Local category, Page 1682
Charleroi native in Florida displays borough’s old Christmas lights
The Rev. Frank Jacobs has the kind of vivid holiday memories we all hang on to. Jacobs, 68, lives in Port St. Lucie, Fla. But he has Christmas lights that once hung on lamp posts and stretched across the streets of Charleroi, where he lived from 1953 to 1962. Last...
Fox Chapel teen wins singing awards
Shady Side Academy junior Sloane Simon won two voice awards in the 2022 YoungArts National Competition, receiving an honorable mention in the Voice/Popular (Pop) category and a merit award in the Voice/Singer-Songwriter category. The YoungArts National Competition is open to artists ages 15–18 or in grades 10–12 in the United...
THRIVE in North Hills provides assistance, donations to refugees
THRIVE Pittsburgh helps refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers coming into the United States by providing basic necessities and the support needed to begin again. These individuals and families arrive in Pittsburgh with basically nothing after fleeing their home or country or after living years in a refugee camp, according to Pauline...
Wilkinsburg shooting victim dies 11 days later; suspect now charged with homicide
A man who was shot Dec. 6 in Wilkinsburg has died. Sirdorian Turner, 54, of Wilkinsburg, was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital after he was shot in the 700 block of Wood Street, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Initially in critical condition, he was pronounced dead early...
Shots fired in Penn Hills as police set up a perimeter
Penn Hills police established a perimeter around Dollman and Mount Carmel roads and began searching the area around 10 p.m. Friday after responding to a call for shots fired, according to police Chief Howard Burton. Burton said officers initiated the search when they arrived at the scene and believed that...
Shetler hearing continued; injured deputy unable to testify
A New Florence man accused of injuring a Westmoreland County deputy sheriff when he was arrested earlier this month had his court hearing continued until Jan. 7 because the deputy sheriff is recovering from “serious bodily injuries” he allegedly sustained during a fight with the suspect, a prosecutor said Friday....
Mistaken identity has Pittsburgh eatery taking blame for Arkansas restaurant’s unpopular tipping policy
Suzanne Hrach, owner of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room, was in Philadelphia last week celebrating her wedding anniversary when she got a notification that her restaurant received eight new Google reviews. They were not good. “Seven of them were ‘one-star’ reviews, and I don’t think we’ve gotten...
Volunteers lay wreaths on all 14,500 veterans’ graves in National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
Green wreaths with red bows lay against the white tombstones. As they place the greenery at each of the 14,500 veterans graves at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil, Washington County, this weekend, volunteers will say the deceased’s name. They will take a moment to pause and thank...
Etna man found guilty of threatening FBI agent on social media
A former student at the University of Pittsburgh was found guilty Friday of using Twitter to threaten an FBI agent who was investigating him. A jury deliberated three hours before finding Khaled Miah guilty of seven counts, including interstate threats, retaliating against a federal officer by threats and destruction of...
Family of man who died after being tased by Pittsburgh police calls for charges against officers
Family and friends of a man who died in October after being tased by Pittsburgh police in the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood gathered in front of the City-County Building on Friday to demand accountability in his death. “We’ve heard almost nothing in the months we’ve been fighting for this,” said Devon...
Murder charges dismissed against 2 women implicated in Arnold killing; both plead guilty to lesser charges
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Friday dismissed murder charges against two women implicated in the 2019 robbery and killing of a man in Arnold. Instead, Santyna M. Bennett, 28, of New Kensington and Bailey Ann Hines, 27, of Butler pleaded guilty to lesser charges in return for their cooperation with police...
Westmoreland County Transit Authority union rejects covid vaccine incentive
Leadership of the union that represents Westmoreland County Transit Authority fixed-route bus drivers and mechanics said Friday a proposal to offer additional sick leave to vaccinated employees who test positive for the coronavirus is not fair and won’t present the plan to its members. Dave Conley, president of the Amalgamated...
Greensburg tax hike to offset losses from parking garage demolition
Greensburg residents will see an additional 1-mill charge next year, and city officials will borrow $1 million as they look for ways to bolster funds dedicated to public safety that traditionally came from the J. Edward Hutchinson Parking Garage, which is slated for demolition. The charge and loan were part...
Police seek tips in attempt to solve slaying of Tarentum mother of 2
Kristina Arndt thought somebody suffered a medical emergency when she arrived at her apartment building on Fifth Avenue in Tarentum late Thursday night and saw police cars and ambulances lining the block. It wasn’t long before she learned they were there because her neighbor and friend had been shot to...
Authorities: Convicted rapist who violated his parole found hiding in Kiski Township home
Kiski Township police say they found and arrested a convicted rapist Friday who broke parole and was hiding in the bathroom of a township home. Township police and authorities with the Armstrong County parole and probation department arrested Frank Shaner without incident at a home along Isabella Avenue and took...
Ex-Shaler substitute teacher charged in Capitol riot poses ‘ongoing danger,’ judge says
A former Shaler substitute teacher facing numerous charges for his alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot will remain in federal custody, a judge said Friday in Washington, D.C. Robert Morss, 28, filed a motion last month seeking to be released from custody pending trial, alleging he was subjected...
Manor man to serve up to 14 years in prison for drug sales in fatal overdoses
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger said he struggled with just how much blame to assign to a man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to selling the drugs used in the fatal overdoses of two men in 2017. “This is a scourge that is destroying our society,...
Judge rejects appeal of New Stanton teen convicted in murders of mother, brother
The former New Stanton teenager who claimed he was under the influence of an alternate personality that made him kill his mother and younger brother more than five years ago told a Westmoreland County judge he hasn’t received proper mental health treatment as he serves a prison sentence of 30...
New Florence club collecting donations to help people in Kentucky impacted by tornadoes
When Susan Buckles decided to host a collection drive to help those impacted by devastating tornadoes that tore through Kentucky and the Midwest last week, she never expected such a large response. “I know we live in a great area,” said Buckles, secretary of the Squirrel Hill Hunting Club in...
North Huntingdon residents get automated trash collection carts
North Huntingdon residents will start the year with new trash and recycling containers that will automate curbside collection — eliminating the need for a worker to ride the back of the truck and dump the trash from the containers. Waste Management Corp. is delivering 26,000 trash and recycling collection carts...
‘Mr. Mt. Pleasant’ Gerald Lucia, longtime mayor and fire chief, dies unexpectedly
There wasn’t much in Mt. Pleasant that didn’t bear Jerry Lucia’s fingerprints. Some say he was the lifeblood of the small town at the foot of the Laurel Highlands. Gerald Lucia, the longtime Mt. Pleasant mayor and fire chief, died unexpectedly Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, in his home. He was...
Carnegie Mellon to require covid-19 boosters, tests, masks for spring semester
Carnegie Mellon University said Friday that it will require everyone who will be on campus for the spring semester to get a booster dose of the covid-19 vaccine. In a letter to the campus community outlining covid protocols for the upcoming semester, university officials said they would provide further information...
Play it Forward Pittsburgh helps families with holiday gifts for their children
Stephanie Badstibner of McKeesport recalled waiting in line overnight to be one of the first moms inside the Play it Forward Pittsburgh Toy Drive. It’s a free toy store where families can peruse thousands of items from cars and trucks to dolls and blocks. The mother of five wanted to...
UPMC creating in-house traveling nurse program to combat shortages across system
As hospitals grapple with soaring patient numbers and dwindling staff, UPMC is creating an in-house traveling program that will offer scheduling flexibility to nurses while also helping hospitals in its system that need it. The health care system with facilities in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland will draw from its...
Franklin Regional multimedia students prepare for 2nd year of ‘Holiday Showcase’ with some live aspectsVideo
Franklin Regional senior Anthony DeFilippo is looking forward to getting back behind the microphone at this year’s Holiday Showcase, which will take the place of the annual telethon for the second year in a row, albeit with a bit more creative freedom than last year. “This year, it will be...
