Local category, Page 2225
Pennsylvania could be key in Republican legal election challenges
It is likely that Pennsylvania will remain the epicenter of Republican legal challenges to continuing election results in coming days, but whether those challenges will even matter was in doubt Wednesday evening. The state Republican Party on Tuesday filed two lawsuits in Pennsylvania challenging whether counties could follow Secretary of...
Pittsburgh residents vote to expand powers of Pittsburgh police review board
The independent board tasked with reviewing police conduct in Pittsburgh received an endorsement from voters Tuesday, who overwhelmingly voted to expand the board’s power. More than 76% of voters supported a ballot question expanding the board’s power, according to unofficial, incomplete election results as of Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a very...
Motorcyclist injured in New Stanton crash
A motorcyclist was seriously injured Wednesday when he crashed in a work zone along Route 119 North in New Stanton, according to a 911 dispatch supervisor. The accident occurred about 2 p.m. near Hepler’s Hardware, where the highway merges into one lane because of ongoing construction work in Youngwood. The...
Chick-fil-A in O’Hara expected to open by February
Work continues on the construction of fast food giant, Chick-fil-A, going up along Freeport Road in O’Hara. The restaurant will open at the far end of Fox Chapel Plaza where Rita’s Ice once stood. Despite construction delays because of covid-19 restrictions, the restaurant is expected to open by February, Township...
Westmoreland vote count continues, showing Trump with expected big lead
President Trump is on his way to another big victory in Westmoreland County. According to unofficial results, with more than 77% of the vote counted, Trump continued to hold a commanding lead over former Vice President Joe Biden among county voters. With all 307 precincts reporting votes cast in-person on...
No tax hike proposed in Bridgeville 2021 budget
Bridgeville council members are considering a balanced budget for 2021 that does not propose raising property taxes. Council heard from Joe Kauer, the borough’s newly-hired manager, during a budget hearing on Nov. 2. The meeting did not include any voting items and came one week before the Nov. 9 meeting,...
New Kensington-Arnold students will return to schools next week, superintendent says
New Kensington-Arnold School District will resume in-person instruction for students on Monday, Acting Superintendent Jon Banko said Wednesday. The district moved all students to remote instruction for the week of Nov. 2 on the advice of state officials citing Westmoreland County as having a substantial rate of community coronavirus spread....
Devlin Robinson likely winner over Pam Iovino in race for 37th District state Senate seat
State Sen. Pam Iovino — one of only three Democrats to represent the 37th District in the past 50 years — appears to have lost a bid for a full term in office after serving only a year and a half. But as of midday Nov. 5 she had not...
New Kensington man reported missing at Slippery Rock University
A New Kensington man has been reported missing in Butler County. Gregory Jones, 21, is a junior computing major at Slippery Rock University, university spokesman Robb King said. Jones was last seen on campus Oct. 25. He was driving a dark purple 2004 Lexus; King did not know the exact...
2 charged in bust of ‘illegal speakeasy’ in Pittsburgh
Two people face charges related to an illegal speakeasy busted late last month in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes neighborhood, according to the Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement. Angelo Reynolds, 31, and William Bagley, 36, are both accused of violating state liquor laws by operating bar called Bridgez on Arlington...
Penn Hills Community Garden’s success prompts record donations to food banks
A garden that some call Penn Hills’ best-kept secret donated a record amount of produce to local food banks this season. The Penn Hills Community Garden, located on roughly five acres along Jefferson Road, donated 1,500 pounds of produce to food banks such as 412 Food Rescue and the Penn...
Westmoreland County adds 90 new coronavirus cases, 2 deaths
Westmoreland County reported 90 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The 90 new cases — 68 confirmed and 22 probable — bring the county’s total to 4,761 since the first cases were reported in March. Wednesday’s PCR test positivity rate —...
North Hills reports covid-19 case at West View ElementaryVideo
A student at West View Elementary School has tested positive for covid-19, according to North Hills School District officials. The student, who has not been in the building since Oct. 27, began experiencing symptoms on Monday and tested positive for the virus yesterday. The Allegheny County Health Department is not...
2 more covid-19 cases reported at Hempfield Area High School
Two coronavirus cases were reported at Hempfield Area High School this week, district officials said. According to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, one high school teacher and one student tested positive for the virus. Those who were determined to have been in close contact with the infected individuals were contacted by the...
Peters Township School District apologizes for ‘insensitive’ costumes at Woodland Hills game
Peters Township School District officials formally apologized to their counterparts at Woodland Hills for an “insensitive” choice of costumes by two drum majors during an Oct. 30 football game between the schools. The two students wore black, full-body spandex suits that appeared to some as if they were in blackface...
Derry Township man accused of assaulting, choking girlfriend
A Derry Township woman alleges she was held at knifepoint, beaten and choked by her boyfriend in a domestic assault that began late Monday and lasted until she was able to flee Tuesday afternoon. Randy S. Authier, 22, was arraigned on multiple charges filed by by state police at Kiski...
Allegheny County reports 200 new coronavirus cases
Allegheny County added 200 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the first time the county has hit 200 cases since Oct. 4. The new cases — 121 confirmed and 79 probable — bring the county’s total to 16,410, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. The 121 confirmed cases came from...
Tree planting near Beulah Presbyterian Church provides environmental boost to Churchill area
Volunteers from several organizations came together late last month to make the landscape of Churchill a little greener. More than 70 people planted 115 trees in the area between Beulah Presbyterian Church, its nearby cemetery and the Parkway East. The church partnered with Garfield Community Farm and Plant Five for...
Charges filed in Brentwood, South Park district courts from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3.
District court judges in Brentwood and South Park handled these criminal cases from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. Defendants will have court dates set in the appropriate district courts. Judge Michael Thatcher, South Park • Michael Dean McNeely, 48, of Pittsburgh with home improvement fraud, theft by unlawful taking, theft...
Aspinwall awarded $537,000 from ALCOSAN for Western Avenue sewer project
The Western Avenue sewer project in Aspinwall will be paid in large part with money from the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN). The borough has been awarded $537,199 through ALCOSAN’s GROW program, marking the third time the authority has prioritized stormwater overflow projects in Aspinwall. Work is expected to start...
Tarentum mom delivers baby — and votes from hospital
Megan Walker gave birth to a son on Monday. On Tuesday, Walker told her medical team at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland that she needed to be released in time to vote. She didn’t have to worry about making it to her polling place in Tarentum. The ballot was delivered...
Charges recently filed in Bridgeville, Scott, Carnegie district courts
District court judges in Bridgeville, Scott and Carnegie handled these criminal cases from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. Defendants will have court dates set in the appropriate district courts. Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet, Bridgeville • Zachary Gonze, 33, of Bridgeville with drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under a...
Fayette man dies week after crash
A passenger involved in a crash in Fayette County last month has died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Brian Keith Benedetto, 49, of Uniontown was pronounced dead Friday at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, a week after the Oct. 23 crash in Dunbar Township. State police said Benedetto was a...
Southwestern Pa. counties resume counting votes
Allegheny County has resumed its efforts to count mail-in ballots after a pause early Wednesday morning, according to county spokeswoman Amie Downs. Voters sent in 348,485 mail-in and absentee ballots. As of 3 a.m., 173,068 had been processed and electronically scanned. Another approximately 29,000 ballots had been set aside for...
50 trees to be planted on Pittsburgh’s Eliza Furnace Trail
Mayor Bill Peduto will join employees of Pittsburgh’s City Forestry department and a local nonprofit Friday to plant 50 trees on the Eliza Furnace Trail. The planting will celebrate a partnership between Tree Pittsburgh, an environmental nonprofit that restores and protects urban forest, and Dynegy, a Texas-based energy company and...
