Local category, Page 1825
UPMC touts growing North Hills hospital hub, $12B in midyear revenue
UPMC executives boasted Thursday of “transforming” the health system’s North Hills footprint into a hub of innovative, high-demand health care services — such as robotic lung cancer detectors, more options for women and children, and a new mobile unit set to hit the streets next week. “We’ve added an extremely...
Oakmont Carnegie Library requiring visitors to wear masks
People wanting to visit the Oakmont Carnegie Library must mask up before entering. Library officials made the announcement Aug. 26 via Facebook. “This is non-negotiable,” the post read. It also indicated the move was in conjunction with Riverview School District’s health and safety plan to mandate masks for everyone to...
Penn Hills School District officials address reports of mold at elementary school; building deemed safe
Penn Hills Elementary is expected to open on schedule for Monday’s first day of school after officials address what was determined to be undocumented reports of mold in the building. “We have no indication that there’s any danger to anyone who visits that building,” Superintendent Nancy Hines said Thursday evening....
Norwin grad races against clock to get Afghan interpreters out of Kabul
A Norwin High School graduate who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan attempting to help rebuild the country and its military is on a new mission: to get two Afghan interpreters out of Kabul before the United States pulls out of the chaotic capital. “It is total chaos,” said...
Allegheny County, RIDC ink deal to develop Carrie Furnace site in Rankin
Part of the former Carrie Furnace steelmaking site along the Monongahela River near Braddock is to be redeveloped for contemporary commercial use. It’s intended to include flexible technology space, research and development, workforce education, light manufacturing and assembly, and even a place for film production. The redevelopment plan that targets...
KISS concert in Burgettstown canceled after front man Paul Stanley tests positive for covid
Thursday night’s KISS concert the Pavilion at Star Lake was canceled after front man Paul Stanley tested positive for covid, according to a post on the band’s website. “Everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated,” the post read. “The band and their crew have operated...
Kiski Area begins school year with dual focus on academics, building relationships
Kiski Area High School math teacher Zach Jankowski said teachers took a different approach Thursday on the district’s first day of classes. “We did not talk about math, English and science. We worked on building relationships with our students to make them feel loved and welcomed back into the building,”...
K-9 Officer Derek Kotecki golf outing Saturday likely last one; public craft show offered
The K-9 Officer Derek Kotecki golf outing is sold out Saturday at the Hill Crest Country Club but a large vendor craft show with high-end raffle baskets will be open to the public at the club. Kotecki was a Lower Burrell patrolman and K-9 officer who was ambushed and murdered...
Students return to classes in Highlands School District
The new school year started Thursday for students in the Highlands School District. While students are required to wear face masks on buses, the district has made them optional in schools. The school board stood by that decision at its most recent meeting Aug. 16. “I wish we were returning...
Ex-Ligonier Township man admits setting fire to his own home
Robert Forgie acknowledged he endangered himself, police and firefighters two years ago when he set his new Ligonier Township home ablaze. “I’m sorry for what happened. I know I caused a lot of trouble,” said Forgie, 69, just after he pleaded guilty on Thursday to a lesser charge of risking...
Ex-Greensburg man pleads guilty to possession of sexually graphic pictures, videos of teen girl
A former Greensburg man will serve up to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges he possessed sexually graphic pictures and videos of a teenage girl. The prosecution dismissed 57 charges, including three counts each of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of an unconscious victim, against...
Pittsburgh Public Schools, teachers union approve new contract
Pittsburgh Public Schools and its teachers union have a new four-year contract that’s retroactive to July 1, 2020, when the last contract expired. Superintendent Anthony Hamlet described the negotiations as “long and delicate” and said the covid-19 pandemic played a role in the delay. Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President Nina...
Sutersville robbery/shooting suspect pleads guilty, agrees to cooperate with potential murder investigation
An Allegheny County man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in connection with the shooting of two men during a 2018 drug robbery in Sutersville. Curtis Thomas Everett, 28, of Glassport, was sentenced to serve 3 to 10 years in prison and cooperate with an ongoing investigation into the disappearance and...
Pittsburgh hiring for labor, other jobs frozen amid pandemic budget cuts
Pittsburgh has begun hiring for a slew of labor-related positions that have gone unfilled under a pandemic-driven hiring freeze for more than a year, officials said Thursday. Around $22 million from the money the city received from the American Rescue Plan has gone to restore around 100 jobs that have...
Attorney for demoted Highlands principal says client was targeted by superintendent
A Highlands School District principal demoted to the teacher ranks last year has requested that personnel hearings on the demotion be held in public, her attorney said. Samantha Perlik’s first hearing before the school board is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the district administration center in Highlands...
Cows take center stage at Westmoreland FairVideo
Dante Frescura was excited to take home a blue ribbon from the Westmoreland Fair on Thursday after not stepping in the show ring the past two years. The 2021 Greater Latrobe graduate walked his heifer — which is pregnant and set to give birth in a couple weeks — in...
Youngwood man charged with assault of Derry woman
State police arrested a Youngwood man on Wednesday in connection with a brutal attack of a female relative inside her Derry Township home, according to court documents. Zackary K. Wentling, 28, was arrested on multiple criminal charges by troopers who interviewed the 59-year-old woman after 7 p.m. Wednesday in Forbes...
Quarantined commissioners say no to Westmoreland courthouse mask mandate
Westmoreland County commissioners, in quarantine this week after exposure to an office staffer who tested positive for coronavirus, said Thursday they will not require masks be worn at the courthouse. Face coverings have been optional for workers and visitors to the courthouse in downtown Greensburg since Gov. Tom Wolf lifted...
State police locate missing Hempfield man
State police safely located a Hempfield man missing from his home since Wednesday night. Police from Troop A in Greensburg were joined by the Westmoreland County Rough Terrain Fire & Rescue team, Hempfield firefighters and Murrysville Medic One personnel on Thursday morning, as a state police helicopter made several passes...
Murrysville happenings: Recycling, ESAL among upcoming programs
Glass recycling, food pantry event set Murrysville and trash hauler Republic Services will once again partner for a glass recycling “pop-up” event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 18. It will be at the Veterans Field parking lot, 4200 Sardis Road in Murrysville. All colors of glass bottles,...
‘Real Men Wear Pink’ concert fundraiser set for Saturday in Salem
Chris Guido didn’t know that real men wear pink. To be more accurate, he did not know about the American Cancer Society’s “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign, in which community leaders are nominated to spearhead fundraising drives for the society to raise awareness and help fund research to battle breast...
Police searching for man in Stowe arson that injured 4 firefighters
Police are searching for a man suspected of setting a fire in Stowe earlier this month that injured four firefighters in a collapse, including one who suffered multiple broken vertebrae. Andre Quinones, 28, is charged with nine counts of arson in relation to the Aug. 12 fire that destroyed a...
Loose keys cause minor injury at Westmoreland Fair
A teen girl had a minor injury at the Westmoreland Fair this week after a set of keys fell during an amusement ride and landed in the mechanism operating the ride, according to a fair representative. The girl was on the Superman ride Monday when another rider’s keys fell down...
Oregon man canoeing across country makes a stop in PittsburghVideo
Neal Moore is traveling 7,500 miles from Oregon to New York City — in a canoe. He will cross 22 bodies of water, two of those in Pittsburgh — the Ohio and the Allegheny rivers. As of Thursday, he had traveled 6,600 miles to date. His goal is to document...
New Kensington businesses gearing up for 2nd ‘Fridays on Fifth’
Going into the first Fridays on Fifth in New Kensington in July, Sweet Tillies baklava bakery owner Amy Johnson was worried she had made too much and wouldn’t know what to do with it. Instead, Johnson said, “Within 20 minutes, I was like, ‘Holy crap, I didn’t make enough.’” Jamie...
