Western PA Local News category, Page 2248
East Huntingdon woman seeks dismissal of 1st-degree murder charge
An East Huntingdon woman in jail since September on charges of fatally shooting a former boyfriend claimed in court documents filed Monday there is no evidence she intended to kill her victim. Adam Gorzelsky, the lawyer for Meghan West, 24, asked a Westmoreland County judge to dismiss a first-degree murder...
Riverview Junior-Senior High School students in remote learning mode after positive covid tests
Riverview Junior-Senior High School students are in remote learning mode until Thursday because of a second positive covid-19 case at the school, district officials announced. A new state mandate requires schools to switch to a virtual learning model for every two cases of covid-19 in a school building, according to...
Speakers call for Pittsburgh Public Schools to cut police, security spending
The 30 people who provided testimony Monday during a virtual budget hearing focused on eliminating police, safety and security items from the 2021 Pittsburgh Public Schools budget. The district spends just over 1% of its budget on school safety measures like police and security guards. In 2021, the school safety...
U.S. Steel to test emergency equipment at Clairton facility
The U.S. Steel Corp. will conduct a test of emergency equipment Tuesday at Mon Valley Works, its facility in Clairton. The test, scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will involve sirens, lights and loud speakers that will be heard in the surrounding areas. A news release...
UPMC names new president of Center for Emergency Medicine
UPMC appointed a new president of the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania, which focuses on prehospital care and paramedic services. James Houser will succeed Doug Garretson, who retired in October. Houser will run the critical care air ambulance service, STAT MedEvac, with helicopters throughout the Western Pennsylvania region,...
Excela to add more covid-19 beds at its hospitals as cases continue to rise
Officials at Excela Health plan to add beds for coronavirus patients, possibly as early as Tuesday, at one of its Westmoreland County facilities as hospitalizations continue to increase. Dr. Carol Fox, Excela’s chief medical officer, said Monday the move to convert a procedure room into one for inpatients will add...
Covid shuts down North Hills boys varsity basketball for 2 weeks, district using remote learning only
The North Hills School District has eight new cases of covid-19, including one that forced a shutdown of the boys varsity basketball program for a two-week period that began on Dec. 5, officials announced. The basketball players began experiencing symptoms on Friday afternoon after practice and tested positive for the...
County hosting drive-thru holiday laser show at North Park
Allegheny County is playing host to a drive-in style laser light show synchronized to holiday music at North Park to help get families into the holiday spirit. The 45-minute show will be held nightly between Dec. 10 and 20 in the swimming pool parking lot. Performances will be held nightly...
Fox Chapel property tax rate likely to remain steady
Fox Chapel residents will likely pay the same real estate taxes to the borough in 2021 thanks to council’s tentative approval of an $8.6 million budget. The property tax rate is expected to remain the same at 2.95 mills. If the final budget is approved, the owner of a home...
Charges withdrawn against woman accused of sexually abusing 2 children in West Deer
Criminal charges were withdrawn against a Hampton woman Allegheny County Police accused of sexually abusing two children in West Deer. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office withdrew 10 charges, including rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, filed against Iris Schmidt, 21, late last year, according to online court records. The...
Pittsburgh doctor: ‘Covid vaccines are lights at the end of the tunnel, but we’re still in the tunnel’Video
Coronavirus vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are likely to be released later this month. The announcements bring excitement for what could be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. But some people have concerns about the safety of the vaccines. Just how safe are vaccines? How do they...
Shaler Area girls volleyball team raises money for Glenshaw Century Club
Shaler Area girls volleyball coach Paul Stadelman teaches his team that small individual contributions turn into large team success. He does that on the court and off. At the start of every season, each of his players commits to giving up something she enjoys – cookies, gum, chocolate – no...
Virus spreads quickly among Westmoreland County Prison inmates
A massive coronavirus outbreak at Westmoreland County Prison has seen more than 100 inmates and a number of staffers infected over the past 10 days, and officials believe additional cases are possible at the lockup in Hempfield. Interim Warden George Lawther said Monday two units are in lockdown in an...
Stay in the car to see Santa during holiday happenings
Pandemic precautions mean kids may not get to sit on Santa’s lap this year. But there are several area options for families to have a drive-thru encounter with the jolly old elf, in a socially distanced take on the holiday tradition. Unity Instead of its usual Deck the Tree holiday...
Westmoreland County reports over 500 new covid cases in 2 days, 3 new deaths
Westmoreland County added another 522 covid-19 cases over the past two days, according to a report Monday from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Of the new cases, 285 were reported Sunday, 237 on Monday. With those additions, the county’s seven-day total surpassed the 2,000 mark for the first time, standing...
No one injured in Lower Burrell house fire spotted by New Ken fire chief
New Kensington’s fire chief was working in Lower Burrell late Monday morning when he came across a house fire. In addition to serving as city fire chief, Ed Saliba Jr. is the distribution superintendent for the Municipal Authority of the City of New Kensington, which services Lower Burrell. Saliba was...
2 Port Authority drivers, ages 34 and 57, dead from covid
Two Port Authority of Allegheny County employees have died from covid-19, officials said Monday. One man was 57, and the other was 34. Both worked as bus drivers. “Today, our hearts are broken,” said Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman. The 57-year-old driver tested positive for the virus on Friday and...
Feds award $10M to stabilize Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington
Pittsburgh officials have spent a lot of time and money repairing landslides on Mt. Washington, which attracts millions of visitors annually for its dazzling view of Downtown. On Monday, city officials announced they have received nearly $10 million in federal grant money to make repairs and drainage upgrades to fix...
‘Baking With Lucy’ goes on, as daughter continues late mom’s online cooking show
Mary Ellen Raneri hasn’t taken much time to mourn her mother’s passing. She’s been too busy baking. Her mother, 98-year-old Lucy Pollock, who went viral this year with her “Baking With Lucy” Facebook videos, died Nov. 22 from complications of covid-19. The Latrobe resident said she feels like she owes...
Despite drop in new cases, Allegheny County’s record covid numbers continue
After posting record high daily covid-19 cases last week, Allegheny County saw a slight reprieve in the numbers over the past two days. The county health department reported 854 new cases Sunday and another 616 cases Monday. While encouraging, officials have long cautioned that weekend numbers generally run lower because...
Penn Township man arrested in apparent robbery attempt that failed
A Penn Township man was stabbed and arrested after an apparent robbery plot in Jeannette on Sunday failed, according to court papers. Kelby K. Saddler, 32, is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, theft, driving on a suspended license and related offenses. Jeannette police investigating a suspicious person report at...
At least 1 injured in Ligonier Township crash
At least one person was injured in a rollover crash in Ligonier Township Monday morning, according to Westmoreland County 911. The single-vehicle crash on Route 30 eastbound happened shortly before 8 a.m., according to dispatchers. The Ligonier Township Volunteer Fire Department and Ligonier Valley Police Department responded. Route 30 remained...
Interstate 70 modernization project slated to start in 2028
Preliminary work for a modernization project on 8 miles of Interstate 70 in Washington County, just over the Westmoreland border, is underway. But it’ll be awhile before motorists see any construction zones. The work is anticipated to start in 2028, said project manager Sean Sepe. “This is a pretty big...
News briefs: Plum Borough School District launches school-by-school covid tracker
Plum Borough School District has released a covid-19 case tracker. The webpage tracks the total number of cases the school district has had since the start of the year. It also tracks active cases and ogoing and ended quarantines among staff and students. Visit the district’s website to find the...
News briefs: Trib offers journalism scholarships
Trib Total Media is now accepting applications for both the Scholarship for Diversity in Media and the Jim Borden Memorial Scholarship. The Scholarship for Diversity in Media is open to high school seniors who are culturally, ethnically or racially diverse and are planning to study journalism, communication or English writing...
