Local category, Page 2801
Plum School Board meetings to be videotaped, broadcast this school year
Plum School District families soon can watch school board workshops and voting meetings from the comfort of their own home or mobile device. The school board decided to start videotaping their monthly meetings in-house. The technology department, led by Director Daniel Lauletta, prepared an iPad, microphone and tri-pod setup. Board...
Officials: PNC Bank in Cranberry robbed
A Cranberry Township bank was robbed Wednesday evening, according to Butler County 911 dispatchers. Officers responded to PNC Bank, located at 20940 Route 19, around 5 p.m. for reports of the robbery. Further details were not immediately available Wednesday night. This is not the first time that PNC Bank has...
Swissvale man charged with homicide after November shooting victim dies
A Swissvale man is now charged with criminal homicide after a November shooting ultimately left one person dead, according to a criminal complaint. Courde Daye, also known as “Dae Dae,” allegedly shot an 85-year-old man several times in a North Braddock business on Jones Avenue on Nov. 20. Police later...
Freight trains, costs are hurdles for increasing Western Pa. Amtrak serviceVideo
If Amtrak added a commuter train into Pittsburgh on the route between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, more than one-half of the passengers would board at the Greensburg Train Station, according to a state official overseeing multimodal transportation. But whether Amtrak is in a position to add another westbound Pennsylvanian train to...
Ohiopyle seeking votes as Top Adventure Town for outdoors fun
Fans of Ohiopyle’s many outdoors activities can vote for it to be recognized as a Top Adventure Town. Nominated by the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, Ohiopyle is among 80 communities in contention for four final spots in the ninth annual contest conducted by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. The online contest...
Former WDVE radio personality Jack Maloy dies
Jack Maloy, an on-air personality for WDVE (102.5 FM), died Wednesday, according to the radio station’s website. Maloy, who was born in Latrobe, worked the station for 36 years before he retired in 2013, mostly working the overnight shift where he was the happiest, according to the website. “He worked...
Allegheny County Police warn of phone scams
Allegheny County Police want to warn people about a phone scam soliciting money with threats of arrest. County Inspector Andrew Schurman said multiple residents have reported receiving such calls the past few days. “In one reported instance the caller requested money from the recipient for prepaid calling cards,” Schurman said....
All lanes on 16th Street Bridge open to traffic
All lanes of the 16th Street Bridge (David McCullough) have reopened to traffic, the Department of Public Works said Wednesday. The bridge had been reduced to one lane in each direction since June 3 for a project that included structural steel repairs, barrier and deck repairs, asphalt paving and painting....
Florida man indicted in suspected Monroeville cocaine, money laundering ring
A Florida man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges in connection with a suspected cocaine and money laundering ring operating out of Monroeville, a U.S. Attorney’s office news release said Wednesday. Racoco Williams, 37, of Lauderhill, Fla., faced charges two years ago after authorities...
Overdose awareness event in Greensburg can provide ‘spark of hope’ for addicts, families
A decade ago, Katrin Schall of Youngstown would have had little interest in an event like the Overdose Awareness Day scheduled this weekend in Greensburg. But on Saturday, Schall — who overcame her own drug addiction — will be at St. Clair Park in her capacity as supervisor for Southwestern...
Rostraver helipad, Arnold Palmer hangar prep get grant assist
A helipad at Rostraver Airport and hangar and apron projects at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport received a boost this week through state aviation grants. Gov. Tom Wolf announced approval of a $375,000 grant for improvements at Rostraver Airport, including development of a helipad. According to Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive...
Participant will be resentenced for role in fatal Greensburg torture case
The youngest member of a group of six Greensburg roommates convicted in the torture and murder of a mentally disabled woman nearly a decade ago will be sentenced for the third time in December. Angela Marinucci, 27, has twice before been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility...
Monessen bus driver charged with having child porn faced similar charges 2 decades ago
A Monessen school bus driver charged this week by federal authorities for possession of child pornography had previously been barred from driving children after he was arrested on similar charges in 2001. This week’s indictment of Jack Brian Laforte, 54, came nearly two decades after he was charged in Westmoreland...
‘Everyone’s Friend’ Terry Ranieri, Hempfield’s most-beloved fan, laid to restVideo
Terry Ranieri will be remembered as a man with no malice in his heart. “I never met anyone as kind as Terry was. I don’t think there was anything you could do to make Terry dislike you,” said the Rev. Kenneth Bossart, who gave the eulogy at Ranieri’s memorial service...
Animal Protectors’ new facility in New Kensington nears completion
The cement already is poured for the “catio” and framing installed for the addition of dog kennels at a former school in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood that will soon be an animal shelter. Officials from Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley say the finish line is in sight for the New...
East Liberty mural honors Pittsburgh native Mac MillerVideo
A Pittsburgh artist and other community members celebrated Mac Miller’s life Wednesday in creating a 25-foot mural of the late rapper and Pittsburgh native in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. The afternoon of painting, organized by the Moving the Lives of Kids (MLK) Mural Project, comes 10 days before the...
Skip Beal, retired VND and Trib newsman and voice of ‘The Stroller,’ dies at 81
Skip Beal was a passionate newsman who knew the Alle-Kiski Valley inside and out and wasn’t afraid to spark a little outrage when he wrote The Stroller column in the Valley News Dispatch. “He loved his job, there’s no doubt about it,” said his oldest son, Benjamin Beal III of...
Trial starting in 2016 Jefferson Hills businessman’s homicide
The trial for a Sacramento, Calif., man accused in the 2016 of killing a popular Jefferson Hills businessman has started in Allegheny County court. Derrick “Chino” Gallaway, 63, is charged with homicide, robbery, theft and tampering with evidence in the May 2016 homicide of Denhad “Chief” Taiedi at the Jefferson...
Shaler man pleads guilty to sharing child porn
A Shaler man pleaded guilty to one count of sharing child porn on the internet, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh announced Wednesday. Brian R. Reddinger, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon. In 2017, he pleaded not guilty to three child pornography counts. When he changed his...
Winchester Thurston students help in development of Duolingo Latin course
Latin may be a dead language, but it is very much alive on Duolingo. The Pittsburgh-based language learning company debuted it first Latin course for English speakers Wednesday. Nearly 24,000 people had signed up for notifications about the course before it even launched, according to Duolingo. The project started a...
Butler photographer waited days for perfect shot of indigo bunting and sunflowerVideo
Visually, call it the last kiss of summer: A bright male indigo bunting singing his heart out on a fully blooming sunflower. It won’t be too long before the indigo buntings migrate south, flying about 1,200 miles to reach wintering grounds from southern Florida to northern South America, according to...
Pittsburgh council candidate vows to appeal ruling that booted him off ballot
An Allegheny County judge has booted an independent candidate for Pittsburgh City Council from the November ballot. Quincy Swatson, who is attempting a run at the District 1 seat now held by Councilwoman Darlene Harris, said he will likely appeal the decision. “We feel strongly about an appeal. We believe...
West Jefferson Hills School District appoints 2 new principals
Two newly appointed principals in the West Jefferson Hills School District have one thing in common, leaders say: They love kids. School board members on Aug. 27 officially hired longtime Pleasant Hills Middle School educator Adam Zunic as the principal of Gill Hall Elementary, at a salary of $100,000. Zunic,...
Leechburg man accused of inappropriately touching girl
A 31-year-old Leechburg man is charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Mark Faiola was being held in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 4. According to a criminal complaint, Faiola is accused of touching the girl inappropriately on June...
Johnstown man caught with loaded gun at Pittsburgh International Airport
A Johnstown man was stopped at the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday when a loaded handgun was discovered in his carry-on bag , according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA contacted Allegheny County police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the .380-caliber handgun and detained the...
