Western PA Local News category, Page 1722
West Mifflin man arrested, accused of killing his mother
A West Mifflin man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his mother and discarding her body in garbage bags in her back yard. Jonathan Nulty, 21, is charges with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Allegheny County Police said the case began as a missing person...
Pivik Elementary students, staff rally around Plum student who recently completed chemotherapyVideo
Pivik Elementary third grader Joey Byrnes is a superhero to his family, classmates and teachers. It’s not because he has super strength or heat vision or leaps tall buildings in a single bound. He has the power of positivity and a strong will. The Plum student recently completed his last...
Westmoreland water authority: Adamsburg waterline break won’t be fixed until at least late Saturday
Crews finished repairing a waterline break along Edna Road in Hempfield on Saturday night, according to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. The waterline break was reported at about 3 p.m. Friday, leaving about 60 customers without water service. The repair was completed around 7:30 Saturday evening, according to MAWC...
Rest of December to feel more like September in Western Pa.
It’s beginning to look a lot like…spring? Maybe the alternative rock group Counting Crows should change the name of their hit song to “A Warm December.” Temperatures are expected to reach the mid 60s by Saturday and after a slight cool down to the mid 40s on Sunday, we’ll be...
2 dozen Arnold Manor residents displaced by fire expected to return to high-rise Tuesday
Residents displaced by a fire Thursday at Arnold Manor public housing in Arnold are expected to return to their apartments next week. The 76-unit high-rise complex, built in the 1970s, was evacuated about 2 p.m. Thursday when a fire erupted in apartment No. 411. The American Red Cross and a...
Beaver County district attorney consulted with state police before shooting, then ruled it justified
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — In 2016, after eight hours of a violent standoff with a man in Beaver County, the Pennsylvania State Police...
Twin brother defense rejected in appeal of Jeannette shooting case
A state appeals court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction and life prison sentence of a Penn Hills man who claimed his dead twin brother was responsible for a fatal shooting in Jeannette in 2017. A three judge-panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled this week there was no merit...
Elliott Group steps up to pay for Jeannette police camera lease for 2 years
The cost of dash and body cameras for the Jeannette Police Department will be paid for by Elliott Group for the first two years of a five-year lease. The donation was a surprise to city officials, who discussed this week adding the measure of protection for $15,700 annually. Council on...
Police warning Hempfield, Greensburg and North Huntingdon residents of recent surge in vehicle, home break-ins
Police are warning residents in several Westmoreland County communities, including Greensburg, Hempfield and North Huntingdon, about a recent surge in vehicle and home break-ins. On Friday, state police released photographs taken from residential security cameras of people who are suspected of looking for unlocked cars and trucks in the vicinity...
Jeannette passes budget with no property tax increase
Jeannette Council passed a 2022 spending plan that does not raise property taxes, according to chief fiscal officer Ethan Keedy. The $6 million budget anticipates the city will get about $1.9 million in property taxes. The costliest departments are police at $2.2 million, trash collection at $998,000, the fire department...
Unity holds taxes steady, eyes $1.2M federal funding boost for 2022
Unity Supervisors this week adopted a final 2022 township budget of $9.1 million that holds the line on taxes and includes a second year of supplementary federal funding through the American Rescue Plan. Supervisor Mike O’Barto cited ongoing property development for allowing the township to keep its real estate tax...
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics packs plane with toys for kids in need
The students and staff of the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics are giving Santa a run for his money. For the second year in a row, PIA challenged its students and staff to fill a King Air plane (a utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft) from nose to tail with toys to...
Georgia man arrested in Rostraver for using fake ID to buy iPhones, Airpods
A Georgia man who was being questioned Thursday by Rostraver police for allegedly using false information to purchase two iPhones at a Verizon store was arrested after he began struggling with an officer, according to court documents. Christopher D. Pace, 43, of Snellville, Ga., was arrested by township police for...
Shetler transferred to Westmoreland jail, claims additional medical care needed
A former St. Clair Township man acquitted of murder in the 2015 killing of a police officer is back in the Westmoreland County Prison, where he will remain pending the outcome of new case stemming from his arrest this week for alleged probation violations. Ray Allen Shetler Jr., 37, appeared...
Vandergrift man accused of strangling girlfriend when she caught him using dating app
Vandergrift police say a man beat and strangled his girlfriend after she discovered him using the Tinder dating app, authorities say. Steven Joseph Trenga, 26, of Wallace Street in Vandergrift was charged with a felony count of strangulation and a lesser charge of simple assault in connection with a Dec....
Menards mum on Hempfield store plans, township officials remain hopeful for 2022Video
The site of a proposed Menards home improvement store in Hempfield has largely sat idle for most of the year, but township leaders are hopeful the project will resume in 2022. Menards, a Wisconsin-based chain, is slated to occupy the former site of the Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and...
Police say Lower Burrell man driving with toddler in car had heroin, other narcotics
A man has been charged with three felony drug counts and a dozen other offenses, including endangering the welfare of a child, after an Arnold patrol officer said he saw him toss a bag of suspected narcotics out of his vehicle. Joseph Christopher Marzullo, 34, of Michigan Avenue, Lower Burrell,...
Greensburg Salem parents speak out on school safety, board president’s Facebook post about Kyle Rittenhouse
Greensburg Salem parents have raised concerns about school safety following a recent middle school incident and a board member’s Facebook post referencing the Kyle Rittenhouse homicide case in Wisconsin. Speaking at the December school board meeting this week, Valerie Stillwagon criticized district administrators for not informing herself and other parents...
Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg leaders split on potential annexation
A meeting held Thursday on a proposal for Pittsburgh to annex neighboring Wilkinsburg revealed clear divisions of opinion on the would-be move, even as details about the proposal remain largely unclear. “I don’t feel that I — or any of us on council or members of the public — have...
Van Gogh hot air balloon hovers over Oakland
Vincent Van Gogh has been called a larger-than-life character, and on Friday morning in Schenley Park, he was — kind of. A 92-foot-tall Vincent Van Gogh hot air balloon made a stop on Flagstaff Hill in Oakland. It was one of the balloon’s first stops as it travels around the...
Harrison man charged with assaulting officer arresting him in domestic dispute
Harrison police charged a man with aggravated assault after officials say an officer was kneed in the head while trying to take him into custody during a domestic dispute. Altamese Thompson, 28, of Park Avenue, was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault, along with two counts of making...
Westmoreland Symphony’s ‘Home for the Holidays’ returns to Palace Theatre
“There’s no place like home for the holidays,” says the old Harold Arlen song. And there’s no place like The Palace Theatre for Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s annual “Home for the Holidays” concert. After going virtual for the 2020 performance, the orchestra will be back on stage at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18...
Jeannette officials consider raising residential garbage rates
Jeannette council is considering raising residential garbage rates. Just how much remains to be seen. The group on Tuesday discussed potential amounts with no firm decision. They could vote on the measure at a council meeting Dec. 28. The sanitation department’s 2022 budget shows a decrease in expected net profit...
David A. Regoli, respected lawyer, former judge from Lower Burrell, dead at 56
Tributes began rolling in on social media hours before the family announced the sad news. David A. Regoli, 56, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. A lawyer, former Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court judge and Lower Burrell councilman, his unexpected death due to complications from a routine cardiac procedure...
National experts assembled for $500 million Parks nuke dump cleanup
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it has assembled a national team of experts for the cleanup of the nuclear dump in Parks Township. The Corps made the announcement during a virtual public meeting Thursday. The Corps is working on a more than $500 million project to dig up...
