Local category, Page 1142
Carnegie Mellon air quality data shows levels of ‘potential concern’ from Ohio derailment site
Carnegie Mellon University scientists monitoring the air near the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment site found levels of pollution from most chemicals measured to be of low or minimal risk, but at least one pollutant was detected at levels of “potential concern.” Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Texas A&M University teamed...
Medical examiner IDs man killed in McKeesport shooting
The man killed in the first of two Wednesday afternoon shootings in McKeesport was 47-year-old Robert Joyner, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Joyner, who lived in Pittsburgh, was shot in the 3100 block of the city’s Versailles Avenue and died at 1:27 p.m. at an area hospital, the...
Feds want Tree of Life suspect psychiatric examination
Federal prosecutors have asked the judge presiding over the Tree of Life mass shooting case to give their experts permission to examine the defendant for mental illness. In a seven-page motion filed Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office asks for a psychiatrist, a neuropsychologist and neurologist to be given access to...
Pa. residents seek answers to derailment-related questions at Beaver County clinic
Sam and Roberta Birchler grow corn, beans, carrots, lettuce and more in their 40-by-70-foot garden in Beaver County’s Darlington Township — about 2 miles from the site of last month’s Norfolk Southern trail derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. They eat the food they grow there, as well as blueberries that...
Sewickley Township man receives prison sentence for sexual assault of teen
A Sewickley Township man was ordered to serve a 10- to 20-year prison sentence Friday for the sexual assault of a teenager in 2021. Steven Stemmler, 40, was convicted by a Westmoreland County jury last summer of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated assault, indecent assault and corruption...
High wind warning in effect for 3 southwestern PA counties
High winds that hit Westmoreland, Fayette, and Indiana counties Friday evening are expected to continue until 1 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Slightly less powerful gusts were hitting neighboring counties, including those in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Westmoreland emergency services responded to numerous calls Friday night reporting downed...
Feds announce 57 arrests in Operation Lake Effect bust of fentanyl, meth ring
An investigation that stretched over four years and across the country resulted in the arrests of 57 people, the seizure of more than 673 pounds of fentanyl-laced faked prescription pills and more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine, the acting U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh announced Friday. “Nearly every family in Western...
Report on Allegheny County Jail deaths finds no ‘trends or common factors’ that led to them
A report commissioned by Allegheny County Jail found “no significant trends or common factors that would show a particular weakness or gap in operations” that led to 27 inmate deaths at the jail over five years. A redacted copy of the 50-page report from the nonprofit National Commission on Correctional...
Murrysville author will host Q&A at Penn Area LibraryVideo
When Klaudyna Grudowski was searching for inspiration to write a novel about a young woman’s struggle to escape from a dystopian society, she didn’t have to look far. Grudowski, 35, of Murrysville has been in the U.S. for only a couple of years. She grew up behind the Iron Curtain...
Teens charged in Greensburg knife attack to be prosecuted as juveniles
Two teens charged as adults in connection with a knife attack and robbery in 2021 at Lynch Field in Greensburg will be prosecuted in juvenile court. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani, following a brief hearing on Thursday, ruled a private evaluation determined Jackson Jeffrey Martin, 18, of...
$320K makeover planned for Greenfield’s Four Mile Run Playground
Four Mile Run Playground in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood could receive a $320,000 makeover this summer. The project has been in the works for about two years, said City Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield. Carnegie Mellon University has committed $250,000 for the project. Warwick is sponsoring legislation to use funding from the...
Greensburg man accused of sexually assaulting child in New Kensington faces felony charges
A 24-year-old Greensburg man has been accused of sexually assaulting a child in New Kensington starting when he was 17 years old and the child was 9, according to investigators. Nicholas Thomas Sales, 24, of the 400 block of South Urania Avenue was charged with two felony counts each of...
Franco Harris statue moves to landside terminal at Pittsburgh airport
The life-size figure of Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris — with the iconic pose of him catching the football just above his shoes for the Immaculate Reception on Dec. 23, 1972 — has a new home at the Pittsburgh International Airport. And the best part: You no longer need to...
Morning Roundup: Teen found shot in Clairton
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, March 3, 2023: Teenager shot in Clairton A 16-year-old boy was found shot in Clairton early Friday, Allegheny County Police said. The victim was shot in the leg in the 1100 block of North Sixth Street at about...
North Belle Vernon man sentenced to 7 years in child porn case
A North Belle Vernon man was sentenced last week to seven years and one month in a federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography. David Engel, 47, was ordered to spend an additional 10 years on supervised release and ordered to pay $21,000 in restitution to...
Police find $140K of suspected heroin, fentanyl after turnpike traffic stop in New Stanton
Two men are being held without bail after state police said they found $140,000 worth of drugs hidden in an SUV on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Stanton. Mario A. Caba, 37, of Philadelphia, and Elvis L. Holguin Ventura, 26, of Newark, N.J., are charged with drug offenses. Troopers on...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: March 3-5
Queen of bluegrass “Queen of Bluegrass” Rhonda Vincent will perform with her band, The Rage, at 8 p.m. Friday at The Lamp Theatre, 222 Main St., Irwin. A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Vincent won a 2017 Grammy Award for best bluegrass album and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry...
Hempfield house damaged by fire
A Hempfield house was damaged by fire early Friday, according to a Westmoreland Public Safety Department supervisor. The fire was reported about 12:45 a.m. in the 200 block of Wendel Road, about a mile north of Herminie. Adamsburg firefighters were on the scene for several hours, the supervisor said. Don...
Nearly 1,200 charges filed after dead, dying reptiles found in Murrysville home
A Murrysville woman is facing animal cruelty charges after 101 dead reptiles and 76 more that were barely alive were seized from her home in December, according to court papers. Nearly 1,200 charges were filed Wednesday against Susan McHale, 60, by humane agents from All But Furgotten rescue. They were...
Westmoreland inmate assault tied to Arnold fatal shooting, detectives say
A Wilkinsburg man was arraigned Wednesday after authorities said he beat an inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison for testifying against a man convicted of a 2020 Arnold fatal shooting, according to court papers. County detectives said Shawnti Shifflett, 27, attacked the fellow prisoner at the Hempfield lockup on Feb....
North Allegheny tech and engineering course under review
North Allegheny’s solicitor is reviewing an agreement for a technology and engineering course used by the district to determine whether the program’s outside operator is seeking too much personal data about students. NA School Board Director Marcie Crow said Project Lead The Way, offered by the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of...
The Stroller, March 3, 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. Ride for the Fallen Officers planned March 11 The Ride for...
Elliott Co. grant paves way for purchase of Westmoreland Park Police dog
The Westmoreland County Park Police Department will enlist its newest police dog this summer. Officials this week announced that the county received a $12,000 grant from Elliott Co. in Jeannette to purchase a second police dog that will be trained to detect narcotics and other drugs, according to park police...
MAX pulls application for new Yukon waste storage pit, vows to refile
Yukon-area residents opposed to a hazardous and industrial waste treatment company’s plans to create another dumpsite near Sewickley Creek received a temporary reprieve as the company withdrew its proposal. MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. of Upper St. Clair notified the Department of Environmental Protection last month that it was withdrawing its...
Arnold fire department accuses former chief of misusing funds
The former chief of Arnold’s No. 1 fire department is facing a civil claim against him by the department and is the subject of a criminal investigation. In a civil complaint filed with New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr., the department says Brian Gouza owes $1,525 for advance...
