Western PA Local News category, Page 2085
Brackenridge couple without insurance lose home, pets to fire
Regina Strobel stood outside what was left of her Brackenridge home in a misty rain Wednesday, a day after it was destroyed by fire. She had been inside looking for anything she could salvage. She found a few pieces of much-needed clothing and a couple mementos. She wasn’t able to...
Pittsburgh tourist charged in fatal Hawaii vacation rental fight
HONOLULU — A tourist from Pittsburgh has been charged with manslaughter after a deadly fight in a Hawaii vacation rental, police said. A second tourist from Boston who had been arrested was released with no charges filed, police on the Big Island said Wednesday. Police were called to a Kailua-Kona...
Extended hours announced for Westmoreland, Monroeville malls
More than a year after the covid-19 pandemic first impacted Westmoreland and Monroeville malls, both locations are set to return to more normal hours. Starting Thursday, hours at both malls will be extended to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, mall officials announced. The malls are currently open...
Braddock Mayor Chardae Jones spurns John Fetterman, endorses Rep. Kenyatta for SenateVideo
Braddock Mayor Chardae Jones on Wednesday endorsed state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta in next year’s U.S. Senate race over her predecessor and fellow resident, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. “When it comes to his beliefs against fracking and his involvement in mental health policy it was a no-brainer to endorse Rep. Malcolm...
North Allegheny hosting online program to address pandemic’s mental health impact
Only research and time will tell the long-term toll the pandemic has taken on mental health and well-being. But North Allegheny School District officials already know that health concerns, isolation during shutdowns and the interruption of routines have frayed many children and adults during the past year. To begin addressing...
In Pittsburgh visit, Biden unveils $2 trillion American Jobs Plan
President Joe Biden traveled to suburban Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon to unveil a $2.3 trillion plan intended to revive the nation’s pandemic-battered economy through new infrastructure and transportation-related projects around the country. Biden deemed his newly released American Jobs Plan to be the greatest American investment “since we built the...
Bogen: Allegheny County has the ‘foundation for a surge’
A significant increase in people ignoring mitigation strategies coupled with more covid-19 variant cases has left Allegheny County with a “foundation for a surge,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, Health Department director. “We are back to where we were in mid-January,” she said. During a virtual news briefing Wednesday, Bogen said...
City of Jeannette and police officer sued for false arrest
A former Jeannette man on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the city and a police officer, contending he was the victim of a false arrest in July 2018. Richard Berger, 53, now of Hempfield, in the two-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County said police acted without probable cause and with...
Allegheny Land Trust given 90-day extension to raise remaining $365K for Churchill Valley Greenway project
The Allegheny Land Trust is still $365,000 short in the quest to close on its Churchill Valley Greenway project. The Sewickley-based nonprofit had until March 31 to raise $3 million in order to close the deal with the owner, Zokaites Properties LP. The plan is to convert the 148 acres...
Leechburg Area High School students start candle-making business
Leechburg Area School District teachers are still finding new ways to alter their curricula a full year into the covid-19 pandemic, adjusting lessons so students miss out on as little as possible. When Leechburg Area High School art teacher Shayle Prorok wrote a new course curriculum for art marketing, the...
Air Force JROTC program taking off at Kiski Area High SchoolVideo
Kiski Area High School senior Alexei Cramer is a young man on a mission. Cramer of Avonmore began pushing for the district to create a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or JROTC, program when he was a freshman. The district formally approved creating an Air Force JROTC program last year,...
Lawsuit alleges discriminatory practices at senior living facilities, including Bethel Park and North Fayette
Several fair housing advocacy groups, including one in Pittsburgh, filed a federal discrimination lawsuit in New York on Tuesday, alleging that seniors with disabilities were being denied reasonable accommodations like parking spots or first-floor units. The lawsuit alleges a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and names...
Jeannette woman hit, killed by train
A Jeannette woman was hit by a train and killed Wednesday, according to the Westmoreland County coroner. Jacqueline A. Wandler, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene on the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Jeannette. Investigators said she was walking along the tracks at 12:40 a.m. when a conductor and engineer...
Pittsburgh officials again reworking law banning evictions during covid pandemic
Pittsburgh City Council members are working to fine-tune a temporary ban on evictions in the city during the coronavirus pandemic. “We are all hoping to be through with the pandemic, but the pandemic isn’t through with us,” Councilwoman Deb Gross told the Tribune-Review Wednesday. “We’re almost through it, and we...
Man accused of fleeing from police, ramming vehicle onto Route 30 in North Huntingdon
A Jeannette man is in jail after police said he was driving erratically Tuesday night in North Huntingdon and rammed another vehicle, pushing it onto Route 30. Township police said Todd Allen Zvara, 54, appeared to be intoxicated during the 9 p.m. incident. He is charged with aggravated assault, fleeing...
AHN names chief medical officer for new Wexford hospital set to open this fall
Allegheny Health Network has appointed Dr. Katie Farah to serve as chief medical officer for the new 160-bed AHN Wexford Hospital scheduled to open this fall. Farah is a practicing gastroenterologist and therapeutic endoscopist with AHN’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and serves as the department’s chief quality officer....
Pitt issues shelter-in-place order amid covid surge
The University of Pittsburgh will increase public health restrictions to its Oakland campus today at 9 p.m., following several days of high covid-19 case numbers. In posts on social media, the university instituted a shelter-in-place period beginning at 9 p.m., which will remain in place “until the (Covid-19 Medical Response...
91 new covid cases reported in Penn-Trafford area between March 9-31, 2021
Ninety-one new covid cases were reported in the Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area between March 9 and March 31, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since the pandemic began, the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities have seen a total of 1,834 confirmed cases. As of March...
Unity man arrested in connection with Latrobe woman’s drug overdose death
A Unity man was arrested Wednesday on police accusations that he sold drugs to a woman who died from an overdose in 2019, according to court papers. Chad E. Ghrist, 42, is charged with drug delivery resulting in death and drug possession. Police said lab reports showed that his DNA...
Allegheny County surpasses 1,000 covid deaths linked to nursing homes
Allegheny County surpassed 1,000 covid deaths associated with long-term care facilities, according to data updated Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Data shows three additional deaths in nursing homes or personal care homes, bringing the county’s total to 1,002 since the pandemic began last March. Allegheny County has the...
Pie Shoppe in Laughlintown gets new look, though popular menu remains sameVideo
When the owners of The Original Pie Shoppe in Laughlintown decided to renovate, they didn’t hire a fancy design firm. They trusted the job to an employee who understood traffic patterns in the popular bakery/breakfast/lunch spot. The employee is clerk Seth Brown of Ligonier, who also is studying marketing and...
Tarentum Bridge, Route 28 projects could cause headaches for motorists
Motorists using the Tarentum Bridge can expect 15-minute rolling closures later this spring and a 16-day closure of the bridge in the summer as part of a $3.2 million project to improve the intersection with Freeport Road, PennDOT officials said Wednesday. PennDOT is working with local officials to ease the...
Pandemic increased pace of I-579 cap project in Pittsburgh, officials say
Building a cap on top of a highway in Downtown Pittsburgh presented its own set of challenges, PennDOT officials said Wednesday. But the $30 million cap project over Interstate 579, commonly called the Crosstown Expressway, that will link the Hill District to Downtown Pittsburgh actually benefited from the decreased traffic...
Pennsylvania reports 4,000+ covid cases for 4th time in a week
Pennsylvania on Wednesday reported its fourth day in the past week with covid-19 case totals above 4,000. The state health department reported 4,557 cases, bringing the state’s total to 1,024,857. Allegheny County added 418 newly reported cases to climb to 85,680, while Westmoreland’s 126 additional cases bumped its total to...
All Pennsylvania residents can schedule covid vaccines in April
All Pennsylvania residents will be eligible to schedule covid vaccination appointments beginning April 19, two weeks ahead of President Biden’s directive of May 1, state health officials said Wednesday. The state Department of Health also launched a new initiative to expand vaccine eligibility to front line workers, including those in...
