Local category, Page 24
3 men shot in Arnold gunfight, part of a domestic dispute, officials say
Three men were taken to the hospital after they were shot in Arnold on Wednesday night. Mayor Shannon Santucci said the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute. A report of shots fired came in just after 7 p.m. Wednesday in the 2100 block of Leishman Avenue. Chief Rob Haus said...
Highmark, spurred on by state law, offers no-cost breast imaging
Highmark has introduced no-cost breast imaging as part of an above-and-beyond push to comply with a new Pennsylvania law. The Pittsburgh-based insurer, which boasts more than 7 million members, began fully covering advanced mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs in the new year. Doctors use these tests to investigate possible signs of...
Pa. regulators assess how electric companies handled deadly April storm
A comprehensive report issued this week by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on the deadly April 29 storm in Southwestern Pennsylvania found utility companies’ preparations were “generally appropriate” but said there was room for improvement. The commission analyzed how electric companies responded to the massive storm whose 70-80 mph winds...
Westmoreland jury convicts defendant of drug offenses who refused to attend his trial
A Westmoreland County jury took just nine minutes to convict a Philadelphia man of three drug offenses after he refused to appear in court for his trial. Rysheid Malik Baldwin, 44, was to serve as his own lawyer in what was expected to be a three-day trial on charges that...
Jury expected to begin deliberations in child endangerment trial for Monessen parents
One of two Monessen parents charged with endangering their 2-year-old twins told a jury Wednesday he had not seen his children on the day they were found by police. The children were trapped in an upstairs bedroom surrounded in squalor, according to Westmoreland County prosecutors. Jerimiah Roberts, 32, testified he...
Pittsburgh investment manager pleads guilty to $3.7M wire fraud
A Pittsburgh investment manager pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single count of wire fraud to resolve accusations he diverted more than $3.7 million from a family’s investment fund. Thomas Pipich Jr., 74, will be sentenced May 12 in federal court. The maximum sentence can include up to 20 years in...
Freeport appoints 2 new council members
Two residents became the newest Freeport Council members on Monday night, but not three, as there could have been. Carrie Irvine and Pete Wesolosky were both unanimously appointed to their seats by the rest of council. One of the two seats was left open because of a discrepancy on Freeport...
McCandless couple charged in ‘elaborate’ food-stamp fraud
Pennsylvania’s attorney general has charged a McCandless couple with running an “elaborate scheme” to illegally buy food stamps at a cut rate, use them to purchase nearly $180,000 in food from area stores, then resell the items at their Pittsburgh deli and restaurant. Rachna Anwar, 46, and her husband, Munir...
Fox Chapel Area telethon tops $101,000 to benefit local nonprofit
A nonprofit that helps Fox Chapel Area children and families has found itself on the receiving end of community outreach. Fox Families Care was awarded $101,000 over the holiday season as the beneficiary of the Fox Chapel Area School District telethon. The 36th annual fundraiser on Dec. 23 involved students...
Harrison’s new trash hauler, Noble Environmental, asks for patience
Some Harrison residents are questioning the township’s move to a new garbage hauler after what they say was a bumpy first week of collections. But Noble Environmental is ensuring that kinks in the new collection routes will be ironed out quickly. And they are asking for patience. “We’ve been inundated...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announces closure
Owners of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced Wednesday they will cease operations May 3, shuttering one of the oldest metropolitan newspapers in the country. Jodi Miehls, president of Block Communications, informed staff of the decision during a pre-recorded, 2½-minute Zoom call Wednesday afternoon. Block Communications, which has owned the Post-Gazette since...
Police seek man who ran from officers serving arrest warrant in Latrobe
A man accused of kidnapping his wife to Kentucky fled from police Tuesday night as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant in a new case filed by Rostraver police. Latrobe police Lt. Michael Wigand said officers were helping their counterparts from Rostraver serve an arrest warrant on Shawn Michael...
Franklin Park’s 1st female mayor eager to get started as council reorganizes for new year
It’s official. Franklin Park’s new mayor, Cristen Fiffik, a Democrat, was sworn in during the borough’s reorganization meeting Jan. 5, replacing Dennis O’Keefe, who served as mayor for three terms. Republican O’Keefe lost to Fiffik, 3,092 to 2,738. Mayoral terms in Franklin Park are four years. Fiffik shared her appreciation...
Woman accused of abandoning 12 cats in Allegheny Township faces cruelty charges
Allegheny Township police have accused a woman of abandoning a dozen cats in her apartment without food after she was evicted in October, leaving some severely emaciated. Laura Zboravan, 56, who now lives in Gilpin, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and several misdemeanor animal...
Nominations open again for Pittsburgh Walk of Fame
Nominations are once again open for the next induction class of the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame. In October, the first 10 bronze stars were unveiled in the Hollywood-style installation embedded in the sidewalk in front of The Terminal in the Strip District, which runs along Smallman Street. The first induction...
1 of 2 $500,000 jackpot-winning Pa. lottery tickets sold at McCandless pharmacy
Someone has won big in McCandless, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Jan. 7. A $500,000 jackpot-winning Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket from the Jan. 6 drawing was sold at Adzema Pharmacy along Perry Highway. It was one of two tickets sold, winning a combined $1 million, that matched all five...
Penn Hills mayor challenges interim manager appointment process
After the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting, Penn Hills remains without a manager. Mayor Pauline Calabrese announced she filed an emergency injunction to stop what she claims is an “unlawful appointment process” of an interim municipal manager. The need for a full-time manager comes after a Dec. 15 council meeting where...
Blawnox woman recounts parents’ harrowing Holocaust ordeal
The daughter of two Holocaust survivors will share her parents’ poignant account during a program Tuesday in Fox Chapel. Deborah Leuchter Stueber of Blawnox will be the guest speaker at the Holocaust Remembrance event, hosted by the Fox Chapel Area affiliate of the American Association of University Women. The daughter...
Venezuelan community in Western Pa. conflicted over Maduro’s detentionVideo
Beechview resident Orlando Aguilar remembers waking about 2 a.m. to frantic text messages from his friends in Venezuela. The messages described the sound of explosions, during what Aguilar would later realize was the beginning of Operation Absolute Resolve, a United States operation to attack Venezuela and capture President Nicolás Maduro...
Got turkeys? The Pennsylvania Game Commission wants to know
Thanksgiving is long gone, but for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, it’s time to talk turkey — specifically, where they are and how many you see. The commission is making its annual request for public assistance in reporting the location of turkey flocks they see between now and March 15, as...
Allegheny County health officials blast new federal childhood vaccine guidelines
Allegheny County health authorities on Wednesday rejected the federal government’s new childhood vaccine guidelines, promising to stick with the science on immunization practices. “Departing from long-standing, evidence-based recommendations deters public trust and weakens the very foundation of public health that communities rely on in moments of uncertainty,” Allegheny County Public...
Traffic signal replacement begins at Main and Clopper streets in Greensburg after windstorm
Motorists will have to obey stop signs for the foreseeable future on Greensburg’s Main Street after a traffic light blew over in high winds last month. Superintendent of streets Tom Bell said the mast arm that held up the traffic light at the three-way intersection with Clopper Street was damaged...
Oakmont Council welcomes new and familiar faces for 2026
Oakmont Council underwent its annual shuffle on Jan. 5. Newcomers James “Jim” Parsons and Charles Fox were sworn into four-year seats on council alongside returning council members Amanda Pagnotta and Isaiah Wilson. After taking her oath of office earlier in the day, newly reelected Mayor Sophia Facaros swore in the...
New members join Plum Council, leaders named
November’s four election victors officially joined Plum Council on Monday, Jan. 5. Ryan Delaney, James McBride, Raymond Rall and Phoebus Apollo were sworn-in to their posts by District Judge Mike Doyle at the borough’s reorganization meeting. The four were part of a Democratic slate that swept aside Republican incumbents Paul...
Stretch of I-79 in Washington County reopens after rockslide
Interstate 79 in Washington County is open to traffic again following a Wednesday morning rockslide that shut down its northbound lanes. Crews reopened the lanes around 8:35 a.m. after removing rock debris that had fallen on the roadway, said Melissa Maczko, a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman. Southbound traffic was...
