bianca Rudolph by former Westmoreland dentist
“Dateline” on NBC will cover a murder in Africa with connections to Westmoreland County during Friday’s episode. The long-running investigative series will focus on the 2016 death of Bianca Rudolph while on safari in Zambia with husband Larry Rudolph, who founded and once operated Hempfield-based Three Rivers Dental Group. Larry...
Mall at Robinson sold to New York firm in $46M deal
The Mall at Robinson has been sold to New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group for $46 million. Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate company that brokered the deal, announced the sale Tuesday. The two-level, 874,533-square-foot mall sees more than 4.8 million visitors per year, placing it among the top...
Etna holds the line on real estate taxes but sewage and garbage fees increase
Etna’s preliminary 2023 budget of $5.9 million holds the line on real estate taxes, however, the town’s sewage and garbage fees are going up. An average home assessed at $82,000 currently pays $738 for borough real estate taxes. The borough is passing on rate hikes from ALCOSAN to increase sewage...
Highmark Health reports $268M in losses fueled by declining stock market
More than $670 million in investment losses contributed to an overall net loss for local health care giant Highmark Health during the first nine months of the year, according to the organization’s third-quarter financial report for 2022. Highmark Health reported $19.5 billion in revenue from January through September, about a...
Give the gift of experience
Happy Holidays from the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall! As the paper copy of this issue of the Signal Item hits your doorstep or mailbox on Dec. 8, there are 17 days until Christmas. Is your holiday shopping done? Or, like the much-beloved character Ralphie from “A Christmas...
Westmoreland happenings: craft show, wreath and live greens sale, breakfast with Santa
Art • The Greensburg Art Center will sponsor a bus trip Dec. 14 to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Special exhibits will include Sargent and Spain, Vermeer’s Secrets of Venice and Capaccio’s Italian Art. The bus will leave at 5:30 a.m. from the art center, arrive at...
No tax hike or fee increases in Jefferson Hills 2023 preliminary budget
Jefferson Hills property owners should not expect to pay more in real estate taxes as part of next year’s borough budget. Council unanimously voted Nov. 14 to approve and advertise its 2023 preliminary budget. It maintains the millage rate at 5.66 mills. Council has not raised taxes in about a...
Proposed ordinance to allow backyard chickens in O’Hara scheduled for council consideration in January
A proposal to allow O’Hara Township residents to keep backyard chickens is now before O’Hara Council and is scheduled for consideration at its Jan. 3 meeting. Chickens have never been permitted on township residences under 5 acres. Allowing them on smaller properties has been on the radar for several years....
Bethel Park woman’s club gives back for holidays
The Ruthfred Acres Woman’s Club in Bethel Park welcomed the holiday season with a spirit of thanksgiving and giving back. Donations of 52 toys for children of veterans associated with Operation Troop Appreciation were collected at the club’s Nov. 8 meeting, during which members also were given the opportunity to...
New Kensington getting into Christmas spirit with tree lighting, dinner, parade
The Christmas season starts this weekend in New Kensington. Festivities begin Friday evening with the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree, followed by Mayor Tom Guzzo’s annual free dinner. The city’s Christmas parade will be held downtown Saturday morning, followed by free horse and carriage rides on Fifth Avenue. “This...
Former Steeler’s foundation conducts 10th annual Holiday Giving Program
Youngsters often take what is given to them for granted. Will Allen was an exception. While growing up in Dayton, Ohio, the future Pittsburgh Steeler would go to his elementary school in the summer for breakfast and lunch, and he’d take part in enrichment programs to supplement his basic education....
Fern Hollow Bridge to be finished by end of year, officials say
The new Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s East End is expected to open by the end of the year, city and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials said. “We are anticipating the bridge will be open by the end of the year, and perhaps before Christmas,” PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said....
