Western PA Local News category, Page 262
Young ball players enjoy special hour with super star Skenes
A group of lucky boys and girls got to spend an hour with Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes on June 27. Young baseball and softball players, including 25 from four local organizations — Ingomar, Hampton, Fox Chapel and North Hills — were invited to the first-ever Pack Wars event at...
Military honor: Pine-Richland teacher celebrates father’s 80th birthday, service to his country
It was May 1967. Navy E-5 Petty Officer Second Class Charles Elliott Mickey was aboard the USS Magoffin that left San Diego, transporting 500 Marines across the Pacific Ocean during the Vietnam War. As the vessel was pulling into the harbor in the middle of the night, Mickey recalled hearing...
Ex-Beaver County cop who assaulted witness pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter
A former Beaver County police officer pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other offenses just as his trial was set to begin, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday. John J. Hawk, 38, was charged after assaulting Kenneth E. Vinyard, 48, of Industry at the scene of a shooting outside...
Pittsburgh aims to slash red tape for vendors ahead of NFL Draft
Pittsburgh officials want to make it easier for vendors to set up retail and food stands throughout the city. Food or retail vendors with mobile licenses are currently required to operate almost exclusively in metered parking spots and must move every four hours. Permanent vendors, who stay in one place,...
Armed drug dealer busted with 15,000 doses of fentanyl, heroin gets hard time
A Duquesne man will serve more than 20 years in federal prison after he was sentenced on Tuesday for drug and gun offenses. According to federal court records, Courtney Washington, 31, was found with 15,000 doses of fentanyl and heroin. He pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl and opted for a...
Pittsburgh police use pepper spray on energy summit protesters
Pittsburgh police deployed pepper spray late Tuesday afternoon against roughly two dozen protesters outside the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University as the gathering was breaking up. Clad in riot gear, about 20 officers warned the protesters to clear the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Craig...
Farm to Fork dinners at Chatham’s Eden Hall star locally sourced food and creative menus
Nothing beats a gourmet meal under a setting sun. Just ask patrons of the Farm to Fork dinner on June 12 at Chatham University’s Eden Hall campus in Richland. Diners enjoyed freshly stir-fried vegetables, edamame salad, chili oil smashed potatoes, hibiscus and raspberry iced tea and more at the site’s...
Pittsburgh councilwoman wants to crack down on Airbnb, Vrbo rentals
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Deb Gross on Tuesday introduced legislation that would create new regulations for short-term rentals, like those through Airbnb or Vrbo. The bill would permit short-term rental units solely for overnight accommodations for registered guests. People could not use them to host “public assemblies, recreational entertainment, or hospitality...
Here are the blockbuster deals unveiled at the Pa. Energy and Innovation Summit
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said Tuesday during the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh that companies are planning to invest more than $90 billion in data centers, energy and power infrastructure, and workforce and AI training projects across Pennsylvania. Fifteen of the companies plan to invest at least $1...
Police charge Canon-McMillan high school teacher with having sex with student
A Washington County science teacher was arrested on Tuesday on charges he had a monthslong sexual relationship with one of his students at Canon-McMillan High School. Justin White, 48, of Canonsburg is charged by North Strabane police with 13 counts of institutional sexual assault and criminal use of a communication...
Shop ’n Save in Penn Hills closing doors after 34 years; clearance sale to start July 17
Greg Hartley met his wife at the Shop ’n Save in Penn Hills. That was nothing unusual. His brother did the same. Hartley owns the store at 2820 Universal Road along with other members of his family. His parents started the independently owned and operated business in 1991, with ownership...
New Kensington murder suspect given deadline to decide on plea deal ahead of August retrial
A New Kensington man has just hours to decide whether to accept a plea deal involving the 2020 murder during a botched robbery and the unrelated shooting of four others a year earlier. The combined plea offer comes just weeks before the scheduled retrial of Latresse T. Williams, 34. Prosecutors...
Proposed Heinz History Center expansion clears Pittsburgh Planning Commission
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday approved plans to expand the Senator John Heinz History Center. The museum, located in the city’s Strip District, is tearing down four buildings on Penn Avenue to expand its facility. Additions include a new theater, exhibition space and classrooms. The history center owns the...
Pittsburgh’s Astrobotic snags NASA contract for solar array as it shoots again for moon landing
A leaky valve in January 2024 may have scuttled a Pittsburgh-based space company’s mission to become the first private enterprise to complete a lunar landing. But Astrobotic’s leaders made the most of its Peregrine mission despite the equipment failure. “So, we had a day that wasn’t quite what we wanted....
Natrona Heights woman tries to retract manslaughter plea at sentencing
Brook Lynn Lank pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on June 11 — admitting she shot her boyfriend three times before dumping his body in a McKees Rocks alley. In preparation for sentencing, she wrote a letter to the court acknowledging what she called her mistakes, and saying, “I take full...
Parking for Millvale short-term rental property could create spaces for public use
Millvale and the developer of a proposed short-term rental property are considering an agreement that would provide parking for the building’s guests as well as the public. Amagu Homes, based in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood, wants to place 11 units in the building at 141 Evergreen Ave. Previously a care...
Friends, family paint portrait of a kind, talented artist during celebration of life for O’Hara woman
Rendered in soft oil pastel textures and vibrant hues, the landscapes of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Martha’s Vineyard, New Mexico, Italy, Spain, Singapore and more filled the walls of the North Hills Art Center, where friends and family gathered July 12 to celebrate and remember local artist Patricia “Patty” Mae Young of...
‘Unforgivable’: Final defendant gets life sentence in starvation death of Oakmont girl
Throughout her prosecution for killing a 3-year-old girl, Alexis Herrera blamed her actions — starving, assaulting and torturing the child — on her sister, Laura Ramriez. It was Ramriez who hated Bella Seachrist, a child born from her husband’s affair. It was Ramriez who first started abusing the child in...
Fence fight: CMU orders students’ anti-Trump message painted over ahead of president’s visit
Hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to arrive at Carnegie Mellon University for an energy summit, the school administration early Tuesday ordered the painting over of a provocative anti-Trump message written by student Democrats on The Fence, a century-old campus landmark that serves as a free speech message board....
Motorcycle crash in Armstrong Tunnel kills teen rider
A 19-year-old man was killed in a motorcycle crash in the Armstrong Tunnel early Tuesday morning, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. The crash occurred on the inbound side of the tunnel in the city’s Bluff neighborhood near Downtown just before 12:25 a.m., police said. The motorcyclist was taken in critical...
Pittsburgh expands limited archery season in various city parks
Pittsburgh officials are expanding a limited archery season to cull the deer population in various city parks. The city is selecting archers to hunt white-tailed deer in Frick, Riverview, Emerald View, Schenley, Highland and Southside parks, Hays Woods, Hazelwood Greenway and Seldom Seen Greenway. Nearly 200 deer were culled during...
New Latrobe city manager hired, $120K starting salary set
Greensburg resident Susan Trout is set to take on a familiar role in a new community after Latrobe council voted unanimously this week to hire her as its new city manager. Mayor Eric Bartels said Trout’s long experience in municipal government, including a past stint as Greensburg’s city administrator, made...
PennDOT rejects Lower Burrell’s request to outlaw jake brakes on stretch of Route 56
The loud roar of diesel trucks using brake retarders will continue to be heard on Route 56 between Hillcrest Drive and Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell. City officials in April had requested that PennDOT look into outlawing brake retarders, commonly known as jake brakes, on that stretch of road after...
Girl’s fall from Leechburg Bridge under investigation, officials say
Leechburg officials said Tuesday they’re still investigating after a girl fell from the Leechburg Bridge on Monday night. First responders were dispatched to the Leechburg Bridge at around 7:30 p.m. for a juvenile who had fallen from the bridge and onto the shoreline along the Kiski River. It’s unclear at...
Lower Burrell’s Kotecki Park to include space for dogs
Lower Burrell police Officer Derek Kotecki’s legacy will be remembered in the city in a new way. Council approved plans for a dog park at K-9 Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Park. The dog park will be located past the outfield of the ballfield, closest to where people pull in to...
