3 new police officers hired in New Kensington
New Kensington council Monday hired three new police officers to fill vacancies created by retirements, city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said. Michael A. McSherry of Leechburg, Jerry Hobeck of New Kensington and Jeffrey Vertullo of Export were selected from a list approved last week by the city’s Civil Service Commission. They...
Derry Township farmer: To save dairies, modernize milk pricing system
Faced with chronically low milk prices, some Pennsylvania dairy farmers are calling for reforms in the way those prices are set. The U.S. system for determining what dairy farmers are paid for their product is notoriously complex — and has become even more so under the influence of global markets...
Silicon Valley landlord rents $1,500 studio to 2 cats
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two cats are living large at a $1,500-a-month studio apartment their owner rents for them in Silicon Valley, where a housing shortage has sent rents skyrocketing. The Mercury News reports the 20-pound (9-kilogram) cats named Tina and Louise moved to the studio in San Jose after...
Joy Riders program will provide bike rides to people with limited mobilityVideo
As soon as Karen Primm of Smithton saw the video — about an Australian man who designed a tandem bicycle with a wheelchair in the front, so that his disabled wife could go out on rides with him — she knew she needed to bring something similar to Pittsburgh. Luckily...
New Kensington authorities raise water, sewer rates
Water and sewer bills are going up this year for people who live in Arnold, Lower Burrell, New Kensington and portions of Plum. The 15,000 water customers of the Municipal Authority of New Kensington, which also serves Upper Burrell and parts of Allegheny and Washington townships, will see a 12...
British Parliament rejects Theresa May’s Brexit deal, putting EU withdrawal in doubt
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May was defeated in a landslide vote Tuesday in Parliament, where lawmakers rejected her Brexit deal by a vote of 432 to 202 — a pure humiliation for a British leader who has spent the past two years negotiating her failed withdrawal agreement with Brussels....
Ambulance driver gets 6 to 23 months in Lancaster crash that killed 2
LANCASTER, Pa. — An ambulance driver wept as he was sentenced to six to 23 month in prison in a crash that killed his passenger and another driver. LNP newspaper reports that 22-year-old Jeffrey Gable told a Lancaster County judge Monday that he never intended to hurt anyone in the...
Joanne Rogers to get George Romero Legacy Award at the ‘Elly Awards Gala’
Joanne Rogers, wife of the late Fred Rogers, will accept The George Romero Legacy Award at the 2019 Steeltown Elly Awards, presented by PNC at The Rivers Casino Ballroom on April 11. Past awardees include film legend George Romero, former Fred Rogers Company CEO Bill Isler, and philanthropist Audrey Hillman...
West Virginia: Proposal to give $10M for Trump’s border wall
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some lawmakers in drug-ravaged West Virginia want to pitch in millions of dollars for President Trump’s wall-building effort along the U.S.-Mexico border. The GOP-led House of Delegates issued a statement Monday that a bill planned by three delegates would divert $10 million from West Virginia’s current $186...
Police: Driver was drunk during head-on crash in Murrysville that left man seriously injured
A Delmont woman is accused of being drunk at the time of a head-on crash Friday in Murrysville that left a man seriously injured. Lane J. Weiner, 56, had two cold 12-packs of Bud Light that had been opened in the back seat of her car at the time of...
New migrant caravan sets out from Honduras for U.S.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — Hundreds of Hondurans trekked out of a violent northern city Tuesday, part of a new caravan of migrants hoping to reach the United States or Mexico, following in the path of another group last year that U.S. President Donald Trump turned into a hot political...
Judge voids Alabama law protecting Confederate monuments
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A judge has overturned an Alabama law meant to prevent the removal of Confederate monuments from public property, ruling the act infringed on the rights of citizens in a mostly black city who are “repulsed” by the memorial. The 10-page ruling issued late Monday by Jefferson County...
South Korea stops calling North Korea ‘enemy’ in defense report
South Korea dropped a reference to North Korea as its “enemy” in a Defense Ministry white paper for the first time since 2010, reflecting warming ties between the neighbors still technically at war. In a report released on Tuesday, the ministry said that North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction remained...
Pittsburgh police to get domestic violence unit with $500K grant
A Pittsburgh police unit focused solely on domestic violence is in the works thanks to a $500,000 grant from the local Nina Baldwin Fisher Foundation. Legislation to accept the grant was introduced before City Council on Tuesday, said Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto. The money will pay for...
Lower Burrell Police looking for participants for Citizen Police Academy
Lower Burrell police are accepting applications from city residents for its Citizen Police Academy. Classes start in March and will be limited to 25 residents, who must be 18 or older. Topics of discussion include criminal and drug investigation, patrol techniques, firearms, juveniles and our youth commission, crime prevention, community...
Forward Avenue and Commercial Street in Squirrel Hill to close Jan. 21
A portion of Forward Avenue and Commercial Street in Squirrel Hill and Swisshelm Park will be closed to traffic next week for landslide work. The road will be closed between Summerset Drive and Whipple Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Monday, Jan. 21 through Friday, Jan. 25, according...
Westmoreland happenings: Jan. 16 and beyond
Classes/programs • Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe has planned days of observances to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: — Mass of Celebration will be held 12:05 p.m. Monday in the Mary, Mother of Wisdom Chapel. Following the Mass, a dream center...
Westmoreland County seeking 30 participants for citizen workshop
The Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety is looking for 30 citizens to participate in a workshop aimed at mitigating hazards. The workshop will be held Feb. 19 and March 19 from 7-9 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus. Citizens will only be required to attend one of...
Judge bars citizenship question from 2020 census
NEW YORK — The Trump administration cannot put a question about citizenship status on the 2020 census, a federal judge in New York ruled Friday in a boost to proponents of counting immigrants. In a 277-page decision that won’t be the final word on the issue, U.S. District Judge Jesse...
$12,000 reward offered for info on man last seen in South Buffalo
The family and personal care home of a missing elderly man last seen in South Buffalo on Christmas is offering a $12,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts. Police have been searching for Kenneth L. Himes, 70, since he left his brother’s home along Cadogan-Slate Lick Road sometime between...
Bayer to close site in Robinson by 2020, cut nearly 600 local positions
Global pharmaceutical giant Bayer Corp. announced Tuesday it is closing its Robinson campus within the next two years. It will mean the loss of 569 jobs and 96 contractors, the company said in a statement. The news shocked Robinson officials, but the Airport Area Chamber of Commerce believed Bayer employees...
Pittsburgh council members could face charges over gun restrictions, DA says
Pittsburgh City Council’s proposed gun legislation might be unconstitutional and could result in criminal charges against members of council, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said in a letter to the councilman who introduced the bills. The legislation, proposed last month by Councilman Corey O’Connor, would ban semi-automatic...
Trump’s burger-fest brings roasting from late-night TV hostsVideo
WASHINGTON — Junk food for athletes? President Donald Trump’s offer of greasy burgers and fries to the college football champion Clemson Tigers brought a roasting from late-night TV hosts. Trump, a fast-food lover, said he paid for the meal himself because of the partial government shutdown, which has led to...
Chick-fil-A opens on a Sunday for autistic boy’s birthday
Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain that is never open on Sundays, was serving up its menu on a recent Sunday at one Alabama location — for a very special reason. The chain made an exception a few weeks ago for Elijah Sprague, a young man with autism celebrating his 14th birthday,...
Severe weather in 2018 leads to increased Latrobe fire calls
Latrobe firefighters responded to a near record 1,018 alarms in 2018 — second only to a record 1,101 calls the volunteer department answered in 2004. “We got through it, but I hope it slows down a little,” fire Chief John Brasile said of last year’s emergency volume. In each of...
