Western PA Local News category, Page 2239
Western Pa. hair salons make the cut on latest covid restrictionsVideo
Becky Goodwin was on “pins and needles all week.” The owner of Tula Organic Salon & Spa in Squirrel Hill was worried about Gov. Tom Wolf ordering another shutdown. Goodwin’s business, along with other salons and barber shops in the state, was ordered closed for three months between March and...
Point Park University introduces scholarship for transfer students from state university system
Point Park University announced the launch of a new program for transfer students aimed at students who may have been misplaced by recent restructuring in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. It’s called the Smooth Transition Program. “The talk of mergers of state system schools and the elimination and...
Hundreds turn out for Unity’s drive-thru visit with Santa
The Unity supervisors have hosted a community holiday celebration near the township municipal building, complete with a Christmas tree, since 2009. This year, in keeping with pandemic precautions, those attending stayed in their cars, greeted with a wave from Santa before dropping off letters to the jolly old elf and...
Leechburg man turns yard — and neighbors’ — into synchronized holiday light-and-music showVideo
Leechburg is shining bright thanks to the generosity of a Main Street resident. Clyde Lindsey is the creator of Leechburg Lights, the annual synchronized holiday light-and-music show now open for the 2020-21 season. It’s in its 13th year. Lindsey is a nationally recognized professional lighting programmer. What began as a...
AHN leader named one of 2020’s 100 most influential leaders by national magazine
Allegheny Health Network’s president and CEO has been recognized as a top leader in the health care industry. Cynthia Hundorfean, who has held AHN’s top spot since 2016, was named one of 2020’s 100 most influential people by Modern Healthcare magazine. It’s the second year in a row she has...
With new mitigation orders, operational changes made at Allegheny County parks
The Allegheny County Parks Department is the latest entity to announce operational changes after Gov. Tom Wolf this week issued new orders to help curb the spread of covid-19. According to the parks department, all indoor facility rentals and sports and fitness programs including flag football, hockey leagues, hockey lessons...
Man shot last week in Homestead dies
A 52-year-old man who was in critical condition after a shooting in Homestead earlier this month died Friday afternoon, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. William P. Wright of Homestead was pronounced dead at an area hospital after he was involved in a Dec. 4 shooting, officials said....
Irwin hikes property tax by 15%; raises pay for workers
Irwin Borough property owners will pay about 15% more in real estate taxes next year. The 2021 budget of $4.79 million raises taxes three mills. Irwin Council approved the budget Wednesday, which raises the tax rate from 20 mills to 23 mills. Two of the three additional mills will be...
Pa. state prisons announce inmate deaths related to covid-19
Three state prisoners died this week after they contracted covid-19, officials with the state Department of Corrections announced Friday. The inmates were imprisoned at SCI Fayette, SCI Somerset and SCI Waymart, which is in Clinton County near central Pennsylvania. They were the first deaths related to covid-19 at each of...
Covid cases continue to ravage Pennsylvania jails, prisons
Jails and prisons across Pennsylvania are being overwhelmed by the spread of covid-19, and advocates for the incarcerated population fear it will get worse before it gets better. As the numbers skyrocketed this week, the state Department of Corrections reported that a 77-year-old inmate with pre-existing conditions died on Thursday...
Play it Forward Pittsburgh Toy Drive changes game plan because of Wolf’s covid-19 ordersVideo
The plan to distribute toys to 200 families on Friday and 300 on Saturday turned into 500 on the same day. That doesn’t sound like fun, but organizers of the Play it Forward Pittsburgh Toy Drive scrambled to make sure bicycles, trucks, dolls, stuffed animals and more get into the...
Western Pa. hair salons make the cut on latest covid restrictionsVideo
Becky Goodwin was on “pins and needles all week.” The owner of Tula Organic Salon & Spa in Squirrel Hill was worried about Gov. Tom Wolf ordering another shutdown. Goodwin’s business, along with other salons and barber shops in the state, was ordered closed for three months between March and...
Westmoreland courthouse to operate by appointment only through December
Westmoreland County officials said Friday that most business at the courthouse in Greensburg will be conducted by appointment only through the end of December. Commissioners said all county offices will continue to operate during the three-week period of new restrictions announced earlier this week by Gov. Tom Wolf amid the...
Westmoreland Mall’s Cash-In Culture closing, moving online
Tim Hartman gets a bit wistful when he talks about the ’80s. “It was a new dawn of pop culture,” said Hartman, co-owner of Cash-In Culture, a store that celebrates his passion for the past. With his love of the era comes a love of malls. A self-described “retail hound,”...
North Huntingdon says ‘no’ to Wolf’s limits on indoor crowds
A few hours after Gov. Wolf announced new covid limits for indoor gatherings to 10 people Thursday, North Huntingdon officials essentially thumbed their nose at him, saying anyone can attend their public meeting on Dec. 16. “It they (residents) want to come, they can come and speak,” said Zachary Haigis,...
Food truck owner hosts ‘ghost kitchen’ in Vandergrift
Tom Scanga, owner of Del Vecchio’s Sausage & Fries, is branching out this weekend with a ghost kitchen — a temporary, pop-up restaurant focusing on something completely outside of his specialty. Friday through Sunday, from 3 to 7 p.m., Scanga will be operating out of his commissary at 328 Lowell...
Nashville police make arrest in killing of Butler County native
Nashville police on Friday arrested a man in connection with the killing of a Butler native who was on her way to her shift as a nurse at a Tennessee hospital. Caitlyn Kaufman, 26, was shot and killed Dec. 3 as she drove on I-440. An officer discovered her body...
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts unveils smartphone app
The Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts office is going modern. The office, which oversees all criminal court filings, on Friday unveiled it’s own app. In September, county commissioners approved a $15,000 contract with OVC LLC, a private firm that specializes in the creation of mobile apps for law enforcement, public...
Pair held for court in shooting of 1-year-old boy in Spring Hill
Two men charged with criminal homicide in connection with the shooting death of a 1-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet in Spring Hill this summer will face trial. Andre Crawford, 29, of McKeesport, and Marvin Hill, 41, had a preliminary hearing Friday before Magistrate Judge David J. Barton....
Regent Square’s Frick Park Tavern on ‘pause’ until spring
Even before Gov. Tom Wolf announced new covid-19 orders on Thursday, Jimmy Brown planned to temporarily close his Regent Square restaurant. “It doesn’t make sense to stay open the way things are,” said Brown, owner of the Frick Park Tavern on Braddock Avenue. “We are a sit-down and enjoy kind...
Former Leechburg police Chief Diebold granted re-parole
Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold could soon be released from jail after a Westmoreland County judge agreed this week to grant his re-parole. Diebold, 43, has been in jail since Dec. 9, 2019, after he was accused of violating terms of his parole from a 9-to-23-month jail sentence for...
Shooting stars and eclipses — when to watch the sky in 2021
Clouds may block Pittsburgh-area sky watchers from seeing the Geminid meteor shower this weekend, but there’s always next year. In 2021, we’ll have plenty of meteor showers, plus a couple of partial lunar eclipses and one partial solar eclipse. Here’s a schedule of reasons to watch the sky next year,...
Sunday’s Geminid meteor shower likely to be most impressive in years but obscured by clouds
Sunday night is the best chance all year to see shooting stars — or it would be, if the weather behaved. “I don’t see any hope,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Brown. “I just think we’re going to have very high clouds.” The Geminid meteor shower is an annual...
Heinz History Center, Fort Pitt Museum temporarily closing
The Senator John Heinz History Center and Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh will temporarily close due to new covid-19 restrictions. To comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest covid-19 mitigation orders, the facilities will be closed to the public from Saturday through Jan. 3. “The health and safety of visitors, staff,and...
Upper Burrell Dollar General plans on hold because of development issues
Plans for a Dollar General store in Upper Burrell are on hold because of development issues flagged by township officials. Construction of the proposed 7,500-square-foot store along Route 780 near Dewey Drive has raised the concern of some residents because the vacant site where it would be built is in...
