Western PA Local News category, Page 1629
Pittsburgh man fired gun near West Penn Hospital, fought with officers, police say
A Pittsburgh man was arrested in early Tuesday after Pittsburgh police say he fired a gun near West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield. Officers said they were responding to a report of shots being fired on Milgate Street just after midnight when they heard a gunshot as they approached the hospital....
Penn Hills School District hires alum Charles Morris as head football coach
Community, family and character were arguments for both sides of the Penn Hills head football coach debate at a special school board meeting on Monday, where the board approved the hiring of Charles Morris to the position. Brian Tarrant was also a candidate for the job. “I’m excited to get...
Covid cases at Westmoreland jail slow amid county decline
Coronavirus cases at Westmoreland County Prison continue to decline. Warden Bryan Kline said Monday that just five inmates are currently infected with the virus, the lowest number of positive cases the Hempfield lockup has seen in several months. There were 542 inmates in the jail on Monday. “Our visitation and...
Apollo-Ridge students set to perform ‘Hello, Dolly’
Apollo-Ridge musical director Bethany Greenlee and orchestra director Andrew Jones have fond memories of performing “Hello, Dolly” together when they were in high school. That’s one of the reasons Apollo-Ridge High School drama students have been gearing up to present the musical, set in New York City at the turn...
Greensburg man’s bid to bar sex video evidence rejected by judge
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday ruled a cellphone video showing a woman having sex with a boy was legally obtained by authorities. Charles Hunter, 35, of Greensburg is awaiting trial of multiple counts of rape of a child, possession of child pornography and related offenses in connection with the...
2nd immersive art exhibit coming to North Side
First Vincent van Gogh, now Frida Kahlo. A second interactive art exhibit is coming to Lighthouse ArtSpace Pittsburgh, a converted warehouse, on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Lighthouse Immersive, a producer of experiential art exhibits, partnered with Impact Museums, which operates immersive experiences built around art, entertainment and social causes, and collaborated...
FBI: Ross man arrested for trying to meet for sex with 12-year-old girl
Authorities say a Ross man who arranged a meeting with a 12-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity was arrested by FBI agents when he went to meet her, according to his arrest papers. An FBI agent had been posing as the girl in communications online for several months. Vikash...
Man gets 15 to 30 years in 2015 McKeesport shooting death
A Clairton man will spend 15 to 30 years in prison for killing one person in a 2015 McKeesport shooting that also injured two women. Roman Jones, 30, was found guilty of third-degree murder and related counts following a non-jury trial before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Randal B. Todd...
Valley High students, staff roll up sleeves for student-run blood drive
Students and staff at Valley High School stepped up Monday to help meet the need for blood, even if some of them were not able to go through with it. Senior Brooke Alcorn Ferry, 17, said some of her classmates who volunteered to donate during the blood drive she organized...
U.S. gas prices rise on higher oil prices brought on by Russian invasion of Ukraine
An increase in the global price of crude oil brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to higher gasoline prices in the United States, AAA said Monday. The national average for a gallon of gas rose to $3.61. That’s 8 cents more than a week ago, 26 cents...
Westmoreland coroner appoints new chief deputy
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office has a new chief deputy. Newly elected Coroner Tim Carson announced Monday that he has tabbed Scottdale funeral director James Jacquillard as his second-in-command. Jacquillard, 50, has been a licensed funeral director for 28 years. He is a supervisor and funeral director at Graft-Jacquillard Funeral...
Greensburg man ordered to prison for rape of unconscious woman
A Greensburg man convicted of raping an unconscious woman and for an attempted sexual assault of another person told a Westmoreland County judge on Monday he wanted to take responsibility for his actions even as he maintained his innocence. Levi L. Evans, 24, at a nonjury trial in September was...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers union plans rally as contract talks continue
New Kensington-Arnold School District teachers who have been without a contract for 181 days are planning to rally before Tuesday evening’s school board meeting, the Pennsylvania State Education Association said Monday. The rally is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Valley High School in New Kensington. The school board...
UPMC reports $24 billion in revenue in 2021
UPMC reported Monday that it posted $24 billion in operating revenue in 2021, up $1 billion, or about 4.3%, from the year before. Despite the increased revenue, the health care giant said that its overall operating income for last year totaled $843 million, down 4% from the year before. UPMC...
Monessen STEM instructor earns grant as Educator of the Year finalist
Matthew Strine’s students at Monessen Middle/High School have explored the fields of business and technology by using 3-D printers to create and sell custom key chains and cube-shaped fidget toys. It’s part of the district Maker Space program the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teacher has worked to initiate...
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey announces 3 appointments to administration
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Monday announced his appointments to three positions that manage neighborhood and constituent services. Gainey named Melvin Hubbard El as community advisor to the mayor, Rebekkah Ranallo as neighborhoods services manager and Chrisarah Johnson as community liaison. “These individuals all bring a wealth of knowledge and...
Cub Scouts, First United Presbyterian host pancake dinner for Shrove Tuesday
The Rev. Phil Beck is looking for a few hungry people to eat roughly a few hundred pancakes, all for free. His church, First United Presbyterian in Tarentum, is hosting a pancake dinner to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, the night before the start of Lent. It is co-hosted by Cub Scout...
McKees Rocks man pleads guilty to 3rd-degree murder in Robinson motel killing
A McKees Rocks man pleaded guilty Monday to killing a Beaver County man at a Robinson motel nearly two years ago. Jaquay Murray, 27, will be sentenced to 18 to 42 years in prison as part of a negotiated plea on March 29 by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward...
Highlands hosts Early Childhood Fair to help youngest learners acclimate
Highlands families with children who will be enrolling in school this fall can get acquainted with the district’s Early Childhood Center during a two-day event this week. The Early Childhood Fair, an annual tradition to welcome the district’s youngest learners, will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday....
Police: Apollo man faces 10 felony charges after allowing 8-year-old to record him performing sex act
Apollo police charged a man with 10 felony counts after the father of an 8-year-old boy showed them a video on his son’s cellphone of the man performing a sex act, police said. Matthew Alan Sinclair, 21, of the 100 block of Railroad Avenue in Apollo faces two counts of...
Shady Side Academy Middle School presented ‘Mary Poppins Jr.’
Shady Side Academy Middle School performed their winter student musical, “Mary Poppins Jr.” on Feb. 24 at the middle school. A cast of 19 students from grades 6-8 entertained the audience with classic songs “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Practically Perfect” and “Spoonful of Sugar.” Mary Poppins, played by seventh-grader Ozge Uzman, was...
Nurse anesthetist accused of stealing painkillers from Greensburg hospital operating rooms
A certified nurse anesthetist who worked at Excela Health Westmoreland was arrested by agents from the state Attorney General’s office on accusations of stealing powerful painkillers from locked cabinets in the Greensburg hospital’s operating rooms, according to court papers. Todd A. Hrtyanski, 59, of Unity, who worked at the hospital...
Man arrested after Export standoff, accused of threatening ex-girlfriend with shotgun
A former Export man remains in jail without bond after a standoff with police late Friday outside a former girlfriend’s residence, where he is accused of threatening her with a shotgun, according to state police. Alvin A. Kovatch Jr., 38, was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal trespass and harassment...
Western Pa. watershed groups have high hopes for tapping into abandoned mine cleanup funds
Into Crabtree Creek, every minute of every day, seemingly clear water pours out of a long-abandoned mine, only to turn the rocks over which it flows a solid orange — the color created when the iron sulfide in the mine water is exposed to the air, creating sulfuric acid. That...
Pittsburgher who walked from Ukraine to Poland shares stories of war refugees
A Pittsburgh-based journalist is one of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled Ukraine in response to Russian military strikes and aggression, and he did so by walking 45 miles from Lviv to neighboring Poland. “I am not going to pretend like I was brave. I was terrified,” Manny...
