Western PA Local News category, Page 1621
Contractor charged after Kiski Township woman accuses him of cashing $16K check, failing to finish work
Kiski Township police filed felony charges against a contractor after a property owner accused him of cashing a $16,000 check for work in August 2020 and not completing the project. David Lynn Patton, 67, of Limestone Township, Clarion County, was charged with felony counts of theft by deception and failing...
Brewhaha craft beer festival returns to Avonworth Community Park
Returning for its sixth year, the annual Brewhaha event is bringing 10 of Pittsburgh’s best craft brewers to Avonworth Community Park on March 26. The beer festival is the marquee fundraiser for the Hollow Oak Land Trust, an organization dedicated to protecting and connecting greenspace in the Pittsburgh area. “We...
Victims identified who died in separate crashes Wednesday in Allegheny County
A White Oak man and a Carnegie woman were killed Wednesday in separate vehicle accidents. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims last Friday. • John D. Semenko, 59, died Wednesday, March 2 in an area hospital as a result of a crash at the intersection of Fifth...
‘Holy moly!’ Pittsburgh woman’s Jeopardy! win streak continues; tops $79,000
A Pittsburgh homemaker is a Jeopardy! winning machine, cruising to her fourth consecutive victory as a contestant on Friday’s show. Margaret Shelton, of the city’s East End, won for the fourth consecutive game on Friday. She earned another $21,500 to bring her total winnings to $79,700. Shelton had to stage...
‘Indefensible’ social media posts cited as Derry Area School Board asks member to step down
The Derry Area School Board this week issued a 7-0 no-confidence vote regarding one of its members, Sean Kemmerer, and asked him to step down. In a lengthy resolution, the board condemned social media posts by Kemmerer, indicating that statements he’s made “relating to women and girls, people of faith...
Pitt professor in Ukraine scrambling to survive amid war with RussiaVideo
A University of Pittsburgh associate professor of economics is doing his best to stay alive in his native country as Russian President Vladimir Putin wages war on Ukraine. Tymofiy Mylovanov is a Ukrainian citizen who splits time between Pittsburgh and Kyiv where he is president of the Kyiv School of...
Motorcyclist, 45, critically injured in 2-vehicle crash in Harrison
A motorcyclist was critically injured Friday when his bike collided with the rear of an SUV near the Walmart plaza off Freeport Road, according to Allegheny County Police. The crash occurred at the intersection of Freeport Road and Evergreen Drive, county police said. First responders found the 45-year-old motorcyclist suffered...
Allegheny County opens applications for alternative transportation grants
Allegheny County said Friday it is accepting applications for its Active Allegheny Grant Program, which doles out funding to communities looking to develop alternative transportation projects. The county said in a news release that eligible projects include those that provide bicycle and pedestrian connections and increase residents’ opportunities for physical...
Union picketers cite seniority, overtime issues in contract dispute with City Brewery
Union workers say seniority and overtime are issues that have placed them at odds with management at Latrobe’s City Brewery during contract negotiations. They took their message to the streets Friday, as about 50 people participated in a morning informational picket outside the brewery. More were expected in the afternoon....
Pittsburgh’s Art Commission wants more public input on Fern Hollow Bridge rebuild
Pittsburgh’s Art Commission has raised concerns that the process to replace the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge might not include enough public input or consideration of the new bridge’s design. Because the work is being done under an emergency declaration, officials can bypass the Art Commission and other elements of public...
Elderly mother of Unity man suspected in ex’s disappearance pleads guilty to $9 fraud, gets no jail time
The 85-year-old mother of a Unity man authorities have called a person of interest in the 2018 disappearance of Cassandra Gross pleaded guilty Friday in a conspiracy to swindle government benefits while her son was in jail on pending charges. Police said Almira Stanko, at her son’s direction, used his...
Bethel Park native shares mushing experience ahead of Iditarod
Beware of Bullwinkle, apparently. According to a Bethel Park native who makes his home in America’s Last Frontier, the friendly fellow featured in Jay Ward cartoons is the opposite of the genuine article. “You guys probably think the most dangerous things in Alaska are wolves or bears,” Scott Brucker said....
Taco Bell in Allegheny Township on schedule to open this month
Construction continues on a Taco Bell in Allegheny Township, expected to open this month at intersection of Hyde Park Road at Route 56. Kevin Kupniewsk, senior director of operations for Charter Foods/Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silvers and Pizza Hut, confirmed this week that the project is on schedule. An...
Sewickley Academy students stage protest following Thursday’s incident
A group of Sewickley Academy students who were turned away when they tried to deliver a petition demanding changes at the private school protested outside of the building on Friday morning. Some 60 students, parents and supporters of the group CARES — Collective Action for Representative Education at Sewickley —...
Man accused of killing Karli Short and their unborn child ordered to stand trialVideo
Percy Quinn Rees said the last time he saw his niece, 26-year-old Karli Short, they were watching television together. Or rather, he said, she was watching television. He wasn’t much interested in the program, but Short always had control of the remote. Rees spoke of those moments Friday during a...
Fitzgerald seeks to appoint former warden to Allegheny County Jail board
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has nominated a man who spent his career in corrections and once served as the county’s interim warden to be a citizen representative on the Jail Oversight Board. The county announced the nomination of William Stickman III to the board last month, and the issue...
‘People’s Convoy’ passes through Westmoreland County en route to D.C. trucker rally
Hundreds of people converged Friday afternoon along Interstate 70 in New Stanton and at the eastbound ramps onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike to cheer on a large trucker convoy rolling toward Washington, D.C., for a weekend rally to protest covid-19 restrictions — which have been eased or eliminated in large part...
Somerset County man sentenced for killing, burying wife under house
SOMERSET — A Paint Township man was sentenced in Somerset County court on Thursday to serve a state prison sentence for killing his wife in April 2019 and burying her body under the house, authorities said. President Judge D. Gregory Geary sentenced James D. Kline, 50, to six to 40...
Kittanning police seek man who escaped custody following arrest
Kittanning police are searching for a Manorville man who escaped police custody on Thursday. Dalton K. Mull, 28, was initially arrested Thursday night on charges of burglary, terroristic threats and simple assault. While in custody, Mull escaped from the back of a police cruiser. He is wanted on the above...
Pa. Turnpike closure will impact westbound motorists
Motorists who travel along the Pennsylvania Turnpike can expect to be detoured by a six-hour lane closure this weekend. The shutdown is required so crews can remove a disabled tractor trailer in the westbound lanes. Work will impact motorists between the Butler Valley and Cranberry exits. Lanes will be closed...
St. James School 8th-grader installs Buddy Bench for Girl Scout Silver Award project
Charlotte Gauntner, an eighth-grade student at Saint James School, earned her Girl Scout Silver Award for her Buddy Bench project. The Silver Award is the highest honor a Cadette Girl Scout can earn. Gauntner initiated her six-month project in June 2021, meeting with her project advisor Jeanne Riley, Father Brian...
Jeannette students party over pancakes as incentive to read more
While Jeannette elementary students savored pancakes Friday, their teachers relished the opportunity to have a little fun at school once again. Teachers used a pancake party as an incentive to encourage reading in their classrooms. It has worked, said first grade teachers Lou Anne Gansor and Cathy Harbaugh. “They just...
Poetry pop-up event to generate buzz for 1st Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books
For Danielle Obisie-Orlu, words are life. “They’re what people use to create, to destroy and to connect,” said Obisie-Orlu, 20, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh who is the City of Asylum Allegheny County Poet Laureate for 2021-2022. “If you know how to form them and use them, you...
Norwin Democrats to hear candidates from new 12th Congressional District
Norwin Area Democrats will review the new Congressional district maps and how it will affect the area when they meet at 6 p.m. March 9 in the community room of the Norwin Public Library, Caruthers Lane, Irwin. The Democrats plan to get signatures for nominating petitions so they can be...
N.J. man accused of posing as bail bondsman to take $5K from Hempfield woman
A Hempfield woman is out $5,000 after being tricked into believing her daughter was in legal trouble after a car crash, according to state police. The woman gave the cash to a New Jersey man who posed as a bail bondsman and visited her home Monday in the Midway neighborhood,...
