Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 20
Oakmont food truck looks to small loans for big expansion
An Oakmont food truck seeking to make the leap to a full restaurant and bar isn’t going about raising money for the jump in the traditional fashion. Ken Shields, a full-time IT worker and grilling hobbyist who founded the Oakmont Barbeque Company food truck, could go to a bank or...
Ex-Leechburg police chief back in jail, attorney says
Former Leechburg police Chief Mike Diebold is back in jail on a suspected probation violation, his attorney said Friday night. Diebold, 42, was booked into the Westmoreland County Prison on a 72-hour hold Friday, according to his attorney, Duke George. George, who plans to visit Diebold at the Hempfield lockup...
Husband-wife duo accused of bilking Pa. out of $10M by faking 20 companies in tax credit scheme
A husband-and-wife team is accused of bilking Pennsylvania out of more than $10 million by obtaining tax incentives for 20 sham companies, then selling the state-issued tax credits for cash, a grand jury found. “Christopher” Wing-Tat Chiu, 47, and Ivy Li — former Bucks County residents who prosecutors say have...
Duolingo touts $1.5B valuation; language company to hire 100 more people, mostly in Pittsburgh
Duolingo has earned the title of Pittsburgh’s first tech “unicorn” — investing lingo for those rare startups that achieve a valuation topping $1 billion. Now valued at $1.5 billion, the 7-year-old digital language learning company plans to increase its workforce by about 50% — which could bring nearly 100 new...
Covestro buys 260-acre Robinson property as Bayer spinoff strengthens commitment to Pittsburgh
Covestro, a Bayer spinoff, has inked a deal to buy the nearly 260-acre property it’s been operating out of in Robinson, officials said Wednesday. The Germany-based plastics manufacturer, formerly known as Bayer MaterialScience, employs about 750 people in Robinson. Covestro officials said the purchase of the property signifies its commitment...
FBI warns of holiday scams as Western Pa. victims cheated out of $1M in 2019
Don’t be fooled this holiday season by scammers posing as charities or fly-by-night websites offering surprisingly steep discounts on popular gifts, FBI officials in Pittsburgh warned Tuesday. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Chad Yarbrough, FBI Pittsburgh assistant special agent in charge, said at the...
Democratic presidential candidates coming to Pittsburgh for education forum
At least six Democratic presidential hopefuls plan to attend a nationally televised education forum in Downtown Pittsburgh next weekend, the event’s organizers said Monday. Confirmed candidates include Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer. Two more candidates are considering attending the forum, said Suzanne...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to hiding drug money in Penn Hills real estate
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to selling more than a pound of cocaine and funneling his profits into real estate purchases as a form of money laundering, federal prosecutors said Monday. Anthony Bentley, 44, who goes by the nickname “Poundcake,” also agreed to forfeit $218,000 in cash that officials seized...
Allegheny Health Network reports 10th straight quarter of positive earnings
Allegheny Health Network is on track to achieve its third consecutive year of positive earnings as the burgeoning nonprofit health system continues to expand across and beyond Western Pennsylvania, newly filed financial records show. “Our balance sheet is in the best financial position historically than it’s ever been,” Chief Financial...
Pittsburgh firefighters navigate tricky terrain to get to 3 houses ablaze in Spring Hill
Dozens of firefighters navigated tough terrain to get to three vacant houses engulfed in flames late Sunday night in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill neighborhood. No one was injured. The three-alarm fire began about 10 p.m. in one vacant house at the top of Luella Street, a winding road overlooking Interstate 279....
Route 56 between New Kensington, Lower Burrell reopened after multi-vehicle wreck
A stretch of Route 56 westbound between New Kensington and Lower Burrell reopened after being closed for several hours following a crash Sunday night. The wreck that involved multiple vehicles was reported shortly after 9 p.m. near the cloverleaf interchange where Route 56 meets Route 366. Authorities shut down the...
Light snowfall expected Monday in Western Pa., up to 3 inches near Latrobe
Western Pennsylvania’s commuters could be confronted with slippery, icy roads Monday amid a spate of snow flurries expected to continue through Tuesday morning, meteorologists said. Sunday night’s severe thunderstorms that brought rain and hail to parts of Allegheny, Butler and Beaver counties will transition into snow showers after 3 a.m....
Car crashes into creek west of Route 30 in Ligonier
A car veered off the road Sunday night and crashed into a creek just west of Route 30 in Ligonier, initial reports indicate. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured. The crash happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. where Two-Mile Run Road crosses over Loyalhanna Creek, a Westmoreland County...
Severe thunderstorm warning in effect for Allegheny, Beaver, Butler counties
A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for much of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said. A fast-moving series of storms posed a risk of bringing 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail to areas such as the Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Monaca and Economy,...
Man leads state police on 100 mph chase through Squirrel Hill Tunnel; Jeep crashes, burns
A driver led state police on a 100 mph car chase early Saturday through the Squirrel Hill Tunnel that ended with the man’s Jeep crashing into trees and catching on fire in Monroeville, officials said. Officials arrested the driver, Dean Jarreaun Marbury, 39, of Pittsburgh and booked him into Allegheny...
Police: Bullet strikes Homewood home, lodges in fireplace; no one reported injured
A bullet came ripping through the front window and into the living room fireplace of a home in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood early Saturday, officials said. No one was at home at the house on Bennett Street, Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Police found the bullet lodged into the home’s...
Rope team rescues unconscious worker stranded on scaffold in Pittsburgh’s North Side
A five-person rope team rescued a worker who collapsed Friday afternoon on a scaffold wedged between two buildings in Pittsburgh’s North Side, officials said. Shortly after 3 p.m., medics and firefighters responded to the report of the unconscious man stranded about 40 feet high in the 1300 block of Franklin...
UPMC eyes major expansion in cancer, cardiac care in North Hills
From a robotic surgery tool that helps detect lung cancer sooner, to new alternatives to open-heart surgery, UPMC executives announced Monday a slew of major investments into expanding the health care system’s services, equipment and doctors available in the North Hills. The Downtown Pittsburgh-headquartered nonprofit behemoth is expanding its reach...
Western Pa. CEOs commit to ‘sustainability goals’ no matter what Trump says
Companies increasingly are going beyond what federal mandates require when it comes to reducing their negative impact on the environment and quality of life of residents. It’s not because benevolent company leaders want to do charity work, but because their investors, employees and consumers are demanding it, said Jerry MacCleary,...
Auditor general accuses Pittsburgh schools of ‘runaway travel costs’ amid budget woes, proposed tax hike
Superintendent Anthony Hamlet and other top Pittsburgh Public Schools administrators have spent more than $450,000 this year on trips to Las Vegas, Nashville and Los Angeles and other travel-related expenses “without clearly demonstrating any benefit for students,” the state’s top fiscal watchdog said Wednesday. In a scathing report, Pennsylvania Auditor...
No jail time for Elizabeth Boro ex-police chief who stole heroin from evidence room
Former Elizabeth Borough police Chief Timothy Butler will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to emptying his department’s evidence room of thousands of packets of heroin to feed his personal drug addiction. Butler, 43, of Finleyville will spend about four years on probation. He also must perform 325...
Police arrest teen girl in connection to fatal shooting of Pittsburgh man
Police arrested a 17-year-old Brighton Heights girl on Tuesday in connection with the robbery-related death of a Pittsburgh man, officials said. Shayla Johnson — who also has ties to McKeesport and Duquesne — is a suspect in the murder of Julian Carpenter. She was arrested in Homewood and booked into...
Police arrest accused of robbing North Shore PNC Bank
Pittsburgh have arrested a man suspected of holding up a PNC Bank on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Jarrett Jones, 30, in connection with the Nov. 8 robbery of the PNC Bank branch on Federal Street alongside PNC Park, Pittsburgh public safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said....
Andrew McCutchen, Mayor Peduto serve chili, talk reducing poverty on Pittsburgh’s North SideVideo
Former Pirates player Andrew McCutchen spent Monday night serving up bowls of chili alongside Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto while the pair discussed ways to reduce poverty across Western Pennsylvania. Between scoops, the hairnet-donning outfielder — whom fans affectionately refer to as “Cutch” or “No. 22” — fist-bumped, shook hands and...
Post-Gazette union votes ‘no confidence’ in management
In a move deemed “unprecedented,” the unionized employees who represent a majority of the Post-Gazette’s newsroom voted Monday that they have “no confidence” in their executive editor, publisher or parent company, Block Communications Inc. Starting Wednesday, as a form of protest, the newsroom’s journalists will withhold their names from all...
