Western PA Local News category, Page 1715
Highlands school officials say threat to high school on social media not credible
Highlands School District officials say rumors of a threat against the high school that circulated on social media Thursday morning are not credible. In an email message sent to parents, high school co-principal Laura Burns said school police worked with members of the administration to conduct “a thorough investigation of...
Westmoreland happenings: Breakfast with Santa, bingo and Christmas open house
Fundraisers • A pancake Breakfast with Santa and the Grinch will be from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 19 at Hartford Heights Volunteer Fire Department, Route 30, North Huntingdon. Admission: $8; children 5 to 12, $6; 4 and younger, free. Tickets: 412-742-7020 and at the door. • Lincoln Heights Civic...
Murder conviction reinstated for Penn Township man
A federal appeals court this week reinstated the first-degree murder conviction of a former Penn Township man who has been serving a life prison sentence in connection with the fatal shooting of a romantic rival in 2006. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a...
Buffalo Township supervisors pass $2.8 million budget with 9% tax increase
Homeowners in Buffalo Township will be paying 9% more in property taxes next year. Township supervisors recently approved the tax hike as part of the township’s $2.8 million budget for 2022. The millage will increase from 5.5 to 6 mills. Township real estate taxes for an average home, assessed at...
Aquinas Academy’s high school students stage ‘Our Town’
Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh’s high school theater students performed Thorton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Our Town.” Using two mixed casts, Mike Flynn directed four shows in Aquinas Academy’s Rhodora J. Donahue building on the school’s campus. The first show was performed for students at the end of the school day...
No injuries reported after SWAT responds to domestic dispute in Pittsburgh’s Perry South
Pittsburgh’s SWAT team responded to a domestic dispute in the city’s Perry South neighborhood early Thursday, officials said. Officials responded to the 2600 block of Norwood Avenue where shots were fired around 5 a.m., said Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Cruz said first responders met a man outside the...
Ligonier area provides props as ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ film crew arrives at Compass Inn
Staff at Fort Ligonier and the Laughlintown Antique Mall will be watching carefully when a locally filmed Netflix movie becomes available for viewing. There’s a chance items from either of those sites could make an appearance in “The Pale Blue Eye,” a period murder mystery that is being shot at...
Police: Suspect ID’d after his Social Security card found in confiscated bag of drugs
Allegheny Township police say they were able to identify a suspect who gave them a fake name when they found a satchel of drugs on him with his Social Security card inside the bag. Antwuan Duane Berry, 25, of Broadway Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Banksville neighborhood was charged with felony flight...
From Hollywood to home, Allegheny Township chaps maker roped an interesting life
At 94, Tom Phillips’ hands have served him well. The Leechburg native and Allegheny Township resident wakes up early each day and gets to work making custom leather chaps. He’s been at it for 60 years. “It’s my hobby,” he said. “I start at 6 o’clock in the morning and...
Franktuary becomes latest Pittsburgh hot dog shop to close
There is one less option in Pittsburgh for folks seeking an A-list hot dog. First, it was The Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland, closing early in the pandemic. Then D’s Six Pax and Dogz in Regent Square caught fire last August and closed for several months. (It just reopened...
The Stroller, Dec. 16, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community invited to Springdale Christmas carol social A community Christmas carol social will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Springdale Open...
Delmont library’s matching fundraiser challenge nears $30,000 goal
Last year, Delmont librarian Denni Grassel and members of the library board got an early Christmas gift, when work on their brand-new building allowed them to start moving in just a few days before the holiday. This year, they are on track for another early visit from St. Nick, in...
Sciullo wins Weapons Grand Championship at Zang Invitational
Kevin Sciullo of Wexford, a 4th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, won the Weapons Grand Championship at the Zang Invitational Martial Arts Championship on Nov. 13 in Pittsburgh. Sciullo, 29, has been training in Tae Kwon Do since 2003 and holds rank in Judo and Ju-Jitsu. He has...
Sewickley officials hold the line on taxes with their 2022 budget
Sewickley property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as part of the borough’s 2022 budget. Council approved next year’s spending plan and maintained the millage rate at 6.25 mills via 6-2 vote on Dec. 14. Council president Jeff Neff and vice president Todd Renner dissented....
Westmoreland Airport Authority looks to save $185K through bond refinancing
Westmoreland County Airport Authority expects to save about $185,000 by refinancing bonds issued in 2014. The board Tuesday locked in a rate of 1.58% for refinancing slightly more than $5 million in bonds with Chase Bank, which presented the best of six proposals, according to authority consultant Jay Wenger of...
Sewickley has a new police chief
David Mazza looked into his wife Lisa’s eyes, placed his hand on a Bible provided by his grandfather, Ross Johnson, and pledged to uphold the law and protect the people of Sewickley. The Reserve Township man was sworn in as the borough’s new police chief Tuesday night. Mazza, 50, has...
Multiple vehicles involved in Connellsville crash
Multiple vehicles including a semi truck were involved in a crash Wednesday night in Connellsville, according to emergency officials. The crash happened shortly before 9 p.m. near the Sheetz gas station at the intersection of West Crawford Avenue and South Eighth Street in Connellsville. Multiple people were transported to area...
3 convicted of scheme to smuggle drugs into federal prisons
Three Pittsburgh-area residents were convicted Wednesday by a federal jury on drug distribution and money-laundering charges in connection with a drug ring operating within the federal prison system, according to U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung. Noah Landfried, 37, of Moon Township; Michel Cercone, 48, of Sewickley; and Anthony Smith, 30, of...
Pittsburgh police: Man shot in Knoxville neighborhood, suspect sought
A man was hospitalized after being shot Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said officers responded to a report of a man shot around 11 a.m. Wednesday along the 400 block of Orchard Place. Officers found the victim had been shot in the right shoulder....
Investigations into homeless man’s death after being tased by Pittsburgh police nears completion
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday night that any potential disciplinary action against city police officers involved in the arrest of a homeless man who died after being tased will be handed out before he leaves office in three weeks. A police spokeswoman confirmed that an internal investigation into the...
UPMC Altoona nurses gather in Pittsburgh, call on health care system to address ‘staffing crisis’
Nurses from UPMC Altoona gathered in front of UPMC headquarters in Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower on Wednesday, demanding the health care giant invest more resources into retaining nurses and staving off a staffing shortage they said is jeopardizing patient care. The nurses, represented by the Service Employees International Union...
Allegheny County judge grants name changes sought by 2 transgender women with prior felonies
An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday said that a Pennsylvania law barring people with felony convictions from legally changing their names is unconstitutional. Judge Christine Ward then granted name change petitions to two transgender women with prior felony convictions. Chauntey Mo’Nique Porter and Priscylla Renee Von Noaker testified...
Latrobe man pleads guilty to resisting arrest
A Latrobe man was set to be released from jail Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in connection with an incident in which a city police officer claimed he was bitten during an attempted arrest in September. Codi J. Barger, 27, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of...
FBI suspects more victims in Penn Hills man’s alleged ‘sextortion’ scheme
Federal authorities said Wednesday they believe there are more victims of a Penn Hills man accused last month of extorting minors into providing explicit photos and videos. Kaung Myat Kyaw, 22, was arrested in November and charged federally with enticing a minor to provide sexually explicit content. He was ordered...
Arbitrator judge reinstates former Wilkinsburg police officer to Penn Hills
An arbitrator judge has reinstated former Wilkinsburg police officer Robert Gowans to the Penn Hills Police Department. Penn Hills manager Scott Andrejchak said Gowans was reinstated Nov. 24. The officer’s first day on the job was Dec. 13. Andrejchak declined to comment further. Penn Hills Police Department hired Gowans in...
