Western PA Local News category, Page 1564
Westmoreland Symphony to wrap 53rd season with ‘Beethoven’s Brilliance’
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will conclude its 53rd season with “a brilliant, energetic, and touching musical document from the grand tradition established by Mozart and Haydn,” according to Artistic Director Daniel Meyer. The piece is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Mass in C, which will conclude “Beethoven’s Brilliance,” set for 7:30 p.m....
URA to partner with RIDC on $39M warehouse project in Pittsburgh’s Fairywood
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday entered into an agreement with the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania to build warehouses on a 25-acre site in the city’s Fairywood neighborhood. The proposed two-phase development would begin with construction of a 150,000-square-foot warehouse. RIDC said it is in talks with...
Neon Swing X-perience founder revives grandfather’s 1940s dance band
For 24 years, Neon Swing X-perience has been jumpin’ and jivin’ across area stages, playing a lively blend of vintage Americana music styles, including big-band, swing, rockabilly, hot jazz and blues. After a July 2 appearance at the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival, the band will be no more. “I’ve...
Brentwood painter provides ‘Unbroken’ support for Ukraine
Finishing a piece of her artwork less than 24 hours after she started is something out of the ordinary for Linda Barnicott. “Normally, I’m the type of person who sketches it out, then I do a pen-and-ink. Then I’ll maybe do a watercolor wash, and then I’ll paint it with...
Trafford-based home health care provider pays $383K to 46 workers to settle overtime claims
A Westmoreland County-based home health care service provider has agreed to pay more than $380,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 46 employees working from four Western Pennsylvania locations who were denied overtime pay dating back to 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The agency’s Wage and...
Jeannette lands federal grant to build new fire station
The Jeannette Fire Department will soon have a new home thanks to a federal grant. The department will build a new station on city-owned property that formerly housed the Clay Avenue school. Fire Chief Bill Frye expects to receive $1.2 million though an American Rescue Plan Act grant. He said...
Policy’s gender definition at center of debate for Highlands School Board
The question of what constitutes gender could be front and center at the next Highlands School Board meeting. On Tuesday, board members will consider approval of an education equity policy that at least two members have voiced concern about. The aim of the proposed policy is to remove educational barriers...
Pittsburgh Opens events aim to draw people back to Downtown
Pittsburgh is holding a series of events aimed at bringing people back to the city’s Downtown as it looks to bounce back from the covid-19 pandemic. The events, dubbed Pittsburgh Opens, look to build on efforts to reconnect returning workers with the Downtown neighborhood and revitalize the area with live...
Cintas’ move will double industrial space at RIDC Park in O’Hara
An O’Hara business that specializes in first aid, safety and cleaning supplies is expanding to nearly double its size in the township’s industrial park. Cintas will move operations from a 5,000-square-foot facility along Alpha Drive in RIDC Park to one that’s nearly 10,000 square feet and just a few doors...
Irwin OKs plans for Grand View Senior Residences
Irwin officials last week gave the go-ahead for the construction of a 50-unit four-story apartment building for senior citizens in a wooded area behind the Norwin Public Library. Irwin Council unanimously approved the plans that the Westmoreland County Housing Authority presented for Grand View Senior Residences, pending the housing authority...
Greensburg Salem School Board OKs 4-year superintendent contract with Ken Bissell
Greensburg Salem School Board has approved a formal contract with Superintendent Ken Bissell, who has been serving in that role for five months. The contract, approved this week by an 8-1 vote, extends through June 30, 2026. It will automatically renew for an additional year unless the board decides otherwise....
Mountain Playhouse departs Jennerstown gristmill for upcoming season
The good news for fans of Mountain Playhouse is that the two-year pandemic intermission will end with a new season starting May 25. News that patrons may find disconcerting is that actors won’t tread the historic boards at the company’s longtime home in the converted gristmill theater in Jennerstown, Somerset...
Grow Westmoreland, nonprofit started by Commissioner Kertes, seeks scholarship applications
A North Huntingdon-based nonprofit announced it will award $16,000 in scholarships to students seeking nursing degrees and skilled labor jobs. Grow Westmoreland, an organization created last year by Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes, said it raised private donations that will be used to award scholarships to local students between the...
Check out what Pittsburgh’s South Side has to offer
From old-fashioned saloons and greasy spoons to tattoo parlors, sports stadiums and a shop that sells only instruments you can pick, the South Side has edgy entertainment and enough history to call itself iconic. The neighborhood was once populated by steelworkers coming off their shifts and looking for a place...
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, Allegheny Co. Executive Rich Fitzgerald test positive for covid
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald tested positive for covid-19 Thursday, officials announced Friday. Gainey is experiencing only minor symptoms and is in isolation at home, his office said in a news release Friday morning. He will continue working from home while following guidelines from the...
High-tech manufacturer expands presence at Westmoreland County industrial park
Fossil Industries, a high-tech manufacturing company, plans to more than double its footprint in Westmoreland County. The company — which builds barbecue grills, fireplace components, aftermarket automotive parts and supplies the military — said it plans to build a new 52,000-square-foot facility at the Westmoreland Technology Park II, which is...
Sharpsburg seeks nearly $25 million in federal grant money to aid private developer
Sharpsburg officials have applied for a $24.4 million federal grant to help with transportation infrastructure for the Allegheny Shores development. Council unanimously voted during a special meeting April 9 to seek the grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE program, which stands for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and...
Police say Ross man used Snapchat to proposition teen girls
Allegheny County Police said a Ross man used the social media app Snapchat to proposition teenage girls. Police arrested Jonathan Smith, 33, on Wednesday. Smith faces a total of 21 charges, including felony sexual assault, corruption of minors, and aggravated indecent assault. He is facing several misdemeanor charges, including terroristic...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 15-17
After-hours art Fiber artist Kari Roslund will be the special guest at Art After Hours from 6 to 8 p.m. today at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. Roslund’s one-of-a-kind, hand-felted art pieces made from materials including wool, silk, wire, wood and paper are available in...
Students, staff participate in Sewickley Academy’s annual Day of Service
Students, faculty and staff of Sewickley Academy spent much of April 8 sharing their talents with others via more than 20 different service projects during the school’s annual Day of Service. “One of our core values at Sewickley Academy is community. We believe it’s important for our students to learn...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: April 15-17
It is Easter weekend. Here are some ways to spend it. Spring Flower Show This is the final weekend for “Sunshine and Rainbows,” the spring flower show at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland. The display includes thousands of blooms, including New Guinea impatiens, kalanchoe, nemesia, muscari and lobelia....
Rotating bathroom schedule at Kiski Area High School reduces student vaping, vandalism
A Kiski Area High School student started an online petition this month calling for all the school’s bathrooms to be open, all of the time. As the petition gathered more signatures, Principal Chad Roland called in the student this week to explain why the school began rotating bathroom closures, starting...
Perry Academy principal placed on leave as Pittsburgh Public Schools conducts investigation
A principal at Pittsburgh’s Perry Traditional Academy has been placed on leave pending an internal investigation. Pittsburgh Public Schools is investigating his role in breaking up a fight on a school bus outside the school, according to a statement obtained by Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. The school district declined to...
A native son: Faith and family are the foundation for the priesthood
Deacon Christopher James Pujol stood near the fifth row of pews from the back at Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church on Monday morning. He was replaying the memory of him as a 7-year-old making his First Holy Communion. “I was sitting right here,” he said, as he smiled recalling...
Lower Burrell Flyers to host 2nd annual Fishing Derby along Pucketa Creek
The Lower Burrell Flyers football organization will host the second annual Fishing Derby for kids 13 and younger April 23. The Flyers organization is stocking Pucketa Creek, along Flyers Field, with 150 to 200 rainbow trout for the special fishing event, said Chris Lowe, one of the organizers. An angler...
