Megan Guza stories, Page 52
Shaler man charged after infant daughter found with multiple fractures
A Shaler man is accused of assaulting his 4-week-old daughter, leaving her with multiple fractures all over her body, police said Wednesday. Jamie Easley, 40, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of endangering the welfare of children. The infant’s family took her to their primary...
Officials identify man killed in Edgewood explosion
Authorities on Wednesday identified a man killed in a house explosion and fire last week in Edgewood. John Evans, 59, was found in the rubble Saturday after fire crews put out the flames at the 318 Garland St. location. Police have said all signs point to suicide. A neighbor saw...
Pittsburgh, suburbs receive state grants for park improvements
Pittsburgh and a half dozen of its suburbs will receive grant money to put toward park and green space projects, state Sen. Jay Costa Jr. announced Tuesday. Among the largest grants are $200,000 each for parks in Verona and Oakmont, according to Costa, the Senate Democratic Leader. In Oakmont, that...
New Pa. program aims to help opioid-dependent patients avoid black market
A week after Gov. Tom Wolf renewed his opioid disaster declaration for the seventh time since 2018, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine spoke about the successes against the ongoing crisis and a program that will assist dependent patients cut off by their doctors. Speaking Monday at “Opioids: The Fight Continues,”...
Treat gun violence as a ‘public health epidemic,’ state lawmakers are told
Hundreds of times Dr. Raquel Forsythe has had to tell families their loved one has died from a bullet-wound trauma that surgeons just couldn’t repair. The UPMC director of trauma takes a moment to steel herself first, even though she’s done it before and she’ll do it again. She checks...
Artwork unveiled to surround Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
Inspired by the hundreds of pieces of art sent from around the world in the aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue attack, members of three congregations gathered those images of strength and hope and decided to share them with the community. The Squirrel Hill synagogue has been shrouded in...
Pittsburgh among 2019 recipients of seedlings from New York’s 9/11 ‘Survivor Tree’
Seedlings from the “survivor tree” pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center towers 18 years ago will be donated and planted in Pittsburgh as a memorial and symbol of resilience in the wake of the October massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. The survivor...
FBI agent who investigated Erie pizza bomber case speaks at Duquesne
A sex worker with Westmoreland County connections was the linchpin in the infamous Erie pizza bomber case, a former FBI agent who investigated the crime said Thursday at Duquesne University. Jerry Clark, now a Gannon University professor, worked for 21 years in the FBI, including nearly a decade with the...
I-70 west reopens after crash near Yukon
A tractor-trailer crash shut down the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Westmoreland County Sunday night. The crash, involving two tractor-trailers, happened about just after 9 p.m. near the Yukon exit, according to a 911 dispatcher. He said there were no immediate reports of any injuries. All lanes reopened shortly...
Pittsburgh police investigating after body found near North Side tracks
Pittsburgh police are investigating after a man was found dead near railroad tracks on the North Side. A 911 caller reported the body just before 8:15 p.m. Saturday, according to Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. The medical examiner’s office on Sunday identified the man as 54-year-old Kelvin Leo Organ. He...
25 years ago, USAir Flight 427 crashed near Hopewell despite perfect conditions
It was sunnier 25 years ago than it was today. “Folks, from the flight deck we should be on the ground in ‘bout 10 more minutes. Sunny skies, little hazy,” the first officer of USAir Flight 427 told the 127 passengers over the intercom. “Temperature’s, ah — 75 degrees, wind’s...
Police: West Mifflin man stomped his mother, 80, left her to die
A West Mifflin man allegedly stomped his mother and left her to die in their basement before he called police Saturday to surrender, according to the charges filed against the man. Kenneth Burdick, 42, is charged with homicide in the death of his mother, 80-year-old Dolores Burdick. A West Mifflin...
Man wounded in Brackenridge shooting
A man was shot and wounded in Brackenridge on Saturday afternoon, police said. The shooting was reported at 5:13 p.m. at a home on Third Avenue. A neighbor who lives two houses down and declined to give her name said she heard a gunshot, ran to her door and heard...
Saxonburg arts festival brings out tens of thousands to quaint townVideo
Spotty clouds and a few drops of rain did little to deter the crowds at the Saxonburg Festival of Arts on Saturday. The weekend event, in its 34th year, usually draws between 20,000 and 30,000 people over two days, according to Hannah Shannon, volunteer coordinator. The festival continues Sunday from...
Former child care volunteer waives hearing on corruption of minors charges
A former child-care volunteer faces arraignment next month on child corruption charges after he waived his preliminary hearing Friday in Pittsburgh Municipal Court. Reid Reading, 82, was charged in June with two counts of corruption of minors, though a detective on the case has said the investigation is still open...
‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ set to premiere at Toronto film festival
The neighborhood will be Ontario for the world premiere of the Mister Rogers film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tom Hanks plays children’s television icon Fred Rogers in the film, which was shot in and around Pittsburgh earlier this year and...
New Jersey law could open up Boy Scouts to abuse lawsuits from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania survivors of alleged sexual abuse decades ago at the hands of Boy Scout leaders could take advantage of a New Jersey law set to take effect later this year that allows them to sue. A bill signed in May that will take effect Dec. 1 gives sex abuse survivors...
East Liberty mural honors Pittsburgh native Mac MillerVideo
A Pittsburgh artist and other community members celebrated Mac Miller’s life Wednesday in creating a 25-foot mural of the late rapper and Pittsburgh native in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. The afternoon of painting, organized by the Moving the Lives of Kids (MLK) Mural Project, comes 10 days before the...
Skip Beal, retired VND and Trib newsman and voice of ‘The Stroller,’ dies at 81
Skip Beal was a passionate newsman who knew the Alle-Kiski Valley inside and out and wasn’t afraid to spark a little outrage when he wrote The Stroller column in the Valley News Dispatch. “He loved his job, there’s no doubt about it,” said his oldest son, Benjamin Beal III of...
Farmers’ Almanac predicts ‘Polar Coaster’ winter for Pennsylvania, Northeast
A “Polar Coaster” of temperature changes, from above-average highs to frigid lows, is coming this winter, according to the 2020 Farmers’ Almanac, with the eastern part of the country potentially facing the worst of it. “We expect yet another wild ride this winter,” almanac editor Pete Geiger said. That wild...
Training urges Pittsburgh cops to acknowledge emotions, biasesVideo
Pittsburgh police received a different kind of training this week, one focusing on turning inward in order to better their outward interactions with their colleagues, their families and their communities. The name of the training — Racial Intelligence Training and Engagement — was deceptive to some. Sgt. Donald Mitchell said...
Dor Hadash, New Light leaders urge AG to accept life in prison for accused Tree of Life gunman
Members of two Pittsburgh Jewish congregations have asked federal prosecutors to seek a plea deal with accused Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers and reject a death penalty case. The requests came from New Light and Dor Hadash, two of the congregations that used the Tree of Life building....
Pittsburgh church bomb plot suspect to remain in custody, judge rules
Fatmeh Alowemer said her eldest son Mustafa was excited to come to the United States. A family of Syrian refugees, Fatmeh, Mustafa, his siblings and other family members had spent four years in Jordan after fleeing war in Syria, where her eldest could not attend school. In 2016, they came...
Service planned for Tree of Life shooting anniversary
The Pittsburgh Jewish community is planning a day of service, study and remembrance on Oct. 27, a year after a Pittsburgh synagogue became the site of the country’s deadliest anti-Semitic attack. The 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue killed 11 worshippers across three congregations that held services in...
Pennsylvania car registration stickers could make a comeback
A Pennsylvania state legislator wants to revive the vehicle registration sticker two years after it was discarded as a cost-saving measure. A bill before the House Transportation Committee would not only bring back the tiny sticker but tie it to state vehicle inspections, as well, according to the legislation proposed...
