Western PA Local News category, Page 2320
Monroeville shooting suspect turns himself in to police
A Braddock man accused of fatally shooting a Monroeville Mall worker outside the retail hub was taken into custody Friday. Lawrence Murphy, 20, turned himself in to Allegheny County Police, according to Monroeville Police Chief Doug Cole. An Allegheny County Police spokesman said that occurred around 5 p.m. Murphy is...
Portion of Route 66 closed due to tractor trailer crash, power knocked out for a short while
A tractor-trailer truck knocked down a utility pole in Oklahoma Borough along Route 66 near Naser Foods on Friday night, knocking out power for a short time. Westmoreland County dispatchers said no injuries were reported in connection with the crash around 8:15 p.m. The road closed from Sheridan Road to...
Pitt relaxing some pandemic restrictions on Monday
Some covid-19 mitigation strategies at the University of Pittsburgh will loosen Monday, as the Pittsburgh campus moves into a “guarded” risk posture. Up to this point, Pitt has been in “elevated” risk posture, which calls for most classes to be held remotely, limits gatherings to 25 people and other restrictions....
South Butler school staffer positive for covid-19; classes resume as planned
An educator who works with children at two South Butler public schools has tested positive for covid-19, the district reports. The district learned of the employee’s test results late Thursday afternoon, according to Superintendent David Foley. The person now isolating at home rotates between South Butler Primary School and South...
Republican congressional candidates seek poll watchers at Allegheny Co. satellite election offices
Two Republican congressional candidates in Western Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday seeking permission to post poll watchers at seven satellite election offices that were approved last month in Allegheny County. The complaint contends that poll watchers in the satellite offices are necessary to preserve the integrity of...
Worker’s potential coronavirus exposure temporarily closed Latrobe municipal building
Latrobe’s municipal building was closed to the public for part of the day on Thursday following a worker’s possible exposure to the coronavirus. City Manager Michael Gray said a company arrived Thursday evening to disinfect the building, which reopened for normal business on Friday. Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation Commission, which...
Route 22 battle royale: Murrysville area serves as ground zero for Biden, Trump supportersVideo
The battle for the crucial suburban vote in the Nov. 3 presidential election is playing out along an unlikely 7-mile stretch of Route 22 through Murrysville and neighboring communities through competing campaign offices and billboards. The affluent Westmoreland County community of about 20,000 grew up in the post-World War II...
Deer Lakes parents demand schools fully reopen
The Deer Lakes School Board could not ignore the message brought by district parents Tuesday night: Open the schools five days a week. “You need to quit holding these kids hostage,” parent Traci Stotler told the board during a virtual meeting. “They want to be in the classroom with their...
Unemployment rate in Pa. drops to 8.1%, but economists remain wary
The state Department of Labor & Industry reported Friday that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% in September, down 2.3 percentage points from August. The current figure is nearly double the unemployment rate of September 2019, which was 4.6%. Still, Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh...
Washington County fentanyl dealer gets 10 years in prison
A Washington County man caught selling fentanyl to a police informant will spend 10 years behind bars, federal prosecutors said Friday. Romone Barnes, 34, of the city of Washington pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing large quantities of fentanyl in Western Pennsylvania during summer 2017, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said....
Westmoreland County Halloween happenings
• Collinsburg: Collinsburg Volunteer Fire Company will host a free party for children 12 and younger from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at the firehall, 514 Hickory Drive. Children must be accompanied by an adult. There will be a costume contest, food, drinks and prizes. • Export: The borough...
Westmoreland high school students strive to soar in Young Engineers rocket challenge
Conditions were on the breezy side for launching model rockets Thursday at Youngstown’s ball field, but area high school students enrolled in the Young Engineers program had the right stuff. “The wind was a little bit challenging, but out of 28 launches, we only lost three rockets,” said Kennametal staffer...
In Pittsburgh, Labor Secretary Scalia discusses Amy Coney Barrett, lessons from his dadVideo
U. S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, said that among lessons he learned from his dad was that a justice’s job is not to play politics, nor base legal rulings on personal views. “Judges aren’t qualified to do that. They are qualified...
Burrell High School student tests positive for covid-19
A Burrell High School student has tested positive for covid-19 and some students in the district have been asked to quarantine, said Shannon Wagner, superintendent for Burrell School District. Wagner sent a letter to parents Friday, saying, “We are following the Health Department recommendations and have notified families that need...
VP Robert Thorn to lead Cal U as interim president
A longtime administrator at California University of Pennsylvania will serve as interim president upon the retirement of current President Geraldine Jones. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors appointed Robert Thorn, vice president for administration and finance, to serve as head of the school effective Jan. 29,...
National Drug Control Office chief holds roundtable discussion in Ligonier
Westmoreland County has made some strides in introducing programs aimed at helping those with a drug addiction. Drug treatment court started in 2014. The Westmoreland County Drug Overdose Task Force has enacted a Recovery Friendly Workplace program. Scores of naloxone doses have been handed out by the task force and...
Norwin holds to Nov. 4 school reopening; no students, staff got virus at school, district says
Norwin school officials said that the district still is planning to resume the five-day in-person instruction on Nov. 4, even though the number of covid-19 cases are rising in the North Huntingdon-Irwin area and Westmoreland County. School Superintendent Jeff Taylor said in an email statement this week that the district...
News that Wabtec will anchor Pittsburgh area development comes as company lays off 150 in Erie
The same ideas that propelled companies like the Westinghouse Air Brake Company to flourish during the Gilded Age are being used more than a century later by the company’s successor, Wabtec Corp., in its latest venture near Pittsburgh International Airport. In the 1880s, Westinghouse pioneered the railway airbrake and its...
Rotary names Sardis VFC president as 2020 Volunteer of the Year
The Paiano family of Murrysville knows a bit about firefighting. Before spending 28 of his 35 firefighting years as president at Sardis Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, Joseph Paiano Sr. learned about the long hours and sacrifice of the job through his father. When Paiano is at the station these...
Women’s Board of Pittsburgh reveals 2 beneficiaries of annual fundraiser
The Women’s Board of Pittsburgh will remotely host its largest annual fundraiser while upping the ante and announcing two beneficiaries of the January event. “While our fundraising efforts will depart from brick-and-mortar events of the past, we are discovering creative and exciting ways to involve guests in this year’s special...
Tractor Supply ‘chicken swap’ moving from Delmont to Export
For about a decade, animal enthusiasts have gathered the first Sunday of the month at Tractor Supply in Delmont for the chicken swap. The agriculture chain has held the swaps at locations across the country for years. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, they slowly began dwindling. “Since covid hit,...
Westmoreland County reports triple-digit covid-19 cases for 2nd day
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 109 new cases of covid-19 after the previous day’s record high of 148. The county’s 7-day average is at a high of 90 cases. The 7-day total of 630 cases is also a record since the coronavirus outbreak began in March. One new death was...
Bradenville firefighters prepare to break ground for larger station
The Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department is preparing to break ground in the coming weeks for a new fire hall it has been looking forward to for decades. The $1.8 million fire hall and public safety building will stand along Bradenville’s School Street, across from the department’s original garage and...
Delmont seeks bids for 1st phase of $4.85 million sewage project
Delmont officials are seeking bids for the first phase of a proposed $4.85 million project to address sewage overflows. As part of a consent order finalized with the state Department of Environmental Control in late April, borough officials have proposed relocating and replacing a gravity line and a force main...
Wendy Bell, KDKA Radio officially part ways
Controversial radio host Wendy Bell has officially left KDKA Radio, a spokesman for the station’s parent company said Friday. “Wendy Bell is no longer with KDKA, and we mutually agreed to part ways,” Entercom said in a statement. Bell declined to comment further about the situation with KDKA Radio, but...
