Western PA Local News category, Page 2150
Murrysville officials pleased with second round of proposals for amphitheater project
Murrysville recreation officials will look at a second round of responses on Thursday to their request for a consultant to help conceptualize a park amphitheater project. Council and staff are looking to use a $299,000 state grant to help fund an amphitheater and performance space on 4.5 acres at Murrysville...
Penn Hills school officials say more needs to be done after passing 2021-22 preliminary budget with nearly an 8% tax hike
Penn Hills School District officials have passed a preliminary budget for next school year that includes a tax hike of nearly 8%. District Business Manager Eileen Navish assured those who attended the Feb. 17 special school board meeting that having a proposed spending plan approved in mid-February is just part...
Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church in Plum begins Lenten fish fry season
Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church in Plum opened its Lenten fish fry season on Ash Wednesday. It is takeout only due to the covid pandemic. Volunteers serve patrons in a drive-thru format with a group taking orders near the main entrance and other volunteers downstairs in the kitchen filling...
No new Plum High School distinguished alumni class due to covid restrictions
An annual tradition of recognizing Plum High School graduates who have made their mark in the world has been postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic. There will be no 2021 class of distinguished alumni, committee president Margie Evans announced. Reasons for not inducting a new class include travel and indoor...
Pittsburgh Hays bald eagles attack raccoon intruderVideo
The Pittsburgh Hays female bald eagle vigorously defended both of her eggs when a curious raccoon climbed about 80 feet to reach the nest Wednesday evening, according to PixCams, the Murrysville wildlife webcam company. The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, along with PixCams, operates a live 24-hour webcam that caught...
Hempfield postpones health and wellness fair until September
Hempfield leaders have postponed a health and wellness fair due to concerns over covid-19. The event, originally scheduled for Feb. 28 at the township Athletic Complex, will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 25, according to a post on the township’s Facebook page. Township leaders postponed the...
‘Several’ covid-19 cases prompt Central Catholic High to close Oakland campus, go all-virtual
Central Catholic High School’s campus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood will close Thursday and students will switch to strictly online classes following multiple newly positive covid-19 cases in recent weeks. Diocesan officials said they made the decision to close the campus through at least next week in response to guidance issued...
Point Park University offers students no-contact ashes during pandemic Ash Wednesday
Samuel Paratore emailed his professor to say he would be late for class. He had an important stop to make. The Point Park University freshman from Johnstown wanted to make sure he received ashes for Ash Wednesday, which signifies the beginning of Lent. “I was raised Catholic and I wasn’t...
How much are Penn Hills’ sewers worth? Officials to discuss privatizing the municipality’s system
Penn Hills wants to know how much its sanitary sewer system could sell for. Council delayed a vote on an agreement with Philadelphia-based Public Financial Management (PFM) on Monday that would have hired the firm to look into how much the system is worth for a potential sale. The agreement...
Fresh round of incoming snow brings truck restrictions from PennDOT, Turnpike commission
Following a National Weather Service winter weather advisory of more snow making its way toward Pittsburgh, PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will implement truck restrictions in the early hours of Thursday morning. The NWS issued the advisory shortly before 4 p.m. on Wednesday. It will last through 7 a.m....
Charges dismissed against Somerset DA
Summary charges filed last fall against Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas II were dismissed this week as part of a deal with Cambria County’s top prosecutor. Thomas, 35, a first-term Republican, was charged with by Richland Township police in October with single counts of disorderly conduct and harassment...
Allegheny County plans to administer 2nd covid vaccine doses in timely fashionVideo
The Allegheny County Health Department is working to ensure people who received first doses of the covid vaccine will get their second dose, as planned, after state officials announced a likely shortage of more than 50,000 doses next week. State officials on Wednesday described a “perfect storm of circumstances” after...
Christ Episcopal Church holds ‘ashes to go’ service to mark start of LentVideo
The prohibition against large gatherings to help slow the spread of coronavirus forced changes in the traditional practice of ministers applying ashes to the foreheads of worshipers on Ash Wednesday to mark the start of the Lenten season. While some churches canceled the ceremony altogether, others got a little creative...
Scottdale man gets prison sentence for child rape
A Scottdale man will serve up to 40 years in prison for the rape and repeated sexual assault of a young girl over a five-year period that ended in 2016. Dylan Chiaramonte, 28, declined to speak during his a sentencing hearing Wednesday during which his accuser, now 14, told him...
Before making it big, Rush Limbaugh got his start in Pittsburgh as ‘Jeff Christie’
Many people know that Rush Limbaugh made a name for himself with a show that went on to reach more than 600 stations nationwide. What remains more obscure is how he got his start in major-market radio broadcasting. It happened in Pittsburgh in the early 1970s and it ended up...
Mellon Park nears designation as historic site by Pittsburgh officialsVideo
Pittsburgh’s Mellon Park is nearing designation as a historic site by city officials, with no one opposed to it. Instead, people have been wondering why the 33-acre park in the city’s Point Breeze neighborhood hadn’t achieved the designation long ago. “People were surprised it had no protections whatsoever,” said Elizabeth...
Amy Marcinkiewicz retires from WPXI, makes bid for Butler County office
WPXI reporter Amy Marcinkiewicz spent 26 years covering the news in Butler County — telling stories, meeting people and entering their homes, on the air and in person. The job required her to be impartial and open, to help her connect with those in the community she reported on. She...
Lenten message delivered across Lower Valley, with or without ashes
Christians who were unable to get ashes swabbed across their forehead to celebrate the start of Lent shouldn’t despair. Ash Wednesday, with or without the black ashes, kicks off a season inner reflection and repentance, according to the Rev. Jim Gretz, the pastor of St. Matthew Parish. “I have always...
Dog license fee hike would address Pennsylvania bureau’s budget shortfall
Pennsylvania could regain the dubious moniker as the nation’s puppy mill capital without a hike in the state’s dog license fees this year, Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding warned Wednesday. He joined two state lawmakers and Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, seeking support for an annual...
Criminal charges dropped in case involving woman who sued Churchill police
Criminal charges have been dismissed against a woman who had an encounter with a Churchill police officer while taking a walk. She said the 2019 incident left her handcuffed and briefly detained. Rebecca Suits, 60, of Boise, Idaho, was visiting her godmother in Wilkinsburg when she went for a walk...
Allegheny Valley School District to return to in-person instruction 4 days a week
Allegheny Valley School District students will be able to return to in-person learning four days a week beginning Monday, March 8. The school board voted 7-1 in favor of bringing students in kindergarten through 12th grade back to school four days a week after impassioned arguments supporting the move from...
Allegiant Air announces flights between Pittsburgh, Key West
Allegiant Air will debut nonstop flights between Pittsburgh International Airport and Key West, Fla., beginning June 3. “From the historic sights at Dry Tortugas National Park to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, Pittsburgh visitors have a lot to explore in Key West,” Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of...
Fayette man’s Virginia confession results in guilty plea to sex charges
A former Fayette County man will serve up to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl 20 years ago. Lawrence Wesley Henry Jr., 50, formerly of Normalville and East Huntingdon, will serve his prison sentence in Virginia, where he first confessed to his crime in Westmoreland County following...
Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority seeking blighted properties for demolition
The Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority has a significant chunk of money to help clear blight from communities. Now officials just need vacant buildings with the potential for demolition, said Brian Lawrence, executive director. “It is an essential thing that we have to face in our communities,” he said. The countywide...
Port Authority to discuss transit improvement ideas at community meetings
Port Authority will host a series of public meetings in the coming weeks to discuss NEXTransit, the service’s plan for improving Allegheny County transit. There will be four meetings in total: at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Feb. 25, and at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on March 2....
