Local category, Page 2176
Covid cases continue to ravage Pennsylvania jails, prisons
Jails and prisons across Pennsylvania are being overwhelmed by the spread of covid-19, and advocates for the incarcerated population fear it will get worse before it gets better. As the numbers skyrocketed this week, the state Department of Corrections reported that a 77-year-old inmate with pre-existing conditions died on Thursday...
Play it Forward Pittsburgh Toy Drive changes game plan because of Wolf’s covid-19 ordersVideo
The plan to distribute toys to 200 families on Friday and 300 on Saturday turned into 500 on the same day. That doesn’t sound like fun, but organizers of the Play it Forward Pittsburgh Toy Drive scrambled to make sure bicycles, trucks, dolls, stuffed animals and more get into the...
Western Pa. hair salons make the cut on latest covid restrictionsVideo
Becky Goodwin was on “pins and needles all week.” The owner of Tula Organic Salon & Spa in Squirrel Hill was worried about Gov. Tom Wolf ordering another shutdown. Goodwin’s business, along with other salons and barber shops in the state, was ordered closed for three months between March and...
Westmoreland courthouse to operate by appointment only through December
Westmoreland County officials said Friday that most business at the courthouse in Greensburg will be conducted by appointment only through the end of December. Commissioners said all county offices will continue to operate during the three-week period of new restrictions announced earlier this week by Gov. Tom Wolf amid the...
Westmoreland Mall’s Cash-In Culture closing, moving online
Tim Hartman gets a bit wistful when he talks about the ’80s. “It was a new dawn of pop culture,” said Hartman, co-owner of Cash-In Culture, a store that celebrates his passion for the past. With his love of the era comes a love of malls. A self-described “retail hound,”...
North Huntingdon says ‘no’ to Wolf’s limits on indoor crowds
A few hours after Gov. Wolf announced new covid limits for indoor gatherings to 10 people Thursday, North Huntingdon officials essentially thumbed their nose at him, saying anyone can attend their public meeting on Dec. 16. “It they (residents) want to come, they can come and speak,” said Zachary Haigis,...
Food truck owner hosts ‘ghost kitchen’ in Vandergrift
Tom Scanga, owner of Del Vecchio’s Sausage & Fries, is branching out this weekend with a ghost kitchen — a temporary, pop-up restaurant focusing on something completely outside of his specialty. Friday through Sunday, from 3 to 7 p.m., Scanga will be operating out of his commissary at 328 Lowell...
Nashville police make arrest in killing of Butler County native
Nashville police on Friday arrested a man in connection with the killing of a Butler native who was on her way to her shift as a nurse at a Tennessee hospital. Caitlyn Kaufman, 26, was shot and killed Dec. 3 as she drove on I-440. An officer discovered her body...
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts unveils smartphone app
The Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts office is going modern. The office, which oversees all criminal court filings, on Friday unveiled it’s own app. In September, county commissioners approved a $15,000 contract with OVC LLC, a private firm that specializes in the creation of mobile apps for law enforcement, public...
Pair held for court in shooting of 1-year-old boy in Spring Hill
Two men charged with criminal homicide in connection with the shooting death of a 1-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet in Spring Hill this summer will face trial. Andre Crawford, 29, of McKeesport, and Marvin Hill, 41, had a preliminary hearing Friday before Magistrate Judge David J. Barton....
Regent Square’s Frick Park Tavern on ‘pause’ until spring
Even before Gov. Tom Wolf announced new covid-19 orders on Thursday, Jimmy Brown planned to temporarily close his Regent Square restaurant. “It doesn’t make sense to stay open the way things are,” said Brown, owner of the Frick Park Tavern on Braddock Avenue. “We are a sit-down and enjoy kind...
Former Leechburg police Chief Diebold granted re-parole
Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold could soon be released from jail after a Westmoreland County judge agreed this week to grant his re-parole. Diebold, 43, has been in jail since Dec. 9, 2019, after he was accused of violating terms of his parole from a 9-to-23-month jail sentence for...
Shooting stars and eclipses — when to watch the sky in 2021
Clouds may block Pittsburgh-area sky watchers from seeing the Geminid meteor shower this weekend, but there’s always next year. In 2021, we’ll have plenty of meteor showers, plus a couple of partial lunar eclipses and one partial solar eclipse. Here’s a schedule of reasons to watch the sky next year,...
Sunday’s Geminid meteor shower likely to be most impressive in years but obscured by clouds
Sunday night is the best chance all year to see shooting stars — or it would be, if the weather behaved. “I don’t see any hope,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Brown. “I just think we’re going to have very high clouds.” The Geminid meteor shower is an annual...
Heinz History Center, Fort Pitt Museum temporarily closing
The Senator John Heinz History Center and Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh will temporarily close due to new covid-19 restrictions. To comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest covid-19 mitigation orders, the facilities will be closed to the public from Saturday through Jan. 3. “The health and safety of visitors, staff,and...
Upper Burrell Dollar General plans on hold because of development issues
Plans for a Dollar General store in Upper Burrell are on hold because of development issues flagged by township officials. Construction of the proposed 7,500-square-foot store along Route 780 near Dewey Drive has raised the concern of some residents because the vacant site where it would be built is in...
Greensburg woman to serve 7 to 14 years for fatal drug sale
A Greensburg woman was sentenced to up to 14 years in prison for the sale fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a woman in her Greensburg home in February. Jamie Lynn Dickant, 35, pleaded guilty to counts of drug delivery resulting in death and three other drug-related charges in connection with the...
Pa. officials still leave covid restrictions up to school districts
A day after Gov. Tom Wolf announced a suspension of all school sports and extracurricular activities, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega and Deputy Secretary Matt Stem doubled down on the state’s approach of leaving the ultimate reopening decisions up to individual school districts. “We recognize there is no...
Port Authority driver who died of covid remembered as ‘a ray of sunshine’Video
The father of a Port Authority driver who died of covid-19 wants his son to be remembered as more than another statistic. Patrick Hazlett, 34, of Plum died Monday after a 10-day battle with the illness. Hazlett, who worked at the Port Authority for eight years, is one of two...
Kiski Township to create sewage authority to oversee $16M project
Kiski Township supervisors plan to establish the Kiski Township Sewage Authority next month to oversee a $16 million project to bring public sewerage to nearly 700 homes. That amounts to about half of township households, said township engineer Richard Lenhart of Senate Engineering. About 10% of the township residents have...
Police have suspects in Arnold teen’s shooting death in Tarentum
Allegheny County Police say they have identified suspects in the November shooting death of an 18-year-old man in Tarentum. Syncere Spruill, of Arnold, was shot shortly before midnight Nov. 22 in the 200 block of Conroy Way. He was pronounced dead at Allegheny Valley Hospital. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner...
What you need to know about the covid vaccine
Americans could start receiving a covid-19 vaccine as early as this month, as three drugmakers have produced vaccines deemed highly effective. Health and government officials are moving quickly to organize the distribution and delivery systems for the vaccines. Three drugmakers — AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer — are seeking regulatory approval...
Downtown Pittsburgh ice rink still open with capacity changes
The Rink at PPG Place in Downtown Pittsburgh plans to stay open, but with capacity changes, in light of Gov. Tom Wolf’s new pandemic restrictions. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 50 people. “The ice rink will be open and abiding by the state requirements,” said Byron Sharp, president of Magic...
Westmoreland County breaks new covid case record for 2nd straight day
Westmoreland County has again broken the record for new covid-19 cases in the county, a day after the previous record was broken. There were 657 new covid cases reported Friday, surpassing Thursday’s record of 505 cases. In the past two days, 1,162 cases have been reported. It previously took the...
Rostraver Police ask for help identifying suspect in church burglaryVideo
Rostraver Police are asking the public’s help identifying a man they say broke into St. Anne’s Church Saturday and made off with an unspecified amount of cash and checks. Detective Kerry August said the suspect pulled into the church parking lot at 1870 Rostraver Road about 10 a.m. in a...
