Western PA Local News category, Page 2787
Oakmont Commons residents want FEMA and the borough to buy their homes
Several Oakmont Commons residents hope the borough and federal government will buy their homes so they can head to higher ground. Jill Tabis and Donna Caligiuri were among a handful of neighbors between 255-265 Commons Drive still putting their lives back together after severe storms in July. Rains flooded portions...
Sunday hunting bill heads to Gov. Wolf’s desk
A bill that would allow hunting on up to three Sundays per year in Pennsylvania is headed to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. Senate Bill 147 would provide for hunting on three Sundays annually: one during rifle deer season, one during the statewide archery deer season and one determined by the...
Road closures scheduled in Pittsburgh for Light Up Night
Most people in and around Pittsburgh look forward to the city’s annual Light Up Night. But there is one down side to the event: the road closures that come with it. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced the list of road closures slated for this Friday. From 7 a.m. to midnight,...
Murrysville teen sets multiple records at powerlifting competition
Weightlifters often pursue “gains” in a variety of categories. For 15-year-old James Swift, of Murrysville, those gains have come at quite a rapid pace. He began working with trainers at Dean’s Fitness on Old William Penn Highway in July 2018. Less than a year later, the Franklin Regional freshman won...
Boats, motorcycles next to caskets: New Kensington funeral home personalizes services
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Lee at mlee@tribweb.com. Ross Walker grew up thinking living with dead people...
Experts panel does not see U.S.-China relations improving any time soonVideo
With President Trump facing a re-election battle next year in the midst of the ongoing trade war with China, the state of relations between two of the world’s superpowers likely will not get much better in 2020, a panel of experts said Monday. “They (Chinese) don’t trust President Trump,” Yasheng...
Highlands says goodbye to 4 outgoing school board members
Highlands School Board gave fond farewells Monday night to four of its members who are leaving the nine-member board following this year’s election. Leaving the board are Michael Masarik from Region 1, Jeff Mundy from Region 2, and Heath Cohen and Michelle Peters from Region 3. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney praised...
Unity rings in holiday season with senior luncheon, tree-lighting
Unity Township will kick off the holiday season Dec. 6 with a luncheon for seniors and an evening tree-lighting ceremony. The luncheon, open to area residents age 50 or older and their guests, will be served at noon at Giannilli’s II restaurant on Route 30 westbound, just west of the...
Andrew McCutchen, Mayor Peduto serve chili, talk reducing poverty on Pittsburgh’s North SideVideo
Former Pirates player Andrew McCutchen spent Monday night serving up bowls of chili alongside Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto while the pair discussed ways to reduce poverty across Western Pennsylvania. Between scoops, the hairnet-donning outfielder — whom fans affectionately refer to as “Cutch” or “No. 22” — fist-bumped, shook hands and...
Groundbreaking held for new Delmont library
Delmont native Bill Lendl can remember his father, Milt, placing the first book on the first shelf of the former borough library, on Delmont Street at the time. “My father loved reading, and my family does as well,” Lendl said. That would explain why the Lendls donated about a quarter...
Tax credits will help Indiana County demolitions, renovations
Tax credits for two redevelopment projects in Indiana County will pave the way for public space and a renovated community center. A $56,250 tax credit will go to the Friends of Blairsville Communities group for the demolition of the G.C. Murphy building at the corner of Market and Stewart streets...
Gas prices down in most areas as holiday season approaches
Gasoline prices dropped over the past week in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation. In the Pittsburgh area, prices are down 2.2 cents to an average of $2.78 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations. That’s 6.1 cents per gallon less than a month ago, and 9.6...
Post-Gazette union votes ‘no confidence’ in management
In a move deemed “unprecedented,” the unionized employees who represent a majority of the Post-Gazette’s newsroom voted Monday that they have “no confidence” in their executive editor, publisher or parent company, Block Communications Inc. Starting Wednesday, as a form of protest, the newsroom’s journalists will withhold their names from all...
Officials hope changes at Routes 66, 366 make intersection safer
The flowers of a makeshift memorial at a Washington Township intersection where a Brackenridge woman died in a July 27 crash haven’t faded yet. The fatal crash happened when Haley Montgomery’s northbound car tried to turn left from Route 66 onto Route 366 but was struck by an oncoming SUV....
Detroit police officer testifies in Chelsa Wagner trial
DETROIT — Attorneys spent several hours Monday wrangling over a few seconds of video in the trial of Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner. In a hearing marked by multiple arguments, objections and Wayne Circuit Judge Dalton Roberson repeatedly chiding both defense attorneys and prosecutors, two Detroit police officers testified about...
Happenings in Plum and Oakmont this week – Nov. 18, 2019
Need something to do in Oakmont or Plum this week? Check out these activities: • Let’s Groove Tonight, the premier Earth, Wind & Fire tribute band, returns to the Oaks Theater in Oakmont at 310 Allegheny River Blvd. Friday. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the show set for 7:30...
Members sought for Westmoreland solar co-opVideo
A nonprofit that organized solar power co-ops in neighboring counties is looking to do the same in Westmoreland County. Solar United Neighbors initiated more than 200 solar co-ops across the country, including two in Allegheny County, one in Indiana County and another that operates in both Beaver and Butler counties....
Free air quality education kits available to Allegheny County middle schools
The Pittsburgh-based environmental advocacy group GASP, the Group Against Smog and Pollution, is offering free air quality education kits to Allegheny County middle schools. The kits — which include pig lungs, tools for measuring air pollution and other educational resources — can be used to teach students in grades four...
Westmoreland County union workers reject proposed new contract
Members of Westmoreland County’s largest bargaining unit rejected the terms of a new labor contract for more than 600 government workers. The county’s existing four-year contract with the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania expires at the end of December. Negotiations on a new labor pact...
Opera singer returns to Brackenridge church to raise money for food bank
Mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti began singing at local churches, including Brackenridge’s Trinity United Methodist, as a teenager before making her professional debut with the Pittsburgh Opera and singing professionally for three decades. On Sunday, she returned to Trinity United Methodist to hold a concert to raise money for the Allegheny Valley...
Pittsburgh receives grant for purchase of blue recycling bins
Pittsburgh has another $500,000 to purchase blue bins for its curbside recycling programs. The Recycling Partnership, based in Virginia, approved a $500,000 grant to purchase the bins for residents. Mayor Bill Peduto earlier this year announced plans to allocate $500,000 in 2020 for bins. The money will be used to...
Judge drops DUI charge against state Rep. Brandon Markosek
A magisterial district judge on Monday dropped a drunken driving charge against state Rep. Brandon Markosek. Markosek, 26, of Monroeville had been charged with speeding and drunken driving after a September arrest in Cumberland County. Both charges were dropped by Magisterial District Judge Michael Sanderson of Cumberland County. The speeding...
Assault, drug cases among those recently handled in Judge DeLuca’s Penn Hills court – Nov. 18, 2019
Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca handled the following cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Charges were filed by Penn Hills police unless otherwise noted. Held for court • Jerquay Atkins, 21, of Pittsburgh on charges of providing false identification to...
Former Jeannette doctor sentenced to house arrest for patient overdose deaths
A North Huntingdon doctor will serve two years on house arrest and five years on probation for over-prescribing drugs used by two patients who died of overdoses. Dr. Michel Toret, 73, of Jeannette, told a Westmoreland County judge that the practice of medicine has changed during his four decades as...
Police: Carrick man wanted in double shooting remains at large
A 23-year-old Carrick man remained at large Monday, wanted on charges in connection with a Thursday shooting of two teens during a robbery in Carrick, police said. Cody Smith, 23, is wanted on charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery. Another man, Desmond Michael Jones, 20, no address listed, is...
