Western PA Local News category, Page 2778
New Franklin Regional school board members will be sworn in Dec. 5
Newly elected Franklin Regional school board members will be sworn in at the board’s December meeting. The Dec. 5 meeting is shifted from the traditional Monday time slot because district staff and officials still will be on Thanksgiving break. The meeting will encompass board reorganization as well as both the...
Tarentum boy scores big with campaign to bring turkeys to needy familiesVideo
A Tarentum boy bothered by an unflattering description of hockey players decided to do something to prove them wrong. Wesley Westerman, 14, plays hockey for Highlands and the Vipers, a youth team in Lower Burrell. He attends cyber school through Highlands Middle School. He read an article and saw a...
Recent Mt. Pleasant Area grad, newlywed loses battle with childhood cancer
Friends, family and many supporters are mourning the death of Brady Hunker of Mt. Pleasant Township, who lost his battle with a rare childhood cancer. Hunker, 18, who married his high school sweetheart, the former Mollie Landman, this summer after receiving his diploma in June from Mt. Pleasant Area Senior...
UPMC eyes major expansion in cancer, cardiac care in North Hills
From a robotic surgery tool that helps detect lung cancer sooner, to new alternatives to open-heart surgery, UPMC executives announced Monday a slew of major investments into expanding the health care system’s services, equipment and doctors available in the North Hills. The Downtown Pittsburgh-headquartered nonprofit behemoth is expanding its reach...
Aspinwall author watches his novel jump from page to film
For Aspinwall’s Philip Beard, a punctuating moment in an 18-year journey came when he and his daughter watched actress Sadie Sink of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” shoot a scene in Kennywood Park for a movie based on his novel, “Dear Zoe.” “It’s surreal not only hearing my words coming from the...
Meadows off-track betting in Harmar robbed
A man claiming to have a gun forced an employee to open the cash room at The Meadows off-track betting facility in Harmar about a hour before the facility was scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Monday, police said. The man already was inside the locked building and surprised the...
Feds bust ‘Hustlas Don’t Sleep’ gang members from Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs
Federal drug charges were filed against 18 people prosecutors say sold drugs as part of a gang that operated in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs from September 2017 until this week. One of the men, Jason Jackson, 26, of Pittsburgh, remains wanted by the FBI. Jackson, whose nickname is “Action,” according to...
Carnegie Mellon scientists read emotions in the brainVideo
A neuroscientist at Carnegie Mellon University is translating science fiction into science fact. And the latest developments in his work are pretty amazing. As recently as a decade ago, CMU professor and researcher Marcel Just made headlines around the world with news that scientists could tap enhanced MRI technology coupled...
Bankruptcy hearing canceled for former Pittsburgh regatta promoter
A Ross company blamed for this year’s Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta debacle was scheduled to appear in federal bankruptcy court Monday, but the hearing was canceled because the company president is out of town. Derek Weber, 44, president of LionHeart Event Group LLC, in September filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy...
Obituaries aren’t what they used to be
Just about everybody has read an obituary or two in their lives. They’re generally filled with flowery terms such as “loving husband,” “devoted mother” or “pillar of the community.” But have you come across the occasional obituary that is brutally honest? With increasing frequency, there are more and more authors...
Pittsburgh ordinance would regulate reptile ownership
Reptile owners in Pittsburgh would have to register their alligators and snakes with the city under legislation City Council proposed on Monday. The bill introduced by Councilwoman Darlene Harris, an avowed animal lover from Spring Hill, would also require owners to keep reptiles in secure cages and rooms and post...
Shaler Street Bridge to close for maintenance work this week
The Shaler Street Bridge over Route 19 in Pittsburgh’s West End will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, PennDOT announced Monday. Swank Construction Company LLC will do road maintenance from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, causing the bridge to close. Traffic will be detoured through Grandview Avenue. After the...
Arnold Palmer runway widening to begin at night thanks to $1.5M FAA grant
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority got some more help from the federal government to widen the runway at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Late last week, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a grant of up to $1.5 million for the runway improvement, supplementing $11.1 million in federal dollars previously approved for...
Yough School Board president running for state rep.
Yough School Board President Ken Bach has his sights on the state legislature. “I grew up in, learned in, and have impacted this community my entire life,” the South Huntingdon Democrat said. “With this experience, I believe I am the perfect fit for this role. Bach, 52, announced his candidacy...
Residents hoping for light at end of Ohiopyle tunnel project
A pedestrian tunnel is beginning to take shape in Ohiopyle as the second phase of a construction project there continues. Most of the $12.4 million project, including the rehabilitation of a bridge that carries Route 381 over the Youghiogheny River, is expected to be completed by Memorial Day. The project,...
Regent Square, Harris theaters shuttered; Pittsburgh Center for Arts closes main building
The Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media on Monday closed the Regent Square Theater and the Harris Theater, Downtown, and will cease operations at year’s end in the Marshall Mansion, its main building at the corner of Fifth and Shady avenues in Pittsburgh’s East End. In a letter to its...
Buzz around esports squad at Robert Morris University brings energy drink deal
College-level esports finally may be getting a little respect. They haven’t signed any deals to replace college football on Saturday afternoon TV. And it’s not exactly Gatorade, but the Robert Morris University esports team has a new corporate partnership deal with Mountain Dew AMP Game Fuel, an energy drink especially...
Slippery Rock University students aim to bring ‘The Rock’ to The Rock
A Slippery Rock University student is trying to bring “The Rock” to The Rock. Samantha Kochis, 20, created an online petition on Change.org to bring movie megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to Slippery Rock University, also nicknamed The Rock. “This campaign started out as a joke among a few friends....
Ex-Westmoreland chief deputy sheriff sues county, alleging discrimination
A former Westmoreland County chief deputy sheriff claims in a federal civil lawsuit she was subjected to age and sex discrimination because she was the first woman to hold the supervisory position in a department dominated by men. Patricia Fritz of Mt. Pleasant is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit...
Allegheny Land Trust receives $500K grant for former Churchill Country Club property
A green space project in Penn Hills and Churchill will get a $500,000 boost from state money, state Sen. Jay Costa Jr. announced Monday. The $500,000 grant will go to Allegheny Land Trust, the future owners of the former Churchill Country Club property. “It is exciting to see a partnership...
Mt. Pleasant man charged with throwing cat against a wall
A Mt. Pleasant man remains in jail on allegations he seriously injured a cat he threw against a wall. Tyler Robert Kebberly, 21, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond on an aggravated animal cruelty charge, a felony. Police arrested him Friday. Investigators were called by Green...
Pittsburgh approves free on-street parking through Thanksgiving weekend
Parking at meters and in city-owned metered lots will be free on Thanksgiving through Sunday, Dec. 1, according to the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. The authority’s board of directors Wednesday unanimously agreed to waive meter enforcement for Saturday, Nov. 30, a busy shopping day dubbed Small Business Saturday. Parking at meters...
New Kensington pushes back garbage pickup because of Thanksgiving
Friday garbage pickup in New Kensington has been pushed back a day, according to the city. The city said in a news release that garbage normally scheduled to be picked up on Friday would be picked up on Saturday instead because of the Thanksgiving holiday....
Thousands of miles apart, Oakmont brothers stay close through fishing
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. A love of fly fishing and a love of helping people thousands of miles away has bonded a pair of Oakmont brothers. Matt Geppert and his older brother, Sam, grew...
Highlands hopes to address deficiencies in grade school English, math and science
Highlands School District appears ready to go to work to remedy deficiencies from a state performance measure. Assistant Superintendent Cathleen Cubelic said the Pennsylvania Future Ready Index showed Highlands students are not meeting state averages in a number of categories. The three testing categories were: state assessment measures, on-track measures...
