Western PA Local News category, Page 2094
Attempt to override Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto of paid sick leave law fails by 1 vote
Allegheny County Council on Tuesday failed to override a March 16 veto by county Executive Rich Fitzgerald to enact a law to mandate that county businesses provide paid sick leave. It means the process to require paid sick leave will start with action from the county Health Department, as required...
Pitt students join crowd of hundreds for covid vaccines in Oakland
Hundreds of people, including many University of Pittsburgh students, lined up Tuesday afternoon to receive their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination event in Oakland. The vaccine clinic was hosted outside at the Oak Hill Apartments, where the line stretched several blocks. Among the group waiting for...
Fire damages West Deer funeral home
Authorities are investigating what caused a fire Tuesday afternoon at Siemianowski Funeral Home in West Deer. The fire was reported around 12:50 p.m. Volunteer fire departments including ones from West Deer and Rural Ridge responded. “We’re not sure how it started or where the origin of ignition is,” said West...
Officials relax some distancing, other guidance in Pennsylvania schools
Pennsylvania schools can reduce physical distancing requirements between students, officials announced Tuesday, bringing the state in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While students, teachers and staff were previously required to maintain six feet of distance, the new guidelines allow students to...
Leftover evidence leads to arrests in magistrate office vandalism
Leftover evidence in the homes of two Pittsburgh men helped lead police to the vandals who caused thousands of dollars in damage and delayed hearings at three magistrates offices, according to Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies. Jacob Klinger, 27, of Stanton Heights, and Brandon Orozco, 31, of Lawrenceville, were both taken...
Pitt says covid is ‘widespread’ in residence halls, adds 30 cases
The University of Pittsburgh saw another surge in cases over the weekend, according to the most recent report from the school’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office. Pitt on Tuesday recorded 29 new cases among students and one new employee case on its Pittsburgh campus. There are 67 students in isolation, while...
Food Podcast: North Hills Community Outreach continues mission of serving
The North Hills Community Outreach serves dozens of communities in the northern part of Allegheny County, offering various life-stabilization services. Its food pantry is just one. “We see our food pantry as a conduit to a conversation,” said Tom Baker, NHCO executive director. “We have 20 total services that we...
Ellwood City man dies in 2-vehicle crash in West Deer
An Ellwood City man died in a two-vehicle crash in West Deer on Monday morning. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man on Tuesday as Mark Tedrow, 35. The crash happened shortly after 10 a.m. in the 300 block of Deer Creek Valley Road. According to West Deer...
Pitt Greensburg officials pivot on Hempfield campus commencement plansVideo
Two weeks after announcing it would hold a drive-thru commencement, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg has pivoted and will offer students the opportunity to turn the tassels on their mortarboards and march to “Pomp and Circumstance” at its Hempfield campus on May 1. The change in plans came after...
Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and Youngwood branch to resume normal hours
Citing the increase in vaccination rates, officials at the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and the Youngwood Area Public Library branch said the facilities will resume regular operating hours Monday. The libraries, which curtailed operating hours and added additional virtual programming during the pandemic, will continue to offer a variety of...
Additive manufacturing hub near Pittsburgh International lands another tenant
Neighborhood 91, the additive manufacturing hub in Findlay and Moon adjacent to Pittsburgh International Airport, has landed its third tenant, the powdered aluminum producer Rusal America. Rusal will join Wabtec Corp., the North Shore-based successor of the iconic Westinghouse Air Brake Co. that makes railroad parts, and Arencibia, a Lehigh...
Greensburg bishop announces restoration of New Kensington church damaged by tornadoVideo
Restoration of a New Kensington church hit by a tornado nearly a year ago is about to begin, the Diocese of Greensburg announced Tuesday. St. Mary of Czestochowa sustained about $2.6 million in damage when an EF-1 tornado with winds of up to 100 mph traveled about 4 miles, from...
Bethel Park Police seek information in suspected abuse of 7-year-old boy
Bethel Park Police are asking for anyone who saw or encountered a 7-year-old boy between October when he went to live with his mother in the South Hills and last week when he was found unconscious and covered in bruises in her living room. Kaiyla Bowers, 32, and her boyfriend,...
Pittsburgh man charged with arson, assault after fire in Penn Hills
Penn Hills police charged a Pittsburgh man Tuesday with arson and assault after an early-morning fire along Saint Croix Street. Patrick Benthin, 45, of Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood called Penn Hills police Tuesday at 4:15 a.m. to report he’d been hit by a car, according to a criminal complaint filed...
Wolf: Pa. closes in on ending Phase 1A covid vaccinations
Pennsylvania is “catching up” on vaccine distribution, Gov. Wolf said Tuesday. About 31% of the commonwealth’s population has gotten their first dose, compared to the national average of 29%, he said. Pennsylvania matches the national average when it comes to the amount of people who have gotten second doses, at...
Job fair slated for open positions at Live! Casino Pittsburgh
In anticipation of welcoming more people to Live! Casino Pittsburgh next month as some covid-related restrictions are lifted, officials with the Hempfield facility are hosting a job fair. Scheduled for Monday at the casino’s recruitment center in Westmoreland Mall, the job fair will promote various positions in the facility. In...
Cold front expected to bring snow, high in 30s for start of April
Consider it an April Fool’s joke from Mother Nature. Just one that isn’t very funny. A cold front moving through Southwestern Pennsylvania is expected to bring snow showers and cold temperatures on Thursday, the first day of April. According to David Shallenberger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in...
National Aviary to benefit from virtual country music concert ‘All Together For Animals’
A national music event on Wednesday evening will benefit the National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Side. “All Together For Animals,” a virtual concert, will help members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a non-profit that collaborates with zoos and aquariums in conservation, education, science and recreation. The Aviary is...
Man accused in violent Allegheny home invasion arrested during domestic dispute in Greensburg
A Greensburg man accused in a violent Allegheny County home invasion was arrested over the weekend after trying to get away from city police investigating a domestic dispute in a parked SUV, according to court papers. Police said Justin Bryant, 23, gave them the wrong name and tried to run...
Video: Conor Lamb discusses Biden’s Pittsburgh visit, Capitol securityVideo
President Joe Biden is saying the outlook for the country’s economy is looking brighter thanks to the recently passed $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, the American Rescue Plan. Critics say the plan is a waste of money and many citizens don’t know exactly where the money is going. The president...
Millvale police Officer Joe Spalick credits training, teamwork in fire rescue
Millvale police Officer Joe Spalick acted on pure adrenaline when he helped rescue three people from a fully engulfed house fire Monday afternoon. “I was the first one on the scene, and I instantly saw the front porch in flames and thick black smoke all through the house,” Spalick said...
Aspinwall seeking volunteers to make borough greener, cleaner
Greener and cleaner is the aim of Aspinwall’s spring litter collection, scheduled from April 23 to 25 to celebrate Earth Day. “Green Streets” is a decade-long effort that relies on volunteers to make the trash pickup a success. “This is a family-friendly volunteer opportunity that allows Aspinwall residents to take...
Ligonier area dam removed; trout stream to be restoredVideo
A 1940s-era reservoir that once held close to 7 million gallons of drinking water for the Ligonier-Laughlintown areas is empty. A New Kensington company is removing the dam — a project that eventually will allow the stream that fed the reservoir to be rechanneled so it flows freely into a...
Sharpsburg launches Adopt-A-Block program to keep borough clean
Sharpsburg residents can step up to keep the community clean, “adopting” their own little piece of the borough. Council on March 25 approved an Adopt-A-Block program through which residents and business owners can sign up to rid litter from a particular stretch of road for at least a year. “I...
Pittsburgh officials endorse legislation to expand voting rights, condemn attacks on transgender athletes
Pittsburgh City Council members Tuesday formally urged federal and state officials to protect voting rights and denounced attempts to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in scholastic and collegiate sports. Council members unanimously passed actions sponsored by council members Corey O’Connor and Erika Strassburger. O’Connor’s measure asks Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. Bob...
