Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 32
Highmark CEO: Hospital group wrong for siding with UPMC over AG Shapiro
Pennsylvania’s largest hospital association is mistaken in trying to squash state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s attempt to halt the looming breakup between Highmark and UPMC, Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg said Tuesday. On Monday, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania joined UPMC in asking a federal judge to block...
4 injured in 2-vehicle crash in North Versailles
Four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash Monday night in North Versailles, initial reports indicate. The crash happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. near East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard and Ault Drive, an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. Medics took four people to the hospital, the dispatcher said. The extent of their...
2,700 pounds of kielbasa recalled for chance of containing metal
A New Hampshire food manufacturer has recalled nearly 2,700 pounds of kielbasa sausage after inspectors determined the products could be contaminated with metal, federal officials said. The recall applies to North Country Smokehouse ready-to-eat sausage produced on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8. The products were shipped to retailers nationwide. As...
WAMO radio station asks for help finding suspect who stole $10K in equipmentVideo
A man broke into the offices of WAMO-FM hip-hop radio station in Forest Hills early Monday and stole about $10,000 worth of equipment, officials said. Jamal Woodson, the station’s general manager, woke to a call shortly after 4 a.m. from operations manager Louis Wingfield, who showed up to work and...
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner arraigned on felonies in Detroit
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner and her husband were arraigned Monday afternoon in Detroit on charges related to an altercation with police at a hotel earlier this month. After the brief hearing, Wayne County Judge Ronald Giles set a $5,000 personal bond with no travel restrictions for each defendant, Wayne...
Activists pause marches for quiet day of vigils honoring Antwon Rose II
Antwon Rose’s mother stood Sunday afternoon on the Rankin basketball court where her son spent much of his childhood and said she still could picture him shooting hoops. “This was definitely his spot right here,” Michelle Kenney said. “If you was looking for Antwon, you’d find him on the basketball...
Pittsburgh man to appear on ‘Jeopardy!’ Tuesday night
Pittsburgh software developer John Shortino will appear on Tuesday night’s episode of the game show “Jeopardy!”, the show announced Friday. Shortino celebrated the news on Twitter. Having “Game Shows Touch Our Lives” in your head the day you’re going to be a contestant on Jeopardy! is a good thing, right?...
Port Authority to offer free bus rides to vigil honoring New Zealand victims
Residents of greater Pittsburgh can take advantage of free bus rides to a Sunday vigil to mourn New Zealand’s shooting victims and express solidarity for the local Muslim community. From about 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Port Authority of Allegheny County will allow passengers free rides to and from...
Tree of Life congregations raise money for security at Islamic Center of Pittsburgh
The three Jewish congregations affected by last fall’s mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue said Friday they are working to raise money for critical security measures at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. “Muslims in Pittsburgh grieved when our Jewish neighbors were attacked last year, and now the Jewish community...
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner to be arraigned Monday in Detroit
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner and her husband plan to turn themselves in to Detroit authorities on Monday morning, prosecutors said Friday. Wagner and her husband, Khari Mosley, will be arraigned via video conference from the Detroit Detention Center, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller said. The live video feed...
Joe Pittman, longtime aide to state. Sen. Don White, wins GOP nomination to replace him
A longtime aide to five-term state Sen. Don White on Thursday won the Republican nomination to replace his former boss. Joe Pittman, 42, of Indiana, Indiana County — who served as White’s chief of staff for 19 years — secured the unanimous support of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania in...
East Hills man who robbed 3 banks of $32K gets 8 years in prison; must repay $4K
A Pittsburgh man who robbed three banks of more than $32,000 during a two-month crime spree has been sentenced to eight years in prison, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Derek Hanner, 30, of the city’s East Hills also must pay $4,000 in restitution, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. As part...
Pitt monkey experiment signals hope for preserving fertility in boys with cancer
The birth of a healthy baby monkey in an Oregon lab signals hope for childhood cancer survivors who want biological children, University of Pittsburgh researchers said in a paper set for publication Friday. The monkey’s name is Grady, and she weighed 1 pound, 0.6 ounces when born last April at...
Pittsburgh brothers indicted in meth ring case with ties to Greensburg
A federal grand jury has indicted a pair of Pittsburgh brothers in a methamphetamine ring with ties to Greensburg, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said Thursday. Cassidy Barton, 35, and Forrest Barton, 30, are accused of scheming to acquire and sell more than 1 pound, or 500 grams, of a...
Washington man, 24, won’t get death penalty for killing man during botched gun robbery
A Washington County man convicted of murdering a partially deaf and blind man while trying to rob him of a gun collection six years ago will not face the death penalty, a jury decided. A jury of six men and six women sentenced Brandon Wolowski, 24, to life in prison...
2 injured in Parks Township car crash
A two-vehicle crash in Armstrong County sent two people to the hospital late Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Emergency dispatchers received a report of the crash near Stitts Run and Dime roads in Parks Township shortly after 5:30 p.m., an Armstrong County 911 shift commander said. As of 6 p.m., a...
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner charged with felonies in Detroit incident
Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner and her husband have been charged in connection to an incident involving police at a Detroit hotel earlier this month, prosecutors said Wednesday. Wagner, 41, of Point Breeze, Pittsburgh, faces two felony counts of resisting and obstructing the police and a misdemeanor count of disorderly...
Police in Penn Hills detain man in connection with East Hills shooting
Police have detained a man in Penn Hills in connection with the shooting of a man in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after 4 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting in a residential area on Wilner Drive north of Robinson Boulevard, Department of Public Safety...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to buying thousands of Xanax pills via ‘Darknet’
A Pittsburgh man admitted to buying more than 10,000 doses of Xanax on the so-called “dark web” and plotting to sell the drug to addicts for a $10,000 profit, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. James Robert Czachowski, 22, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine up...
Maryland man admits to stealing lawn tractors, UTVs from Western Pa. dealerships
A Maryland man admitted to stealing riding lawn mowers and utility terrain vehicles from dealerships in Western Pennsylvania, then returning to his home state to sell them, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Harvey Leemore, 53, pleaded guilty to plotting with others to raid the dealers and transport the stolen vehicles across...
UPMC alleges AG Shapiro is promoting the interests of Highmark, not the public
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is promoting the private interests of Highmark Health over the public good in his attempt to force UPMC to contract with its rival, UPMC told a state court Monday. UPMC made the argument in Commonwealth Court as part of its opposition to Shapiro’s petition to...
Pittsburgh woman pleads guilty to role in crack ring tied to West End gang
A Pittsburgh woman pleaded guilty for her role in a crack cocaine ring with ties to the “Greenway Boy Killas” street gang, federal prosecutors said Monday. Mardeja Chapple, 24, was among 28 suspects nabbed last summer in a wiretap probe targeting the gang also known as “the GBK” and the...
Pittsburgh-area Muslims aim to quell fear, hate; pray for victims of Christchurch, Tree of Life
Abdul Malik Mujahid visited the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh’s mosque in Richland Township for the first time Friday. Mujahid is an American Muslim imam and nonprofit leader based in Chicago. He was asked to deliver a sermon addressing the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that...
Pa. Senate GOP accuses AG Shapiro of overstepping authority in UPMC legal fight
Senate GOP leaders on Friday accused Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro of usurping the Legislature and violating the state constitution in his legal attempt to force UPMC to rescind a controversial prepay rule and contract with rival Highmark. Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson, filed documents in Commonwealth Court...
Where’s Franco? Harris, George Washington statues removed from Pittsburgh airport
Two iconic Pittsburgh greeters went missing Friday. For the first time in more than 10 years, travelers arriving at Pittsburgh International Airport did not get a glimpse of statues of Steelers legend Franco Harris and founding father George Washington. We miss them already. *sigh* pic.twitter.com/fBzuuzKMHe— Pittsburgh International Airport (@PITairport) March...
