Western PA Local News category, Page 2378
Laurel Highlands fall foliage ranks 3rd in USA Today voting
The Laurel Highlands is among Readers’ Choice Winners for the Best Destination for Fall Foliage category in the 2020 USA Today 10Best Travel Award Contest. The Laurel Highlands placed third overall in voting amid a field of 20 nominees that also included Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Top 10: 1. Upper Peninsula...
Twirl Time Studio relocates from Pittsburgh Mills mall to The Clement in TarentumVideo
Moving into the Pittsburgh Mills mall went so well for Marianne Rieg that her dance studio, Twirl Time, grew to fill two storefronts serving 200 kids. Covid-19 changed that. Her studio shut down in March. Although the Frazer mall reopened, its earlier closing time didn’t work for her business, primarily...
Ingomar Garden Club announces winners of student contest
Each year members of the Ingomar Garden Club help local school students cut through the red tape of submitting entries for contests by doing preliminary judging — and awarding prizes — before sending them off to state and national competitions. The chair of the 74-year-old organization’s awards committee and several...
Lower Burrell considers hiring mowing contractor for city parks
Lower Burrell Council is considering hiring a private contractor to mow grass at the city’s two largest parks. Council members are expected to discuss the proposal when they meet virtually Tuesday. The council canceled both of its August meetings because it lacked adequate meeting space during the renovation of City...
Mine cleanups in Cook, Fawn townships among those targeted by state program
An abandoned mine drainage treatment system meant to remove pollution from a tributary of the Loyalhanna Creek near Rector will be replaced and a highwall at the popular Tour-Ed Mine and Museum in Fawn will be made safer via a state program. “It’s a win-win all around,” said John Wenzel,...
Public input sought on reinventing former Ligonier Beach pool
Ligonier Township officials have scheduled a second meeting, with pandemic precautions in mind, to take public input on proposed recreational reuse of the former Ligonier Beach entertainment site. The meeting will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 26 in the open garage bay of the township building to...
West Deer increases property tax rebate for seniors
West Deer Supervisors have increased the amount of money that senior citizens can have reduced from their property taxes each year. The board voted unanimously to amend West Deer’s Senior Citizen Property Tax Relief Program, which provided a $10 reduction from the township’s property tax bill for eligible seniors. The...
Pandemic provides boost for river recreation businesses in Western Pa.Video
The covid-19 pandemic appears to have spurred more people to take to Western Pennsylvania’s waterways this summer. Neill Andritz, co-owner of River’s Edge Canoe & Kayak in Gilpin, said kayaking, tubing and canoe rentals have increased 25% this season as people have sought covid-friendly outdoor pursuits. “We’re realizing the outdoors...
Wendy Bell taken off the air by KDKA Radio
KDKA Radio has taken controversial afternoon talk show host Wendy Bell off the air, effective immediately, after comments she made advocating for park rangers to “shoot on sight” people defacing public monuments. A statement on the station’s website from its owner, Entercom Communications, stated her afternoon drive show has been...
Greensburg man jailed without bond for bomb threat
A Greensburg man who threatened to blow up the Westmoreland County Courthouse was arrested Thursday by city police on multiple criminal charges and ordered held without bond. David R. Aaron Jr., 25, was charged with two counts of making terroristic threats and making a bomb threat and is in the...
‘Gentle giant’ Jeannette policeman name added to national memorial in Washington, D.C.Video
Dolly Smith, at age 84, had the look of a child on Christmas morning as she waited outside her Jeannette home for Mayor Curtis Antoniak and his wife, Karen, to arrive. “What do you have there?” Smith coyly asked as the Antoniaks climbed out of their truck carrying a framed...
Westmoreland County sees lowest week of new covid cases in nearly 3 months
Westmoreland County saw 10 new cases of coronavirus added to its total Friday, capping a week in which the county saw the lowest number of new instances since mid-June. The new cases, reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, make 72 new coronavirus cases in the county in the past...
Ex-Steeler scores big renovating Mt. Washington homeVideo
Any Pittsburgh Steelers looking to buy a house? A former teammate may have just the deal for you. Ian Wild, a veteran of the Canadian Football League who spent the 2015 preseason with the Black and Gold, is selling a Mt. Washington home with sweeping views of downtown Pittsburgh —...
Allegheny County caps week of uptick in covid infections with 92 new cases
Allegheny County capped a week of higher covid-19 cases by adding another 92 cases Friday, according to a report from the county’s health department. The new cases — 79 of which were confirmed, 13 probable — bumped the county’s seven-day average to 73 per day, 20 more than the average...
Penn State looks to fix acid mine drainage, recover rare earth metalsVideo
When it comes to a solution for the acid mine drainage that has degraded more than 5,500 miles of Pennsylvania streams, money most often is the biggest problem. “A lack of resources to address historic mining’s lasting impacts on the commonwealth’s land and water is one of the biggest challenges...
PennDOT helps Amtrak expand carry-on bike program
Pittsburghers accustomed to attaching their bikes to the front of Port Authority buses or bringing them onto the T can now take them onto more Amtrak trains. Amtrak worked with PennDOT to expand its Carry-On bike program for most Keystone service departures, beginning Sept. 15. Carry-on and walk-on bike service...
Southwest Greensburg police chief ‘humbled’ by YWCA’s Racial Justice Award
Southwest Greensburg police Chief Chris Kent has seen just about everything in his three decades of police work, but admits a recent telephone call from the YWCA of Westmoreland County practically left him speechless. The agency was calling to inform Kent he was selected to receive its Racial Justice Award...
Steelers’ Ryan Shazier takes stadium seats to fans in new Pepsi videoVideo
Pepsi gives a nod to a pair of Pittsburgh Steelers fans missing the Heinz Field experience this year in a new video as part of the soft drink maker’s national “Made For Football Watching” campaign. In the 4-minute “Every Game Is a Home Game” video, Ryan Shazier, who played linebacker...
Whitehall police to get body cameras by the end of the year
Whitehall police may soon add another piece of technology to the department. Deputy Chief Jason Gagorik said the department is in the process of acquiring 20 WatchGuard Video body cameras for its 20 officers, including Gagorik and Chief Keith Henderson. The department already has car cameras from the Texas-based company....
Sewickley council appoints Ed Green to fill vacancy
Sewickley council members have pulled from the borough planning commission to fill a vacancy. Councilman Hendrik van der Vaart of Ward 2 resigned from his elected post last month. He’s moved out of state. His term expires at the end of 2023. Planning commissioner Ed Green was unanimously appointed Thursday...
1 last chance to visit Kennywood, Sandcastle, Idlewild
Labor Day has become the unofficial end of summer. This year, it also marks the final weekend of 2020 to visit Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Sandcastle Water Park in West Homestead and Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier Township. In past years, there were things to do celebrating Halloween and...
3 men charged in connection with 1-year-old’s shooting death in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill
Surveillance footage led Pittsburgh police to three men allegedly involved in a shootout last month in which an 1-year-old boy sleeping in his mother’s apartment was killed by a stray bullet, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Zykier Young was laying with his mother in the bedroom...
St. Margaret Foundation, workers team to ease covid’s burden
The St. Margaret Foundation and hospital employees have teamed up to churn out initiatives that seek to alleviate the continued toll of covid-19. Foundation President Mary Lee Gannon said hospital employees donated $143,000 to the foundation’s annual employee campaign, much of which will be funneled to easing burdens brought on...
Police: Pair took $350K in loot from Kay Jewelers in North Franklin
Pennsylvania state police in Washington said two men got away with up to $350,000 in jewelry after robbing the Kay Jewelers in North Franklin on Wednesday. The incident happened around 6:25 p.m. at the Washington Crown Center Mall, they said. According to police, two men dressed in jeans and masks...
The Stroller, Sept. 4, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your non-profit organization going to have a fundraiser? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on Twitter @VNDStroller for a daily link to The Stroller. Fire companies plan ride to Flight 93 Memorial Vandergrift...
