Top Stories category, Page 638
Penn Hills School District superintendent to retire in October
Penn Hills Superintendent Nancy Hines is calling it a career after more than 25 years in public education. A search is underway for her replacement. Her last day is scheduled for Oct. 1. “It just feels right,” Hines said. “It feels like the district is stable. I think the energy...
Georgia prosecutor seeks March trial date for Trump, 18 others in election case
ATLANTA — The prosecutor in Atlanta who obtained an indictment this week against former President Donald Trump and 18 others wants to take the case to trial in March. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a proposed scheduling order filed with the court Wednesday that she wants the...
No common links between Plum home explosions, gas company says
Peoples natural gas company officials said Wednesday there does not appear to be a common denominator linking last weekend’s fatal house explosion in Plum with four previous blasts in the borough since the mid-1990s. “At this point, there’s not any indication of any relationship,” said spokesman Nick Paradise, adding that...
Westmoreland officials hopeful Amazon warehouse portends future growth
Amazon’s plans to open a massive warehouse in New Stanton may be just the first step in a wave of economic development, Westmoreland officials said Wednesday. Amazon confirmed Tuesday it will occupy a 1 million-square foot warehouse in what has become an industrial hub for the county near the intersection...
6th victim dies from Plum house explosion
For four days, Paul Oravitz fought for his life in the UPMC Mercy burn unit as the Rustic Ridge community prayed. On Wednesday, his fight ended. Oravitz died as a result of injuries suffered in a house explosion Saturday in his home in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood of Plum. He...
Kansas prosecutor says police should return computers, cellphones seized in raid on newspaper
MARION, Kan. — A Kansas prosecutor said Wednesday that he found insufficient evidence to support the police raid of a weekly newspaper and that all seized material should be returned in a dispute over press freedoms that the White House acknowledged it is watching closely. “This administration has been vocal...
Remembering borough manager who died in explosion: Michael Thomas was ‘a Plum guy through and through’
Andy Zarroli got to know Michael Thomas first as a friend, and then as Plum’s borough manager. And their friendship overcame the fact that Zarroli, 56, is from Philadelphia and Thomas, 57, grew up in Pittsburgh’s Morningside neighborhood. “Mike was a friend of mine. He was a close friend of...
Downtown Pittsburgh data to be tracked by online dashboard
An online dashboard has been launched to provide data on Downtown Pittsburgh as it attempts to reinvent itself after the covid-19 pandemic. IndexPGH is designed to provide metrics including monthly visitors, public transportation ridership, hotel occupancy as well as health and public safety. The numbers are collected by the Allegheny...
FEMA opens disaster recovery center on Maui to help victims of wildfires
Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing more than 100 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes...
Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland undergoes first major renovation, restoration
For the first time in its history, the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland is undergoing major interior restoration and renovations. The project got underway in late June and includes the installation of air conditioning and new seating, restoration of murals and the grand proscenium arch and electrical upgrades. The music...
Beaver County DA names new suspect in 2018 Aliquippa killing
More than five years after Rachael DelTondo was gunned down in the driveway of her mother’s Aliquippa home, the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office has named a new suspect in the case. Tribune-Review news partner WTAE-TV reported that District Attorney David Lozier named Sheldon Jeter, 25, as the prime suspect...
Peoples restores Rustic Ridge natural gas serviceVideo
Workers from Peoples natural gas purged gas lines Wednesday in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood in preparation for restoring gas service to residents there. According to the borough, the work took place along Rustic Ridge and Brookside drives and Timberwood Court. Peoples spokesman Nick Paradise said purging the lines is part...
Safety tips on natural gas usage and home inspections
Keeping a home fueled by natural gas safe is pretty simple, said Dennis Caveglia, who has operated Valley Plumbing & Heating in his native Leechburg for 40 years. Caveglia, like many working with natural gas, wouldn’t hypothesize about what caused the Plum house explosion Saturday morning that killed six people...
Morning Roundup: 1 killed, 3 hospitalized in Butler County crash
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Aug. 16: 1 killed, 3 hospitalized in Butler County crash State police are investigating after one person was killed and three other people were injured Tuesday in a head-on crash in Butler County’s Oakland Township. Tribune-Review news partner...
Plum girls organize separate charity events to help victims after house explosion
A pint-sized Plum Area School District student put her grief to good use Saturday with an on-the-spot charity event to raise money for victims of the house explosion in Plum. Emmy Halasowski, 7, was understandably shaken and scared Saturday as events unfolded after the deadly explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive...
A plan to stop diverting road dollars to Pa. State Police could be a final piece of this year’s budget
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For at least 50 years, Pennsylvania has used taxes drivers pay at the pump to fund...
Trump’s Georgia co-defendants played significant roles in seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s 2020 vote
PHILADELPHIA — Among the 18 lawyers, aides, and allies who were charged Monday alongside Donald Trump for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, there are several who played key roles in the former president’s similar push in Pennsylvania. Here’s a breakdown of some...
Rustic Ridge community gathers in 2 places to honor the lives lost in house explosion
Teresa Champion-Feigel and her husband, Tim, walk on the weekends in the neighborhood of Rustic Ridge in Plum. On Saturday, she said she didn’t feel like walking. Her husband suggested they go to the nearby park — Ridge Top Park. “We were walking, and that’s when we heard the explosion,”...
Doctor testifies Delmont child was victim of ongoing abuse, torture
Five-year-old Landon Maloberti suffered bruises over most of his body and massive brain bleeding and was the victim of torture at the hands of his adoptive mother and her husband, according to testimony Tuesday by a physician and child advocate. Dr. Michelle Clayton testified during a preliminary hearing for Lauren...
For one afternoon, Rustic Ridge kids put horrific explosion out of their minds
The corner lot of 154 Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum on Tuesday turned into a therapeutic group session for dozens of kids in the neighborhood — even if they didn’t know it. At least two dozen kids of all ages, from toddler to teen, gathered in the driveway and backyard...
Veto override withdrawn for Allegheny County property assessment bill
After a series of successful efforts overriding Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto, another veto override was withdrawn Tuesday. Allegheny County Council passed a bill in July to establish a new chief assessment officer appointed by council that would render calculations each year of the county’s property tax ratios. That...
Remembering devoted mom who died in Plum explosion: Heather Oravitz was ‘a special wife’
Lindsay and Fran Sciullo thought so highly of Heather and Paul Oravitz that they entrusted to the Oravitzes’ daughter what was most precious to them — their two sons. Taylor Oravitz would babysit the Sciullo boys, Maddox and Brady, when Lindsay and her husband, Fran — educators in the Plum...
They’re back: College students arrive on Western Pa. campuses
Overstuffed move-in carts, frazzled parents and traffic lined up outside dorms are making a comeback this week and next as Western Pennsylvania college students arrive for fall semester classes. Campuses, meanwhile, are trying to curb stress among the new arrivals. Some initiatives to soothe the psyche are as involved as...
After months of speculation, Amazon says it will use New Stanton warehouse
Amazon ended months of speculation by acknowledging what many had suspected for close to two years: It will be using the 1 million-square-foot warehouse being built in New Stanton. The $120 million warehouse with the blue stripes on the exterior will be operated by Amazon, company spokesman Sam Fisher said...
A Pennsylvania study suggests links between fracking and asthma, lymphoma in children
HARRISBURG — Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening. The taxpayer-funded research by...
