Western PA Local News category, Page 1594
Vail Resorts announces raise in base minimum wage to $20 an hour next ski season
Vail Resorts, the parent company of Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain ski areas, announced this week the company will be increasing its minimum wage to $20 per hour for next ski season. The company’s new Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Lynch announced the $20 per hour minimum wage for...
New owners of Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, Laurel Mountain optimistic about futureVideo
As the ski season at Seven Springs begins to wind down, all indications are that the three most well-known Western Pennsylvania ski resorts — Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain— bounced back after the covid-19 pandemic. Although the resorts’ new owner, Vail Resorts Inc., does not disclose resort-specific visitor...
Humanities festival talk explores Pittsburgh’s ‘alternative history’
Think you know all there is to know about Pittsburgh? Author Ed Simon is betting that you don’t. He’ll be talking about his nonfiction book, “An Alternative History of Pittsburgh,” at noon March 26 in the Trust Arts Education Center in downtown Pittsburgh, to open the two-day Core Conversations series...
Pa. sports betting slips, but March Madness may bring recovery
Pennsylvania’s sports betting industry took a hit last month, seemingly contributing to a downward trend in revenues recorded at casinos across the state in February, officials said. In all, casinos generated more than $375.6 million in revenues last month, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. That’s...
Allegheny Township police to be issued firearms, ending practice of carrying personal weapons
Since the 1960s, Allegheny Township police have carried their personal guns on the job, like officers at many small municipal police forces. Starting this year, however, the township’s police will be supplied with township-issued guns. At the March 14 township supervisors meeting, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli presented Allegheny...
Lower Burrell police Sgt. Cernava and K-9 partner Dax to retire: ‘It just seems right’
Lower Burrell’s police K-9 Dax is 11. In dog years, that’s a bit over 60. His handler, Sgt. Steve Cernava, turns 57 next month. By Cernava’s calculation, both are old enough to retire. They’ll work their final day together on the Lower Burrell police force at the end of the...
Quaker Valley officials approve variety of high school upgrades
Quaker Valley High School will receive some upgrades at the end of the school year while the school board moves forward with plans to replace it. The school board recently approved several contracts for work there. The upper asphalt drives and parking lot will be paved and restriped by Bedford-based...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors. Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a deputy...
State aid combats sexual assault, harassment by raising awareness
State-funded programs to combat sexual harassment and violence on campus through education is paying dividends, state education officials were told Friday at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The programs are raising awareness through plays, speakers, activities, workshops and frank discussions, according to Seton Hill officials. In a 45-minute roundtable discussion,...
‘God & Cod’: Community Church of Harrison City hosts 1st Lenten fish fry in 3 years
The fully outfitted fisherman standing along Route 130 — replete with coat, boots, hat and a three-foot long artificial cod dangling from a fishing pole — was the first sign that the traditional Friday Lenten fish fry had returned to the Community Church of Harrison City after a three-year hiatus....
NCAA fans enjoy March Madness in Pittsburgh, except a few from Cleveland
It was one of those scenes that can make a person yearn for the carefree days of youth — when a few cold ones, some tunes, and tickets to a couple of NCAA Tournament games are enough to make your day. And so it was for a couple of guys...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation term
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors. Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five criminal counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a...
Josh Shapiro unveils tax cut and gas rebate plan during Western Pa. visit
Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro visited Western Pennsylvania Friday to unveil his plan to cut taxes and provide rebates in order to offset some of the rising costs residents are currently facing. Shapiro said global forces — like the war in Ukraine, the pandemic, and supply chain...
Murrysville GOP organizer will challenge Silvis in 55th District
A Murrysville political organizer will challenge fellow Republican and state Rep. Jason Silvis in the May primary election for the newly shaped 55th District. Jill Cooper of Murrysville been active in local politics for more than a decade, working as part of the Murrysville Export Republican Committee and serving as...
Shaler North Hills Library fundraiser brings more than 400 participants
During President’s Day weekend, the annual Golf ‘Fore’ Shaler North Hills Library event raised $1,800 for the library. The annual “FUN’raiser as the library calls it, is sponsored by the Friends of SNHL. Before the Fore was held, the public was asked to put their creativity to the test and...
Pittsburgh skyline to turn blue to honor March Madness
The Pittsburgh skyline is lighting up blue Friday night to commemorate what is being billed as the “Ultimate NCAA Basketball Weekend” in Pittsburgh. Several Downtown buildings will light up blue — the same color as the NCAA logo. It’s the Steel City’s way of welcoming college basketball fans from around...
Cranberry man charged in Jan. 6 Capitol attack
A Cranberry man with a military background faces federal charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol insurrection last year in Washington, D.C., federal officials said. Jordan Bonenberger, 26, is charged with disorderly conduct in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; entering and remaining in a restricted building;...
Amazon’s withdrawal from Churchill development met with mixed reactions
News that Amazon will not forge ahead with its plans to build a massive warehouse in Churchill was met with mixed reactions Friday. Amazon’s decision to nix the proposed 2.6-million square-foot warehouse, which was to be developed at the former site of the George Westinghouse Research Park, came after more...
Study identifies potential east suburb path to connect Westmoreland, Allegheny trails
Allegheny County officials on Friday released a feasibility study for a project connecting the Westmoreland Heritage Trail to the Great Allegheny Passage by way of the Turtle Creek Valley, which runs through Pittsburgh’s east suburbs. Several proposed routes could serve to link the Westmoreland Heritage Trail from its western terminus...
Carla Sands returns to her roots, speaks to Hempfield students as she stumps to be GOP’s Senate candidate
Carla Sands, former President Trump’s ambassador to Denmark who is vying for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat, took her campaign to a local high school Thursday where she pitched her views to a group of seniors while digging into her Westmoreland County ties. Speaking to a class of about 100...
Murrysville teen heads to eastern regional skiing championships in Vermont
The competition generated by sibling rivalry means that following in your big brother’s or sister’s footsteps isn’t always appealing. But for Becket Pottinger of Murrysville, whose older siblings were both competitive skiers, it’s motivation. “Watching the way they ski, hearing the advice they’ve been given, plus going to almost all...
Port Authority workers protest vaccine mandate, cite religious exemptionsVideo
Dozens of unvaccinated Port Authority of Allegheny County employees and their supporters gathered Downtown Friday morning to protest the agency’s vaccine mandate, even as officials said more than 140 workers have returned to work this week after getting fully vaccinated. Many of the employees protesting Friday outside of the Port...
Woman rescued after jumping from New Kensington Bridge
A woman was rescued from the Allegheny River after jumping from the New Kensington Bridge on Friday morning. The incident was reported shortly before 10 a.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. The woman was sedated when she was taken from the scene by ambulance, according to officials at the...
Plum Boy Scout earns Eagle rank
Andrew Draganosky of Plum earned Boy Scouting’s highest rank when he successfully completed his Eagle Scout Board of Review in January. He worked in partnership with Holiday Park United Methodist Church to build a garden on the church grounds for prayer and reflection. Using skills built during his scouting career,...
Man accused of selling fentanyl, cocaine after informant buys drugs during sting, police say
Arnold police arrested a man from Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood on Tuesday after they said he sold narcotics to an informant during a sting operation. William Charles “Shug” King, 34, of the 700 block of South 21st Street, was charged with three felony counts of possession of drugs with the...
