Western PA Local News category, Page 2686
Irwin splash park feasible; funds needed
Irwin officials learned this week they can put a splash park in Irwin Park, but they have yet to decide how big it might be, the cost or how the borough would get the money to build it. Lucien Bove, borough engineer, presented a draft design of where a splash...
Lower Burrell considers $13k in additional charges for city hall renovation
Lower Burrell Council is considering about $13,600 in additional charges for city hall’s $3.2 million renovation. The renovation project started last May. It includes a new public works building, more space for police and moving the tax office back to city hall. Council will vote on the additional charges at...
Record number of alumni to hit the stage for Highlands musical fundraiser
More than just a few Highlands High School alumni are collaborating for a musical cause. Each year, the Alumni Cabaret concert unites dozens of musical alumni with current Highlands musical students for an evening of entertainment filled with song and dance. This season, 38 alumni are scheduled to perform. “This...
Pittsburgh Police officers to take students to Carnegie Science Center mummy exhibit
Three Zone 1 police officers are taking 18 Manchester Academic Charter School students to see Carnegie Science Center’s Mummies of the World exhibit this Saturday. It’s all part of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police efforts to strengthen community relationships. Mummies of the World is touted as the largest exhibition of real...
Apollo, Harrison, Freeport, Leechburg enter HGTV contest for hometown makeoverVideo
At least four Alle-Kiski Valley communities are entering an HGTV contest for their shot at a whole-town makeover. Residents in Apollo, Harrison, Freeport and Leechburg have taken photos and produced videos in hopes their towns will be chosen as the subject of “Home Town Takeover,” a six-episode series with Ben...
Business owner was a staple in Mt. Pleasant community
Stanley Yanuck became such a staple in the Mt. Pleasant community that customers nicknamed him “the chief.” “I think just by being the boss we just all started calling him ‘the chief,’” Yanuck’s son, Michael, said. For 46 years Yanuck operated Diamond Auto Parts along Route 819 in Mt. Pleasant...
Draft plan calls for more bike lanes in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh would expand its bike lane network by more than 150 miles over the next decade under a draft plan released Thursday by the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. The plan calls for every home in the city to be within one-quarter mile of the network that would link the...
Piles of dirt dumped inside PPG Paints Arena for Monster JamVideo
It’s a dirty job but someone’s got to do it. Sixty trucks carrying 1,200 yards of clay dirt were unloaded Thursday inside PPG Paints Arena in preparation for The Monster Jam Triple Threat. The competition is in town Friday through Sunday. The show is produced by Feld Entertainment. “It takes...
Nuisance complaint may be way forward for demolition of Vi’s Bar in Vandergrift
Neighbors of the former Vi’s Bar in Vandergrift expressed relief that the abandoned building might finally be demolished after years of deterioration. Its glowing sign hasn’t been lit in more than a decade. The building at 127 Grant Ave. is falling in on itself. Its roof is caving in, so...
Protect PT to host workshop on fracking
Penn Township environmental group Protect PT will hold a free educational workshop next week about unconventional gas drilling, also known as fracking. The organization will meet from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Penn Area Library to discuss pollution, noise and other concerns related to fracking. “We...
Allegheny County judge barred from hearing cases after alleged racist remark about juror
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli has been barred from hearing cases, following accusations that he referred to a black female juror as “Aunt Jemima” in a conversation with attorneys on the case. President Judge Kim Berkley Clark issued the court order regarding Tranquilli on Thursday. The conversation took...
Golden Gloves schedule features several local, regional cards
The Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League Pennsylvania Golden Gloves tournaments begin this month with several cards leading up to the state finals in April and the national finals in early May. Several fighters from local gyms and communities, as well as those from throughout the Western Pennsylvania region, will compete...
Judge in Wilkinsburg shooting case jails man accused of intimidating juror
The judge presiding over the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting trial jailed a man Thursday morning who he said tried to intimidate a juror. Lonnie Jenkins, 37, will serve six months in jail for comments Judge Edward J. Borkowski said he made Wednesday while surveillance footage played in the trial of...
Funeral arrangements set for mother of Pittsburgh mayor
A viewing for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s mother is set for Sunday at the William Slater II Funeral Home in Scott Township. Eva Maria (Zarroli) Peduto was 92 and died peacefully early Wednesday at her home in Scott, according to an online obituary. Viewing hours are 2 p.m. to 4...
Homewood shooting victims’ families cry foul over DA’s ‘sweetheart deal’
An attorney who last week called for the Allegheny County district attorney’s resignation has re-upped those calls, citing more alleged misconduct and violations of the state Crime Victims Act. Paul Jubas represents the families of those injured in a 2015 vigil shooting in Homewood. He alleges they were never informed...
Cops: Penn Hills woman stopped on turnpike carrying 550 bricks of heroin
State police stopped a Penn Hills woman on Wednesday for driving erratically on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County. Soon, troopers reported that they discovered she was transporting a stash of heroin with a street value of more than $500,000. Sarena V. Howard, 34, was pulled over around 1:30 p.m....
Murrysville, FTMSA seek temporary repairs for several bridges
The Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority and Murrysville will advertise for a project to repair three bridges in Murrysville, but officials say it is only a temporary fix. Three bridges — in the Heather Highlands, Cal-Ken Court and Logan’s Ferry Road areas — are in need of repairs. “The original...
Jefferson Community Collaborative provides nonprofit networking
Take five minutes and get to know everything about the person sitting across from you. Who are they? What organization are they from and how can you two work together to make the South Hills even more vibrant? Welcome to speed networking – think speed dating, except for professionals. More...
Painting helps spread unity at Thomas Jefferson High School
As a fifth-grader in Saudi Arabia, Ebtehal Badawi dreamed that someday she would become an artist. More than 20 years later, that dream has finally come true. Her first painting, which now hangs in the main hallway at Thomas Jefferson High School, is serving a much greater purpose: It’s unifying...
Westmoreland housing authority starts inspections for bedbugs across countyVideo
Every unit in the 16 high-rise buildings under control of the Westmoreland County Housing Authority will be inspected as part of a new initiative to eradicate bedbugs, officials said this week. Private exterminators will use dogs to sniff out the presence of the biting insects that can cause nuisances to...
Mt. Pleasant Township man sentenced to probation in funeral donation theft
A Mt. Pleasant Township man was sentenced to two years of probation Thursday for taking $1,530 in donations meant for funeral expenses for his late girlfriend. Shawn M. Smartnick, 34, pleaded guilty to a theft count and was ordered to pay restitution. “I am guilty, I didn’t pay it back,”...
Preliminary NTSB report released in deadly Turnpike crashVideo
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report about a deadly tour bus crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but the investigation has a long way to go. The report adds little new information about what caused the bus to lose control when driving around a curve in Westmoreland County....
Suspect in Greensburg convenience store robbery apprehended
A Greensburg man accused of a convenience store robbery was arrested Wednesday, according to police. Tywone McClain Jr., 21, was arrested in Duquesne in connection with the robbery at Sheetz on Harvey Avenue, said Greensburg Police Detective Sgt. John Swank. McClain was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and lodged in the Westmoreland...
Food Podcast: Hitting Super Bowl LIV and Taste of the NFL
The Food Podcast went to the Super Bowl. Through a partnership with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Food Bank and board member Bill Fuller — executive chef of the big Burrito restaurant group — were presented tickets to the game. While in Miami, Fuller and Brian Gulish, vice president of marketing...
Rolling Stones tour stops in Pittsburgh this summer
No more billboard teasers: The Rolling Stones have officially announced they will return to Pittsburgh on June 23. Heinz Field will be part of a 15-city tour opening May 8 in San Diego. “It’s always a pleasure to return to North America and play for some of the biggest and...
