Local category, Page 2074
Kiski police seek woman accused of passing fake $100 bill
Kiski Township Police are looking for a woman they said passed counterfeit money at a grocery store on Thursday. In a post made on Friday to the Kiski Township Police Department Facebook page, police said the woman passed the counterfeit money on Feb. 25 at Held’s Shop & Save, 307...
Regent Square Theater bought by Concept Art Gallery
The lights in the Regent Square Theater are back on. The movies are not. Concept Art Gallery, a next-door neighbor on South Braddock Avenue, has purchased the former theater. The gallery plans to use the additional space to expand operations, including two project spaces for emerging and established artists. The...
Greensburg businesses have 2nd shot at covid relief grants
Greensburg’s small businesses have a second shot at grant funding to help them recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The Greensburg Community Development Corporation soon will open applications for the second round of its Covid-19 Relief Main Street Jump-Start Program. City businesses that employ 10 or fewer...
Point Park University union speaks against layoffs of 17 faculty
Point Park University’s faculty union spoke up in opposition of the school’s move to eliminate 17 full-time, non-tenured faculty members this week. Point Park officials announced the contracts of 17 full-time, non-tenured faculty members would not be renewed at the end of this academic year, citing financial difficulties related to...
Westmoreland Head Start programs expand scope during pandemic
Westmoreland Community Action’s Head Start and Early Head Start are geared to prepare young children for kindergarten. That involves a lot more than education — and the coronavirus pandemic has made it more complicated than ever. “The overall goal is to support families for self-sufficiency and help eliminate barriers like...
Police: Springdale man fought neighbor during parking spot dispute
After clearing two parking spaces in front of his house free from snow, a Springdale man assaulted his neighbor for parking his truck in one of them, according to police. David Mann, 38, is facing charges including simple assault, strangulation and disorderly conduct. As of yesterday, he was arrested and...
Westmoreland County gets fewer covid vaccine doses than smaller counties; talks begin about regional health department
Pennsylvania Department of Health officials confirmed that Westmoreland County was shortchanged in the number of covid-19 vaccine doses allocated since December as local and regional leaders continue to highlight mounting issues with the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. County Commissioner Doug Chew said analysis of state data found that...
Philips Respironics to cut jobs at East Huntingdon repair, service center
Officials at Philips Respironics, a medical equipment manufacturer that produces ventilators and sleeping equipment, confirmed Friday that the company plans to close the sleep and respiratory care services at its East Huntingdon facility. A spokeswoman for the international manufacturer said the shutdown is part of an ongoing effort to “enhance...
New Kensington family plans to build home for contracting business in Arnold
After nearly 40 years in business, a New Kensington family is ready to move its contracting business out of the basement of its founder’s home and into its first offices with a new facility in Arnold. In addition to a headquarters for the business, Shawn Whalen, the second generation owner...
Pittsburgh-area health experts praise Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine
The likely addition of a third covid vaccine option next month will be a “blessing,” health professionals in the Pittsburgh region said. “It means vaccine will be available to people faster,” said Graham Snyder, medical director of Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology at UPMC. “It means that for whatever reason,...
Tarentum man charged with pointing loaded gun at woman during argument
Tarentum police ordered a man and woman out of a house in the 300 block of West Seventh Avenue at gunpoint after responding to a domestic disturbance early Friday morning. Police said they were told shortly before 12:30 a.m. that Walter Clayton Jordan II, 41, had pulled a gun and...
Passenger suspected in slaying of pregnant Lawrenceville driver
The same man Katara Bray told a friend she hoped wasn’t the father of her child now stands accused of killing her early this month, according to police and court paperwork. Jason Brown, 24, is charged with homicide in connection with the Feb. 8 shooting death of Bray in Pittsburgh’s...
Westmoreland County Prison inmate accused of making threats against female guard
An inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison awaiting a hearing on assault and strangulation charges was arrested Friday on charges of threatening to sexually assault a female guard at the prison, according to court documents. Nicholas J. Grindle, 33, of Jeannette, was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, harassment and...
West Newton man charged with arson, insurance fraud after reporting car theft
A West Newton man who reported his car was stolen earlier this month in Mt. Pleasant now is charged with arson, insurance fraud and making false reports, according to court records. Donald E. Cassidy, 54, reported about 8 a.m. Feb. 15 that his vehicle was stolen from Rumbaugh Avenue in...
Derry Township woman, former police officer, running for district judge
A Derry Township woman who served as a police officer and deputy coroner in neighboring Indiana County hopes to succeed retiring District Judge Mark Bilik for the Derry area. Republican Janelle L. Hood, 51, is seeking both party nominations in her bid for the District Court 10-3-08 seat. “I would...
Greensburg man found not guilty of rape; no verdict on sexual assault charge
A Westmoreland County jury acquitted a Greensburg man accused of raping an unconscious woman but couldn’t reach a verdict on another charge of sexual assault. The jury deliberated more than three hours and returned a mixed verdict against Emmanuel Lebbie, 25, who prosecutors said assaulted a woman as she slept...
John DeFazio, former Allegheny County Council president and pro wrestler, diesVideo
Former professional wrestler Johnny DeFazio, who parlayed his athletic prowess into a seat on the Allegheny County Council, died Friday morning. He was 80 and lived in Shaler. A cause of death was not yet known. DeFazio first made a name for himself as “Jumping Johnny DeFazio” on the popular...
U.S. Attorney Scott Brady to step down from post
Scott Brady, U.S. attorney for Pennsylvania’s Western District, will resign from his post on Sunday, his office announced Friday. Brady’s announcement comes several weeks after the Biden administration asked for all Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to resign, a traditional move with a new president. “Leading this office has been the greatest...
Hempfield man facing illegal gun charges now charged with sexual assault
Sexual assault charges were filed Friday against a Hempfield man arrested last week after state police said they confiscated 36 guns from his home. Dale Edward Kuhn, 73, is accused by troopers of inappropriately touching two girls and exposing himself to them, according to court papers. He is charged in...
South Buffalo VFD seeks nominations for family to benefit from truck and tractor pull
The South Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department is seeking nominations for a family in need to be the beneficiary of their annual benefit truck and tractor pull. There are no specific qualifications to be nominated. The VFD asks that people do not nominate themselves, said Erin Pflueger, a member of...
Sen. Robinson’s bill to boost veterans donations when renewing driver license passed unanimously by Pa. Senate
A measure introduced by a South Hills lawmaker to increase the amount of money that can be donated to help military veterans when a resident renews their vehicle documents was approved unanimously by the Pennsylvania Senate. Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, was the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 96, which increases...
Westmoreland County covid hospitalizations hold steady over past week
Over the past eight days, the number of covid hospitalizations in Westmoreland County appear to have stabilized, according to data from the state Department of Health. Current covid-19 hospitalizations in the county were 115 on Friday. Since Feb. 19, the number of hospitalizations has not surpassed its current level, dropping...
Allegheny County sees most reported covid cases in a month — 1 from March 2020
Allegheny County reported the most additonal covid cases in over a month Friday, with at least one positive test coming from last March, according to the county Health Department. There were 412 additional covid-19 cases reported, the most since Jan. 23 (464 cases). Cases were mostly confirmed via PCR tests,...
TSA catches 2 guns in a day at Pittsburgh International, 7 so far this year
Twelve hours after security officers stopped a Texas woman with a loaded handgun at Pittsburgh International Airport, officers caught another handgun Thursday on a Monroeville woman who said she forgot the gun was in her purse. “This traveler’s forgetfulness was a careless mistake that will hit her wallet because, like...
Some Pa. school district leaders frustrated with return of standardized tests during pandemic
Gennaro Piraino Jr. said his distaste for state standardized tests has only grown in the past year, despite their absence. “Given the pandemic, what we know our students need to know and be able to do has become even more evident,” said Piraino, superintendent of Franklin Regional School District. “And...
