Local category, Page 2084

Shulamit Bastacky, a child survivor of the Holocaust who spent her adult life in Pittsburgh, died Friday after a brief battle with cancer. She was 79. Bastacky spent her first three years of life being hidden from the Nazis in a nun’s cellar in her native Lithuania. She was miraculously...

Mention the morning of Jan. 5, 2020, to Jerry Lucia, and the Mt. Pleasant fire chief automatically responds, “Milepost 85.5 Pennsylvania Turnpike.” Lucia, a borough firefighter for 45 years, has responded to hundreds of crashes along the toll road in Westmoreland County during that time. But a deadly tour bus...

A woman was in critical condition after being shot multiple times in McKeesport, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue was reported to 911 shortly after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, county police said. The woman was shot inside a gas station convenience store, police...

Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Remembering a friend It would be remiss of me not to make mention of the death of Karen Motosicky on Saturday. Karen was my...

Dollar General’s updated plans for its proposed Upper Burrell store at Route 780 and Dewey Drive call for a fence to allay protests from residents who don’t want the store in their neighborhood. Over the past several months, more than 100 residents signed a petition protesting the construction of a...

Joseph Cocco of Harrison City plans to get the coronavirus vaccine when it is his time. While Westmoreland County is replete with senior citizens — the U.S. Census says 23% of the population is older than 65 — Cocco is among a select group. He will be 100 when he...

A female pedestrian was killed in a crash Monday evening on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County, state police said. She was hit and killed by a vehicle just before the Somerset exit at 6 p.m., troopers said. That vehicle fled the scene eastbound. State police did not identify the...

Pittsburgh police are investigating the discovery of a body under the Birmingham Bridge. Public Safety spokesperson Cara Cruz said officers responded to a call for a deceased man on some rocks between Forbes and Second avenues shortly before 4:30 p.m. Monday. Major Crimes and the Crime Scene Unit processed the...

Bricks that have lined First Street in Verona for decades will become a thing of the past as borough officials plan to have the deteriorating roadway paved this year. “It’s one of the major roadways of Verona that traverses across the hills and not up and down,” borough Engineer Matt...

More than a dozen Plum property owners want to establish agriculture security areas (ASAs) in the borough. Resident Dori Tompa, one of the applicants in support of the ASAs, came before council at its Jan. 4 work session to ask for the borough’s help. She is in the process of...

A Penn Hills man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot multiple times Monday night. Police Chief Howard Burton said the shooting took place at about 7:45 p.m. near the intersection of Woods Road and Marion Way. The victim is a 47-year-old resident. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian...

Another fire truck was added to Hempfield Fire Department’s fleet of vehicles. The engine, owned by the township, was assigned to the Hempfield #2 Fire Station. The vehicle is capable of pumping 2,000 gallons of water per minute and carries necessary tools to perform at a high level, township officials...

Pennsylvania’s top Republican in the Senate called Monday night for holding off on swearing in Democratic state Sen. Jim Brewster, spurring staunch criticism from Democrats who argue doing so defies state-certified election results and multiple court rulings. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, a Centre County Republican, defended his decision...

Latrobe Mayor Rosie Wolford doesn’t intend to seek a third term in the office. “It’s been 10 years on council and eight years as mayor for me,” Wolford said Monday, her 60th birthday, during the city council’s annual reorganization meeting. “I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it, but it’s time...

For the second consecutive week, the spread of new covid cases in four ZIP codes in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area has slowed, falling to 5.1% for the week ending Jan. 4, according to data from the state Department of Health. The state said there were 2,121 confirmed covid cases...

Former Westmoreland County Prison Warden John Walton could earn nearly $51,000 this year to testify in pending lawsuits and other court hearings under a contract approved by the county’s salary board. Walton resigned in October after serving 18 years as the jail’s top administrator. Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli...

The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows 933 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March. Of those, 50 cases were reported in the past seven days. The health department on Monday released figures for the three ZIP codes that...

Unity’s supervisors are considering what could be the township’s first-ever bond issue to help finance infrastructure and recreational upgrades. Supervisor Michael O’Barto stressed that township officials, at this point, are just looking into the feasibility of issuing one or more series of tax-exempt bonds. At their reorganization meeting on Monday,...

Pennsylvania collected more revenue in December — and in 2020, as a whole — than the state had originally anticipated, Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell reported Monday. The state collected $3.7 billion in the General Fund in December, which was $465.8 million, or 14.5%, more than what was expected. Overall, $18.5...

A week ago, Antoinette Yates got word that her husband, who is awaiting sentencing at the Allegheny County Jail, fell off the second tier on pod 2C. Witnesses who were conducting video visits with their loved ones on the pod saw Robert Yates fall on Dec. 28. Since then, Antoinette...

A Pittsburgh man accused of illegally having two loaded guns – one of them stolen – in a car he was driving Sunday in East Deer stuffed a marijuana blunt down his pants when he was pulled over by state troopers, police said. Police said they pulled over a car...

Westmoreland County elections officials disclosed Monday that 21 uncounted provisional ballots submitted at a North Huntingdon voting precinct on Election Day were discovered last week among computer equipment used at the polls in November. Elections bureau staffers found the unopened ballots during a routine inspection of voting machines stored at...

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Monday that PPG will display its logo on all players’ helmets for the 2021 season. It makes PPG the first sponsor to have its logo appear on Penguins game equipment. As part of PPG’s naming rights sponsorship with the Penguins, all players’ helmets will bear the...

Whiskey lovers, now is your chance to get your hands on the biggest name in bourbon — but you’ll need plenty of luck to grab a bottle. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board opened the annual lottery for Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery’s bourbons and rye whiskey. The most coveted release...