Tom Davidson stories, Page 43

In a divorce, deciding who gets a pet should be treated differently than deciding who gets a piece of furniture, according to a state legislator from Allegheny County. But Pennsylvania law treats pets as chattel to be divvied up, said state Rep. Anita Kulik, D-Kennedy Township. Kulik wants to change...

Fans of “Star Wars” have another chance to see the hero of the iconic franchise brought to justice. The Allegheny County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division’s annual Fairy Tales Mock Trials series this year put Luke Skywalker on trial. It will wrap up its mock trials at 10 a.m. Saturday...

The upcoming closure of a rolling mill in Avonmore is heartbreaking in the borough of about 1,000 people, many of whom have ties to the plant, according to Mayor Paula Jones. “A lot of people have worked there from cradle to grave. My dad worked there. Uncles. Cousins. Everyone has...

Some changes are welcomed at Kennywood. Take, for instance, the highly anticipated Steel Curtain roller coaster set to open this summer. Other changes aren’t. Social media began buzzing with chatter that the cheese sauce on Kennywood’s Potato Patch fries is different this year. “Heard the fries and cheese at the...

The dense, dark smoke that filled Butler Street in Etna during Wednesday’s fire in the heart of the borough’s downtown was a small indication of the magnitude of the blaze that raged inside the store facility, the borough’s fire chief said Friday. The scene inside the 110,000-square-foot building, formerly a...

Cyclists who are biking without lights will be treated to free light sets from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The pop-up event is sponsored by Bike Pittsburgh and its Operations Illumination program. Those biking without lights will be flagged down so volunteers can...

A gas leak Wednesday morning closed a street and caused buildings to be evacuated in Duquesne, the city’s police department said in a post on its Facebook page. The leak started about 10:30 a.m., when a contractor struck a gas line near 46 S. Linden Street in the Regional Industrial...

There was heavy smoke damage Saturday afternoon after a kitchen fire in an apartment in the former Giuliani’s Market in Arnold. Arnold No. 1 Fire Chief Walter Gouza said it was an accidental grease fire that broke out at about 4:30 p.m. and was put out in about 15 minutes....

Lower Burrell Mayor Nico Pampena was full of smiles as he shook hands with a bevy of officials after taking office Saturday, when Richard Callender abdicated his seat for a day. Nico, 9, was excited to get to inspect the city’s fleet of police cars, fire trucks and other vehicles...

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has yet to recover enough to return to the gridiron, but he was able to dance at his wedding Friday night, according to video that was spreading virally on social media. About a year and a half ago, Ryan Shazier was told he had a...

Nearly 50 dogs were removed from a house in Mercer County, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. “It’s probably one of the hardest calls we’ve ever been on,” officials from the Humane Society of Mercer County said in a post on the organization’s Facebook page. According to a report from...

There was a 7% decrease in crimes in Pittsburgh during the first quarter of the year when compared to the first quarter of 2018, according to an internal analysis released Saturday. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s Crime Analysis Unit also found there was a 12% decrease compared to the five-year...

Elizabeth Street in Dravosburg has reopened to traffic, according to the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. The road had been closed since March 4 to build a retaining wall and make other improvements after a 2018 landslide. The work was finished two weeks ahead of schedule, the county said....

And then there was one. For years, Arnold Flower Shop and DeStefano Florist have been a few doors from each other on Fifth Avenue in Arnold. That’s changing this month, as DeStefano’s is closing. “It’s time,” said Lynda Demharter, who has owned DeStefano’s for 17 years. She bought it from...

Prince Charles will not be there. But all things Welsh will be celebrated during a Whisky Dinner on May 17 at the University Club that’s being hosted by the St. David’s Society of Pittsburgh. The society celebrates and promotes awareness of Welsh cultural heritage in southwestern Pennsylvania and this is...

Local mainstays including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will be joined by nationally-known acts like Tonic, Guster and Foghat during the 2019 Summer Concert Series at two Allegheny County parks. The lineups for the annual series were announced Thursday, and they include nearly 30 free performances. The highlights of the series...

Pittsburghers with roots in Italy who are interested in piecing together their families’ back story can attend an upcoming workshop at the Sen. John Heinz History Center. The center’s Italian American Program will host the workshop, featuring Rich Venezia of Rich Roots Genealogy, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May...

A blast is scheduled for noon Wednesday as part of development of the Pittsburgh Airport Innovation Campus. It may be heard but won’t be seen, as people won’t be permitted access to the blast area, nor will there be any viewing areas, according to an Allegheny County Airport Authority news...

Seven hours of negotiations Monday night didn’t produce an agreement between New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union. The district’s 167 teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 31, 2017. The session Monday was the first since April 11. Phil Cope, a spokesman for the teachers’ union,...

The Spanish company that owns Kennywood Park in West Mifflin is courting a takeover offer from an international investment company. Piolin Bidco S.A.U. has offered $703 million to buy the remaining interest in Parques Reunidos, owner of Kennywood, West Homestead’s Sandcastle and Ligonier’s Idlewild parks, El Pais newspaper of Madrid...

A 35-year-old Washington, Pa., man was killed Saturday morning in a crash on Route 40 in Canton Township, according to Washington County Coroner S. Timothy Warco. At 11:52 a.m., Patrick J. Hughes lost control of his car at Roosevelt Street, went up an embankment and through a tree, Warco said...