Local category, Page 2215
Allegheny County officials plead for ‘wake-up call’ amid rising covid numbers
Allegheny County officials and medical experts from across the county delivered a dire and pleading message Thursday as the number of covid-19 cases continued to rise, with this week’s new case count likely to top 2,000. “These data concern me and they must be a wake-up call to everyone in...
Trump supporters to rally in D.C. against voter fraud; evidence has yet to materialize
Len Young remembers the inspiration he felt a decade ago during a Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C. The Monroeville resident said he hopes to replicate that experience Saturday in the same place, this time in support of President Trump, other state and federal races and “real discovery of fraudulent...
Delmont neighborhood pivots from holiday party to house-decorating contest amid covid-19 surge
The residents of Monticello Drive in Delmont have a tradition going back more than three decades of joining in December for a neighborhood get-together. Neighbors would pick a local charity and bring donations. With covid-19 cases surging across the county, state and country, that didn’t seem like a great option...
Virus cases slow at Westmoreland Manor
Coronavirus cases continue to mount at Westmoreland Manor, but the number of new infections has slowed in recent weeks. County officials said Thursday that, over the last two weeks, five residents and four employees have tested positive for the virus at the nursing home in Hempfield. With those most recent...
Sneak peek offered of Live! Casino Pittsburgh before grand opening at Westmoreland MallVideo
Dazzling lights and the sounds of slot machines greet visitors as they enter the new Live! Casino Pittsburgh, the $150 million facility that will open soon at Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield. Seven hundred fifty slot machines and 30 table games have replaced the racks of clothes that once dominated the...
URA approves funding for housing projects in Pittsburgh’s Observatory Hill, East Hills neighborhoods
Affordable housing projects in Pittsburgh’s East Hills and Observatory Hill neighborhoods were given a funding boost Thursday by the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. The board approved more than $850,000 in funding for the projects. Some of the money will help pay for renovations at five homes on Bonvue Street that...
Man involved in standoff that closed Norwin schools charged with carrying fake sheriff badge
A North Huntingdon man taken into custody Monday after a standoff with state parole agents showed Monroeville police a fake “state police deputy badge,” when questioned for allegedly breaking into a truck last month, according to court papers. Randolph Eugene Dillinger, 54, was charged last week by Monroeville police on...
Fawn supervisors fire township police officer for alleged misconduct
Fawn supervisors voted Tuesday to fire suspended police officer Keith Lazaron II for alleged willful misconduct. Lazaron, 35, of Allegheny Township, has denied any wrongdoing and leveled his own allegations against township officials in a pending federal lawsuit. Lazaron was suspended June 1, with the township alleging Lazaron changed a...
Pennsylvania health officials discourage all gatherings as cases surge
State health officials urged Pennsylvania residents to avoid gatherings both large and small, as the state continues to report more covid-19 cases than it has all through the pandemic. The state again broke its record for its highest daily case total on Thursday, adding 5,488 cases for a total of...
Kim Ward becomes 1st woman to serve as majority leader in Pennsylvania Senate history
State Sen. Kim Ward made history Thursday as fellow Senate Republicans appointed her as the state legislature’s first woman to serve as majority leader. Ward, of Hempfield, replaces Sen. Jake Corman, who has been appointed Senate president pro tempore. “I’m very, very honored today to have been chosen as the...
Latrobe man charged with rape accused of lewdness, assaulting prison guard
A Latrobe man accused of raping a woman hours after his release from the Westmoreland County Prison last week was awaiting arraignment Thursday on new charges of exposing himself to a nurse at the Hempfield lockup and assaulting a prison guard. Zackery D. Kimmick, 30, was returned to the prison...
Charity ride through Frick Park raises money for family of mountain biker who died in May
The untimely death of a mountain biker from Pittsburgh hit close to home for Dave Brown. Brown, 47, of Plum started coaching on the Pittsburgh East Composite Mountain Bike Team earlier this year when his 12-year-old son joined the team. The biking team comprises around 40 athletes from school districts...
Pittsburgh police reform task force members call on city officials to act on report
Members of the Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Policing Reform had a singular message for City Council members Thursday: They want the recommendations in their 47-page report implemented. The 15-member task force met regularly since it was formed in June by Mayor Bill Peduto. They disagreed on many things during...
Thomas Solich is the piano man at the Pittsburgh Opera’s saleVideo
Thomas Solich learned to play the piano by reading Braille, a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision. He can’t see the more than 100 stunning instruments in the room as they sit idle, waiting for...
Pittsburgh and Glasgow sign Sister City agreement
The City of Pittsburgh added Glasgow, Scotland, to its long list of Sister City relationships with a virtual signing ceremony on Thursday. Given the Steel City’s Scotch-Irish heritage, the partnership appears to be a natural fit, especially considering that Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie made his fortune here founding what became...
Sharpsburg-based Addiction Recovery Ministry offers full winter schedule for people in need
St. Juan Diego Parish in Sharpsburg has released a full slate of winter programs for people fighting addiction. The Rev. Michael Decewicz, founder of the Addiction Recovery Ministry (ARM), said it’s important to keep a steady stream of services during the holidays, when people might find their challenges particularly hard....
Allegheny County posts new record number of coronavirus cases, 3 new deaths
A steady rise in coronavirus cases in Allegheny County continued Thursday with the addition of 412 new cases, the highest daily total since the pandemic began in March. The county saw 366 new cases on Wednesday, 317 on Tuesday and 270 cases on Monday. There has been an average of...
Westmoreland County reports record 207 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County on Thursday saw 207 new coronavirus cases, a record number. Two new deaths were also reported, which follows six that were added on Wednesday. The total number of deaths in the county because of the virus stands at 131. Pennsylvania, as well as some neighboring counties, have seen...
Penn Hills senior living facility residents enjoy own version of ‘The Masters’
As golfers teed off Thursday to begin the days-long Masters tournament in Georgia, a senior living facility in Penn Hills held their own version. The 30 residents at Allegheny Place participated in the facility’s inaugural “The Masters at Allegheny Place” to compete for donated prizes and enjoy a change of...
PNC grant will fund return of Delmont library’s butterfly garden and much moreVideo
When Delmont Public Library officials and supporters were able to raise enough money to build a new library, the celebration came with a small caveat. To prep the property for construction, they’d have to temporarily do away with the grant-funded butterfly garden built just a few years earlier. But, thanks...
North Hills School District has had 13 positive tests since Sunday
The latest covid cases in the North Hills School District raise the total for the week to 13 — more than a third of the active cases reported since the start of the pandemic. A teacher at Ross Elementary and a student at the middle school tested positive for the...
Virus outbreak slows ballot count in Westmoreland County
A coronavirus outbreak in the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau is slowing the provisional ballot count as officials scrambled Thursday to find additional volunteers to complete the work as the deadline to certify results from the Nov. 3 election nears. Commissioner Doug Chew said six county workers affiliated with the Elections...
Woman killed in East Liberty had PFA against suspected shooter
Makeida Thompson was set to have a final hearing Friday on the protection from abuse order she’d taken out against the father of her youngest child. She never got the chance, Pittsburgh police said, because the same man allegedly walked into a home in East Liberty on Tuesday and shot...
2 men arrested in Southwest Greensburg on illegal gun charges
Two men are being held without bond in the Westmoreland County Prison on weapons violations after police said they were found illegally in possession of guns in a Southwest Greensburg home. Jamie Rayques Espy, 32, of Southwest Greensburg, and Kyra Malik Seifullah, 21, of Warren, Ohio, were charged this week...
Regent Square attorney honored as Shaler Area Distinguished Alumnus
A 2005 Shaler Area graduate who founded Pittsburgh’s pro bono Housing Rights Project and is paving the way for affordable housing in the city’s Hill District has been chosen as the district’s annual Distinguished Alumnus. Jerry Dickinson, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, was honored...
