Local category, Page 1004
Thrasher to resign as Westmoreland commissioner
Gina Cerilli Thrasher will resign from her elected position as the lone Democrat on Westmoreland County’s board of commissioners, her chief of staff Don O’Brien said Wednesday. Thrasher, 37, was confirmed Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Senate to fill a vacancy on the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. She will serve...
Saints of the Valley vacation Bible school teaches kids about namesakes for local churches
Most churches base their vacation Bible schools on cookie-cutter programming from national suppliers, but, at Saints of the Valley, campers will get an experience specific to the Alle-Kiski Valley. Each day of the program focuses on a different patron saint for one of five Catholic churches in the region —...
Doctors emphasize caution amid poor air quality in Western Pa.
Western Pennsylvania’s current poor air quality, caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires, can do more than make you cough — it can exacerbate existing health conditions and irritate the lungs, according to respiratory experts. The particles carried in the smoke can irritate lung passages and make it more difficult for...
Zoning change needed to clear way for GetGo gas station, store to be built in Homewood West
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is recommending a proposed zoning change that would clear the way for GetGo to open a gas station and convenience store in the city’s Homewood West. A zoning change would allow the GetGo to be built on a vacant, 1.3-acre site near the corner of Frankstown and...
Jeannette council workshops to be held same week as voting meetings
The public meeting schedule for Jeannette council will change in August back to a previous format. Council will resume having work sessions the Tuesday before Thursday voting meetings. The group voted 4-1 to make the change with Councilwoman Michelle Langdon dissenting. Since September, council has been holding work sessions eight...
Fitzgerald takes county minimum wage increase to court
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is asking a court to weigh in on whether the executive’s office or council can determine wages for public employees. The move follows a vote by county council last week that overrode Fitzgerald’s veto of an ordinance that would raise the minimum wage for county...
Hampton resident promotes coexisting with coyotes
What may seem like all of a sudden, coyotes aren’t just cartoon characters on television anymore. “They’re very prone to getting media attention,” Hampton resident Jamie DeHart said. “One event out of how many days in the year, and all of a sudden it’s front-page news.” Whether they simply are...
234-apartment development proposed for Strip District
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is considering a proposal to bring more than 200 new apartments to the city’s Strip District. The proposed development would include two new six-story apartment buildings, each with vehicle and bicycle parking and amenities. One building would be on Smallman Street and the other would be on...
Pitt’s dean of education to become president at Charlotte HBCU
The University of Pittsburgh will be searching for a successor to School of Education Dean Valerie Kinloch, who is leaving to become the president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. She will assume the role of president of the historically Black college on Aug. 1 Kinloch has been...
Pittsburgh synagogue attacker had ‘very serious mental health history from a very young age,’ expert says
“He moves through the world under a vague feeling of threat and paranoia.” “He is quick to agitation.” “Active psychosis makes it impossible for him to assess stimuli and read the world appropriately.” All of those findings, an expert in neuropsychiatry and epilepsy testified Wednesday, mean that Robert Bowers could...
Opposition continues on proposed Yough river power plant
A proposed natural gas-fueled power plant a few miles north of West Newton would pump more pollution into a region that already has poor air quality, environmentalists and activists said at a community meeting this week. More than 100 people attended the meeting organized by the Environmental Health Project of...
Westmoreland Symphony tuning up for annual ‘Summer Sparklers’ concert
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s “Summer Sparklers” is always a bit of something old mixed with a bit of something new. Set for 7 p.m. Sunday in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park, the free concert annually celebrates the Fourth of July with a salute to the armed forces and a rousing finale of...
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting memorial mural met with approval in Squirrel Hill
As with Pittsburgh’s efforts to come to grips with the horror of the events of Oct. 27, 2018, a Tree of Life shooting memorial mural unveiled Wednesday in Squirrel Hill is a work in progress. The mural includes a line of human figures holding hands against a background of hearts...
Fayette County camp bus crash injures 25 kids, 3 adults
Nearly 30 people were injured when a summer camp bus veered off Route 711 in Fayette County and landed in a field early Wednesday, according to state police. Troopers and first responders were called to the intersection of Pine Slopes Road and Indian Creek Valley Road (Route 711) in Saltlick...
Woman accused of attacking McDonald’s coworker with headset ordered to stand trial
A former employee at the McDonald’s restaurant in Lower Burrell was ordered to stand trial on charges of assaulting a new co-worker by hitting her in the head with a $900 drive-thru window headset. Nicole Monique Brundage, 37, of the 200 block of Freeport Road in New Kensington, was charged...
Westmoreland happenings: free veterans dinner, poker run, golf outing, more
Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks prior to the event. Each announcement is printed once; there is no fee. Church News • First Presbyterian Church of Irwin, 617 Main...
Larry Lagattuta, founder of Enrico Biscotti Co. in Strip District, dead at 65
The founder of a popular Strip District bakery and cafe has died. Larry Lagattuta, who left a corporate job three decades ago to open The Enrico Biscotti Co., died on Monday, according to a post by his family on social media. He was 65. Family members said Lagattuta was passionate...
Shaler North Hills Library offers a variety of summer programming
Shaler North Hills Library, 1822 Mt. Royal Blvd., will be closed for the July 4 holiday. Patrons are encouraged to return items using the outdoor book drop, with no late fees. The library will have a table at Shaler Township Community Day from 6 p.m. until dusk. For more information...
Morning Roundup: Cop, 2 teens in stolen car hurt in crash along East Busway
Here are some of the latest news items from Wednesday morning: 3 people injured in crash on East Busway Three people were injured after a stolen vehicle crashed into a police cruiser along the East Busway on Tuesday night, according to authorities. Two teenagers were traveling inbound on the dedicated...
The Stroller, June 28, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Household, personal items needed at Allegheny Valley Association of Churches The...
Westmoreland 250: 10 unique things in Jeannette
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Fox Chapel Rotary honors 10 Shady Side grads for service, academics
Ten Shady Side Academy students were honored by the Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area for embodying ideals of good citizenship and service to others, as well as for academics. Rotary members honored the graduating seniors during an end-of-school luncheon at the Indiana Township municipal building. Students were chosen by...
Battery suspected as cause of North Side fire
A fire in a Pittsburgh house last week may have been caused by lithium-ion batteries that ignited while being charged in a solar-powered, after-market charging system, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire said Tuesday. Firefighters responded to a one-alarm fire on June 23 inside a bedroom at a home along the...
Westmoreland Commissioner Thrasher appointed to state appeals board
Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher was confirmed on Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Thrasher, 37, a Democrat from Hempfield is serving out her second four-year term and announced in February she would not seek reelection, instead focusing on a career as a lawyer....
Opinions in Jewish community differ on seeking death penalty for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter
Robert Bowers murdered Donna Coufal’s friend. But she doesn’t want him to be executed for it. “I hope that, whatever happens in (Bowers’) trial, people find peace,” said Coufal, 69, a member of Congregation Dor Hadash who lives in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill. “And I hope no other jury would have...
