Local category, Page 2348
Pittsburgh’s new FBI head eyeing foreign interference in U.S. election, fraud, cyber crimes
FBI agents based in Western Pennsylvania are among those working to identify and block international attempts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Michael A. Christman, a Youngstown native who took the helm as Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office in mid-May, discussed his elections task...
Peduto sends letter to Congress, advocates for bills that help entertainment venues stay afloat
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto issued a letter to Congress in support of three bills that would offer financial relief to independent music and entertainment venues during the covid-19 pandemic. “I’m urging Congress to ensure that our local venues are included in and protected by relief packages,” Peduto said in a...
Upper Burrell Supervisors shelve proposal for a fire tax
Upper Burrell Supervisors on Wednesday shelved a proposal to impose a fire tax to support the township’s volunteer department in response to concerns from residents. “The time for a tax increase is not now,” said resident Dan Myers. Others attending Wednesday’s meeting echoed Myers, saying many residents and businesses are...
Burgh’ers Brewery creates ‘Black is Beautiful’ beer, helps Urban League
The beer can reads: “Brewed to support justice and equality for people of color.” “I have been around a long time and I have seen a lot of things but I have never seen anything this strong on a product,” said Esther Bush, president and CEO of the Urban League...
Audit of Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy ‘a little bit concerning,’ Controller Michael Lamb says
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy pays the City of Pittsburgh $1 per year for Schenley Plaza, the popular five-acre park in the heart of Oakland that bustles with college students and families. City workers cut the grass and provide routine maintenance. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy operates and maintains the plaza, a...
Jurors likely to deliberate Friday in Ligonier Township arson trial
Jury deliberations are expected to begin Friday in the arson trial of a Laughlintown man accused of torching his home last year in Ligonier Township. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday against Brian McVicker, 55, accused of setting fire to a century-old two-story home he lived in for free in exchange...
Westmoreland leaders say covid-19 grant awards will take longer than expected
Westmoreland commissioners said Thursday that $10 million in grants for local small businesses and nonprofits hurt by the coronavirus pandemic won’t be awarded until the end of August. The county received 500 grant applications by last week’s deadline. While officials originally suggested that money could begin to flow as early...
Detective rescues elderly woman from burning New Kensington home
A New Kensington detective is credited with saving an elderly woman’s life by rescuing her from her burning home, according to city fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. Detective Sgt. Matt Saxman spotted flames coming from the house at 222 Valley St. shortly after 4:20 p.m. He called the fire in...
First Commonwealth Bank to close 29 locations, including 4 in Alle-Kiski ValleyVideo
Ashley Coudriet wasn’t happy to hear that First Commonwealth Bank on Leechburg’s Market Street is scheduled to close its doors in December. She and her husband own several rental properties in the Leechburg area and do all of the banking for their rental business there. “It’s been so nice. I...
Caliente Pizza & Draft House offers taste of camping with S’mores pizza
Pittsburghers who associate S’mores with camping, but haven’t been able to sit around the campfire this summer, can still get their S’mores fix at a local pizza restaurant. Caliente Pizza & Draft House, with locations in Aspinwall, Bloomfield, Hampton, Monroeville and Mt. Lebanon, has invented a gourmet S’mores pizza. While...
Gov. Wolf’s recommendation to postpone high school sports gets mixed reactions
Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendation that youth sports be postponed until Jan. 1 was met Thursday with mixed reactions. Wolf’s suggestion that “we don’t do any sports until Jan. 1” first came during a morning news conference when he was asked about spectators at high school sporting events. By the afternoon,...
To-go dinner on tap to benefit Glenshaw Century Club’s scholarship efforts
Glenshaw Century Club is taking orders for to-go chicken dinners to help raise money for scholarship grants for Shaler Area High School seniors. The dinners, cooked by Heavenly Cuisine Custom Catering, include a marinated grilled boneless chicken breast, rice pilaf, six-bean salad, tossed salad with homemade Italian vinaigrette, roll and...
State reimburses Westmoreland for some voting machine expenses, talks to start Friday on finding next elections bureau head
Westmoreland County received a $3.4 million reimbursement from the state, which covers about 60% of the costs of new elections equipment purchased over the past year. That money, according to state guidelines, cannot be used to cover costs associated with the November presidential election, officials said. “It will have to...
Restaurants back down from ultimatum, request meeting with Gov. WolfVideo
The president of a group of restaurant and bar owners on Thursday shied away from threatening to reopen establishments at full capacity. Instead, board members of the newly formed Southwestern Pennsylvania Restaurant and Tavern Association will wait for a sit-down meeting with Gov. Tom Wolf. “If we go on the...
Blessed Trinity Academy in Glenshaw outlines return-to-school plans
A Catholic school in Glenshaw will return to in-person instruction for all students and staff later this month, officials said. Blessed Trinity Academy – of the North Hills Regional Catholic Elementary Schools, a group of five schools within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh – will allow its 160 students in...
Pittsburgh Promise offering gap year for students during pandemic
The Pittsburgh Promise will offer a gap year for recipients affected by the covid-19 pandemic, the organization announced Thursday. Pittsburgh Public Schools students who graduated high school from 2017 through 2020 will have five years — rather than the usual four — to utilize their scholarship award. “We know that...
Dealer school open house scheduled for this weekend at Hempfield mini-casino site
The public has its first chance to tour the new dealer school at Westmoreland Mall this weekend, which is slated to produce employees for the casino under construction at the Hempfield facility. From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, those interested in the school can speak with experienced table game dealers...
O’Hara, Etna residents can take advantage of county program to fight blight
O’Hara and Etna residents can take advantage of an Allegheny County program to fight blight and at the same time expand their property at a discounted price. The 2020 Side Yard and Blighted Structure Program runs for a limited time through Sept. 30. It assists residents who want to buy...
Former New Ken-Arnold superintendent kept on as ‘consultant,’ gets a year’s pay in severance agreement
John Pallone’s tenure as superintendent of New Kensington-Arnold School District ended July 31, but for the next four months he’ll collect twice as much money from the district as he did when he was district chief. A severance agreement approved as part of his resignation guarantees him a full-year’s salary,...
Zelienople native writes, directs, scores 1st filmVideo
When he was growing up in Zelienople, Nathan Brewer performed in Bible-based musicals written by his father and staged at Camp Lutherlyn in Prospect. When Brewer noticed the stage at his father’s Lutheran church was not being used, he begged his father to let him direct one of the musicals....
MotoAmerica Championship Series returns to Pittsburgh International Race Complex
When Ben Smith raced at Pittsburgh International Race Complex for the first time in 2017, he had a lot of momentum on his side with top finishes throughout the first half of that year’s MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup motorcycle series schedule. The Downingtown, Pa., native and rising sophomore at Penn...
O’Hara resident’s upcoming book delves into history, science, Greek mythology
Oncology nurse-turned-author Danielle Ancona will take readers on an ethereal journey through history, science and Greek mythology in her upcoming release, “By Immortal Honor Bound.” It is the first book in the O’Hara resident’s “Of Alchemy & Angels” series and is due out Nov. 4. “My hope is this book...
Trib Total Media nominated for 2 Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards
Trib Total Media is a finalist for two Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards. The newspaper’s “Tree of Life: One Year Later” video was nominated in the Documentary category. The video “The Return of the Clark Bar” was nominated in the Historic-Culture New Single Story category. The Mid-Atlantic Emmys are the mid-Atlantic chapter...
Westmoreland adds 9 new covid-19 cases, no deaths
Westmoreland County saw nine new cases of covid-19 added to its total on Thursday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. For the sixth straight day, the county did not see a covid-19 related death added to its total of 46 to date. After averaging 25 new cases a day...
Allegheny County announces 100 new covid-19 cases, 3 new deaths
There were 100 new cases of covid-19 announced by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday. Continuing to drop, the county’s seven-day average of newly revealed cases stands at 109. The county hasn’t seen a double-digit seven-day average since July 1. Allegheny County coronavirus by dayInfogram The new cases —...
