Western PA Local News category, Page 837
Therese Rocco, Pittsburgh’s 1st female assistant police chief, dead at 97
Therese Rocco, a devout Catholic, Pittsburgh native and trailblazing police officer who became a role model for women and embraced the saintly task of tracking down missing children as her life’s work, died Monday after several weeks in hospice care at West Penn Hospital. She was 97. Diminutive and dogged,...
Morning roundup: Woman found after going missing from Knoxville; fire at Beaver County manufacturing business
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 12: Missing woman A woman who went missing from the Knoxville area was found safe after four days, according to Pittsburgh police. Caitlin “Cait” Hilpert had last been seen around 10 p.m. Saturday. Police put out a...
O’Hara couple finds home for Tortured Souls brewhouse in New Kensington
The journey from home beer brewer to brewery owner has been a tortuous one for Scott Wyman and his wife, Angie. After the O’Hara couple’s plan to locate their brewery, Tortured Souls Brewing, in a former Sharpsburg church fell through, they looked at multiple places in and around the Pittsburgh...
The Stroller, Dec. 12, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Live Nativity planned in Tarentum Abundant Joy Fellowship will sponsor a...
Tarentum, Cheswick eyeing regional riverfront development
Boat docks are all but gone from the Tarentum riverfront, but they could return in the coming years, alongside a fishing pier, bike trail, canoe rentals or places to eat. The borough is teaming with Cheswick to devise a riverfront development plan to focus on public access to the shoreline...
Display of vintage Irwin buildings was labor of love for borough native
Melvyn Rasel dedicated countless hours and money over four decades to create an homage to his hometown, building small plastic replicas of Irwin landmarks from his childhood in the 1950s as part of an extensive model train layout in his Plum home. His family is now sharing this labor of...
Driver killed after crashing car through embankment, falling upside-down atop garage
First responders struggled to free a woman killed Monday afternoon after she drove her car over a 30- to 40-foot embankment in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, flipping the vehicle upside-down and landing atop an abandoned garage below. Firefighters’ feet literally sunk into the roof of the garage, which already was caving...
Charged teens simply walked away from Westmoreland shelter; county reopens shuttered juvenile center in response
There was nothing to prevent two teens facing criminal charges from just walking out of the Westmoreland County- administered shelter where they were staying, the county’s juvenile detention director said Monday. The teens, Braedon M. Dickinson, 16, who was charged last year with second-degree murder, and Robert Cogdell, 14, who...
Veteran GOP lawmaker from Penn Township says he won’t run again for state House
George Dunbar’s upcoming 14th year representing residents of Westmoreland County’s 56th District in the state House will be his last. A Penn Township resident who has served as the Republican caucus chair since 2021, Dunbar announced Monday he doesn’t intend to seek an eighth two-year term in the House. “It’s...
$13M project to address landslide risks in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington
Pittsburgh is spending $13 million on a project that officials say will reduce landslide risks in Mt. Washington. The neighborhood has endured several significant landslides in recent years, with debris falling onto streets or walking paths where hillsides are unstable. City are focusing the latest project on three areas that...
Developer plans apartments, townhouses at UPMC South Side hospital site
A developer is planning to replace a former hospital on Pittsburgh’s South Side with apartments and townhouses. Walnut Capital has acquired the 5.5-acre former UPMC South Side hospital complex on Mary, Jane and Josephine streets in the South Side Flats for $9.3 million. The deal was inked in November through...
Western Pa. lawmaker’s bill would expand use of forensic genetic genealogy
A Western Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to expand law enforcement’s ability to use a more-detailed form of DNA analysis when identifying victims in cold cases. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, introduced the Cold Case Modernization Act which would expand the criteria for federal Department of Justice grants funding the use of forensic...
East 7th sewer work in Tarentum moving forward, largely paid by grants
A major sewer project is finally moving forward in Tarentum, four years after council first started considering the work. Manager Dwight Boddorf said work near East Seventh Avenue and South Ormond Street is back on the books. “This is big for us,” he said. The work is part of a...
4-year-old’s shooting leads to charges for Rostraver couple
The parents of a 4-year-old Rostraver boy who accidentally shot himself in the head this summer are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangering, according to court documents. Laura C. Steele, 32, and Michael Lynn, 37, kept the loaded gun unsecured under the bed in their...
Fox Chapel glows in 1st light up event
A visit from Santa, children’s activities, hot chocolate, the lighting of Christmas tree and a Menorah display were all part of the inaugural Light Up Fox Chapel on Dec. 6 at the borough building, 401 Fox Chapel Road. Fox Chapel Borough and the Cooper-Siegel Library partnered to host the event....
Southwestern Pa. Commission to look for ways to reduce traffic deaths in Allegheny County
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission has received $520,000 in federal funding to develop a plan to make streets safer in Allegheny County, which is coming off its deadliest traffic year in nearly two decades. Last year, Allegheny County saw 84 traffic fatalities, the most since 2005, according to PennDOT. After a...
Blawnox festivities help welcome the holiday season
Blawnox hosted a day-long celebration on Dec. 2 to celebrate the holiday season. The annual Best of Blawnox Cookie Tour kicked off events. More than 20 vendors signed up for cookie sampling and giveaways. Families decorated ornaments to put on the borough tree or could take them home. Santa arrived...
Route 28 near Fox Chapel will be limited to single lanes this week
Motorists who use Route 28 near Fox Chapel should allow extra travel time this week. Single-lane restrictions in both directions will be in place Wednesday and Thursday while crews install message boards, PennDOT announced. In the northbound lanes, work is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Exit 7...
Indiana Township District 1 supervisor race decided by 1 vote
The race for Indiana Township supervisor in District 1 has been decided by one vote. Republican incumbent Paul Jorgensen will retain his seat after beating Democratic challenger Amy Giammattei by the narrowest of margins, 218 votes to 217. The contest landed in a tie on election night, leaving the candidates...
East Deer to take comments on proposed billboard ordinance this week
East Deer taxpayers will get the opportunity to comment on the township’s proposed billboard rules during a township commissioners’ meeting this week. Commissioners will hold a public hearing Thursday on a proposed billboard ordinance, which, if adopted, amends the township’s zoning ordinance for the regulation of billboards within East Deer....
Fox Chapel Presbyterian hosts ‘Longest Night’ service
Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church is hosting The Longest Night Service, a quiet service of music and reflection for those seeking peace during the holiday season. The service will be at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 in the atrium of the church located at 384 Fox Chapel Road in Fox Chapel....
National average gas cost falls for 3 months straight, at lowest level this year
The national average gasoline price has fallen for three straight months and is at its lowest level this year as oil prices continue to respond to cooling demand, an industry analyst said. “With nearly 80,000 gas stations in the U.S. now priced below $3 per gallon, and 23 states also...
Audubon Christmas Bird Count adds Mon Valley research area for 2023
Western Pennsylvania residents participating in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count will have a new place to spot them this year. “We’re adding a circle in the Mon Valley, a 15-mile radius centered on White Oak Park,” said Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania Community Conservation Coordinator Ben Kehoe. The...
New Arnold mayor plans to bring back city manager, remove police chief
Shannon Santucci says she ran for mayor of Arnold to make changes, and some of those changes will come quickly after she takes the office in January. With an anticipated council majority, Santucci intends to rehire Mario Bellavia as city manager and remove police Chief Eric Doutt. Council voted to...
Lawmakers consider declaring 2023 ‘Taylor Swift Era’ in Pennsylvania
Taylor Swift’s widespread popularity could soon be commemorated by the Pennsylvania state legislature. Three Democratic state representatives from suburban Philadelphia — Danielle Friel Otten of Chester County, Jennifer O’Mara of Delaware County and Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz of Berks County, where Swift grew up — introduced a resolution Friday to declare 2023...
