Local category, Page 2629
Hempfield man to serve up to 2 years for exposing himself to young girls
A Hempfield man will serve up to 23 months in jail for exposing himself to two 10-year-old girls in Greensburg last summer. Ronald Wineland, 61, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of corruption of minors and a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure in connection with the incident on Aug....
Tax hike stands after Westmoreland commissioners stick with budget
Westmoreland County’s first property tax increase in 15 years will stand after commissioners on Wednesday said they will not make changes to the 2020 budget. Newly seated Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said a comprehensive review of the county’s $341 million budget adopted last month by the previous...
3rd juror is dismissed in Wilkinsburg mass shooting case; jury selection enters Day 13
Another juror who had been selected to hear the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting case was dismissed Wednesday, making her the third seated juror to be excused or dismissed before jury selection is even complete. The woman, who was set to be juror No. 12, failed to disclose her friendship with...
Driver killed when car crashes into Port Authority bus on McKnight Road
A Pittsburgh man died Wednesday after crashing into the back of a Port Authority bus along McKnight Road, authorities said. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim Wednesday night as Anthony Diulus, 50. Allegheny County dispatchers said the incident occurred around 3:45 p.m. near the East Arcadia Drive intersection...
Pittsburgh spending $2.6 million on landslide repairs
Pittsburgh officials on Wednesday announced the start of work on two landslides threatening streets in the West End and Squirrel Hill and said construction was progressing on two others in the North Side and Oakland. The four landslides are costing the city an estimated $2.6 million. Karina Ricks, executive director...
Fire marshal can’t rule out arson in blaze that destroyed Freeport home
A state police fire marshal said he can’t rule out arson as the cause for a fire that destroyed a Freeport home last weekend. The single-story, ranch-style house at 165 Washington St. was being renovated after it was damaged in another fire four months ago. The home caught fire again...
Counterfeit Rolex, Gucci among fakes from Hong Kong seized at Pittsburgh airport
More than $90,000 in counterfeit shoes, clothing and jewelry was seized over the weekend at Pittsburgh International Airport, according to the U.S. Office of Customs and Border Protection. Officers stopped two shipments from Hong Kong on Saturday. One, labeled as men’s shoes, was bound for a Pittsburgh address. It contained...
Former Highlands principal’s federal lawsuit going to mediation
A former Highlands School District principal’s federal lawsuit against the district is going into mediation, according to court records. Attorneys for the school district and Heather Bigney have agreed to evenly share the costs of mediation. Bigney resigned as principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center in October 2019 . She...
Ice house raised in Pittsburgh’s Market Square to help heat homes for people in needVideo
For some people, even during a relatively mild winter, the cost to heat their home can be an extreme hardship. The Dollar Energy Fund was created to help low-income households pay utility bills. To support its work, a Cool Down for Warmth event will be held Thursday and Friday in...
PNC Park undergoing $1.9M seat rehab ahead of 2020 Pirates seasonVideo
As the Pirates gear up for the annual PiratesFest event this weekend, workers are preparing PNC Park for the upcoming season with a $1.9 million seating rehab. The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which owns the stadium, last year approved the replacement of bottoms, backs and...
Pittsburgh council postpones vote on ‘hateful activities’ bill
Pittsburgh City Council postponed a vote Wednesday as it sought a legal opinion from the city’s solicitor on legislation proposed by Councilman Ricky Burgess that would prohibit “hateful activities” by city employees. Burgess and council President Theresa Kail-Smith said that since the legislation was introduced last week, they have heard...
Greater Latrobe School District locks in natural gas savings for 3 years
Greater Latrobe School District locked in a partial price for natural gas that will save the district thousands of dollars over three years. The school board this week approved an agreement with Direct Energy to supply 30% of the district’s gas needs from Sept. 1, 2020, through Aug. 31, 2023....
Study ranks Pittsburgh 5th best city for STEM professionals
The Pittsburgh metro area has been identified as one of the best markets in the country for people who work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The personal finance website WalletHub on Wednesday released results of a new study that has Pittsburgh ranked fifth overall, ahead of such...
Pittsburgh man sentenced in drug raid that sickened 18 officers
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced to time served for conspiring to distribute a large amount of a fentanyl analogue three years ago , according to federal prosecutors. Anthony Lozito, 40, of Pittsburgh’s West End neighborhood, allowed cyclopropyl fentanyl to be packaged in his Bond Street home in exchange for a...
Florida woman arrested at Pittsburgh airport checkpoint with stolen gun
A Florida woman was arrested after she was caught with a stolen handgun in her carry-on bag at the Pittsburgh International Airport, according to TSA. Diana Lynn Askew, 53, of Plantation, Fla., had a loaded .38 caliber handgun, police said. TSA officers on Monday detected the weapon at the airport...
PWSA lifts boil advisory for several Pittsburgh neighborhoods
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority on Wednesday lifted a boil water advisory issued earlier this week for several West End neighborhoods after a water main break. PWSA reported that two rounds of water quality testing turned up no evidence of contamination. Residents of Crafton Heights, Elliott, Esplen, Ridgemont and...
Authorities investigating after 2 children found unresponsive in Wilkinsburg home
Two 5-year-olds were hospitalized Wednesday, and Allegheny County police are investigating why after the Wilkinsburg home they were found inside tested negative for carbon monoxide. Wilkinsburg police and Pittsburgh firefighters were called at 7:35 a.m. to the home in the 1100 block of Franklin Avenue for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning....
Gateway school board helping fund purchase of championship football rings
The Gateway school board agreed to pay for a portion of the purchase of rings for the 2019-20 football team that won a WPIAL championship last season. The varsity football team went 12-3 and won the WPIAL Class 5A title for the second time in three years when they beat...
Caliente Pizza to open restaurant in Green Tree
Caliente Pizza & Draft House will open a new location in Green Tree this spring. Locally owned and operated, the Green Tree spot is Caliente’s sixth since opening in Bloomfield less than eight years ago. The 6,500-square-foot space is near the intersection of Mansfield Avenue and Noblestown Road, not far...
Legume Bistro in Oakland to close for a rebrand
Family-owned Legume Bistro, once a pioneer in Pittsburgh’s farm-to-table dining scene, is closing at the end of February. But the restaurant plans to reopen after retooling into something new. “It is with a mix of sadness, relief, and excitement that we announce Legume’s last service will be on February 29th,...
Woman freed from Murrysville crash
A woman was freed from the wreckage of a one-vehicle crash in Murrysville Wednesday morning, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The crash was reported at 10:30 a.m. on Meadowbrook Road when the vehicle collided with a utility pole. Firefighters extricated her in about 30 minutes. A medical helicopter was...
Trafford man always put family first
No matter the situation, James Chrise had an order of priorities — his wife, his sons and then himself. “Dad would wear the same belt for 30 years, the same pair of shoes for 30 years, so me and my brother could have what we needed,” said his son, Tom...
Irwin man pleads guilty in connection with Western Pa. cocaine ring
A year-long federal investigation into a southwestern Pennsylvania cocaine distribution network resulted in an Irwin man pleading guilty this week. Bernard Wilkins, 57, pleaded guilty to the two criminal counts before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Wilkins admitted responsibility...
Robert Morris offers tuition breaks to 105,000 FedEx Ground workers
Robert Morris University is staking another claim in the increasingly competitive world of higher education, where government officials are encouraging colleges to tailor offerings to workforce needs. Officials at the private university located in Moon inked an agreement to provide tuition discounts to some 105,000 eligible FedEx Ground employees in...
Pair accused of damaging, removing 67 parking meters in Monessen
A Donora man and Johnstown woman are accused by police of damaging or removing 67 parking meters in Monessen, according to court papers. Randy Wayne Kimmel Jr., 30, and Samantha Lashay Walters, 27, caused $13,400 in damage, police said. They face 134 charges of conspiracy and criminal mischief in connection...
