Local category, Page 2676
The Stroller, Dec. 19, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Third Time’s A Charm to entertain at Knead Community Cafe Music group Third Time’s A Charm, with Marcie Covey and Paul Leo, will perform Christmas selections from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday at Knead Community Café, 1011 Barnes St., New Kensington. Grab a bite to...
Sen. Casey derides ‘obscene lawsuit’ to gut Affordable Care Act; patient advocates lament limbo
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said Wednesday night he’s concerned about the future of the Affordable Care Act as a lawsuit backed by the Trump administration advances that threatens to nullify the sweeping federal health care law. “The GOP’s hopes to destroy the ACA live another day,” Casey, D-Scranton, said in...
McKeesport teen charged with killing Homestead man
A McKeesport teen has been charged as an adult for the murder of a Homestead man earlier this year. Tre ‘Quan Embry, 22, died of a gunshot wound to the head in an incident the morning of Feb. 2 along the 300 block of East 17th Avenue in Homestead. Allegheny...
Holiday train display rolls on through the end of DecemberVideo
Penn Hills Volunteer Fire Department Station 224’s model train display is on its tracks through the end of December. This year marks its 10th anniversary at what’s informally known as “the Verona hilltop” at 1002 Center Ave. near the Penn Hills/Verona border. Jason O’Connor, second lieutenant, has been involved in...
Pittsburgh man sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for federal drug and gun crimes
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced by a federal judge to serve nearly 11 years in prison after being convicted of narcotics and firearms violations. Jamiek Moore, 23, was sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton. Moore was convicted in March after a two-day, non-jury trial. He was...
19 seek to fill vacancy on Norwin School Board
The Norwin School Board has to select among 19 residents who are seeking to fill one vacancy. Among the hopefuls are a teacher who lost her bid for the board in the May primary, a North Huntingdon commissioner’s wife, four other teachers, an administrator working in other school districts, plus...
Pittsburgh man caught trying to sell heroin to undercover FBI agents pleads guilty
A Pittsburgh man caught trying to sell heroin to a pair of undercover FBI agents pleaded guilty to drug charges, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Mark Ridley, 28, believed he was taking the illegal street drug to a customer in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood in April 2017 with his driver, Leonard...
Leechburg Council approves 22% tax hike
Property taxes in Leechburg in the coming year are jumping by 22%. Leechburg Council on Tuesday passed a $1.2 million budget for 2020 that includes a 4-mill real estate tax increase. That means the borough’s tax rate will increase from 18.3124 mills to 22.3214 mills. With the increase, a homeowner...
Westmoreland municipal authority expects $3 million price tag for Youngwood project
The $3 million cost to relocate and replace aging water and sewer lines in Youngwood is a bargain, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. The project is part of a PennDOT plan to reconstruct a three-mile section of Route 119 in the borough and will allow the authority...
Deer Lakes High School hosts annual senior luncheonVideo
Senior citizens in the Deer Lakes School District were treated to a holiday luncheon Wednesday sponsored by the high school student council. The annual tradition has been ongoing for more than 25 years, according to school spokesman Jim Cromie. Between 80 and 100 seniors attended. They saw performances by the...
Greater Latrobe School Board promotes Robin Pynos as second assistant superintendent
Greater Latrobe School Board has promoted Robin Pynos to a new assistant superintendent position, as the latest step in realigning the district’s central administrative staff. The board this week approved a five-year term for Pynos as assistant superintendent for curriculum, technology and instruction as she resigned from her previous role...
Proposed budget keeps water, sewer rates unchanged for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland customers
Water and sewer rates for customers of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will remain the same for a second consecutive year. The authority’s preliminary 2020-21 budget, unveiled Wednesday, includes no rate changes and carries a $5 million cut in projected revenues, officials said. Board members are expected to approve...
Pittsburgh Council kills pension enhancement amendment
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday effectively killed a amendment that would have enhanced pension payouts for elected officials, including outgoing Councilwoman Darlene Harris. Members voted 6-2 without comment to table the amendment aimed at eliminating a so-called Social Security offset. Harris and Councilman Anthony Coghill voted no and Councilwoman Theresa...
Strip District merchants aren’t happy with suggestions to improve parking, traffic safety
Longtime Strip District merchants are panning a consultant’s draft report that suggests ways to improve parking and pedestrian safety in the historic wholesale district. Stantec, a Boston-based urban design firm, reported that the Strip has 10,300 parking spaces on streets and in lots, but only about 3,800 are available to...
1 dead, 1 injured in Perry South shooting
A shooting Wednesday in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood left one man dead and a woman wounded, authorities said. The shooting happened about 3 p.m. near the intersection of Norwood and Kennedy avenues, according to police. A man was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, said Public...
Pittsburgh LGBTQ group leader accused of impersonating law enforcement officer
The leader of one of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ advocacy groups turned himself in Wednesday on charges that he billed himself as a law enforcement official and forged documents to back it up, according to a criminal complaint filed by state police. Gary Van Horn, 40, of Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood appeared at...
Man arrested for selling heroin in maternity ward accused of thefts in Latrobe, Unity
A 27-year-old Latrobe man who was arrested in 2017 for selling heroin in a hospital maternity ward after the birth of his child is back in the county prison for allegedly possessing a stolen handgun and stealing a pickup truck. Cody R. Hulse was arraigned Monday on charges of receiving...
Demolition begins at Greensburg public works garage destroyed by fireVideo
Demolition began this week on Greensburg’s fire-ravaged public works garage on South Urania Avenue. The work is expected to take about two weeks, though it could take a bit longer because of the holidays, said Tom Bell, the city’s public works superintendent and fire chief. The city hired Ritenour &...
Duquesne University picks site for osteopathic medicine building
Duquesne University’s new College of Osteopathic Medicine building will be located at the intersection of Forbes and Magee in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. Duquesne has announced an agreement to buy the site where it will construct an 80,000-square-foot building. The cost of the building and related improvements for the College...
Greater Latrobe School Board to honor 2.7-mill cap on potential tax hike
Greater Latrobe School Board has agreed to a ceiling for any property tax increase it may approve for the 2020-21 school year. The board this week passed a resolution pledging to stay within the 2.71-mill maximum — the equivalent of a 3.3% increase, determined by a state index, in accordance...
Pennsylvania hunters take in record number of bears in 2019
The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported the state’s highest bear harvest ever this year as the agency tries to slow a growing bear population. Locally, hunters took the most bears in Armstrong and Butler counties, with numbers in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties holding steady. Expanded hunting opportunities doubled the number of...
‘Dangerous’ snow squall leaves behind slick roads, minor crashes in Southwestern Pa.
A squall that blanketed Southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon — leaving roads slick and myriad minor car crashes and disabled vehicles in its wake — was akin to a summer thunderstorm, just one full of snow instead of rain, said meteorologist Matthew Kramer of the National Weather Service. “You can...
Edgewood receives $62K grant to make intersections safer
A $62,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will help Edgewood Borough improve safety at two busy intersections. The project will look at the intersection of Maple Avenue and McKelvey Avenue, near the Parkway East exit at Wilkinsburg, as well as the Swissvale Avenue and Race Street intersection, near...
Livestock saved from Buffalo Township mobile home fireVideo
Two pigs, several goats and a few chickens were saved from a fire Wednesday at a mobile home that had been converted into a shelter for livestock on Coal Hollow Road in Buffalo Township. At least 15 chickens were unaccounted for and feared trapped inside the mobile home, firefighters and...
Former state rep will present ‘The State of Education in Pennsylvania’ in Murrysville
As education experts in Pennsylvania go, it’s tough to top Ron Cowell. In addition to 24 years as a state representative with 12 years on the House Committee on Education, Cowell has been president and executive director for the Education Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg since 1999. He has...
