Western PA Local News category, Page 2788
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...
Police: Venango man topped 120 mph on Route 28 after driving away from traffic stop
A Venango County man drove more than 120 mph while holding a woman against her will in his car as police pursued him on Route 28, according to state police. Kirk Edward Heath, 43, was arraigned Monday on 19 charges, including kidnapping to facilitate a felony and fleeing or attempting...
CCAC announces $65 million plans for new training center, expanded coursesVideo
The Community College of Allegheny County on Monday announced plans for a $40 million Workforce Training Center on campus and a $25 million investment in expanded workforce programming and system wide upgrades to existing educational facilities. CCAC has so far raised $44 million for the Pioneering Pittsburgh’s Workforce Campaign. It...
Police: Maryland man confessed to killing Bethel Park woman during bondage-themed photo shoot in Nevada
The sheriff of a rural Nevada county plans to send investigators to Pennsylvania to talk with Bethel Park police to build a homicide case against a Maryland man who has confessed to killing Jaime Mae Feden. Authorities said the man left Feden’s body in the desert about 170 miles north...
New Kensington cop killer’s cousin charged with stashing murder weapon
Just four days after Rahmael Holt was sentenced to death for the Nov. 17, 2017, killing of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, Westmoreland County detectives charged his cousin, Lisa D. Harrington, with hiding the murder weapon and hindering apprehension. Assistant District Attorney James Lazar said the decision to charge...
6 questions with ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ star Matthew Rhys
Friday’s opening of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks as Latrobe native Fred Rogers is fast approaching. In the highly anticipated movie filmed in Pittsburgh, actor Matthew Rhys plays Lloyd Vogel, the fictional version of journalist Tom Junod, who is not quite ready to buy into the...
Jeannette hemp plant reopens, but employee pay issue remains
A hemp-drying facility in Jeannette reopened over the weekend after ventilation was added. Current and former employees, however, still say they have not been paid for weeks of work. Patriot Shield Security was permitted to reopen on a temporary basis after an inspection late Friday, said Bill Whetzel, the city’s...
Police release photo of suspect in deadly Wilkinsburg home invasion
Allegheny County police released photos of a man suspected in a deadly home invasion Thursday in Wilkinsburg. A 42-year-old man was shot and killed in the home invasion, police said. The victim has not been identified. Police obtained video from inside the house that showed one of the suspects and...
Fred Rogers’ clothing will be on display at Heinz History Center
More than 20 items of Fred Rogers’ clothing from his beloved children’s show will be added to the Strip District’s Senator John Heinz History Center’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” exhibit, beginning Friday. The timing is right because the much anticipated “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” a film about Rogers starring...
Thousands of hats, gloves distributed around Greensburg to help homeless, those in need
Volunteers dispersed thousands of bags filled with hats, coats and gloves around Greensburg in an annual rite ahead of months of winter cold. The gear — affixed to telephone poles, fences and trees or left out in the open — won’t hang around long. In past years, most bags were...
Cops: Ligonier drug bust leads to second arrest for burglaries
Undercover police officers watching a Ligonier apartment after complaints of suspected drug activity not only arrested a resident for allegedly selling Suboxone, but also solved two weekend break-ins. The resident, Hunter M. Fitchko, 26, was arrested inside his apartment on the 200 block of East Church Street by Ligonier Valley...
American Legion oratorical, essay contests open to high school students
Westmoreland County high school students looking for college scholarships might want to sharpen their public speaking and essay skills for the 2020 Pennsylvania American Legion oratorical and essay contests. The contests are open to all county students in grades 9-12, including home school and charter and private school pupils. Applications...
Voting open for PennDOT ‘Paint the Plow’ contest
Voting opened Monday for the best student-created design on PennDOT snowplow blades this winter. Eight finalists from high schools in the department’s four-county District 12 area are vying for votes in the Paint the Plow contest. The theme this year is “Don’t Rush in Ice and Slush.” Students from the...
Pedestrian in critical condition after hit and run crash in Homewood
A man was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, according to police. The driver fled the scene, police said. The crash happened around 4:40 a.m. on the corner of Fifth and Frankstown avenues. Medics found the man unconscious in...
2 injured after police chase in Duquesne
A driver was fleeing from police when he crashed into an SUV on Duquesne Boulevard on Friday night, according to Allegheny County police. Daniel Disiero, 39, and an unidentified 45-year-old victim were taken to the hospital after the crash. Disiero is a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, wanted...
