Western PA Local News category, Page 2362
North Huntingdon officials cry foul on backyard chicken ordinanceVideo
The months-long debate over keeping chickens in North Huntingdon residential areas will continue after the commissioners rejected a proposed change to the rules on Wednesday. Commissioners cried foul on adopting an ordinance that would allow residents to obtain a permit to have four hens in a residential district if they...
Greensburg resident gets surprise parade to celebrate 103rd birthday
With horns honking and balloons waving from their windows, dozens of cars drove down Greensburg’s Alwine Avenue to wish Catherine Campolongo a happy 103rd birthday. Campolongo was a baby during the flu pandemic of 1918, and on Wednesday celebrated a socially distant birthday during another historic pandemic. Her secret to...
Beaver County woman arrested for allegedly luring Illinois boy, 15, from his home to hers
A Rochester woman accused of taking a teenage boy from his home to Beaver County last month was arrested Wednesday night in McKeesport by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, police said. The suspect, Lilandra Redman, 20, was found at a home in the 2900 block of Versailles Street, McKeesport, at...
Attorney: Duquesne’s ‘knee-jerk’ move to oust professor for using racial slur threatens academic freedom
Duquesne University risks setting a dangerous precedent and violating its own rules regarding academic freedom by trying to oust a professor for using a racial slur during a lecture about race, the suspended professor’s attorney said Wednesday. “It’s a knee-jerk reaction,” Warner Mariani, attorney for the embattled professor, Gary Shank,...
Trib Total Media CEO Jennifer Bertetto named to international board
Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto has been named to the board of directors of the World Association of News Publishers, an organization representing media organizations internationally. The World Association of News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, is headquartered in Paris and Frankfurt, Germany. The organization, founded in 1948, is...
John Ellis died 4 years after mass shooting in Wilkinsburg
After he was shot and paralyzed in a mass shooting in Wilkinsburg four years ago, John Ellis made it a priority on most days to send “good morning” messages to all of his friends who were active on Facebook. In recent weeks, his mother, Aleta Livsey, said he was unable...
Gov. Wolf argues ‘life and death’ while seeking stay in pandemic restrictions rulingVideo
Attorneys for Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Wednesday asked to stay the federal court decision from earlier this week in which a district judge ruled unconstitutional the state’s shutdown orders over the covid-19 pandemic. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case said they will vigorously oppose any motion to stay...
Ross police: Officer hurt when fleeing shoplifter crashes car into tree, backs up and crashes into house
A Ross police officer suffered an ankle injury Wednesday afternoon after he tried to stop a woman accused of stealing multiple eyeglass frames from a store from fleeing in her car. Shortly after receiving a report of a retail theft from the America’s Best eyeglasses store in The Block Northway...
Beltzhoover residents laud URA’s investment in former elementary schoolVideo
Margie Thompson attended elementary school at Beltzhoover Elementary School 75 years ago. It was a “nice community school,” said Thompson, who is 86. On Wednesday, she was among the people who filled the area on Cedarhurst Street in front of the school to celebrate a $72,000 investment by the Urban...
New Kensington man accused of lying about his age to get involved with 13-year-old girl
A New Kensington man is accused of indecent assault in connection with an alleged incident involving a 13-year-old girl in Brackenridge. Police said Kristopher Skufca, 19, met the girl through a friend on social media, but he told her that he was 16. A criminal complaint filed in the case...
Diners can help feed Square Café in move by investing in a crowd-funded business loan
Square Café owner Sherree Goldstein launched a campaign with Honeycomb Credit to raise money for the move from Regent Square to East Liberty. The new space, previously occupied by restaurants Spoon and BRGR, will provide more indoor and outdoor seating, be open longer hours and offer beer and alcohol. “It...
Allegheny County officials pleased with covid numbers
Allegheny County officials said Wednesday they are pleased with the covid-19 case levels at the moment. “Optimistically, while we’ve seen the numbers stabilize or are maybe a little bit up,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, “with all the activities that are occurring, I think we’re very pleased at where the...
Golf outing raises more than $4,000 for Animal Friends of Westmoreland
Animal Friends of Westmoreland currently has 152 animals in their care. Since its inception in 2006, the nonprofit has rescued more than 5,700 animals. Like most nonprofits, Animal Friends relies on donations and they could not be happier to have received a $4,200 donation recently — the proceeds from the...
3 more Port Authority workers test positive for covid; total now 51
Three West Mifflin bus garage workers tested positive for covid-19 in the past week, bringing Port Authority of Allegheny County’s employee coronavirus case count to 51, officials said. The majority of workers who tested positive since March — 44 employees, or 86% — recovered from the disease after quarantining and...
Head of Pittsburgh area gambling ring, son, plead guilty to running numbers
The 90-year-old patriarch of a Pittsburgh family connected to gambling operations in Western Pennsylvania for more than a half century agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve charges the family operated a sports betting and numbers running business dating back to 1994. Robert “Bobby I” Iannelli, of Pittsburgh, along with his...
USW lights up iconic Pittsburgh landmarks with Biden-Harris message without permission
Corey Barsky was more than a little miffed Tuesday night when he saw a giant Biden-Harris logo projected on the façade of the towering Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus. Barsky, who is vice chair of the Pitt College Republicans, said the projection that included the...
Greater Latrobe encourages kids to take advantage of free school meals
Children in the Greater Latrobe School District students can get two free meals a day through a U.S. Department of Agriculture program. Greater Latrobe joined other area school districts that are taking advantage of the meal program. Picking up where a similar effort ended in June, the pandemic-prompted program provides...
CoGo’s to become Coen Markets as part of rebranding
People accustomed to buying gas and coffee at one of the 38 CoGo’s locations in the region will soon see a new logo, as Canonsburg-based Coen Markets Inc. moves forward with rebranding its stores. The gas will carry the Amoco brand and the stores will be known as Coen Markets....
Police: Sutersville man jailed on $75K bond for puncturing tires with arrow, threatening neighbor
A Sutersville man allegedly used a crossbow arrow to puncture tires on two vehicles parked near his apartment on Tuesday and then threatened to stab one person who confronted him about it, police said. Rickie Linn Case, 58, was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, harassment,...
Derry man accused of assaulting, spitting on woman in attempt to make her crash
North Huntingdon police say a Derry man repeatedly tried to make a woman crash her car as she drove through Westmoreland County on Monday. Police arrested Jason M. Thomas, 30, on charges of harassment, reckless endangerment, simple assault and making terroristic threats following the alleged 7:30 p.m. assault inside the...
McCandless council takes steps to keep new 5G cell antennas from being eyesores
While local municipal officials don’t have the authority to stop cellular telephone service providers from installing antennas for their new “5th Generation,” or 5G networks, they do have the power to try to keep them from being eyesores. McCandless council this week exercised that power by voting unanimously to create...
Free milk flows in Jeannette giveaway
The American Dairy Association North East partnered with Schneider’s Dairy and The Salvation Army to distribute 1,000 gallons of milk in Jeannette on Wednesday through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Each vehicle that participated in the drive-thru distribution at the Magee Avenue parking lot received two gallons of milk. Some...
Lower Burrell police nab 5 boys trying to break into cars, say one had stolen gun
Five boys were scoping out cars to break into in Lower Burrell over the weekend, and one of them was carrying a stolen handgun, according to city police. Another one of the boys had a key fob matching a vehicle that was stolen out of New Kensington, police said. Police...
Pittsburgh council debates proposed restrictions on facial recognition programVideo
A debate over whether Pittsburgh police should be allowed to use facial recognition software and predictive policing techniques is part of the overall process of police reform in the city, the sponsor of legislation restricting use of the technology said Wednesday. “I think that it’s a good sign for public...
Archery hunters targeting deer in Ross Township woods in controlled hunt
A team of about a dozen archery hunters will take to the woods in Ross Township early Saturday morning for the first day an organized effort to trim the deer population. But one of the owners of the company coordinating the hunt says it is unlikely residents will even know...
