Top Stories category, Page 664
Pennsylvania under statewide drought watch
The entire state of Pennsylvania is now under a drought watch as of Friday afternoon, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The department issued the watch after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force. A drought watch is the lowest and least severe of three possible types...
Human remains found in Sharpsburg confirmed to be indigenous peoples burial site
Human remains found in Sharpsburg about two weeks ago were located on a burial site for indigenous people, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Friday. The human remains were found June 21 on private property along Short Canal Street, where Peoples Natural Gas Co. crews were digging for a...
NLRB orders reinstatement of 4 Pittsburgh Starbucks baristas fired for union organizing
Starbucks illegally fired four baristas in Pittsburgh who supported unionization according to a National Labor Relations Board decision that ordered their reinstatement. In a June 30 ruling, NLRB administrative law judge Robert Ringler found that Starbucks management had repeatedly engaged in anti-union activity at four of the company’s Pittsburgh locations...
PennDOT, contractor working to set closing date for New Kensington Bridge
When a six-week closure of the New Kensington Bridge will begin is now unclear, a PennDOT spokesman said Friday. The same is true for the closing of the Freeport Road underpass in East Deer. In late June, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the Allegheny River bridge between East Deer and...
Braddock hydropower project beset by permitting delays
A state-backed hydroelectric plant is on track to come to the former steel town of Braddock, but permitting delays have slowed the project and driven up costs. The Thursday meeting of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, an independent public financing entity that funds “clean, advanced energy projects,” featured upbeat officials...
Family, friends of Indiana County man fatally shot by police seek answers
An Indiana County man fatally shot by state police after a miles-long car chase was developmentally disabled and possibly suffering from mental illness, his mother and friends told the Tribune-Review on Friday. John Vincent Dye, 51, of Homer City, “was a slow learner and I guess he had a little...
Authorities charge 5 more in probe of child sexual abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses in PennsylvaniaVideo
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania grand jury investigating child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community has charged another five people with raping or molesting children as young as 4, the latest developments in an ongoing probe that has identified 14 suspects. Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, at a Friday news...
Is Pa. primed to legalize weed? 2 lawmakers introduce bill to allow recreational use
Two Senate lawmakers are making a new run at legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie County) and Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) introduced a bill Thursday that would allow those 21 and older to use recreational marijuana in the state. The measure would include provisions for enforcement of DUI and...
Police: Albino python found in Ross park 1 of 5 snakes released by owner; 4 remain at large
An albino python isn’t something usually seen slithering through the grass in Ross. But that’s what was discovered Tuesday evening near the baseball diamond in Ross Community Park, where the township held its annual Fourth of July celebration. “One of our officers who responded to the call is familiar with...
Texas gunman in Walmart shooting that killed 23 gets 90 consecutive life sentences
EL PASO, Texas — A white gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in a Texas border city was sentenced Friday to 90 consecutive life sentences but could still face more punishment, including the death penalty. Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty earlier...
Swindell Bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side to close for about a month
Repair work on the North Side’s Swindell Bridge will close the span for nearly a month starting Monday, city officials said. The full closure is expected to last through Aug. 7, according to officials with the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. Swindell Bridge — which links Pittsburgh’s Perry South...
Wilson’s Bar-B-Q in North Side’s Perry South neighborhood ‘opening soon’
As Ira Lewis talked about plans to reopen Wilson’s Bar-B-Q on Thursday, the phone kept ringing with people inquiring about when the eatery will open. “People have been waiting,” Lewis said. “When I come in every day, there are 60-plus calls. And there are Facebook messages and texts.” Lewis doesn’t...
Tickets still available for Ed Sheeran concert at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium
Pittsburgh’s summer of big concerts continues Saturday. British pop star Ed Sheeran will take the stage at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore. Opening guests are expected to be Khalid and Rosa Linn. Khalid missed the past few shows because he was in a car accident and it is not...
Greensburg Catholic Diocese: Westmoreland could be home for Ukrainian refugees
The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg has launched an initiative to help refugees from war-torn Ukraine by offering some of them the opportunity to settle in Westmoreland County. “It is an important part of the church’s mandate” to help those in need, said Bishop Larry J. Kulick. The diocese is planning...
Morning roundup: Mars man jailed after allegedly soliciting sex from group posing as minors
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, July 7: Mars man accused of soliciting sex from minors A Mars man has been charged with trying to solicit sex from two decoys posing as teenage girls. Adams Township police charged Dale Wahl Pine, 61, with permitting...
Greensburg Community Development Corp. selects new executive director
A Greensburg resident is set to take the reins of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. as the nonprofit takes key steps in its efforts to revitalize the city. The organization’s board recently selected Alec Italiano as its new executive director. He will succeed John Stafford, 23, who is set to...
Cruiser crash sends Pittsburgh police officer to hospital
A Pittsburgh police officer was taken to a hospital after a city cruiser was involved in a crash Thursday evening in the East Allegheny neighborhood. A city Public Safety spokeswoman said the crash happened at about 7:30 p.m., at Madison and Spring Garden avenues, while the officer was responding to...
Government expert says synagogue shooter has personality disorder, not mental illness
A nationally renowned psychiatrist who has evaluated some of the most notorious criminals of the 20th and 21st centuries believes that the man who killed 11 people at a Squirrel Hill synagogue does not have any diagnosable mental illness, including schizophrenia. What Robert Bowers does have, though, that expert said,...
Idlewild tightens summer hours: Park to close every Wednesday for the rest of the season
Idlewild and SoakZone in Ligonier Township will be closed on Wednesdays for the rest of the summer. The amusement park’s online calendar indicates closures every Wednesday through July and August. The park did not respond to requests for comment left Thursday afternoon. Kennywood Park in West Mifflin will be closed...
National Senior Games expected to bring 10K athletes, $30M in visitor spending to Pittsburgh
The National Senior Games getting underway Friday in and around Pittsburgh will showcase some of the top 50-and-older athletes while also pumping tens of millions of dollars into the region’s economy, officials say. The National Senior Games — hosted by SportsPittsburgh, a division of the tourism agency VisitPittsburgh — is...
Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease. The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia...
Study: Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets contains potentially harmful chemicals
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released Wednesday. The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small...
4-year-old shot in Rostraver, flown to Pittsburgh hospital
A 4-year-old boy was shot in the head Thursday in Rostraver and was flown to a hospital for treatment, according to officials. Westmoreland County detectives and township police were investigating Thursday afternoon at the scene along Gaudio Drive, which intersects with Route 201. The child was flown to UPMC Children’s...
Soapy suds fill Levin Furniture fountain in Monroeville
Levin Furniture & Mattress employees arrived at their Monroeville location Thursday morning to find a giant mountain of soap spilling out of the waterfall which adorns the front of their property on Route 22. “People sabotaged it overnight and threw four bottles of Dawn dish liquid into it,” said Levin...
Walnut Capital looks to expand Bakery Square, support affordable housing in Pittsburgh’s East End
Walnut Capital is looking to nearly double the size of its Bakery Square development in Pittsburgh’s East End. The Bakery Square office and commercial development opened in 2009, expanded to include housing and now sits on 20 acres in Larimer and Shadyside. Walnut Capital is looking to expand the specially...
