Western PA Local News category, Page 2270
Trump supporters plan ‘election integrity’ rally in Greensburg
Supporters of President Trump will rally Saturday outside the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg to protest the results of the election. The 2 p.m. event could overlap with a Black Lives Matter rally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tony Naples, co-organizer of the 1776 Rally For Election Integrity, said there will...
Developer revises plans for new building at Wholey’s warehouse in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Planning Commission members aren’t saying what they think of a revised design at the site of a former cold storage warehouse in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. New York-based JMC Holdings paid $8.1 million for the former Wholey’s cold storage warehouse at 1501 Penn Ave. in 2018. The windowless building was...
Some Alle-Kiski residents decking the halls earlier to spread holiday cheer amid pandemicVideo
For some in the Alle-Kiski Valley, decorating for Christmas before the Thanksgiving holiday has been the perfect pandemic pick-me-up. Here’s a look at some of the early-bird decorators. Harrison Matt Bedick of Harrison has one festive front yard. Bedick, an emergency room nurse at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, is a...
Allegheny County Judge Tranquilli denied back-pay; barred from seeking judicial office
Former Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark V. Tranquilli will not receive any of his withheld salary during his three-month suspension. That sanction was part of an order handed down Thursday by the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline. In addition, Tranquilli, who resigned the day before his misconduct trial was...
Contact tracer jobs dry up just as WCCC launches training program
Those contact tracer jobs that sounded like a lifeline to workers left unemployed in the midst of the pandemic are gone. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health said the state filled all of its 1,000 positions for contact tracers — hired to track down people who had close...
Tarentum second-hand store owner worries reopening may be short-lived
Even as Lorie Angely prepares to reopen her Tarentum store, she fears she may have to shut it down again, possibly for good. Angely has run Secondhand Treasures on the borough’s West Seventh Avenue for about 20 years. It’s been closed since the pandemic-related shutdown in March. She’s reopening Saturday,...
Greensburg Central Catholic declares Friday ‘Centurion Day’ as soccer teams vie for PIAA titlesVideo
It’s been a complicated fall sports season for teams across the country, with an extra layer of health and safety guidelines to protect players, coaches and staff from the coronavirus. That makes it all the more impressive to see both the boys and girls soccer teams from Greensburg Central Catholic...
Pittsburgh cuts without pandemic relief would be ‘disastrous,’ council members told
The personnel cuts that will be needed July 1 if further federal pandemic relief funds aren’t approved “may prove to be untenable,” Pittsburgh Council Budget Director Bill Urbanic told council members Thursday. The city needs an infusion of at least $26 million by then to avoid making the cuts, which...
Money raised for new playground at West Hempfield Elementary SchoolVideo
After more than two years of working to raise money for a new playground at West Hempfield Elementary School, the project is finally coming together. The Hempfield Area School Board this week accepted a $41,559 donation from the West Hempfield Elementary PTO, money that will be used for new playground...
North Huntingdon taps fund balance to hold line on taxes for 2021
Property owners in North Huntingdon will not have to pay more real estate taxes in 2021 under a tentative budget that takes $1.14 million from the fund balance to cover a projected deficit. The commissioners voted Wednesday to adopt a proposed $14.17 million general fund budget that maintains real estate...
State officials highlight food assistance programs ahead of holidays
State officials on Thursday encouraged Pennsylvania residents to take advantage of food assistance programs, if needed, over the holidays. “Pennsylvania’s food assistance programs were built for times like these and no one should be too shy to take advantage of what they have to offer,” said Russell Redding, secretary of...
Westmoreland Historical Society exhibit recalls Christmas memoriesVideo
The Westmoreland Historical Society hopes visitors to its holiday exhibit in the History Education Center at Historic Hanna’s Town will say, “I remember that!” “The special exhibition presents objects and vignettes that will bring back fond memories of Christmases from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s,” according to a release, including...
Lawsuit: Clairton illegally charged per minute fee for virtual city council meeting
Infighting over the potential sale of a community’s sewer system led to a lawsuit this week over the Sunshine Act, alleging that callers participating in a council meeting via conference call were required to pay a per-minute fee. The lawsuit was filed by the Clairton Municipal Authority, along with two...
Tarentum Night Market organizers to go forward with Thursday event despite covid advisory
Organizers of Tarentum’s new Night Market plan to proceed with the monthly event Thursday evening, despite Allegheny County health officials advising residents to stay home except for essential activities because of the surging covid-19 pandemic. Started in September, the idea behind the market is for borough businesses to remain open...
North Huntingdon backyard chicken permit will cost $590
After months of wrangling and, at times, heated debate, North Huntingdon Commissioners this week took a step toward requiring residents who want chickens in their backyard to get approval from the township’s zoning hearing board. Commissioners Jason Atwood, Brian Blasko, Zachary Haigis and Ronald Zona voted to authorize township planning...
Westmoreland County reports a record 7 new covid-19 deaths in a single day
Westmoreland County continues to shatter coronavirus records. For the third time in a week the county surpassed 200 newly reported covid-19 cases in a single day and hit a new high for deaths reported in a 24-hour span. The county on Thursday reported seven additional coronavirus deaths and 259 additional...
Allegheny County advises ‘stay home except for essentials,’ warns of public health order
Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen issued a countywide stay-at-home advisory Nov. 18 with the warning that a full-blown public health order could come next if case counts continue to rise. “For the past few weeks, I’ve asked people to follow the rules, curtail gatherings and parties, stay...
Covid cases in Allegheny County continue to spike
Allegheny County for the second day in a row recorded more than 600 new cases of coronavirus, the county’s Health Department reported Thursday. The county announced 609 additional covid-19 cases, bringing the total case count to 22,043 since the pandemic reached the county in March. The county recorded a record...
Drugs, $4K seized from Jeannette home, 1 arrested
An Arona man is behind bars after police said Wednesday they found heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and nearly $4,000 inside a safe at a Jeannette house. Jair Deshawn Robinson, 28, who also has a McKeesport address, is charged with several drug offenses. Jeannette and Penn Township police, along with state agents...
Fox Chapel Area switching to virtual learning Nov. 23-Dec. 4
Fox Chapel Area students will switch to a remote learning model from Nov. 23 to Dec. 4 because of surging covid-19 cases in Allegheny County. Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac called it a difficult but necessary decision. “We want our children to remain in school, and the layered mitigation strategies in...
Cases recently heard in Brentwood, South Park district courts
District court judges in Brentwood and South Park handled these criminal cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in the appropriate district courts or the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Judge Ralph Kaiser, Brentwood • Trei Dvon Kinnon, 29, of Pittsburgh on charges of being a habitual offender,...
Charges recently filed in Bridgeville, Scott, Carnegie district courts
District court judges in Bridgeville, Scott and Carnegie handled these criminal cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in appropriate district courts or the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet, Bridgeville • Edward Belveny Jr., 62, of McDonald on charges of simple assault and harassment. Charges...
Supreme Court upholds death penalty in Greensburg Six torture-murder appeal
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court this week upheld the death sentence imposed against the man convicted in the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman in Greensburg. Justices unanimously rejected the appeal from Melvin Knight of Swissvale, who claimed a Westmoreland County jury improperly sentenced him to death by lethal injection...
Workshops will help women interested in serving on Pittsburgh’s civic boards
More than 60% of the people who serve on civic boards and commissions in Pittsburgh are female. “That is exceptional. We absolutely commend Mayor (Bill) Peduto for that progress,” United Women’s Empowerment President and CEO Wendy Doyle said. But it isn’t good enough, Peduto said. The mayor’s office announced Tuesday...
Multi-vehicle wreck shuts down part of southbound Route 66 in Washington Township
All lanes along a section of southbound Route 66 in Westmoreland County were closed Thursday morning because of a crash involving multiple vehicles, according to PennDOT. The accident was reported shortly before 7 a.m. in Washington Township. A 1-mile section of the road between Kiski Park Drive and the Route...
