Local category, Page 2753
Westmoreland prison population surge expected to be temporary
Warden John Walton said the inmate population at the county prison spiked during the last month, but the numbers of those incarcerated are expected to dip before year’s end. Walton told members of the prison board the Hempfield facility housed 677 inmates on Monday, bringing its population closer to capacity...
Restrictions lifted on Logans Ferry Road bridge near Plum-Lower Burrell border
Traffic restrictions have been lifted on a bridge that crosses Pucketa Creek at the border of Plum and Lower Burrell. A $1.1 million construction project on the Logans Ferry Road bridge began about five months ago. Work included replacing the span over the creek and improving guardrails, sidewalks, barriers and...
Ex-Monessen school bus driver pleads guilty to possessing child porn
A former Monessen school bus driver arrested in August on charges of possession of child pornography pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to possessing materials depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said Jack Brian Laforte, 55, pleaded guilty to one count...
Pittsburgh yard-waste recycling scheduled for November
Pittsburgh will collect grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste left at the curb Nov. 16, the Mayor’s Office announced Monday. Residents are encouraged to place debris weighing up to 35 pounds in brown paper bags and leave it at the curb before 6 a.m. Branches must be tied with...
Family offers $50,000 to match donations for new Delmont library
Delmont resident Bill Lendl and his family value their local public library and want to see it thrive. That’s why Lendl announced a matching fundraising challenge, where he agreed to match community donations up to $50,000, which will be put toward the building fund for the new Delmont Public Library....
Westmoreland commissioner hopefuls spent more than $600K on campaigns this year
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli is the top spender so far among four candidates seeking election next week. Cerilli listed more than $126,000 in new expenses, bringing the total cash she’s used for her reelection since the start of this year to more than $275,000, according to finance reports that...
Firefighters prevent Braddock house fire from spreading
No one was injured Monday afternoon when a fire ripped through a vacant house in Braddock, officials said. Authorities received a report of the fire along the residential alley June Way near Ajax Way shortly before 2 p.m., Rivers Edge Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tyler Toth said. Firefighters from more...
Pittsburgh residents concerned about reconfiguration of East Liberty’s Enright ParkletVideo
Several Pittsburgh residents voiced concerns Monday that a land swap between the city and developers planning a $50 million office and retail complex in East Liberty carries no written guarantee for public access to a city park behind the development. City Council is scheduled for a final vote Tuesday on...
Daily Download: Pittsburgh sinkhole, Neal Huntington and spinning yarn marathonVideo
Each day, TribLIVE reporters and editors will break down the biggest news of the day, with video highlights of the people and places making headlines. Today, staffer Matt Rosenberg discusses a large sinkhole that enveloped a Port Authority bus in Downtown Pittsburgh this morning, the Pirates’ firing of general manager...
Deputy recognizes suspect from 7-year-old warrant, new drug charges follow
A New Stanton man made the mistake of leaving his hotel room last week just as a county sheriff’s deputy with a long memory happened to drive past. The deputy, Robby Orbin, said in court documents filed Monday that he quickly recognized Edward C. Ferrari, 50, as the former Unity...
3 charged in shooting death of Brutus, a pit bull mix found dead in North HuntingdonVideo
Three people were arrested Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of a dog that was found over the summer muzzled and tied to a North Huntingdon railroad post. Ashley Nichole Kunkle, 30, her mother Sandra D. Cancino, 55, both of Yukon, and her boyfriend Anthony Keith Harper, 28, of...
Leechburg’s Veterans Memorial Stadium a step closer to getting artificial turf
Leechburg Area School District has moved a step closer to replacing the grass field at 73-year-old Veterans Memorial Stadium with artificial turf. The district’s school board voted unanimously last week to seek bids Nov. 13 to install the artificial turf and modernize the field’s drainage. Over the summer, the board...
‘Sinkhole Sundae’: Pittsburgh immediately memes the Port Authority bus
Once it was established that no one was injured Monday when a Port Authority bus fell partially into a sinkhole in downtown Pittsburgh during the morning commute, the jokes and memes started rolling in on social media. At least one local business, Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, decided to take advantage...
Westinghouse High staffer hurt while intervening in fight between students
A Westinghouse High School staff member was hurt Monday while intervening in a fight between two students, according to a Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman. The staffer, who wasn’t identified, was conscious and alert while transported to a hospital from the school, in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, spokeswoman Merecedes Williams said. The...
YouTube video leads to criminal mischief charges at Murrysville golf course
Murrysville police arrested six men after a video surfaced online showing damage to golf carts and turf at the Rolling Fields Golf Club in Murrysville. The men have been charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy. Video posted to a YouTube channel called WTR, which police said stands for “White Trash...
Riverview schools to open Tuesday after threat deemed not credible
Riverview School District planned to resume classes Tuesday after determining a threat that led to a districtwide closure Monday was not credible. Superintendent Margaret DiNinno said in a prepared statement that the threat, received Sunday afternoon, was a “non-direct, weapon-related threat to the high school.” DiNinno had said Sunday night...
Homewood man found guilty in 2018 murder at Duquesne bar
A Homewood man accused of killing a Duquesne man in 2018 at a Duquesne bar was found guilty of third-degree murder and two firearms violations Monday by an Allegheny County judge. Carl Jones, 28, was accused of shooting Donnell Demery, 54, several times after the pair exchanged words at the...
Watchdog group concerned over Pitt reports on primate injuries, deaths
An Ohio-based research watchdog group has filed a complaint asking the USDA to sanction the University of Pittsburgh for the deaths of two primates and the injury of a third in its animal research programs. Stop Animal Exploitation Now, or SAEN, cited reports that Pitt submitted to the National Institutes...
Penn Hills to start collecting yard waste
Penn Hills crews will start collecting leaf and yard waste in November to kick off the year’s leaf and yard waste composting program. Raking leaves, grass clippings and lawn debris onto the street is prohibited by ordinance in Penn Hills. Instead, residents are encouraged to place paper leaf bags at...
First 9 jurors selected for trial of accused cop killer Rahmael Holt
Attorneys selected nine people Monday to be jurors in the capital murder trial of accused cop killer Rahmael Holt. Holt, 31, of Harrison, is accused of fatally shooting New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw following a Nov. 17, 2017, traffic stop. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty...
Excela Westmoreland ranked among top regional facilities in U.S. News & World Report
Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital won honors as Best Regional Hospital-Pittsburgh, according to U.S. News & World Report. The Greensburg hospital was one of 569 hospitals of the nearly 4,500 reviewed to rank among the Best Regional Hospitals in a state or metro area based on their performance in delivering complex...
Missing Vandergrift teen found
A Vandergrift teenager missing since Thursday has been found, according to police. James Edward Nelson, 16, was found early Monday morning. He was last seen around 2 p.m. at his Vandergrift home....
Cops: Delmont man choked woman, threatened family during argument
Police arrested a 44-year-old Delmont man after he allegedly choked a woman and threatened to harm her family over the weekend. Thomas A. Patterson was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, simple assault, strangulation and making terroristic threats by police after the 2:30 p.m. Saturday incident. Officer Dylan Keffer reported in...
No webcam planned for new Harmar bald eagle nest
The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania announced it will not install a live webcam at the most recent bald eagle nest in Harmar because the aerie cannot be safely accessed. The decision not to install a webcam was a difficult one, Audubon spokeswoman Rachel Handel said in a statement. “The...
2 years ago: Bus falls into Downtown Pittsburgh sinkholeVideo
Editor’s note: Here is the Tribune-Review’s original report from Oct. 28, 2019: The giant hole in 10th Street between Penn and Liberty in Downtown Pittsburgh doesn’t have a bus in it any more. Crews were able to use a crane to remove the bus shortly after 9:30 p.m., according to...
