Western PA Local News category, Page 1698
North Apollo vintage stainless steel Yak Diner hits the road for move to new home
There’s more than meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes keeping the old stainless steel Yak Diner in North Apollo going. The manufactured 1955 O’Mahony diner is a movable prefab building, and it has to go. The new diner owners will hook the Yak to a semitrailer Monday to move it just...
Temporary power shutoff planned in parts of Washington Township for system upgrades
Several hundred residents in Washington Township will have their electric power shut off for part of the day on Wednesday so upgrades can be made to West Penn Power’s facilities, utility officials announced. The planned power outage will affect 229 customers in the area of Goldfinch and Mallard drives as...
Pittsburgh partners with food bank with help from firefighters
A pilot program will enable Pittsburgh firefighters to distribute food to residents in need who often call 911 for non-emergency health and safety concerns. The program — a collaboration between Mayor Bill Peduto’s office, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, the Office of Community Health and Safety and the Greater Pittsburgh...
2 in critical condition following hit-and-run crash in Tarentum
Allegheny County Police investigators are pursuing information on a hit-and-run crash that critically injured two pedestrians Thursday on the Tarentum Bridge. The two people injured — an adult and juvenile — were transported by ambulance to undisclosed area hospitals after the 6:04 p.m. crash. Police reported the collision occurred in...
UPMC receives limited supply of preventative antibody treatment for the most immunocompromised
George Spine Jr. thought it was a scam when he first got a call from UPMC around 7:45 a.m. Thursday offering a new antibody treatment meant to protect the most immunocompromised before they’re exposed to covid-19. “I thought it was a scam, so I gave the girl a hard time,”...
Police seek information on purse theft at Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino
State police gaming enforcement officers are asking for the public’s help as they try to identify a man accused of taking an 85-year-old woman’s purse at Rivers Casino early Sunday. The victim forgot her purse — which contained her cellphone, an unspecified amount of cash and credit cards — at...
University of Pittsburgh issues shelter-in-place request, required covid testing for students
The University of Pittsburgh’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office has released a plan for the spring semester that includes a phased move-in beginning Jan. 8 along with a shelter-in-place request and testing for students. Pitt will make available one covid-19 test through Quest Diagnostics for all of the approximately 34,000 students...
Notable deaths in Westmoreland County in 2021
Here are a few of the notable people who lived, served and loved Westmoreland County who died in 2021. State Rep. Mike Reese State Rep. Mike Reese, 42, of Mt. Pleasant Township, was a 12-year House veteran representing Westmoreland and Somerset county residents in the 59th Legislative District....
State police: Man accused of dealing drugs after car stopped for speeding in North Buffalo
State police accused a man of dealing drugs after, police say, they found nearly 9 ounces of marijuana in his car during a traffic stop in North Buffalo Township. Bradly Alan Wiles, 35, of Oliver Road in Boggs Township, Armstrong County, was charged with one felony count of possession of...
Charges dismissed against Pitt basketball player Ithiel Horton, could be refiled
Criminal charges accusing Pitt basketball player Ithiel Horton of punching a city police officer were dismissed Thursday but are likely to be refiled, officials said. Magisterial District Randy Martini dismissed the charges after the prosecution attempted to postpone the case for a second time when witnesses failed to appear. Mike...
Allegheny County covid cases skyrocket as omicron spreads
The number of new covid-19 cases in Allegheny County has grown exponentially this week, with nearly 2,000 new cases reported Thursday — a sign health director Dr. Debra Bogen said is a likely due to the quick-spreading omicron variant. From Monday to Tuesday, the county recorded 654 new cases, followed...
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust unveils 50-foot rabbit installation for First Night
Easter is months away. But that didn’t prevent this bunny family from hopping into town on Thursday. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust inflated a large 50-foot animal with floppy ears and three smaller similar creatures as part of its Highmark First Night Pittsburgh event, which is happening from 6 p.m. to...
Pittsburgh public safety leader will not be part of new mayor’s administration
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said he’s been informed that he will not be retained under Mayor-elect Ed Gainey’s incoming administration. “We’ve seen lots of change, and even trying times together, and hopefully we were able to make a positive difference over these past six years,” Hissrich said Thursday...
More Peduto staffers announce departures
Three more senior administration officials on Thursday announced they would be leaving Pittsburgh government jobs ahead of Mayor-elect Ed Gainey taking office next week. Lindsay Powell, who serves as Mayor Bill Peduto’s assistant chief of staff and policy director, began working for the city in 2017 as a policy analyst....
Longtime Shanksville fire chief, who responded on 9/11, in need of heart transplant
The Somerset County area is digging deep to help longtime area firefighter Terry Shaffer, who was Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department’s chief when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on 9/11. Shaffer, 66, was admitted last week to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of congestive heart failure, according to his...
Scottdale man accused of ramming another vehicle in Hempfield
A Scottdale man is behind bars after state police said he rammed another vehicle in Hempfield on Wednesday, according to court papers. Jeffery E. Stafford, 35, is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, reckless endangerment, accidents involving damage to an attended vehicle and several summary traffic violations, including driving with...
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County stories of the year in 2021
The covid-19 pandemic continued to dominate daily news cycles this year in Western Pennsylvania and beyond. But many other news events occurred in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in 2021 — including the election of Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor and the arrests of dozens of Western Pennsylvanians after the riot at...
Jeannette man sentenced to state prison in sex assault of teen girl
A Jeannette man was sentenced Tuesday to six to 12 years in a state prison in connection with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Steven Alan Deluke, 43, was ordered to spend three years on probation after the prison term. He pleaded guilty in June to involuntary deviate sexual...
Get the Led Out brings ‘whole lotta’ Led Zeppelin to GreensburgVideo
“The Song Remains the Same” is a 1976 concert film documenting Led Zeppelin’s 1973 three-night stand at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. You could say it’s also the motto of Philadelphia-based tribute band, Get the Led Out, which plays note-for-note versions of the classic British rock band’s recordings. Long...
Washington Township man jailed after standoff with police
A 45-year-old Washington Township man accused of assaulting a teenage girl and threatening her with a rifle surrendered to police after a four-hour standoff early Wednesday, according to court documents. Township police arrested Calvin C. Creighton Jr. at his home on the 100 block of Turack Road just after 4...
State lawmakers vow to better protect care home residents from convicted sex offenders
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No central registry in Pennsylvania tracks convicted sex offenders placed in nursing care facilitiesVideo
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Brighton Rehab no stranger to federal, state scrutiny for resident care
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Follow-ups by journalists to an earlier covid-related story uncovered a horrid reality in Pennsylvania’s long-term care facilities
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When there’s no room at nursing facilities, convicted sex offenders often land in unregulated boarding homes
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