Top Stories category, Page 870
Pittsburgh man gets 11 to 22 years in heroin-induced hit-and-run that killed cyclist in Bell Acres
Everything about Kate Brown’s life has changed since her husband Curt was killed cycling in Bell Acres two years ago after being struck by a motorist who was high on heroin. She said she lost her best friend and husband of nearly 22 years. She now has four separate mental...
Gateway School Board votes to suspend band director without pay
Gateway School Board suspended the high school’s band director, James M. Hoeltje, without pay after he was charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor. Referring to Hoeltje only as “Employee,” board members moved the agenda of his suspension to the beginning of their Aug. 16 meeting for immediate approval. During...
Kiski Township proposes zoning change to allow for business district along Route 56
The Kiski Township Planning Commission and the township supervisors will hold hearings in the next two weeks to amend zoning ordinances to create a business district along Route 56. The township is proposing to change the zoning classification of about 175 properties lining Route 56. Most are zoned agricultural or...
Moonlit Burgers set to open at Duquesne University
Moonlit Burgers is joining the list of eateries in and around Duquesne University. The burger joint, famous for its thin and crispy-edged smash burgers, is set to open a second location Monday at 1015 Forbes Avenue on Duquesne University’s campus. It has another location in Dormont. “We believe having Moonlit...
Richland man accused of ditching woman’s body after overdose
A Richland man was charged with abusing a corpse after police said he left a woman in her vehicle in front of her house after she died of a drug overdose while they were together. Patrick William McCurry, 43, faces a Sept. 28 preliminary hearing on the misdemeanor charge before...
Pittsburgh pilot program to offer low-income residents free transportation
Pittsburgh is launching a pilot program to provide 50 low-income residents with free transportation to work. “Having access to affordable and reliable transportation is critical in helping families across our city find a pathway to prosperity,” Mayor Ed Gainey said. The yearlong Guaranteed Basic Mobility pilot program will give participants...
Pennsylvania casino revenue jumps to $429M in July after late spring lull
Pennsylvania casinos saw an increase in revenues last month, state regulators said, a shift from the gradual decrease felt across the industry since the record-breaking month of March. In all, casinos generated more than $429 million in revenues in July, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board....
4 injured, 2 buildings collapse in Beaver County fire
Two buildings along Brighton Avenue in Rochester collapsed after fire tore through them overnight, authorities said. Beaver County dispatchers said four people were injured. Crews responded around 2:30 a.m. to the 100 block of Brighton Avenue, where officials believe the fire started in an apartment before spreading to an antique...
Pittsburgh police seek carjacker
A car was taken at gunpoint Wednesday night in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood, city police said. No one was hurt in the carjacking that occurred at about 8:15 p.m. around 400 Shady Ave., between Sellers and Howe streets, police said. Police are looking for a 2009 maroon Honda Accord with Ohio...
Accused Pelosi laptop thief wants off house arrest to visit Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire
A Mechanicsburg woman accused of stealing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol wants to be let out of house arrest to visit the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire this weekend, according to court documents. Riley Williams, 25, filed the request in federal court to...
Fox Chapel officials to make solar panel installation less cumbersome
Fox Chapel property owners may soon find it a little easier to have solar panels. Council unanimously voted Monday advertising amendments to its ordinance regulating such sun-powered equipment. It also approved sending it to the Allegheny County Planning Department for a 45-day review. The ordinance is expected to be passed...
Police: Man found shot in Penn Hills, shooting believed to have begun in Pittsburgh
A man was taken to a hospital after being shot twice Wednesday afternoon in an incident that started in Pittsburgh and continued into Penn Hills, according to Allegheny County Police. Officers were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. for a shooting along the 1600 block of Brushton Avenue in Penn Hills....
South Fayette man pleads guilty to beating his mother to death
A South Fayette man accused of killing his mother three years ago pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree murder. As part of a plea agreement, David Sumney, 33, is expected to be ordered to serve 20 to 40 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 17. According to...
Allegheny Valley School Board approves health, safety plan without contact tracing
Allegheny Valley School District students will not have to quarantine if they come in close contact with a student who tests positive for covid-19. School board members voted 8-0 to approve the district’s health and safety plan, which eliminates contact tracing, during their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 16. Board member Jessica...
Pittsburgh International Airport concessions company loses management fight, for now
An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday ruled against the company running concessions at Pittsburgh International Airport, saying that it failed to show it would suffer irreparable harm if it was removed from its role. In her ruling, Common Pleas Judge Christine A. Ward denied Fraport Pittsburgh’s request for a preliminary...
Pa. lawmakers are set to get huge raises next year
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 — Fiscal responsibility is an axiom in Harrisburg, but nearly none of Pennsylvania’s 253 state lawmakers seem to mind when...
Kids-for-cash judges ordered to pay more than $200M
Two former Pennsylvania judges who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks were ordered to pay more than $200 million to hundreds of people they victimized in one of the worst judicial scandals in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner awarded $106 million...
Pittsburgh leaders look for ways to fight homelessness
Pittsburgh leaders are looking to combat what they say is a growing problem with homelessness in the city. City Council President Theresa Kail Smith, D-Westwood, said she encountered the problem first-hand a few months ago in Mt. Washington, where people were staying in Fireman’s Parklet at Shiloh Street and Virginia...
Rudy Giuliani says he ‘satisfied’ obligation with Georgia grand juryVideo
ATLANTA — Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that he had “satisfied his obligation” after facing hours of questioning Wednesday before a special grand jury in Atlanta as a target of an investigation into attempts by former President Donald Trump and others to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. In an...
Survey: Many at-risk youths in Allegheny Co. lose family to gun violence
A teenage girl whose sister was gunned down one Saturday night last year. A boy shot in the back at 17 who had to relearn to walk. They are among the children and young adults whose voices were heard in a recent survey focused on Allegheny County’s at-risk youth. The...
U.S. traffic deaths, once in decline, continue to rise in 2022
DETROIT — U.S. traffic fatalities began to climb two years ago and that deadly trend is continuing in 2022. Roadway deaths rose 7% during the first three months of the year to 9,560 people, the highest number for a first quarter in two decades, according to estimates by the National...
CDC director announces ‘reset’ aimed at speed, fixing flaws in agency
NEW YORK — The head of the nation’s top public health agency on Wednesday announced a shake-up of the organization, intended to make it more nimble. The planned changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — CDC leaders call it a “reset”— come amid ongoing criticism of the...
Historic Salina Bridge to be replaced beginning as early as 2024
The historic Salina Bridge connecting Kiski and Bell townships will be replaced with a modern bridge, maybe as early as 2024. And the new bridge won’t be built in the same spot as the existing one. The exact dates are not set in stone, but Troy Pitts, PennDOT project manager,...
Ex-Shaler substitute charged in Capitol riot chooses trial by judge, not jury
A former Army Ranger and substitute teacher in the Shaler Area School District charged with participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has chosen to have a bench trial at the end of this month. Robert Morss, who was originally scheduled to have a jury trial in late August, filed...
3 people escape Munhall fire, 2 pets rescued, 1 dies
Three people were able to escape a fire that broke out early Wednesday at a Munhall home, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. Crews responded to the home in the 2800 block of Main Street at about 1:50 a.m. Three adults were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. Two...
