Western PA Local News category, Page 2128
Pittsburgh Public Safety promotes firefighters, EMS personnel
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials held ceremonies Thursday to promote and swear in a number of men and women in the bureaus of fire and EMS. The ceremonies were held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, a venue necessary to allow for social distancing. Promotions included four to the rank...
Owner vows to rebuild after losing his Upper Burrell mobile home in a blaze
An Upper Burrell couple was left homeless Thursday when fire raced through their mobile home on Amy Lane. Neither the couple, their pets nor any firefighters were reported to have been injured. Shortly after Larry Sieff turned on his hot water tank, he saw smoke in his kitchen and found...
Blawnox launches Adopt-A-Block program to keep borough clean
Blawnox is launching a new beautification program in the weeks leading up to Earth Day. Adopt-A-Block is a volunteer initiative designed to rid the streets of litter and other debris. Spearheaded by residents Casey Cunningham and Leah Krenn, it is a simple way to show community pride, the duo said....
Bridgeville man pleads guilty to federal child porn charges
A Bridgeville man pleaded guilty in federal court to child pornography charges. Paul Chretien, 66, pleaded guilty to charges of distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced Thursday. He...
Penn Township man jailed after 19-hour standoff
A Penn Township man peacefully surrendered to police Thursday after a state police special response team took action to end a standoff that began a night earlier, authorities said. James Kassimatis, 51, came out of his Center Street house in Harrison City around 2 p.m., township police Chief John Otto...
Appointments filled after Giant Eagle extends Heinz Field covid vaccine clinic
Appointments for the covid vaccine clinic at Heinz Field next week have been filled, only hours after becoming available. Giant Eagle announced it would extend its covid-19 vaccination clinic at Heinz Field “after receiving an overwhelmingly positive response” this week. The chain made more appointments available to eligible individuals for...
Police: Remains found near VA Hospital in Oakland
Pittsburgh police are investigating after remains were found Thursday morning in Oakland, officials said. Officers received a call just before 10 a.m. about possible remains found on Brackenridge Street near the Oakland VA Hospital, said Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Detectives arrived and found bone fragments in the street, Cruz...
Washington Township man in his 80s homeless after fire destroys mobile home
A Washington Township man in his 80s was displaced Thursday morning when fire destroyed the George Drive mobile home in which he lived alone. Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company Chief Clayton Murphy said the fire in the 300 block of rural George Drive started around 10:30 a.m. The occupant of...
Franklin Regional Unified Club celebrates Special Olympics fundraising with ‘Cool School Plunge’Video
After raising more than $6,000 for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, members of the Franklin Regional Unified Club were ready to celebrate. Typically, that celebration takes the form of the annual Polar Plunge held at Heinz Field and pitting kids and adults alike against the shattering cold of Western Pennsylvania water in...
‘Pink hat lady’ indicted on charges stemming from Capitol insurrection
A Mercer County woman charged with breaching the Capitol during riots there on Jan. 6 has been formally indicted. A federal grand jury sitting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday returned eight counts against Rachel Powell, 40, of Sandy Lake, including obstruction; destruction of government property; entering a restricted building with...
More than half of Penn Hills School District students choose new, 4-day learning model
All Penn Hills students now have the option to go to school four days a week. The school district of nearly 3,300 students has been operating under a hybrid learning model since the beginning of the school year — with two groups of students alternating in-person instruction every two days....
Delmont woman accused of stealing prescription pills from pharmacy
A Delmont woman was arrested Wednesday on charges of stealing prescription medication from the pharmacy where she worked, according to the state attorney general’s office. Hannah N. Rosensteel, 26, was arraigned on multiple counts of illegal acquisition of controlled substances and illegal possession of controlled substances and one count of...
Accused drug supplier seeks bail nearly 4 years after arrest
A Westmoreland County judge is once again considering whether to set bail for a Clairton man who has been in jail nearly four years awaiting trial. Lindsey R. Wright, 41, was arrested in May 2017 on corrupt organization, conspiracy and drug offenses. Investigators have deemed him an alleged “major” drug...
Aspinwall resident, former Allegheny County assistant district attorney, seeking District Judge position
A former Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney is calling for increased diversity in the court system and will seek to fill the vacant magistrate office in Sharpsburg. Jen Evashavik, an Aspinwall resident for more than 20 years, said she has worked tirelessly through both her professional and personal life to...
Strip District’s former Produce Terminal welcomes new tenantsVideo
Visitors to Pittsburgh’s Strip District can now buy plants, candles and locally-made crafts, take golf lessons and shop at a liquor store at the landmark former Produce Terminal on Smallman Street. The sprawling, low-slung building is familiar to anyone who’s eaten a fry-filled sandwich at Primanti’s original location on nearby...
New Kensington’s Knead Cafe to receive $25K grant from Northwestern Mutual
For the second time in three years, New Kensington’s Knead Community Cafe is receiving a $25,000 grant from Northwestern Mutual for its work in the community. Kevin Bode, who with his wife, Mary, founded Knead four years ago, has been a financial adviser with Northwestern Mutual for 34 years. They...
South Huntingdon man gets probation for child endangerment charge connected to deplorable house
A South Huntingdon man was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation on a child endangerment charge in connection with deplorable living conditions at a Yukon home. Jason Michael Welch, 43, was ordered to complete parenting classes and must be supervised when visiting with the children involved in the case,...
Work on 1st phase of new Hampton Community Park loop trail set to begin
A new trail through Hampton Community Park won’t just be a place for residents to get a little exercise in the fresh air. Township officials hope that the 1.5-mile trail will be a first step toward connecting sections of the community and beyond. “When the current members of council got...
Rachel Carson EcoVillage moves forward in Richland Township
A shared living community proposed in Richland Township is moving forward after years of planning and conceptualizing. The township’s planning commission recently recommended approval of a change in the master plan regarding Chatham University’s Rachel Carson EcoVillage. An EcoVillage is a housing development concept first established in Denmark in the...
Tarentum approves buying police SUV, policies on rifles, cameras
Tarentum police soon will be able to use their own rifles on the job under a policy approved this week by borough council. Council also OK’d plans to buy a new hybrid SUV for the department and approved the use of mobile video and audio recorders and body-worn cameras. Borough...
Rep. Mike Doyle defends covid relief bill, minimum wage increaseVideo
A nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed the U.S. House last Saturday and is now being scrutinized by the Senate. Even if the Senate makes cuts to the spending bill, pundits say it’s likely to remain a very large one. Most Republicans feel a large amount of federal spending,...
Westmoreland County covid cases, deaths, hospitalizations remain stable
Covid-19 cases and deaths in Westmoreland County have been mostly down the past two weeks, while hospitalizations have ticked up some in that time. The county on Thursday reported 56 additional covid cases — 33 confirmed, 23 probable, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The total number...
Work on Forbes Road in Monroeville resumes, completion expected next month
Work has again begun on Forbes Road in Monroeville after a four-month delay. Steve Cowan, a Penn DOT spokesman, said the $1.34 million landslide repair project on the Monroeville road resumed March 1. A portion of Forbes Road has been closed since July so that Braddock-based Mele & Mele &...
Export officials continue community park upgrades
Export officials spent a good portion of the past year updating the borough’s playground, off of Roosevelt Avenue, and want to keep that momentum going as spring approaches. “We’ve cut the (dead) trees down, we did the basketball court, and now we need to fix that fence,” Councilman John Nagoda...
Allegheny County reports 2 more covid deaths, 276 cases
Allegheny County on Thursday reported two additional coronavirus deaths and 276 additional coronavirus cases. The number of the deaths in Allegheny County because of covid-19 stands at 1,688. The health department said that the dates of death ranged from Dec. 7 to Tuesday and that one person was in their...
