Western PA Local News category, Page 2140
Apollo to hold in-person council meeting at new location; vacancy ordinance to be considered
Apollo Council will hold its first in-person public meeting in months on Thursday, and one of the issues to be discussed will be a proposed vacancy ordinance. Mayor Cindee Virostek is among the happiest of meeting attendees at the new location, the spacious Apollo Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 Fire...
Federal judge denies Port Authority request for stay pending appeal on Black Lives Matter masks
A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by Port Authority of Allegheny County to stay his decision allowing employees there to wear Black Lives Matter masks at work. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan ruled in January that a policy implemented last summer by the authority banning political speech...
One lane of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel closed in both directions until 5:30 a.m. Thursday
Drivers on the Parkway East could face traffic delays overnight Wednesday as the Squirrel Hill Tunnel closes one lane in both directions. PennDOT announced that the tunnel will be reduced to a single lane for Interstate 376 inbound and outbound drivers “as needed” from 7 p.m. Wednesday until 5:30 a.m....
Sunrise School students in Monroeville get surprise visit from Penguins’ Iceburgh, Chick-fil-A cowVideo
The winter doldrums were disrupted for a time Wednesday when students at Sunrise School in Monroeville got a surprise visit from some familiar faces. Iceburgh, the mascot for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chick-fil-A’s “Eat mor Chikin” cow joined the school’s eagle mascot in the school’s playground yard to, simply put,...
Carrick man pleads to 2019 fatal crash in Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood
A Carrick man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter stemming from a 2019 crash in Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood. Lila Tiwari, 47, of Carrick, will be sentenced for manslaughter and four counts of reckless endangerment by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski on May 20. According to the criminal...
Geneva Silverio celebrates 100th birthday with family from Monroeville, PlumVideo
Geneva Silverio said the secret to living to see 100 is being happy. “That’s important,” she said, smiling Feb. 24 on her 100th birthday. She said staying away from smoking, drinking and staying active through exercise and her faith helped, too. Silverio, originally from St. Augustine, Fla., now lives at...
Allegheny County officials ask for vigilance as 3 cases of UK variant identifiedVideo
Allegheny County officials said there are at least three cases of the U.K. covid-19 variant in the county — but they remain optimistic about overall case numbers and the increasing rate of vaccination. “We continue to see good levels of drop,” county Executive Rich Fitzgerald said. “There’s a lot of...
AHN covid vaccination clinic targets marginalized patients in New KensingtonVideo
Getting a needle stuck in her arm felt like normalcy coming back for Doris Hardy. Hardy, 69, of New Kensington was one of about 350 people who received their first dose of the Moderna covid-19 vaccine during a clinic Wednesday at Allegheny Valley Hospital’s outpatient center in New Kensington, the...
Irwin restaurant donates lunch for Westmoreland food bank volunteersVideo
Sam Murray believes in giving back. As the covid-19 pandemic got underway, he and his wife began making masks to sell, eventually raising $3,000 for the Westmoreland County Food Bank. Over the past couple months, the owner of Sam’s Salsa in Irwin also has been delivering free lunches to local...
Scuffle with policeman in Export judge’s office results in arrest of Delmont woman
A Delmont woman who showed up at a district judge’s office several hours late for a hearing on harassment and simple assault charges was arrested in the judge’s office for scuffling with a policeman, according to court records. Export District Judge Charles R. Conway remanded Laurelann Kovac, 46, to the...
Police say woman cut man with knife during argument in Murrysville
A 42-year-old woman was arrested late Tuesday by Murrysville police, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after, police say, she cut a man with a knife during an argument, according to court records. Samantha Dawn Nichols of Mt. Pleasant was arrested after the 11 p.m. incident at the...
After hearing victim’s mom offer forgiveness, man withdraws plea in fatal McKeesport crash
The plea agreement had already been worked out. Jerry Hardy would plead guilty to homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence — admitting his involvement in a crash that killed his friend as they drove home from Rivers Casino Pittsburgh in September 2019. In exchange for his plea, the...
Possible ‘prank’ prompted lockdown at Latrobe Elementary School, officials say
What police believe may have been a prank 911 call on Wednesday shut down Latrobe Elementary School as authorities investigated a reported threat, according to Greater Latrobe district officials. The situation was cleared just before 2 p.m. and no one was hurt. Anxious parents who gathered outside the police perimeter...
Tarentum body, motorcycle builder takes on New Kensington gymVideo
A Tarentum man couldn’t let the gym he loves go away, so he bought it. Men and women, young and old; those who lift weights or just walk the indoor track have been coming back since Billy Cheesman fixed up the gym in the upper level of the Pittsburgh Ice...
Citywide eviction moratorium proposal nears adoption by Pittsburgh Council
Pittsburgh City Council members said Wednesday they are committed to enacting a citywide eviction moratorium when they meet next week. Until then, council members will work with other city officials and Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration to craft a law that temporarily protects people facing eviction, along with providing a way...
200 spaghetti dinners donated to police, nurses by Grapeville businessVideo
The smell of spaghetti and meatballs filled the small work space. The volunteers were quiet Wednesday morning, concentrating on packaging about 200 donated meals and getting the count just right. Debbie DiTommaso Huey, owner of Angelo’s Cucina in Grapeville, pretty much has the assembly line work down to a science...
Remember when alligators roamed the city? Pittsburgh council members haven’t forgotten
Before the coronavirus pandemic took over the worldwide zeitgeist, there was the season of the loose crocodilian in Pittsburgh. Alligators, crocodiles and the like aren’t native to these parts because of the harsh wintry weather, but they’re kept as pets by some people. In May and June 2019, authorities responded...
Cambria County native new director of Pa. Game Commission Southwest RegionVideo
The Pennsylvania Game Commission didn’t have to look far for its new Southwest Region Office director. Jason D. Farabaugh began his new position last weekend, running the office in Fairfield that oversees a 10-county area. The Carrolltown, Cambria County, native spent his entire 13 years with the game commission working...
Retail theft among cases handled in Judge DeLuca’s Penn Hills court for the week of Feb. 23, 2021
Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca handled the following cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Waived preliminary hearings • Tatche Lyerly, 27, of Pittsburgh on charges of accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property, driving with a suspended license and...
Levin Furniture reopens stores in McMurray, Robinson; soon Mt. PleasantVideo
Jeff Federoff had just been laid off from his job at Levin Furniture & Mattress. The new ownership had gone bankrupt — and then the pandemic hit. “I open my mail and there is a letter and a check from Robert Levin,” said Federoff, a 20-year employee from Canonsburg, as...
Point Park won’t renew 17 faculty contracts
Point Park University will not renew the contracts of 17 non-tenured faculty members, the university announced this week. A university spokesman did not answer questions about what specific academic departments would be affected in the Downtown institution, which serves around 4,000 students. The change was allowed through a collective bargaining...
Richland Historical Society to be revived
When Bill Bardonner of Richland passed away in August 2016 at age 80, he left behind more than just a passion for preserving the township’s history. The long-time member and officer of the Richland Historical Society was part of a group that began accumulating thousands of documents, books, photos, maps...
Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy highlights Black history education
The Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy is emphasizing Black history and STEAM education for Pittsburgh youth through virtual programming during Black History Month. The program, an annual tradition dating to 2013, is hosted and taught by the Iota Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. The local chapter is...
Westmoreland County sees slowing of additional covid cases
Westmoreland County has seen a decline in covid cases since the start of the year. While January had 24 days with over 100 cases reported, February has only seen two days with reported covid cases above 100 (on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3). The county on Wednesday continued that trend...
Latrobe considers hardship payment plan for stormwater fee
Latrobe property owners who are experiencing a financial hardship could have more time to pay the city’s new stormwater management fee. At its March meeting, city council is expected to consider authorizing city manager Michael Gray to approve modified payment dates in hardship cases. As it stands, payment of the...
