Western PA Local News category, Page 1205
Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam faces censure vote for ‘vulgar’ language
An initial attempt to censure Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, over foul language directed at a fellow member, was defeated Tuesday night. A full vote to censure will occur later this month, a councilman said. Hallam called the attempt to censure her “political theater.” The action came after a few...
Judge rejects Mt. Pleasant man’s request to dismiss assault counts
A Westmoreland County judge ruled this week that charges against a Mt. Pleasant man accused of assaulting two police officers can proceed to trial. Evidence presented during a preliminary hearing supports allegations that Joe Paul Biller, 37, attacked and threatened officers as they came to his home to arrest him...
Heinz History Center opens digital archive documenting 2018 Tree of Life attack
A website displaying archival materials collected in the aftermath of the Oct. 27, 2018, attack against three congregations at the Tree of Life synagogue was set in motion Tuesday by the Senator John Heinz History Center’s Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives. The October 27 Archive website (october27archive.org) is a...
Westmoreland plastics firm to expand to build parts for Amtrak Airo trains
Amtrak’s upgraded passenger trains, expected to be put into service later this decade, will have a Westmoreland County connection. Roechling Industrial Mt. Pleasant, a machine plastics company that has operated in the county since 1981, has been tapped to produce interior ceilings, door motor cases and other projects for the...
Proposed Strip District development includes nearly 300 apartments, dozens of townhouses
A proposed development could bring 288 apartments and dozens of townhouses to Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The Brickworks Residential Development would include eight buildings on a 3.45-acre lot at 2121 Smallman St., according to plans presented Tuesday to the city’s Planning Commission. The plans call for two, six-story apartment buildings with...
PennDOT gets $171M in grants to expand electric vehicle network
PennDOT is receiving $171.5 million in grants to expand its electric vehicle infrastructure. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, PennDOT will receive the federal funds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure over the next five years. For the first round of funding, PennDOT has advanced appropriations of $25.4 million for...
Hampton School Board plans vote on resolution limiting tax increase
Hampton Township School Board plans to vote Jan. 16 on a resolution not to exceed a 4.1% real estate tax increase for 2023-24. The percentage represents the base index established for the next fiscal year under the provisions of the state’s Special Session Act 1 of 2006, which basically puts...
Pitt professor, DuoLingo co-founder will be inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
Two Pittsburgh residents will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame’s 2023 class, hall officials announced earlier this month. Rory Cooper, a University of Pittsburgh professor and founder of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, and DuoLingo CEO Luis von Ahn are among 16 innovation pioneers whose inventions range...
Pittsburgh partners with startups to improve city government, support entrepreneurs
Several of Pittsburgh’s city departments will partner with startup companies in an effort to improve how city government functions and support the participating companies, Mayor Ed Gainey said Tuesday. The mayor said seven startups will join the latest cohort of the PGH Lab program. “Piloting new ideas within city government...
Pittsburgh mayor scraps panel created to appoint PWSA board members
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has eliminated an independent board that nominated people to serve on the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s board and announced his own nominees. Former Mayor Bill Peduto enacted an executive order to create the board of nominators. Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Gainey, said the mayor...
People can cozy up this winter at Allegheny RiverTrail Park
Fire pit Fridays are coming to Aspinwall, and everyone is invited to cozy up. Allegheny RiverTrail Park will host Cabin Fever, featuring fire pits, indoor movies and snacks, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Fridays through February. The 10-acre park is off Freeport Road in Aspinwall. Another 6 acres recently was...
Man who killed family in 2016 crash in North Versailles resentenced to life in prison
The Homewood man who killed a family of three in a fiery crash on Thanksgiving in 2016 was initially ordered to serve 70 to 140 years in prison. On Tuesday, following a decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Demetrius Coleman, 28, was resentenced to life in prison. Coleman, who had...
Get the Led Out brings annual 2-night Led Zeppelin tribute to GreensburgVideo
Paul Hammond wasn’t enthralled by Led Zeppelin’s music when he first heard it about age 4. But first impressions don’t always last. Now 57, Hammond has been playing in a Led Zeppelin tribute band for 20 years. Philadelphia-based Get the Led Out will play its annual two-night stint at the...
Fox Chapel Area School District officials pledge to keep any tax increase in 2023-24 within state cap
Fox Chapel Area property owners should not expect any hike in real estate taxes beyond 4.1% for next school year. School district officials unanimously approved a resolution at its combined workshop and regular meeting Jan. 9 pledging to keep any tax hike within an inflation-based state limit. Act 1, passed...
Suspects in Route 51 chase charged in connection with Carrick homicide
Pittsburgh police have arrested two suspects in connection with a Carrick shooting that left one man dead. Maurice Nelson, 20, and Amier Windsor 17, each were charged Tuesday with criminal homicide, robbery and criminal conspiracy in the homicide that occurred Sunday in the 1900 block of Concordia Street. Pelson and...
Kiski Area School District seeks Region II board member
Kiski Area School Board is seeking a new member after the recent resignation of director Bertram Gardner. Gardner resigned Monday, citing a busy schedule as his reason for stepping down, Kiski Area Superintendent Misty Slavic said. A board vacancy in Region II was announced Monday on the district’s Facebook page...
Groups propose community park, garden in downtown New Kensington
Westmoreland Community Action and Wesley Family Services are proposing to build a community park and garden in downtown New Kensington. As proposed, the park and garden would be on what currently are vacant lots along the northern side of 10th Street between Cherry and Spruce alleys, with Third Avenue running...
Erica Brusselars launches bid for Allegheny County treasurer
For the first time in nearly 25 years, Allegheny County could have a new county treasurer, as Democrat Erica Rocchi Brusselars announced her candidacy Tuesday. Incumbent John Weinstein, a Democrat, was first elected to the treasurer position in 1999 and has held the position since then. It’s unclear if Brusselars...
Experts: Dog flu hasn’t hit Western Pennsylvania, but precautions are good idea
A highly contagious respiratory disease targeting dogs has shown up in at least nine states, including Pennsylvania, in recent months, and it’s raising concern among those who work with dogs in the Pittsburgh area. But, while Becky Morrow, a veterinarian and founder of Frankie’s Friends, a nonprofit animal rescue shelter...
Stratigos Banquet owner buys defunct Banquets Unlimited for $406,000
The owner of a popular North Huntingdon banquet hall has expanded his business by buying a closed Irwin banquet facility in bankruptcy court and plans to renovate it in hopes of reopening it in April or May. Harry Stratigos, owner of Stratigos Banquet Centre on Colonial Manor Road, acquired Banquets...
Expanded labs, updated tech greet students at Pitt-Greensburg’s new Life Sciences Building
Natural lighting and artificial patients are among the features that have students and faculty excited about the new Life Sciences Building at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Members of the Pitt-Greensburg community got their first glimpse inside the latest addition to the Hempfield campus during an open house Monday...
Pine-Richland area school news for the week of Jan. 10, 2023
Kelly Gustafson, principal of Wexford Elementary School since 2018, has been named the Pennsylvania School Libraries Association’s 2023 Outstanding Administrator. Gustafson was chosen for her outstanding leadership in significantly improving school library services. She exceeded award criteria in the six American Association of School Librarian’s National School Library Standards: Inquire,...
New Alexandria man to serve probation for scuffle with Jeannette police
A New Alexandria man who claimed he was a victim of excessive force during an incident last year with Jeannette police was ordered Monday to serve one year on probation. David Vucish, 50, was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct and other offenses in connection with an...
Collections for Brackenridge chief’s family continue with sticker sale, card drop-off
An online fundraiser for slain Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire has topped its $100,000 goal in just four days since it was first posted. People and businesses across the Alle-Kiski Valley have stepped up in a major way to help McIntire’s widow, Ashley, and his four children. Donations were nearing...
Work day extended for Westmoreland’s Park Police leaders; department raises cash for 2nd dog
Top administrators with Westmoreland County’s Park Police will begin working longer days this year. The county’s salary board Monday approved extensions of the work day by an additional 30 minutes this year and another half-hour in 2024 for Park Police Chief Henry Fontana, the department’s two captains, one lieutenant and...
