Top Stories category, Page 779
Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam faces censure vote for ‘vulgar’ language
An initial attempt to censure Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, over foul language directed at a fellow member, was defeated Tuesday night. A full vote to censure will occur later this month, a councilman said. Hallam called the attempt to censure her “political theater.” The action came after a few...
U.S. climate disasters racked up $165 billion in damage in 2022
A massive hurricane, a historic drought and 16 other major disasters across the U.S. collectively racked up $165 billion in damage and killed at least 474 people in 2022, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration analysis published Tuesday. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information track the biggest of...
Westmoreland plastics firm to expand to build parts for Amtrak Airo trains
Amtrak’s upgraded passenger trains, expected to be put into service later this decade, will have a Westmoreland County connection. Roechling Industrial Mt. Pleasant, a machine plastics company that has operated in the county since 1981, has been tapped to produce interior ceilings, door motor cases and other projects for the...
Proposed Strip District development includes nearly 300 apartments, dozens of townhouses
A proposed development could bring 288 apartments and dozens of townhouses to Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The Brickworks Residential Development would include eight buildings on a 3.45-acre lot at 2121 Smallman St., according to plans presented Tuesday to the city’s Planning Commission. The plans call for two, six-story apartment buildings with...
PennDOT gets $171M in grants to expand electric vehicle network
PennDOT is receiving $171.5 million in grants to expand its electric vehicle infrastructure. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, PennDOT will receive the federal funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next five years. For the first round of funding, PennDOT has advanced appropriations of $25.4 million for...
Pa. House at a standstill as deadline nears to get relief for child sex abuse survivors on May ballot
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s closely divided state House has recessed indefinitely, throwing the chamber’s agenda, including a number of far-reaching constitutional amendments,...
Pittsburgh mayor scraps panel created to appoint PWSA board members
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has eliminated an independent board that nominated people to serve on the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s board and announced his own nominees. Former Mayor Bill Peduto enacted an executive order to create the board of nominators. Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Gainey, said the mayor...
Damar Hamlin’s toy drive: What’s the plan for the $8.6M?
NEW YORK — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin plans to support young people through education and sports with the $8.6 million in GoFundMe donations that unexpectedly poured into his toy drive fundraiser after he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a game last week. He will also use...
Biden team finds more docs with classified markings
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s legal team has discovered additional documents containing classification markings in a second location, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The revelation comes days after an attorney for the president said Biden’s lawyers had discovered a “small number” of classified...
Man who killed family in 2016 crash in North Versailles resentenced to life in prison
The Homewood man who killed a family of three in a fiery crash on Thanksgiving in 2016 was initially ordered to serve 70 to 140 years in prison. On Tuesday, following a decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Demetrius Coleman, 28, was resentenced to life in prison. Coleman, who had...
Pitt to close English Language Institute
For almost six decades, international students have come to a University of Pittsburgh institute to improve their English and, in many cases, they would eventually teach the language to others. Most who have enrolled in the university’s English Language Institute are in Pittsburgh to immerse themselves in intensive, noncredit training...
Suspects in Route 51 chase charged in connection with Carrick homicide
Pittsburgh police have arrested two suspects in connection with a Carrick shooting that left one man dead. Maurice Nelson, 20, and Amier Windsor 17, each were charged Tuesday with criminal homicide, robbery and criminal conspiracy in the homicide that occurred Sunday in the 1900 block of Concordia Street. Pelson and...
Experts: Dog flu hasn’t hit Western Pennsylvania, but precautions are good idea
A highly contagious respiratory disease targeting dogs has shown up in at least nine states, including Pennsylvania, in recent months, and it’s raising concern among those who work with dogs in the Pittsburgh area. But, while Becky Morrow, a veterinarian and founder of Frankie’s Friends, a nonprofit animal rescue shelter...
Mega Millions swells to $1.1B after 3-month losing trend
DES MOINES, Iowa — After nearly three months of lottery losing, will someone break the trend Tuesday night and win a $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot? Regardless of how long it takes, the odds of winning the top lottery prize don’t change, and they’re formidable at 1 in 302.6 million....
Collections for Brackenridge chief’s family continue with sticker sale, card drop-off
An online fundraiser for slain Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire has topped its $100,000 goal in just four days since it was first posted. People and businesses across the Alle-Kiski Valley have stepped up in a major way to help McIntire’s widow, Ashley, and his four children. Donations were nearing...
California deluge forces mass evacuations, boy swept awayVideo
LOS ANGELES — As another powerful storm walloped California, a 5-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters Monday on the state’s central coast and an entire seaside community that is home to Prince Harry, Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities was ordered to evacuate on the fifth anniversary of deadly mudslides...
Police: Boy in critical condition after shooting in Penn Hills
A Penn Hills boy was taken to an area hospital after being shot several times Monday afternoon, Allegheny County police said. Authorities were notified of the shooting at about 5 p.m. and found the boy in the 2100 block of Sampson Street. He was taken to a hospital in critical...
DOJ reviewing potentially classified documents at Biden center
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is reviewing a batch of potentially classified documents found in the Washington office space of President Joe Biden’s former institute, the White House said Monday. Special counsel to the president Richard Sauber said “a small number of documents with classified markings” were discovered as Biden’s...
Having elected House speaker, Republicans try governingVideo
WASHINGTON — Electing the House speaker may have been the easy part. Now House Republicans will try to govern. Speaker Kevin McCarthy passed his first test Monday evening as the Republicans approved their rules package for governing House operations, typically a routine step on Day One that stretched into the...
Mourners line up to pay respects to Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire
George Uhler boarded a yellow school bus at Valley High School mid-Monday, headed to pay his respects to fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire. “It’s hard to understand life,” said Uhler of New Kensington. “But you have to honor someone that gave his life for us.” McIntire was gunned down...
North Allegheny custodian passes away at 30
Students and staff of North Allegheny School District are mourning the death of the head custodian at Hosack Elementary School. Kevin Cavlovich, 30, died on Jan. 5, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. “Mr. Kevin” had been a custodian for the North Allegheny School District for more than...
Suspect chase ends in Route 51 crash that injures at least 2
A chase for a homicide suspect ended in a car crash that shuttered Route 51 and left at least two men injured Monday. “Multiple Pittsburgh police units” were pursuing the suspect in a recent homicide at about 2:40 p.m. Monday when the suspect’s vehicle crashed at the BP gas station...
Heinz Endowments names new president after national search
The Heinz Endowments named Chris DeCardy as its president following a national search after Grant Oliphant stepped down in February 2022. DeCardy, 56, is currently a consultant serving foundations and nonprofit organizations. He will move to Pittsburgh from Menlo Park, Calif., where he lives with his family. The Heinz family...
Pa. officials fly high in state plane on taxpayers’ dime
Gov. Tom Wolf appeared in Allentown one day last fall to celebrate his success in boosting early education funding. An hour later he was at a news conference 90 miles away in Steelton, touting free breakfasts for students. Despite the distance, no speed limits were broken. Wolf winged it from...
Pa. county is about to start a hand recount of its 2020 presidential election results
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. More than two years after the last ballot was cast in the 2020 election, Lycoming County...
