Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 950
Greensburg man who portrays Jesus Christ in ‘Way of the Cross’ reflects on 2 decades of the drama
More than two decades ago, a Greensburg pastor asked Rick Zabrosky if he’d participate in the city’s Passion of Christ drama that had taken place for several years. Zabrosky agreed to a small role: Barabbas, the murderer whom the crowd asked Pontius Pilate to free instead of Jesus Christ. The...
Philly’s gun violence surges, with at least 24 people shot in 24 hours, police say
PHILADELPHIA — At least 24 people were shot, five fatally, during a brutal 24-hour stretch in Philadelphia on Thursday and Friday, according to police, a grim continuation of the city’s sustained surge in gunfire. The shootings happened in neighborhoods across the city and at all hours of the day, police...
Pittsburgh plans to repave 39 miles of streets; work starts Monday
Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure plans to begin its 2022 paving program next week. The city is spending more than $12.5 million on street resurfacing and other improvements such as curb ramp upgrades. The city, which is responsible for maintaining more than 1,000 miles of roadway, plans to resurface...
Hulton Road in Oakmont reopened to one lane after a large fallen tree and down wires caused a 9-hour closure
Hulton Road in Oakmont reopened Friday night to one lane after a large oak tree fell across the road, between Fifth and Seventh streets late Friday morning, pulling down electric lines, causing a power outage and blocking the well-traveled street for at least eight hours. The tree came down on...
URA to partner with RIDC on $39M warehouse project in Pittsburgh’s Fairywood
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday entered into an agreement with the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania to build warehouses on a 25-acre site in the city’s Fairywood neighborhood. The proposed two-phase development would begin with construction of a 150,000-square-foot warehouse. RIDC said it is in talks with...
Trafford-based home health care provider pays $383K to 46 workers to settle overtime claims
A Westmoreland County-based home health care service provider has agreed to pay more than $380,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 46 employees working from four Western Pennsylvania locations who were denied overtime pay dating back to 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The agency’s Wage and...
Policy’s gender definition at center of debate for Highlands School Board
The question of what constitutes gender could be front and center at the next Highlands School Board meeting. On Tuesday, board members will consider approval of an education equity policy that at least two members have voiced concern about. The aim of the proposed policy is to remove educational barriers...
Jack White’s ‘Supply Chain Issues Tour’ stops in Pittsburgh with no lack of sustenance
A week ago (Friday) Jack White released a new album, played the national anthem before the Detroit Tigers home opener, kicked off his “Supply Chain Issues Tour,” with a show at the Motor City’s Masonic Temple theater, proposed to his singer/girlfriend Olivia Jean on stage during the show and then...
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, Allegheny Co. Executive Rich Fitzgerald test positive for covid
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald tested positive for covid-19 Thursday, officials announced Friday. Gainey is experiencing only minor symptoms and is in isolation at home, his office said in a news release Friday morning. He will continue working from home while following guidelines from the...
Pa. House passes bill to bring back whole milk to school lunches
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania state House nearly unanimously passed a bill that would return whole milk to schools in the state. If enacted into law, the Whole Milk in Pennsylvania Schools Act would permit schools to serve whole milk and reduced-fat milk, aka 2% milk, to students. Currently, schools are...
Rotating bathroom schedule at Kiski Area High School reduces student vaping, vandalism
A Kiski Area High School student started an online petition this month calling for all the school’s bathrooms to be open, all of the time. As the petition gathered more signatures, Principal Chad Roland called in the student this week to explain why the school began rotating bathroom closures, starting...
Perry Academy principal placed on leave as Pittsburgh Public Schools conducts investigation
A principal at Pittsburgh’s Perry Traditional Academy has been placed on leave pending an internal investigation. Pittsburgh Public Schools is investigating his role in breaking up a fight on a school bus outside the school, according to a statement obtained by Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. The school district declined to...
A native son: Faith and family are the foundation for the priesthood
Deacon Christopher James Pujol stood near the fifth row of pews from the back at Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church on Monday morning. He was replaying the memory of him as a 7-year-old making his First Holy Communion. “I was sitting right here,” he said, as he smiled recalling...
Dillner Family Farms in West Deer becomes Allegheny County’s 40th preserved farmland
Dillner Family Farms in West Deer has become the 40th farm in Allegheny County to be protected by a conservation easement. Following the state Department of Agriculture’s decision in October to support the farm, the Allegheny County Conservation District and county Agriculture Lands Preservation Board made the preservation official Monday....
Dispatcher: Person injured after vehicle hits Allegheny Township home
At least one person was injured when a vehicle hit a house on White Cloud Road in Allegheny Township. The vehicle hit the house at around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. A gas meter was damaged during the accident and power is out in the...
Emergency response at Pennsylvania American Water facility in Baldwin Borough
Allegheny County hazmat teams and Baldwin Borough first responders were called out to the Pennsylvania American Water facility Thursday afternoon. County dispatchers said an incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. at 380 Becks Run Road. It was unclear what caused the emergency. No injuries were reported as of 6:20 p.m....
Saint Vincent College responds to racism claims following weekend lecture
Saint Vincent College this week denounced racism in the aftermath of a symposium held on the Unity campus last weekend that drew criticism of comments from a speaker who suggested Vice President Kamala Harris ascended to her job only because she is Black. Nine lectures were part of a two-day...
Man expected to enter federal plea in 1995 fire that killed 3 firefighters in Pittsburgh
A man whose homicide conviction in a 1995 fire that killed three firefighters on Pittsburgh’s Bricelyn Street was overturned by a state court because of prosecutorial misconduct is scheduled to enter a plea in the case in federal court. Greg Brown Jr., 44, is expected to enter what is called...
Pa. primary election 2022: See how much money the GOP candidates for governor have raised
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 — With just over a month to go until the May primary election of 2022, the nine candidates vying for...
U.S. mortgage rates hit 5% for first time since early 2011
Mortgage rates in the U.S. surged, reaching 5% for the first time in more than a decade. The average for a 30-year loan jumped from 4.72% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. The last time rates hit 5% was in February 2011. Borrowing costs have been soaring...
A safe bet: If you want a casino job, odds are on your side
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — As a casino dealer, Shamikah Townsend knows when the odds are in her favor. And they definitely are right now. While working at one Atlantic City casino last year, she went to a job fair held by a different one, and was surprised at how instantly...
Jeannette native killed in Phoenix; police charge husband with homicide
Police in Arizona arrested the husband of a Westmoreland County native, accusing him of fatally shooting her at their Phoenix home last month, according to police and news accounts. Investigators said family members of Amy Jo Jacobelli Malobicky, 54, reported she and Paul A. Fratella, 43, had been involved in...
Pa. board passes 4th year of state universities’ tuition freeze
HARRISBURG — Students at Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities won’t see tuition increase next year under a unanimous vote Thursday by the the system’s board. The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors passed what will be the fourth year of flat tuition, as the struggling system hopes the Legislature will...
Proposal would create formal partnership between Pittsburgh, school district
Legislation introduced to Pittsburgh City Council would form an official partnership between the city and Pittsburgh Public Schools in an effort to address the learning gap resulting from the covid-19 pandemic and the pre-existing racial achievement gap in the city’s schools. The legislation explains that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission...
Russian warship Moskva sinks after Ukrainians claim strike
KYIV, Ukraine — The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war, sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel...
