Tony LaRussa stories, Page 37

Six Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings reopened Thursday, while four others were closed for the day and 13 more will remain shut down until Tuesday because of staffing shortages caused by covid-19, district officials announced. Schools reopening Thursday included Pittsburgh Arsenal 6-8, Pittsburgh Classical, Pittsburgh Grandview, Pittsburgh Miller, Pittsburgh Montessori and...

Police and medics responded to a head-on collision between two vehicles near Plum High School on Wednesday morning. The crash was reported shortly after 7 a.m. near the intersection of Leechburg and Elicker roads, according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. Medics evaluated the occupants of the vehicles for injuries...

The snow tubing area in Allegheny County’s Boyce Park is scheduled to open for the season on Friday, county parks officials announced. The snow tubing area will be open Fridays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.,...

Several road and bridge rehabilitation projects in the Pittsburgh area will have an impact on commuters over the next several months. Following are some of the projects underway in the area: McKees Rocks Bridge inspection A single-lane restriction will be in place on the McKees Rocks Bridge on Wednesday for...

The parents of four North Allegheny students with physical challenges have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the district of endangering their children by making it optional for staff and students to wear face masks in school. The class-action lawsuit does not identify the four students, but notes that there are...

Pedestrians will not be able to use the Highland Park Bridge for the next several days while crews make repairs to the sidewalk and barriers, PennDOT announced. Work on the walkway, which runs along one side of the bridge to provide pedestrian access from Butler Street in Pittsburgh to Freeport...

A woman was struck by a Port Authority bus early Tuesday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh, according to the transportation agency. She was struck at about 6:15 a.m. along Liberty Avenue near the intersection of Sixth Street. Police cordoned off the scene, blocking a section of Liberty Avenue between Sixth and...

Two schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are switching to remote learning for two days because of staffing shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic. St. Therese Elementary School in Munhall canceled in-person instruction Tuesday and Wednesday, along with all athletic events and extracurricular activities. In-person instruction is scheduled to resume...

The American Red Cross has issued an appeal for blood donations to help reverse what officials say is the worst shortage in more than a decade as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As an incentive, people who arrange blood donations through the Red Cross website (redcrossblood.org) during January will...

A Monroeville woman was accused of drug possession, carrying a gun without a permit and driving while intoxicated following a traffic stop by Upper Burrell police. Taylor Stringer, 22, of Garden City Drive is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and four counts of drug possession, all felonies. She...

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a single-family home in Plum that was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to authorities. Fire units were dispatched to a home in the 500 block of Anderson Avenue for a report of a single-story ranch with smoke showing from the front door, according...

Students returning Monday to the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland for the start of the spring semester have been ordered to remain in their dorms and get tested to make sure they have not been infected with coronavirus. The university announced it will provide its approximately 34,000 returning students...

Armstrong County residents now have the option of sending a text message to report an emergency to 911, public safety officials announced Tuesday. While the ability to text could be valuable in a scenario when speaking to a dispatcher might escalate a situation, calling should be the first line of...

A man charged with shooting a 30-year-old Tarentum woman to death outside her apartment in December will stand trial on homicide charges, an Allegheny County judge ruled Friday. Homicide detectives testified at a preliminary hearing for DaShawn Frederick, 26, of Wilkinsburg, saying he fired seven shots from a 9 mm...

Faced with soaring coronavirus cases and a decision by the Pine-Richland school board to make masks optional for staff and students, district officials are now considering a plan that would segregate masked and unmasked children in classrooms. Citing the state Supreme Court ruling that the Pennsylvania Department of Health overstepped...

A Butler County man was charged with multiple felonies after a Buffalo Township woman went to a clinic for face and head injuries and told medical staff that he punched and strangled her. Bradley Borg, 32, of Bessemer Avenue in Butler Township was charged with two felony counts of strangulation...

Police charged a 15-year-old boy in connection with a threat made on social media Monday that resulted in all Leechburg Area School District buildings being placed on lockdown for a portion of the day. Parents were notified about the lockdown by an automated voicemail message sent out by Superintendent Tiffany...

Kiski Township police accused a woman of kicking a man out of her vehicle and shooting him because she thought he stole one of her handguns. Patricia Marie Kettering-Pierce, 55, of Clarks Hollow Road, Kiski Township was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault, which includes a count of...

All Leechburg Area School District buildings were placed on lockdown for a portion of the day Monday after school officials learned about a threat that was made on social media, according to the superintendent. Superintendent Tiffany Nix notified parents about the lockdown in a voicemail. “We are in a lockdown...

A woman from Allegheny Township and her accomplice are charged with breaking into a house after she was evicted from the residence, police said. Vandergrift police charged Lauren Renee Decapite, 35, of Rebecca Avenue with one felony count of criminal trespass in connection with the Dec. 30 incident. She is...

Kiski Township police charged a Vandergrift woman with felony aggravated assault because a man told them she stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives during an argument last month, authorities say. Amy Lee Hepler, 38, of Longfellow Street also was charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault, as well...

Springdale police charged a man with six felony theft charges after a woman told them the man pushed her out of her car after beating her, stole the vehicle and then burglarized her home. Vincent Edward Tabone, 29, of Sylvan Avenue, Collier Township, was charged with burglary, robbery of a...

Arnold police arrested a man because two women said he walked into their homes and made sexually suggestive comments to them and refused to leave until they threatened to call police, authorities say. Thomas Slosky, 59, of Laurel Place in New Kensington was charged with a felony count of criminal...

A New Kensington woman was charged with felony identity theft after, police say, she gave them her sister’s name when she was approached by an officer who saw her sitting in a vehicle with a marijuana pipe. Shanna Rachelle Heymers, 41, of Virginia Drive also faces a charge of possession...

Several hundred residents in Washington Township will have their electric power shut off for part of the day on Wednesday so upgrades can be made to West Penn Power’s facilities, utility officials announced. The planned power outage will affect 229 customers in the area of Goldfinch and Mallard drives as...