Western PA Local News category, Page 2474
Universities to advocate for international students amid visa restrictions
Leaders in higher education, including at local instititutions, are concerned over President Trump’s executive order Monday that suspends new visas for many international workers. The order, passed Monday and put into effect immediately, denies entry into the U.S. to four visa categories: H-1B, L, J and H-2B. These visas apply...
Westmoreland County wants to shutter 2 district court offices
The Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas plans to close district courts in Mt. Pleasant and Penn townships by next year. This decision was made due to dwindling population and caseloads, according to the county’s new Magisterial District Court Redistricting Plan, released Friday. The move would save the county an...
DA seeks stiffer sentence for Pittsburgh rare book thieves
The Allegheny County District Attorney is asking a judge to reconsider sentencing for two men who stole rare books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, arguing they should go to jail instead of serving home confinement. District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office on Friday filed a motion with Allegheny...
Police charge McKees Rocks man with homicide in Robinson motel shooting
Allegheny County Police have arrested a McKees Rocks man in the fatal shooting of a Beaver County man Friday morning at the Pittsburgh Motel on Steubenville Pike in Robinson. Jaquay Murray, 25, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of Christopher Langham, 48, of Hookstown. Police and medics were...
Wildlife Works fundraiser benefits fawns in needVideo
The eight whitetail fawns Morgan Barron and Ella Lawrence have been taking care of know when it’s time to eat. They’ll run to the door of their Mt. Pleasant Township enclosure or make noises. But that’s the only time the small herd wants to be around people. “Which is good...
Pittsburgh convention center food service provider laying off 203 employees
The food and beverage provider for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is laying off 203 employees effective Aug. 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a notice provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Labor and Industry reported it received notification from Chicago-based Levy Premium Foodservice...
Academic Excellence Scholarship for Foster Youth presented to Idelia Robinson-Confer of Greensburg
Greensburg’s Idelia Robinson-Confer has been in foster care since she turned 13. Now 20, one constant over the past seven years from changes she has endured in homes, families and schools has been Florence “Flo” Jenkins, a Greensburg resident who served as her Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Jenkins nominated...
New Scott board reverses decision, will open township pool
Two weeks after deciding to keep Scott Township Swimming Pool closed this season, commissioners voted Tuesday to reopen. During the June 9 meeting, in which then-commissioner Paul Abel made remarks about the state health secretary’s gender, the board was split on the decision to open the pool or keep it...
Pittsburgh begins work on bicycle connection to Point State Park
Work began this week on a long-awaited connection designed to plug a gap in the Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail between Point State Park in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure announced the start of construction on a two-lane bike track from Stanwix Street...
North Park Lounge in McCandless closes after employee tests positive for coronavirus
A restaurant employee in McCandless has tested positive for covid-19, prompting the business to temporarily close. North Park Lounge owner Mark Baranowski posted a letter to the restaurant’s Facebook page Friday, stating an employee tested positive Thursday. He said the last day the employee worked was Saturday, June 20. In...
98 new troopers join Pennsylvania State Police
The State Police Academy in Hershey this week graduated 98 cadets as part of its 159th class, and a number of the new troopers are headed to work in Western Pennsylvania. Uniontown will receive nine troopers, the most of any barracks in the state. Three were assigned to Greensburg. “(Troops)...
200 more deer test positive for chronic wasting disease across Pa.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported 200 more cases of chronic wasting disease last year in white-tailed deer and is enlarging three disease management areas across the state that include Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. There is no cure or live-animal test for CWD, a brain disease that is deadly for deer,...
Westmoreland County reports 9 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County has nine new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Friday. The countywide case total is now 587, with 38 deaths, according to the department. There have been no reported coronavirus deaths in Westmoreland County since May 18. More than 16,000 county residents...
Man accused of firing 9 shots inside Jeannette apartment
A Jeannette man is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison after, police say, he fired nine shots inside his apartment, according to court papers. Jason Matthew Thomas, 31, is charged with discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, reckless endangerment and drug and drug paraphernalia possession. City police...
Riverhounds learn group opponents for USL Championship season
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have learned who their group opponents will be for the 2020 USL Championship season. Over the past two days, the USL Championship has been revealing their eight groups for the 2020 season. It was announced on Friday that the Riverhounds will be competing in Group F with...
Grants offered to small businesses in Pennsylvania, including travel industry
Industry experts predict U.S. travel this summer will experience a 15% dip compared to last year. This news comes as support grows for additional federal stimulus assistance to help the travel industry, one of the economic sectors hardest hit during the covid-19 pandemic, according to a national survey. Regionally, officials...
Firework sales, complaints surge as 4th of July events are canceled across regionVideo
Fireworks wrapped in red, white and blue packaging piled up in Jeremiah Deshetler’s cart this week as he shopped at Phantom Fireworks in Hempfield with the help of his 11-year-old daughter, Caitlin. “Brentwood canceled their fireworks show very early during corona, so we’re trying to make up for that with...
St. Januarius parishioners in Plum warned of possible coronavirus exposure
Parishioners who attended June 22 services at St. Januarius Church in Plum may have been exposed to covid-19, diocesan officials said. A parishioner who attended the service that day is being tested for the virus after a relative contracted it, said Ellen Mady, Diocese of Pittsburgh chancellor. Precautionary measures are...
Unity man sentenced to up to 10 years in 2 fatal drug overdoses
A Unity man was sentenced Friday to five to 10 years in prison for supplying drugs in two 2017 fatal overdoses. Jesse Joseph Hudspath, 28, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of drug delivery resulting in death, conspiracy, criminal use of a communication device and three other drug-related offenses....
Officials break ground for new UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center
A groundbreaking ceremony Friday marked a new home for UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center. The new facility should open in the spring, said Mary Lee Gannon, president of the St. Margaret Foundation. It will expand from a 4,700-square-foot building to 8,000 square feet. The health center will...
61 new coronavirus cases reported in Allegheny County, highest in 2 months
Allegheny County health officials reported 61 new cases of covid-19 Friday, a record high for daily cases in nearly two months. One new hospitalization and two deaths were also reported. The new cases reported Friday in Allegheny County represent the highest daily number since April 23. The new cases ranged...
Pittsburgh forms task force to handle explosion of fireworks complaints
Fireworks complaints in Pittsburgh have increased by nearly 400% so far this month over the same period in 2019 and the city plans to address it through increased enforcement. The city on Friday announced the creation of a task force, which includes police and Fire Bureau investigators, to actively enforce...
Parkway North lane restrictions planned in Ohio Township
Traffic will be impacted on the Parkway North next week. Lane restrictions on I-279 in Ohio Township will occur Monday through Thursday, weather permitting, according to a PennDOT press release. Single-lane restrictions will occur in both directions between Mt. Nebo Road and Camp Horne Road, Exit 8, from 9 a.m....
Sewickley Community Center Food Pantry continues distribution
The harvest from Fern Hollow Nature Center’s garden was recently donated to the Sewickley Community Center Food Pantry. The pantry remains available to residents of the Quaker Valley School District and is open for drive-up food distribution from 9 to 11 a.m. the second and fourth Wednesday of each month....
Building at Jeannette Industrial Park to be renovated with $657K state grant
A $657,000 project to renovate an unoccupied building at Jeannette Industrial Park was approved Thursday by the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. TBI Contracting of McKeesport was awarded the contract, according to an announcement. Workers will install energy-efficient interior lighting, add insulation, replace the floor and doors, add a women’s...
