Local category, Page 2143
Western Pa. resident shares experience with Moderna vaccine trial
As vaccine rollout gets underway in hospitals and long-term care facilities, participants in the trials that made it possible are coming forward to share their experiences – and to assure members of the public there is nothing to fear. “I just thought, maybe people might have a better understanding,” said...
Hempfield neighborhood raises more than $2,000 for food bank
The residents of the South Meadow at Lindwood development in Hempfield have long been a tight-knit bunch, according to Joseph Lanza, president of the condominium association. In a normal year, many of the neighborhood’s roughly 120 residents gather for monthly social events. When one of them gets sick, their neighbors...
Allegheny County courts to provide public with remote access to criminal proceedings
Less than a month after advocacy groups said they would sue Allegheny County if it did not provide electronic access to its criminal court proceedings, administrators said the public will be able to watch virtual hearings beginning next week. Court administrator Christopher Connors said Friday that members of the community...
Allegheny County DA’s office refiles charges against Pittsburgh protesters
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office has refiled failure-to-disperse charges against 24 people who were originally charged in the spring during protests Downtown and in East Liberty. Pittsburgh police initially arrested 61 people, but District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., at the time, said there was not enough evidence to...
Week-in-review: Covid restrictions expire, explosions, puppy snatching among top Western Pa. headlinesVideo
The first full week of 2021 may best be remembered for unrest in the U.S. Capitol tied to the presidential election, but there was plenty of local news of note. It included businesses being able to reopen at limited capacity after restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus...
Ross board President Steve Korbel steps down to assist with wife’s judicial campaign
Ross Township Commissioner Steve Korbel, who serves as the board’s president, has resigned so he can spend more time working on his wife’s campaign for judge. “I cannot thank the residents of Ward 2 enough for putting your trust in me for the last seven years,” Korbel wrote in a...
Raymond Kerr, former Tarentum councilman, fills vacant 1st Ward seat
A former Tarentum councilman was the only qualified candidate to fill a vacant seat on borough council, officials said. Raymond Kerr, 70, was appointed Tuesday to replace Erika Josefoski as one of two council members representing the borough’s 1st Ward. Mayor Eric Carter swore Kerr into office that night. “We’re...
Frazer hires 3 new police officers, including Officer Brian Shaw Scholarship recipient
Frazer has hired a police officer and two recent police academy graduates to replace three part-timers who resigned to take positions elsewhere. Two of the new hires, Andrew Hakos and Alexander Carmody, recently graduated from the Allegheny County Police Academy, police Chief Terry Kuhns said. The third new hire, Olivier...
Free radon test kits available from the American Lung Association
January is National Radon Action Month, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection hopes that raises awareness about the importance of home testing because the state has some of the highest radon levels in the country. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that enters homes from the ground. It...
Hempfield District Judge Anthony Bompiani retires with year left in term
Saying he wanted to “start a new chapter” in his life, Hempfield District Judge Anthony Bompiani has hung up his robe. Bompiani, 41, of Hempfield served as district judge for five years. He retired, effective Dec. 31, according to county special courts administrator Christopher A. Haidze. “I’ve been thinking about...
U.S. Customs officers seize 60 fake Steelers Super Bowl rings ahead of playoff game
U.S. Customs officers seized 60 fake Steelers Super Bowl rings last month that, if authentic, would have been worth nearly $100,000, a spokesman for the department said. Customs and Border Protection officers seized the packages, which arrived from China, between Dec. 9 and 23, according Steve Sapp, a spokesman for...
Former Pitt student accused of threatening FBI agents will remain in custody, judge rules
A former University of Pittsburgh student who has a “fascination with terrorism” will remain incarcerated pending trial on charges that he threatened an FBI agent. U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Lanzillo ruled that Khaled Miah, 27, poses a potential threat to the community and a risk of flight. “Anyone who seems...
Shaler Area School District again extends remote learning; return to classrooms moved to mid-January
Shaler Area School District has again extended its remote learning period, this time through Jan. 15. Superintendent Sean Aiken alerted families through a letter that students will return to the classroom for hybrid instruction beginning Jan. 19 for Cohort A and Jan. 21 for Cohort B. January 18 is a...
Latrobe man accused of indecently assaulting Adelphoi runaway
Police filed indecent assault charges against a Latrobe man accused of helping a 17-year-old run away from an Adelphoi Village group home. Eric L. Mallin, 50, and his wife, Michele L. Mallin, 48, were charged with corruption of minors after police say they helped the girl when she left the...
Proposed contract would turn South Huntingdon coal refuse into potential industrial site
A coal refuse pile in South Huntingdon that has been a source of pollution in adjacent Sewickley Creek for decades could soon be transformed into a site for potential industrial development. Latrobe-based Robindale Energy Services plans to remove about 85% of the coal refuse, known as the Soberdash Pile, and...
Covid cases reported in Hempfield Area schools during 1st week after holiday break
Days after students in the Hempfield Area School District returned to school buildings following the holiday break, new covid-19 cases were reported. According to a tracker posted on the district’s website, there are five active cases among students and staffers, which are identified as individuals who were in school buildings...
Westmoreland County hits record hospitalizations for covid-19
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 184 residents hospitalized for covid-19, the most since the pandemic began. Of those, 19 are in intensive care units and 13 are on ventilators. Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the county added 346 new cases of coronavirus, with 146 of those confirmed...
Belle Voci women’s choir using off-time during pandemic to fuel camaraderie
The Fox Chapel-based women’s choir, Belle Voci, is using the covid-19 pandemic to fuel camaraderie and strengthen spirits. In many ways, the group is connecting more deeply than when their time was focused strictly on rehearsing, Pamela Bruchwalski, marketing director, said. “We may not be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, but...
Allegheny County again tops Pa. in new coronavirus cases
Allegheny County on Friday reported 967 new coronavirus cases, more than any other Pennsylvania county. Philadelphia ranked second, reporting 611 new cases. The new cases were the highest reported in the county in about a week but still well short of the record 1,322 reported Dec. 11. Over the past...
Dom Costa, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Kraus announce bids for Allegheny County sheriff
Dom Costa, a former state representative and police chief, and Kevin Kraus, the current second in command of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, both announced their respective bids for sheriff on Friday. Kraus comes with the endorsement of current Sheriff William Mullen, who has served in the position since 2006....
Verona group selects spot for community garden; survey out for public input
A community garden project might soon take root in Verona. Borough Parks and Recreation board members have selected a location and have applied to acquire it through the Allegheny County Vacant Property Recovery program. The area in question is a 25-by-140-foot lot at 851 Second St. Board member Rhea Homa...
Martorano’s Prime restaurant opens at Rivers Casino PittsburghVideo
Celebrity chef Steve Martorano started out as a child making his grandmother’s meatball and Italian hoagies from the basement of his Philadelphia home. He would go door-to-door selling the sandwiches in South Philly. “They called my grandmother ‘Fat Mary,’ ” said Martorano as he stood inside his fourth restaurant, Martorano’s...
What’s in store for rioters in Capitol attack? Experts weigh in
As federal investigators begin culling through thousands of hours of video and social media posts to identify the people responsible for Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol, many Americans wonder what justice will look like. Will it mean filing charges against every single individual involved in the violent clash that made...
Pittsburgh police search for suspect after shots fired in Knoxville domestic incident
SWAT officers responded after police said shots were fired in a domestic incident in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood early Friday morning. Pittsburgh police officers responded to the incident in the 400 block of Alice Street around 1:45 a.m. A man and a woman were outside the home and unhurt when officers...
Turtle Creek man accused of shooting at Allegheny County Police detectives
A Turtle Creek man was arrested Thursday night after Allegheny County Police said he shot at three detectives in Wilmerding. Police charged Matthew Stephen Diggs Jr., 20, with criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault on a police officer and a firearm violation. According to county police, the detectives, assigned to...
