Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 959
Arnold building demolitions could create room for new development
The demolition of 10 buildings this spring could lead to new developments in Arnold. The city is seeking bids to tear down the buildings. Most are located on Third and Fourth avenues, with one on Leishman Avenue and another on Victoria Avenue. All are vacant residential buildings except for 1905...
Excela Health receives $1.5 million donation toward Latrobe Surgical Institute
Excela Health Latrobe Hospital has received a $1.5 million donation toward its recently established Surgical Institute, the health system said Friday. The Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation made the donation, the foundation’s largest single grant to Excela. The donation will help Excela relocate its lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancer programs...
U.S. to require greater fuel efficiency for new vehicles
DETROIT — New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to average at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026, up from about 28 mpg, under new federal rules unveiled Friday that undo a rollback of standards enacted under President Trump. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its...
$1M scratch-off lottery ticket sold at Lower Burrell store
A Lower Burrell shopper is $1 million richer after purchasing a winning scratch-off lottery ticket at a local supermarket. Pennsylvania Lottery officials said Friday the $1,000,000 Cash King ticket was sold at the Community Supermarket in the Hillcrest Shopping Center off of Leechburg Road. $1 million is the top prize...
Woman pleads guilty to 2019 kidnapping, murder of Penn Hills toddlerVideo
Nalani Johnson’s family wants the world to know that the not-quite-2-year-old was smart and rambunctious with a contagious laugh. “She was surrounded by a village that adored and doted on her. She was loved and cherished,” said her grandmother, Lisha Logan. “She was not a piece of garbage to be...
Man to stand trial for Hempfield arson that caused $1 million damage, killed 3 dogs
The day before a Hempfield family departed for a Christmas vacation to the Caribbean, a Greensburg man who did household chores for them showed up unexpectedly “with a plate of brownies” as a departing gift, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing Friday. State police allege 9 days after the...
Conor Lamb votes for federal marijuana decriminalization, after opposing it in 2020
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, voted Friday to support a bill that would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level and allow for some marijuana-related convictions to be expunged. It’s a change of course for Lamb, who in 2020 was one of only four House Democrats to vote against the...
Allegheny County judge scolds double homicide suspect for firing 6 attorneys in 7 years
An Allegheny County judge scolded a man who has gone through a half-dozen defense attorneys in the five years he’s been awaiting trial on double homicide charges, saying he could find himself in the position of having to represent himself in a death penalty case. “Words get around quickly,” Common...
House votes to decriminalize marijuana, but Senate fate dim
WASHINGTON — Marijuana would be decriminalized at the federal level under legislation the House approved Friday as Democrats made the case for allowing states to set their own policies on pot. The bill is unlikely to become law since it is expected to die in the Senate. That would mirror...
Lamb revives gun incident to attack Fetterman in Senate race
Conor Lamb is accusing rival John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary of skipping candidate forums to avoid talking about a 2013 incident when shotgun in hand, he confronted a Black man because he suspected the man was involved in gunfire nearby. The accusation marks a sharp escalation in...
Braeburn Alloy files for bankruptcy, proposes sale to new owner
Braeburn Alloy Steel filed for bankruptcy with the intent of being acquired by an affiliate of its largest customer and keeping the 125-year-old Lower Burrell business in operation. CCX, which acquired Braeburn in 1944 and operates under its name, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Sunday. Chapter 11...
Redrawn Pittsburgh City Council district map would maintain 2 majority-minority districts
Proposed changes to Pittsburgh City Council’s district map would consolidate Oakland into two districts, move the Strip District and Polish Hill into new districts and maintain two districts where people of color make up a majority of the population. The nine-member Reapportionment Advisory Committee, formed in late September, drew up...
Sandcastle to open early with new look, first new slide in 10 years
Like its sister attractions Kennywood and Idlewild & SoakZone, Sandcastle will open earlier than usual this season. On Friday, the water park in West Homestead announced opening day is May 21 — a week prior to the traditional Memorial Day weekend start. Kennywood opens April 16 and Idlewild on May...
Hempfield man told police he ripped state flag from pole over tax refund check
A Hempfield man who state police said ripped the Pennsylvania state flag from a pole last week was angry he had yet to receive his tax refund check, according to court papers. Misdemeanor charges of theft, maliciously taking down a flag and defacing a flag and a summary criminal mischief...
Hill District woman accused of stabbing her children, ages 3 and 7, as they slept
Pittsburgh police said a Hill District woman told them how she walked into her sons’ room early Friday and stabbed both in the neck with a kitchen knife. The children’s father was able to wrestle away from her before summoning police for his critically injured sons, police said. Sydnie Jefferson,...
Unity’s Victory Brinker earns Guinness Record as youngest opera diva
Among pint-sized opera singer Victory Brinker’s early public appearances were the openings of the two Westmoreland Art Nationals exhibitions in spring 2019. “Her dad got in touch with us and asked if she could perform,” said Diane Shrader, executive director of the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, which sponsors the...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: April 1-3
It’s the weekend. Here are some ways to spend it. Car Bazaar Car Bazaar returns from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Downtown. The shopping market in the Forbes and Smithfield (400 Cherry Way) garage will feature 100 makers, artists, retailers, vintage dealers and garage-sale vendors selling wares from...
Traffic crossover to begin on Ardmore Boulevard in Forest Hills
A 1-mile stretch of Ardmore Boulevard in Forest Hills will be the site of road work for the next several months, prompting traffic changes that are set to begin Friday evening. Eastbound traffic on Route 30 will be reduced to one lane and directed onto the westbound side of the...
Springdale power plant shuts down, demolition work to begin
Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale is shutting down today after more than 50 years of operation. It was the the last coal-fired electric power plant in Allegheny County. Commissioned in 1970, it produced 565 megawatts of electricity. Charah Solutions Vice President Scott Reschly said Charah will take possession of the...
Moratorium lifted on Pennsylvania utility shutoffs; services can be interrupted beginning Monday
It’s no April Fools’ joke — utility companies across Pennsylvania can begin turning off services for delinquent customers beginning Monday under state regulations lifting a ban on winter shutoffs. “There are still a substantial number of at-risk residential and business customers” although the number of accounts in arrears has continued...
Uptown man, 67, charged with 3 Downtown Pittsburgh bank robberies
An Uptown man is facing a federal indictment, accused of robbing three Downtown Pittsburgh banks between Jan. 31 and Feb. 8. Calvin Leavy, 67, of Pride Street, was arrested Feb. 8 in the Midtown section of the city, police said. They said Leavy had taken a Port Authority bus after...
Franklin Regional ‘unpauses’ teaching of honors English novel ‘Persepolis’
The Franklin Regional School District’s curriculum committee called a special meeting earlier this week, at which its members voted to “unpause” the teaching of Marjane Satrapi’s 2004 graphic novel “Persepolis,” set during the Iranian Revolution. The committee voted 3-0 — school director and committee member Traci Eshelman Ramey was not...
Pittsburgh police: Stolen vehicle crashes into Downtown construction site, the suspect’s 4th arrest in a week
Construction crews doing sidewalk repair and street work at the closed intersection of Wood Street and Sixth Avenue now have some additional work to do, after a stolen vehicle crashed into the closed intersection Thursday morning. Just before 10:30 a.m., Pittsburgh police responded to the 300 block of Sixth Avenue...
1 officer killed, 2 others shot in Lebanon County
LEBANON — A Pennsylvania police officer was killed and two officers were injured Thursday during a shooting while responding to a domestic disturbance, Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello said. Police went to a home in the city at about 3:30 p.m. for the disturbance call. Nearly an hour later gunfire broke...
$12,720 tax lien filed against Westmoreland Coroner Tim Carson
Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson owes more than $11,000 in unpaid state income taxes, according to court documents. Carson, a Republican from Scottdale, won the November election and took office in January. For more than two decades, he has owned and operated Carson’s Tavern and Catering, a restaurant and events...
