Western PA Local News category, Page 2687
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...
Route 22 in Salem reopened after fuel spill
Eastbound lanes of Route 22 in Salem Township have reopened after a multi-vehicle crash with a fuel spill. The wreck involved a tractor trailer and at least one vehicle between Salem Drive and Crabtree Shieldsburg Road, according to the PennDOT website. BREAKING NEWS: Eastbound Lanes on Rt 22 BLOCKED at...
American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women encourages wearing of red
Days before she was to board a Walt Disney Cruise Line with her family two years ago, Rachel Brecht was told she couldn’t go. She needed heart surgery. “I said to my cardiologist, I am leaving for a cruise,” said Brecht, 44, from Bethel Park. “And he said, ‘No you’re...
Apartment building evacuated in Duquesne fire
Emergency crews responding to an overnight fire in Duquesne found thick smoke filling a three-story apartment building, police said. The fire happened at 30 Oakmont Avenue, in a second-floor unit. No injuries were reported. Crews responded at about 3 a.m. and found heavy smoke throughout the second and third floors...
John Oyler: Life of female Soviet sniper explored
The Bridgeville Area Historical Society opened the new year with one of its rare Sunday afternoon programs. The speaker was a young lady named Dana del Bianco who specialized in studying Stalinism at Carnegie Mellon University. Her subject was a Soviet hero of World War II, Roza Shanina, a decorated...
The Stroller, Feb. 6, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Highlands High School to present Alumni Cabaret Concert The eighth annual Highlands High School Musical Alumni Cabaret Concert will be at 7 p.m. Saturday in the high school auditorium, Natrona Heights, Harrison. Performances saluting the past 10 years of Highlands musicals will be by alumni, and the high school Honors...
Photos: Celebrating the Lunar New Year in Monroeville
New Year celebrations continued at the Monroeville Public Library with the ringing in of the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, on Jan. 25. The Lunar New Year is celebrated during the second new moon after the winter solstice, usually between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 on the Gregorian...
Cops: New York man was using stolen identification from second area man
A suspect accused of stealing a man’s identity to buy $4,000 worth of computers, gift cards and video games was arraigned Wednesday for a similar crime. Vaughn L. Lawhorn, 46, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is charged with four counts of access device fraud and theft and two counts of identity theft...
2 Hempfield seniors awarded full tuition to Saint Vincent CollegeVideo
Two Hempfield Area High School seniors will received full rides to Saint Vincent College. Brennen Novotney and Jacob Rzempoluch won the Unity Township college’s 39th annual Wimmer Scholarship Competition, which awards students with four-year, full-tuition scholarships. Christina Andrae, associate director of admission at the college, presented the scholarships to Novotney...
Pittsburgh police: Cab passenger shot in Bedford Dwellings
A passenger on a Z-Trip ride was taken to the hospital in critical condition Wednesday evening after a shooting, according to Pittsburgh police spokesman Maurice Matthews. Officers responded to the 3900 block of Bigelow Boulevard shortly after 7 p.m. after receiving 911 calls that a man had been shot. According...
New York inmate pleads guilty to selling synthetic pot while behind bars in prison ring smuggling case
A New York prison inmate pleaded guilty in Pittsburgh federal court to scheming to sell synthetic marijuana while behind bars, prosecutors said . Quoc Boa Trinh, a former inmate at a federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., admitted to conspiring to distribute synthetic cannabinoid substances from 2017 through early 2019, U.S....
Saltsburg man guilty of selling fatal batch of fentanyl-laced heroin
A Westmoreland County jury on Wednesday convicted the Indiana County man prosecutors said sold fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a 38-year-old mother in December 2016. After more than five hours of deliberations jurors found Dylan Blair, 23, of Saltsburg guilty of a felony count of drug delivery resulting in death and...
Pa. Republicans rejoice in President Trump’s acquittal on impeachment charges, ‘failed political hit job’
Pennsylvania’s Republican congressmen rejoiced following Wednesday’s acquittal of President Trump on both impeachment charges. U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was the sole Republican to join Democrats in finding Trump guilty of abusing his powers, a charge that was rejected, 48-52. On obstructing Congress, all 53 Republicans voted not guilty....
Officials investigating shots fired at undercover officers in New Kensington
At least one person in a group of five or six people opened fire on undercover police officers Tuesday night in New Kensington, just a couple of blocks from where a city officer was shot and killed more than two years ago, according to Westmoreland County detectives. County detectives said...
Former PNC Bank employee pleads guilty to multiple bank robberies
A former PNC Bank employee pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing three PNC Bank locations and attempting a fourth. Disguised in a hijab and a surgical mask to cover her face, Jasmine Parrish, 30, stole nearly $100,000 from her former employer. Parrish pleaded guilty to a five-count indictment, U.S....
Tarentum ‘Depot’ projects gets state grant for basement, foundation workVideo
Work to deepen the basement of a Tarentum building to house a laundromat is expected to begin this summer. Faith Community Partners received a nearly $211,000 state grant that will pay for half the cost of the work at the Fifth Avenue building being called The Depot, said its executive...
Runners in their Undies to close down Clemente Bridge for 2 hours
The Roberto Clemente Bridge will close for two hours Saturday — from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. — as part of a mile run through Pittsburgh. The Department of Public Works announced Wednesday that Cupid’s Charity was granted a permit to close the bridge for the Cupid’s Undies Run. The runners...
New Kensington man arrested in connection with Valley Royal Court shooting in December
A New Kensington man charged with four counts of attempted homicide in connection with shots that were fired at an occupied car in December in New Kensington has been arrested. Letresse Tareke Williams, 29, was arrested late Tuesday night or early Wednesday by the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Warrant Team and...
Even on cloudy days, Green Tree nonprofit will be powered by solarVideo
It isn’t always sunny in Pittsburgh. But there’s enough sunshine to cover at least 82% of the power needs of the Global Links’ building in Green Tree, its executive director said. “Despite Pittsburghers thinking it’s cloudy and solar doesn’t make sense, it does,” Global Links executive director Angela Garcia said,...
New ‘Cops’ episodes to feature Pittsburgh police in action
The long-running TV show “Cops” will use footage filmed last summer in Pittsburgh in upcoming episodes, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz. Promotion for the Pittsburgh-based episodes started Tuesday on Twitter, when the show tweeted, “Pittsburgh we have arrived.” Pittsburgh, we have arrived ? ? episode Monday, Feb.10...
