Local category, Page 2648
Former Ohio man pleads guilty in fraud scheme targeting casinos
A former Ohio resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related a fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady announced Thursday. The scheme targeted casinos throughout the East Coast, including some in Western Pennsylvania. Karl E. Wiley, 64, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. According to the...
Pittsburgh man gets prison for ethnic intimidation
One of three black victims of a 2018 Avalon bar beating told a judge in a statement he was only in the Jackman Inn in July 2018 to give a thank-you note to a friend in the kitchen. The friend had catered a meal to celebrate the victim’s son’s high...
Venango County man pleads guilty to federal drug charges
A Franklin man pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges resulting from an investigation by the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. Brian Salaj, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute...
Meals on Wheels rolls on in Freeport-Saxonburg areaVideo
Three days a week, Dan Heilman spends about an hour delivering meals to recipients of the Freeport Area Meals on Wheels. He pays for the gas, donates his time and enjoys the weekly project. “My wife, Dawn, died five years ago. It’s me and my cat,” the 80-year-old retired doctor...
5-year-old burned during science experiment at North Side school, attorney says
A staff member who was supervising when a 5-year-old North Side girl was burned in her kindergarten classroom has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation by Pittsburgh Public Schools, a district spokeswoman said Thursday. Spokeswoman Ebony Pugh wouldn’t provide more details because it’s a personnel matter. The...
Big plans for Westmoreland outlined at annual State of County luncheon
After a public squabble at their first voting meeting of the year, Westmoreland County commissioners got together for lunch Thursday to outline an ambitious agenda for 2020 that includes revitalizing the Mon Valley, potentially adding more flights to and from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and increasing internet capability. Commissioners Sean...
Revamped West Deer board meets for 1st time
Arlind Karpuzi was sworn in this week as the first chairman of the revamped board of supervisors in West Deer. Township voters in a 2018 referendum chose to reduce the board’s size from seven members to five. The change took effect this year. Other members sworn in this week include...
Point Park University welcomes new board members
A Columbia University professor, a well-known Pittsburgh lawyer and a Pittsburgh banker are among the recent appointees to the board of Point Park University. The university on Thursday identified those appointed to three-year terms as Joann Baney, a communications consultant and adjunct associate professor at Columbia’s School of International and...
Parkway East traffic stoppages set for Saturday
Overnight traffic stoppages on I-376 (Parkway East) in Pittsburgh are scheduled for Saturday night according to PennDOT. Traffic stoppages of fifteen minutes or less will occur in both directions of the Parkway East between the Squirrel Hill Tunnels and the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange (Exit 77). Duquesne Light crews will conduct work...
New Lower Burrell councilwoman sworn in; council meeting dates changed
A new mayor and council member who were elected last year in Lower Burrell were sworn in during a reorganization meeting Monday. A political newcomer, Rosina Albanese, 27, was sworn into office Monday by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Chris Scherer. The city’s new mayor, John Andrejcik, also was sworn...
Registration for disability and mental health summit available
Online registration for a comprehensive disability and mental health summit this spring in Pittsburgh is now open. The 2020 annual Disability and Mental Health Summit will take place March 3 at the David L. Lawrence Convention center. “For the last six years, the Disability and Mental Health Summit has made...
Uniontown’s elected treasurer claims racism by city officials has kept her from taking office
A woman who will be sworn in next week as Uniontown’s first black municipal treasurer claims in a federal lawsuit that a conspiracy between a council member and city clerk kept her from taking office this week because of her race. Antoinette Hodge, who will be sworn in Jan. 13...
Clean up of Pittsburgh Glass Works site in East Deer could take years, new owner saysVideo
The company that purchased the former Pittsburgh Glass Works plant in East Deer says it has no definitive plans for the property but is working to clean up the site as an underground fire continues to burn out. “We saw an opportunity to purchase that property, and basically, because of...
4th day of jury selection yields no new jurors in 2016 Wilkinsburg case
A half-day of jury selection on Thursday yielded no new jurors for the upcoming trial of two men accused in the 2016 mass shooting in Wilkinsburg. The death penalty trial against Cheron Shelton and Robert Thomas is scheduled to begin Feb. 3. Each defendant faces five counts of homicide, one...
Hempfield man charged with raping 2 girls he met via social mediaVideo
A 20-year-old Hempfield man was arrested Thursday on accusations that he raped two girls, ages 11 and 13, whom he met through a social media app. “They are trying to put me in jail for a long time for something I did not know. They were lying about their ages,”...
Rabbit ‘king’ from West Newton presided at Pa. Farm Show
As he wrapped up his week at the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Zach Farlow found himself on Thursday at AngoraPalooza. The event, one of many he’s attended this week as 2019 king of the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association, featured Angora rabbits and scarves made from Angora rabbit wool. “I...
Free baby food available Saturday at 2 Pittsburgh locations
Volunteers will distribute free baby food Saturday at two public housing complexes in Pittsburgh, according to the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh. East Liberty-based 412 Food Rescue is donating 2,316 jars of baby food and will assist with the distribution at Northview Heights and Allegheny Dwellings along with...
Board appointment prompts Westmoreland commissioners’ first dust-up
Westmoreland County Commissioners Sean Kertes and Gina Cerilli on Thursday appointed a new member to the county’s housing authority board of directors, a move that resulted in the first disagreement among the county leaders. Commissioner Doug Chew voted against the appointment of former Monessen District Judge Joseph Dalfonso to serve...
Westmoreland sheriff doesn’t want investigation into office mess
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert said he doesn’t want an investigation into who trashed his offices in the courthouse. “Let’s not prolong this. I want to stay positive and move forward,” Albert said Thursday after the offices were cleaned. Three deputies and two maintenance workers, Albert said, spent two full...
Shaler Street Bridge restrictions to resume next week
The newly-constructed Shaler Street Bridge over Route 19 will be restricted to a single-lane next week, PennDOT announced Thursday. Crews from Swank Construction Company LLC will apply protective concrete coating to the bridge deck, sidewalks and parapets. The restrictions will occur from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday...
Hidden camera found in employee bathroom at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police and hospital security are investigating the discovery of a camera hidden in an employee bathroom at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. The person responsible has been identified, according to a statement from a spokesperson for Allegheny Health Network, which operates the hospital. “The recent discovery of...
South Hills man charged in fatal Brookline crash with cyclist
The 23-year-old South Hills man who was driving a car involved in an October fatal crash with a cyclist in Brookline was charged with homicide by vehicle Wednesday by Pittsburgh police. Police said Thomas Morton wasn’t licensed when he was driving a Honda Civic shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 20...
PWSA chair says all lead lines will be replaced by 2026
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority replaced more than 3,000 public-owned lead water lines in the city last year — far more than the 855 mandated by Pennsylvania regulators — and the authority intends to continue that pace in 2020, officials said. PWSA since 2016 has struggled to reduce lead...
Dog rescued in South Greensburg mobile-home fireVideo
Firefighters rescued a dog in a fire that destroyed a mobile home Thursday in South Greensburg. The fire was reported at 12:10 p.m. in a mobile home that is located in an alley behind the 1500 block of Broad Street. “The doors were locked when we got here, so we...
Whitehall Borough passes earned income tax increase for 2020
While property taxes won’t increase in Whitehall Borough in 2020, borough leaders agreed to raise the earned income tax rate in an effort to bring in more funds to pay for municipal services. Council members recently approved raising the borough’s earned income tax rate from 1% to 1.2%, which they...
