Local category, Page 1613
Building the Valley: Couple opens Portage Inn at site of former Jim’s Pub 66 in Gilpin
A Gilpin couple is making its way through the food industry by opening a second restaurant in the Alle-Kiski Valley area, the Portage Inn. Jeremy and Ashley Smail have taken over the space of Jim’s Pub 66 in Gilpin along Route 66, closing on the deal in January. In six...
Black community leaders to be celebrated at Greensburg event
Black community leaders will be honored this weekend at the Black History Month and American Health Month celebration from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the New Creation Family Worship Center at 119 Westmoreland Ave., Greensburg. The identities of the community two leaders will not be revealed until Saturday, said...
Vandergrift’s Sweetlane hosts ‘Big Bucker’ food challenge to highlight expanded menu
Brett Zambotti recently traveled from his home in Kittanning to downtown Vandergrift with a gastric goal — take The Big Bucker food challenge at Sweetlane Chocolate Shop. The old-fashioned confectionery broadened its range last month, offering breakfast and lunch. To promote the expanded menu, Sweetlane created a breakfast sandwich that’s...
Couples say ‘I do,’ again on Valentine’s Day inside Van Gogh exhibit on Pittsburgh’s North Side
Patti Fleet put on her white gloves on Monday, the same pair she wore the day she married her high school sweetheart, Chuck, on Aug. 26, 1967. “They are a little tight, but they still fit,” said Patti, 75, of North Huntingdon, before she and Chuck renewed their vows inside...
Norwin board pulls plug on CNN 10
The Norwin School Board pulled the plug Monday on daily broadcasts of CNN 10 to middle school students, and the television will be shut off in the classrooms unless students, teachers or administrators want them to watch the broadcast or videos pertaining to topics such as Veterans Day or the...
‘Ireland’ hits giant screen in 3D documentary at Carnegie Science CenterVideo
St. Patrick’s Day is still a month away, but a slice of Ireland is coming to Pittsburgh in the form of a 3D documentary about the Emerald Isle narrated by Liam Neeson. “Ireland” makes its U.S. premiere in the Rangos Giant Cinema at the Carnegie Science Center on Friday. The...
Aldi to build new store on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington
Aldi has been confirmed as the grocery store that will be built on the site of a former Kmart on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington. The city’s planning commission approved a land development plan for the project, along with a ModWash car wash, said Tony Males, New Kensington’s engineer...
Gateway JV hockey team played Connellsville at PPG Paints Arena
On the same ice that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin call home, the Gateway junior varsity hockey team was invited by the Pittsburgh Penguins to play an exhibition game on Jan. 27. The Penguins reached out to Gateway at some point in early October regarding an interest in hosting the...
Child endangerment trial begins for father accused of leaving kids alone on cold Greensburg street
A Westmoreland County jury will begin hearing evidence Tuesday in the case against a man charged with allowing his three young children to wander the streets of Greensburg alone on a cold Valentine’s Day two years ago. Prosecutors contend Antonio Partlow, 33, and his wife, of Charleroi, were asleep shortly...
Commonwealth Court denies Murrysville Watch Committee’s appeal of fracking ordinance
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court this week denied the Murrysville Watch Committee’s appeal of its failed challenge to Murrysville’s fracking ordinance. Initially filed as a challenge to the Murrysville Zoning Hearing Board, which upheld the ordinance on unconventional gas well drilling, appeals at the county (2020) and now state level (2021) have...
Cocaine, guns, cash seized in 10-suspect roundup; 5 face felony child endangerment charge
Police say nearly two ounces of cocaine — along with handguns, digital scales and about $20,000 in cash — were confiscated during a raid at a New Kensington home Friday that netted some of the 10 people charged with felonies as part of a drug sweep. In addition to multiple...
Pittsburgh woman gets 6 to 12 months in fatal Route 51 crash that killed her cousin
Allison Matthew stopped halfway through her court statement Monday, unable to continue because she was sobbing. About a year earlier, Matthew had been drunk while driving a car that reached speeds of nearly 102 mph before crashing on Pittsburgh’s Saw Mill Run Boulevard, killing her cousin. “I’ve not been able...
Free EMT training offered by Citizens EMS, AK Health Foundation
Two Harrison groups are taking aim at the depleted ranks of local EMTs by providing $20,000 in free training. The Alle-Kiski Health Foundation and Citizen’s Hose EMS will host a 16-week course open to everyone, even those with no experience. “You can come in on day one, know nothing, and,...
Division of Cook Medical in Parks Township to be acquired by CooperCompanies; no jobs lost
Cook Medical, with three global locations including a facility in Parks Township, announced last week plans to sell their reproductive health devices division to CooperCompanies, headquartered in San Ramon, Calif. William Cook Australia and Cook Spencer are the other two facilities currently manufacturing reproductive health devices. Cook Medical has locations...
Oakmont Bakery pumping out pastries with help from businesses after wreck damages building
Baking is back to full capacity at Oakmont Bakery after a vehicle crashed into the building late Friday. Several local companies made quick work of repairing damage — and local competitors offered use of their ovens. “The owners of Bethel Bakery, Prantl’s Bakery and Pastries A-La-Carte reached out to offer...
Police: Turtle Creek mother found in woods dead was shot
An Uber driver with four children who was found dead Saturday in a wooded area in Monroeville had been shot, Allegheny County Police said Monday. Christi Spicuzza, 38, of Turtle Creek, was reported missing by her family Friday night after she did not return home from driving several Uber fares,...
Dog or coyote? DNA test confirms species of animal that escaped from Westmoreland rehab center
One question has been answered about the animal that was undergoing tests to determine if was a coyote or a dog. DNA testing confirmed it is 100% a coyote, said Morgan Barron, wildlife rehabilitator. But another question remains: Where is it? The coyote escaped in late January from Barron’s Mt....
Growers will share ‘joy of orchids’ at annual show in Upper St. Clair
Beautiful, exotic blooms aren’t the only draw at the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania’s annual orchid show. This year’s two-day event also will include a silent auction, an hourly raffle of orchid plants and orchid-related items, a sales area, a repotting table and educational opportunities. Show hours will be noon-8...
Richland History Group: George Washington’s 1753 trek through Pine and Richland
In 1753, George Washington, at age 21, was sent on a historic mission by the Governor of Virginia to take a message to Fort Le Boeuf in Erie. He hired Christopher Gist, a surveyor and an experienced wilderness traveler, as his primary guide, as well as six others. Washington and...
Man found guilty of first-degree murder in shooting of father of former Pitt, NBA player
A Wilkinsburg man was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder in a 2019 shooting death in the borough. Dilon Bartifay, 34, faces a mandatory prison term of life without parole in the Nov. 16, 2019, killing of Gregory Lamont Blair Sr., the father of former University of Pittsburgh basketball star...
Maria Montaño named press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said Monday that he has appointed Maria Montaño to be his administration’s press secretary. With the appointment, Montaño becomes the city’s first openly transgender woman to serve as a mayoral press secretary. “She brings a wealth of communications, media and lived experience to my administration, and...
Hempfield man accused of jumping in and out of traffic on Route 136
A Hempfield man is free on bail after state police said he jumped in and out of traffic Friday and fought with troopers, according to court papers. Kenneth Wayne Barron II, 22, is charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, obstruction of highways and public drunkenness. Police said they were called...
New $1.7 million Greensburg public works building could be finished in March
A new public works building in Greensburg is almost complete, more than two years after the old one was destroyed in a fire. Tom Bell, director of public works, said officials could move into the building on South Urania Avenue in March, with final inspections expected in the next two...
Brackenridge officials eyeing new public works building
A long sought-after upgrade to the Brackenridge public works facilities could become reality within the next year or so, as the borough looks to build a new maintenance building. Council is expected to apply for a $400,000 state grant made available through gambling revenues. A new building is expected to...
Brackenridge seeks state money for sewer woes
Brackenridge officials hope ongoing storm sewer overflows along Roup Avenue can be addressed if the borough receives a state grant. Council is seeking up to $300,000 through the state’s Local Share Account. The $120 million fund was created with gambling revenues across the state. Borough engineer Gordon Taylor said heavy...
