Western PA Local News category, Page 1224
Defense requests 2 phases of sentencing if Tree of Life suspect is found guilty
Attorneys for the man charged in connection with the killings of 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill believe that his sentencing proceeding should be separated into two phases so that jurors in the potential death-penalty case are not improperly influenced by victim impact testimony. The...
Pitt committee approves up to $10M for land deal in BioForge project
A panel of University of Pittsburgh trustees on Wednesday authorized spending up to $10 million to acquire a piece of property in Hazelwood Green to develop a cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility. The three-acre property known as Lot 18 would become home to BioForge. “BioForge will be designed to...
Police: Threats trigger security restrictions at Latrobe hospital, lead to charge
A Hempfield man was arrested on a charge of terroristic threats stemming from a disturbance Friday and Saturday at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. Paul D. White Jr., 37, is accused of making threatening remarks concerning the hospital and its staff while at the emergency room, prompting tightened security, according to...
Uniontown treasurer accused of stealing $106K in taxpayer funds
Uniontown’s elected treasurer has been charged with stealing about $106,000 in taxpayer funds during her time in office. Antoinette Hodge, 53, is charged by the state police Western Organized Crime Unit with four felony counts, including theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and perjury. She also is...
Completed Fern Hollow Bridge unveiled in advance of Friday reopening
Less than a year after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park, officials unveiled a new span that will open in its place this week. “This is the best Christmas gift we could give the city of Pittsburgh,” Mayor Ed Gainey said Wednesday as he stood on the...
Popular Leechburg Lights holiday light show relocating to Connellsville after this yearVideo
Leechburg’s lit but not for long. The annual Leechburg Lights synchronized holiday light display at the home of Clyde Lindsey on Main Street is in its last season. Lindsey, 48, the homeowner and event creator, is moving from Leechburg to Connellsville in a few months. He plans to continue the...
Karen Riley named 18th president of Slippery Rock University
Karen Riley, provost at Regis University in Denver, has been named the next president of Slippery Rock University. The State System of Higher Education’s board of governors on Wednesday chose Riley to succeed William Behre, who in February announced that he would retire at the end of this academic year....
Northern Regional Police accuse man of failing to reveal prior drug use when trying to buy gun
Northern Regional Police charged a man with a felony after they say he failed to acknowledge his previous drug use when filling out the application to buy a gun at a sporting goods store in Richland. James Sergei Betts, 28, of the 9800 block of Presidential Drive in McCandless, was...
Edgeworth officials hold the line on taxes with 2023 budget
Edgeworth property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes next year as part of the borough’s budget. Council unanimously approved its 2023 spending plan on Dec. 20. The millage rate remains at 4.15 mills. It has been two decades since Edgeworth raised taxes. Council lowered the...
Allegheny Valley Association of Churches hosts free Christmas store for clients
In the social hall at Trinity United Methodist Church in Brackenridge, single father Samajai Williams loaded up a shopping bag with toys, clothes and other goodies to supplement Christmas wish lists from his three children. “I’m so thankful,” the Harrison resident said. “In these post-covid times, a lot of people...
Fort Ligonier Twelfth Night party will bid farewell to holiday season
Fort Ligonier will bid farewell to the holiday season with its sixth annual Twelfth Night Celebration. The revelry, planned for 7-9:30 p.m. Jan. 7 in the fort’s Center for History Education, will hark back to similar Colonial-era events. “The Twelfth Night celebration at Fort Ligonier is a fun event to...
Diamond Theatre of Ligonier showing locally filmed thriller, ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ Video
It’s unusual for a small-town theater that shows movies mainly on the weekends to screen a big-budget film on its premiere date. The Diamond Theatre of Ligonier has scored such a coup with “The Pale Blue Eye,” opening nationwide on Friday. A screening is set for 8 p.m. in the...
1 seriously injured in Hempfield crash
A Greensburg woman was taken to a hospital with serious injuries Monday after state police said she crashed into an SUV at the intersection of Toll and Business Route 66 in Hempfield. Troopers said Deborah O. Anderson, 62, did not stop at a stop sign at the end of an...
1 taken to hospital after Route 22 crash involving truck, farm tractor
The driver of a pickup truck was taken by ambulance to a local hospital after the truck crashed into a farm tractor Wednesday morning on Route 22 in Salem, according to Forbes Road Fire Chief Bob Rosatti. The crash was reported shortly after 6:30 a.m. between Seanor Drive and Hannastown...
Florida man charged in retail theft ring that hit Hempfield Ross store
An undercover state trooper helped crack an organized retail theft operation that officials said has been targeting Ross Dress for Less stores in 10 states, including one in Hempfield, according to court papers. On Saturday, a Florida man police believe is involved in the ring was arrested. Yan R. Duquesne...
Westmoreland retirees raises to cost $6.7 million in 2023
More than 1,400 retired Westmoreland County government employees are getting raises. Westmoreland’s retirement board on Tuesday approved an 8.1% cost-of-living increases for those who receive a county pension. “We try to be current with the cost of living, and that’s what it is,” said Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer, who...
Former Southwest Greensburg cop convicted for illegal traffic stop
A former part-time Southwest Greensburg police officer was convicted Tuesday of official oppression for a traffic stop while off duty and in an other jurisdiction. Prosecutors contended James Shaw, 56, of Mt. Pleasant Township initiated a traffic stop in East Huntingdon in October 2020 then followed the same vehicle for...
The Stroller, Dec. 21, 2022: 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. St. Joseph HS plans cash bash St. Joseph High School is...
Policy change will send Pittsburgh firefighters to all shooting scenes in city
Pittsburgh Public Safety is looking to get more hands on deck when a shooting takes place in the city. Effective Monday morning, Pittsburgh firefighters will respond, along with police and EMS, to all crime scenes involving gunshot wounds, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt told the Tribune-Review. Previously, firefighters only responded...
2 area ski resorts set to begin seasons as winter weather approaches
A blast of winter weather is arriving this week just as two area ski resorts are opening for the season. Hidden Valley Resort in Somerset County will welcome skiers today, Dec. 21, while Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Ligonier Township is set to open two days later. Both attractions are...
2 more arrests in Allegheny County Jail contraband investigation
A day after a former Allegheny County Jail corrections officer was charged as part of a contraband investigation, county police announced the arrest of two more men accused of being part of the smuggling scheme. County officials said inmate Lamar Castile, 42, and William Gilliam, 33, both from Pittsburgh’s West...
2023 Penn Hills budget doesn’t increase taxes, boosts police funding
Penn Hills property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as part of next year’s municipal budget. Council unanimously approved its 2023 spending plan Monday. It maintains the millage rate at 6.44 mills. The municipality has not raised taxes since 2019. Projected revenues and expenses were...
Washington County officials arrest suspect in 2013 bank robbery shooting
Nearly a decade after Vincent Kelley was killed by a man who was robbing the Citizens Bank at the South Strabane Giant Eagle, Washington County officials said that man has been arrested. County district attorney Jason Walsh announced Tuesday that Keith D. Wilk, 39, of Pittsburgh, was charged with criminal...
Pittsburgh man charged in Brookline gas station robbery
A Pittsburgh man faces charges including robbery and carrying a gun without a license after police arrested him Tuesday in connection with a Dec. 13 robbery in the city’s Brookline neighborhood. Police arrested Keith Larkins, 37, of Pittsburgh, charging him with the robbery of a Sunoco gas station on Saw...
TV Talk: Mark Cuban returns to Pittsburgh for ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ segment
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was back in his native Pittsburgh on Tuesday to tape a segment for an upcoming profile on “CBS Sunday Morning,” grabbing lunch with four childhood friends at Galley Bakery Square. Todd Reidbord, one of the owners of Bakery Square parent company Walnut Capital who arranged...
