Allegheny County News category, Page 266
Red wave in Western Pennsylvania ring counties leaves Allegheny a blue island
A red wave that has been building in Southwestern Pennsylvania for a decade broke loose, washing over the region with a vengeance Tuesday, leaving only Allegheny County reliably blue when the votes were counted. In statewide judicial races that topped the ballot, Republican candidates who carried the day outpolled Democrats...
Police: McKeesport man charged with the murder of Karli Short and her unborn child in September
A McKeesport man has been arrested in connection with the murder of the mother of his unborn child. Isaac Smith, 25, was taken into custody around 7 p.m. Friday by Allegheny County detectives and Pleasant Hills police. He is charged with homicide and homicide of an unborn child in connection...
Police: Man, 41, found dead inside McKeesport home
Homicide detectives are investigating after a man was found dead Friday afternoon inside a McKeesport home, police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Stephen Rucinski, 41. Police were called to the 2900 block of Grover Avenue around 4:40 p.m. after 911 dispatchers reported “a male...
Traffic restrictions planned for Carnegie on and off-ramp bridge over Parkway West in Scott on Saturday
Single-lane restrictions are planned along the Carnegie on- and off-ramp bridge over the Parkway West in Scott on Saturday. PennDOT officials said restrictions will occur from 7 a.m. to noon in each direction on I-376 under the bridge, which carries ramp traffic at the Carnegie interchange. The restrictions are necessary...
AHN offering child covid vaccines at 3 clinics, will add pediatricians’ offices soon
Allegheny Health Network Pediatric Institute will host three community vaccination clinics for children ages 5 to 11 this month. • Saturday, Nov. 13 from 8 a.m. to noon at Allegheny General Hospital’s Hemlock Building, 320 E. North Ave. in Pittsburgh’s North Side. • Saturday, Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to...
Former Shaler substitute teacher, Capitol attack suspect seeks release; for now, he’ll be transferred to different jail
The former Shaler substitute teacher charged with participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot again is seeking his release from pretrial custody, alleging he was subjected this week to a strip search after a meeting with a new attorney. Robert Morss, 28, has remained in custody since his arrest in...
South Hills pastor named auxiliary bishop for Pittsburgh diocese by Pope Francis
Pope Francis has named a longtime South Hills pastor an auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh, the Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Friday. The Rev. Mark Eckman was appointed Friday by Archbishop Cristophe Pierre in Washington, D.C. His ordination is scheduled for Jan. 11 at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Eckman,...
Police say daughter pointed loaded gun at mom outside Pittsburgh family court
A woman from Braddock was arrested Thursday after authorities said she pointed a loaded gun at her mother during an argument outside a court building in Downtown Pittsburgh. Kerneisha McClelland, 34, was taken into custody by Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies shortly after noon Thursday in front of the Family Division...
1 injured in Braddock fire; resident says candles may have sparked it
Firefighters in Braddock were working Friday morning to extinguish a fire at a home on Ninth Street. The fire in the two-story home was reported shortly before 3:30 a.m., Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reports. Within minutes of arriving on scene, the fire was raised to two-alarm to summon more manpower...
Pittsburgh’s Light Up Night moves to a Saturday
What had seemingly been a perfect night for ushering in the holiday season in Downtown Pittsburgh has proven to be a headache for some Friday evening commuters trying to get in or out of the city. For that reason, and to make it easier for more families to enjoy the...
Woodland Hills students to be part of historic public library card giveaway
Woodland Hills High School and its students will be making history Friday in a very positive way. The Woodland Hills School District has partnered with the three public libraries that serve the students for the “Library Cards for All” initiative. The libraries — the Braddock Carnegie Library, the C.C. Mellor...
Elizabeth man gets probation for sabotaging rail equipment, causing ‘complete signal failure’
What William Curry Brown did could have been catastrophic. In 2017, the lifelong railroad buff sabotaged rail signals and vandalized other equipment belonging to CSX in Braddock, causing a “complete signal failure” at tracks that carried both passenger and freight trains. Investigators said the damage was caught before any trains...
Diverse group of new Allegheny Co. judges to be ‘gravitational force,’ legal expert says
Candidates elected Tuesday to the Allegheny County Common Pleas bench will not only change the makeup of the court, but also could change the community’s perception of it and influence already sitting judges, observers of the race say. The group of 10 elected judges includes six women and four people...
Crafton man charged in George Floyd protests in Pittsburgh gets time served on federal count
A Crafton man already serving time in state prison for his actions during the May 30, 2020, George Floyd protests in Downtown Pittsburgh was ordered Thursday to time served in his federal case. Raekwon Blankenship, 25, appeared before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab via video conference. In addition to...
Have a beer, help the hungry during Hops for Hunger campaign in Pennsylvania
Breweries across Pennsylvania are offering patrons a way to help feed the hungry through the inaugural Hops for Hunger campaign taking place during November. “Pennsylvania is one of the preeminent brewing states in the nation, boasting over 400 breweries — and the number is growing. But just as our brewery...
Food Podcast: Food Bank prepares for busy Thanksgiving seasonVideo
On this episode of the Food podcast presented by Clearview Federal Credit Union on the TribLIVE podcast network, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank talks turkey. Thanksgiving is the busiest time of year for the Food Bank. “Imagine you have trouble getting food on the table at any time of the...
Victim identified who was found shot dead outside the North Braddock police station
Officers from the North Braddock Police Department responding to the sound of gunshots right outside the station house on Tuesday night found a man dead in the street. The incident happened at about 11:15 p.m. near the corner of Bell Avenue and Anderson Street, according to Allegheny County homicide detectives,...
School bus strike averted as North Hills drivers reach tentative pact with company
Students in the North Hills School District will be able to ride the bus to school Wednesday after drivers who were poised to strike reached a tentative contract agreement. Union drivers for the district’s contracted bus provider, ABC Transit, reached the agreement shortly after midnight. The drivers rejected a contract...
Women, Black candidates lead way in Allegheny County Common Pleas race
In the race for 10 seats on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, the four leading vote-getters as of 9 a.m. Wednesday were Black, while six of the top 10 were women, according to unofficial results. Eighteen candidates appeared on the ballot — whittled down from 39 candidates in...
Incumbent, 2 challengers poised to win contested Allegheny County Council races
An incumbent and two challengers jumped out to early leads Tuesday in the three contested races for Allegheny County Council, according to unofficial results. In council’s District 1 race, with all precincts reporting results as of midnight, Democrat Jack Betkowski of Ross had collected 51.2% of the 23,629 votes counted...
Ross woman pleads guilty to U.S. Capitol riot charge
A Ross woman charged with participating in rioting at the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Washington. Jennifer Heinl, 44, will be sentenced March 22 on a single count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The count is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum...
Former Hampton doctor sentenced to home detention, probation for distributing painkillers
A former doctor from Hampton who pleaded guilty in July to health care fraud and money laundering for illegally writing prescriptions for painkillers has been sentenced to home detention and probation. Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke, 66, of Hampton, who was initially arrested in 2017, operated Medical Frontiers LLC, a pain management...
Bus drivers for North Hills School District reject contract offer, set to walk off the job
Bus drivers for the North Hills School District rejected a contract offer Monday evening and have authorized a strike. Drivers for district’s contracted transportation provider, ABC Transit, are represented by Teamsters Local 249. Bus service will not be available starting Wednesday morning for district students and students from private and...
Officials in Allegheny County expect higher voter turnout, thanks to mail-in ballots
Allegheny County officials are anticipating voter participation to be higher than usual for a municipal election, thanks to an influx of mail-in ballots. As of Monday afternoon, the county said nearly 94,000 mail-ballots had been returned. Election officials expect voter turnout to reach about 28% — much less than during...
Police: 1 dead, 1 critical after motorcycles hit van that crossed center line in Elizabeth
A woman from Irwin died when the motorcycle she was driving hit a utility van that crossed the center line along McKeesport Road in Elizabeth Township on Sunday, according to police. The crash happened shortly before 5 p.m. when a utility van traveling eastbound veered into the westbound lane near...
