Western PA Local News category, Page 999
Popular summer day camp at Hempfield challenged with finding staff
Hempfield’s summer day camp has expanded in popularity, but it is struggling to field enough staff to keep up with demand. “We’re providing a service that is in great need,” Parks and Recreation Director Marissa Haynes said at a township supervisors meeting this week. “We are maxed out everyday, and...
West Deer residents challenge Leto well pad approval
A West Deer community advocacy group and nine residents have formally filed a land use appeal against the township and its board of supervisors over an approved well pad in Bairdford. The filing, submitted Wednesday in Allegheny County Court, alleges that the project’s applicant, Olympus Energy of Canonsburg, failed to...
‘Blessing bouquets’ outreach blooms in Vandergrift
A Vandergrift woman is using her green thumb and the power of flowers to brighten the lives of strangers. Last year, Katie Vance, 33, transformed her front lawn, once a rocky, barely there lawn with two small trees, into a floral oasis, complete with native perennials and annual flowers. Each...
Police: Man who was barricaded in Carrick house Saturday morning taken into custody
A man who had barricaded himself in a Carrick house early Saturday morning as a result of a domestic incident is in police custody, Pittsburgh police said. Pittsburgh police and tactical units responded to a report at 7:25 a.m. that man who had barricaded himself in a house along Stewart...
Beaver County communities to receive $5 million from Shell cracker settlement
Beaver County will receive $5 million as part of a settlement over air quality violations at Shell Chemical Appalachia’s cracker plant to use for community projects. The funding is due to a consent order announced in May in which Shell Chemicals Appalachia agreed to pay nearly $10 million for air...
Pittsburgh police arrest suspect in double stabbing in East Liberty
Pittsburgh police have arrested a suspect in a double stabbing Friday afternoon in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. The stabbings were reported at 3:15 p.m. in the 6400 block of Centre Avenue. One female victim, who had superficial wounds to her arm, provided officers a description of a female suspect...
Covid infections ‘a much less scary beast’ now for region, health experts say
Hospital systems and experts say covid-19’s impact on health care and everyday lives is decreasing, while cautioning that the virus is and will remain present in Western Pennsylvania. New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that nationally, the number of people dying in the United States every week...
Greensburg mom shares family moment at veteran memorial
Greensburg mom Adina North shared a snapshot of a heartfelt family moment at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Crabtree. She and her family attended a funeral for their relative, John Barchiesi, 88, of Crabtree, at the church earlier in July. North and her kids were standing outside when she reminded...
Car slams into building in downtown New Kensington
A car struck a building in downtown New Kensington on Friday afternoon, leaving the vehicle totaled and some damage to the building. Crews responded to the corner of 11th and Barnes streets in New Kensington for the crash at around 4:45 p.m. Assistant Fire Chief B.J. Kersey said the car...
Ligonier Valley police justified in fatal shooting of man with machete, DA says
Police were justified in their fatal shooting of a man armed with a machete in a July 2 domestic incident in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli said Friday. Westmoreland County detectives said Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, aggressively approached two Ligonier Valley Police Department officers and was...
Old Leechburg Road slide repair work continues for another week in Plum
Work along a section of Old Leechburg Road in Plum will continue for another week. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said guiderail installation work will continue through Friday, July 28, on a portion of Old Leechburg Road between Sardis and Old Mine roads. The roadway will remain closed until the work...
Penn Avenue getting upgrades, bike lane improvements in Pittsburgh
Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh is set to see upgrades that will improve bike lanes and update loading zones, city officials said Friday. A $150,000 mobility enhancement project will update the corridor from Point State Park to 11th Street. Work is expected to include repaving Penn Avenue from 9th Street...
Police: Trafford man arrested during ‘ride-out’ at Pittsburgh airport
A Trafford man who was wanted on a warrant was arrested early Friday after a stolen license plate was discovered in his vehicle at Pittsburgh International Airport, Allegheny County police said. Dashawn Evans, 41, was charged with receiving stolen property and multiple traffic citations after police arrived at the airport...
Pittsburgh considering sidewalk repair pilot program that would cut costs for residents to fix sidewalks
Pittsburgh officials are considering a pilot program that would see city crews repairing damaged sidewalks and curbs for residents at a lower cost. “The ultimate goal of the program is ensuring that the city of Pittsburgh has a complete and safe sidewalk system that services all pedestrians — especially members...
Bridge work impacts Westmoreland County Transit bus service
Westmoreland County Transit’s daily bus service to Pittsburgh Mills will be temporarily cut starting Monday. Officials said the authority’s Route 14 bus service that runs through New Kensington and to the shopping complex will be shortened and no longer run to the mall during the six-week closure of the New...
Pittsburgh’s Commission on Infrastructure Asset Reporting still on hold
More than a year after Pittsburgh officials created the Commission on Infrastructure Asset Reporting, its board remains empty, and City Council has pushed pause on Mayor Ed Gainey’s recent efforts to fill it. The commission was created after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, as officials said the collapse highlighted the...
New spray park opens in Pittsburgh’s Chartiers neighborhood
A new spray park opened in Pittsburgh’s Chartiers Park Friday. More than a dozen local children had already flocked to the new attraction as officials celebrated its opening Friday. “What we know about water access in communities is it’s especially important during the hot summer,” Director of Parks and Recreation...
Trafford man arrested at Pittsburgh airport in car stolen out of Altoona
Dozens of “high-end performance vehicles” trekked to Pittsburgh International Airport to race in the dead of night Thursday — and police said they apprehended a Westmoreland County man driving a stolen car. Allegheny County police said officers saw a number of cars gathering at the airport’s public arrivals curb around...
2 teens captured after carjacking Uber driver in Pittsburgh, police say
A Homewood teen cut off his probation ankle monitor and joined a second teen to carjack an Uber driver early Thursday, before leading Pittsburgh police on a high-speed chase that ended in Penn Hills with their capture, officials said. Police charged Patrick Beatty, 16, with robbery of a motor vehicle,...
Amazon palm-payment technology expanding to all Whole Foods Markets nationwide
Amazon One is already in use at more than 200 Whole Foods Markets in the United States. By the end of the year, Amazon said the palm payment technology will be available at all Whole Foods locations nationwide — more than 500 stores. In the Pittsburgh region, Whole Foods Markets...
Murders down this year in Pittsburgh, many U.S. cities, report says
Pittsburgh’s homicide rate is down in 2023 but still higher than its pre-pandemic levels, a trend mirrored in violent crime rates in 37 U.S. cities, according to a report from the Council on Criminal Justice. Homicides in the city plunged 34% in the first half of 2023, compared to the...
Police: Hempfield woman stole money while working at Citizens Bank
A Hempfield woman was arrested Friday on police accusations that she stole $3,300 from a bank where she worked, according to court papers. Rachel A. Bates, 25, is free on $10,000 unsecured bail on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property. An investigator from Citizens Bank contacted Westmoreland County...
New Kensington police say Penn Hills man reached for loaded stolen gun during traffic stop
New Kensington police accused a man of reaching for a stolen pistol in his vehicle when he was pulled over for running a stop sign. Tory Windel Jones, 29, of the 1100 block of Hulton Road in Penn Hills was charged with a felony count of receiving stolen property along...
New library director hits the ground running, continues popular free food pantry program in Apollo
The Apollo Memorial Library has started a new chapter in its leadership. After the sudden departure of former library director Jennifer Ramsey on May 9, members of the library’s board of trustees began their search for a replacement. They found it in Spring Church resident Beth Moore. Moore, 56, said...
Police say New Kensington man punched the EMT who took him to the hospital
A New Kensington man is accused of punching an emergency medical technician while being highly intoxicated as the EMT transported him to Allegheny Valley Hospital. James Howard Mott, 57, of the 1700 block of Ridge Road was charged by Highmark Health Police with a felony count of aggravated assault along...
