Western PA Local News category, Page 285
2 arrested on charges of child endangerment in Monessen
Two people are behind bars after police said a 5-year-old boy was emaciated and had bruises all over his body, according to court papers. Charles W. Smitley V, 39, and Colleen Cassidy, 36, both of Monessen, were arrested this week on charges of child endangerment, unlawful restraint and simple assault....
Stowe carjacking arrest leads police to suspect in Pittsburgh shooting
One of the two men arrested Monday in connection with a carjacking and high-speed chase that shut down a Pittsburgh bridge was wanted for shooting someone last week. The man police identified as the passenger in the stolen vehicle — Vaughn Hall, 34, of Pittsburgh — was charged with an...
Happy tail: Rare hawk rehabilitated, released in Laurel HighlandsVideo
The red-tailed hawk didn’t hesitate at all — with a “one, two, three,” the bird spread its wings Tuesday morning in Cook, showing no sign of the trauma it sustained 11 days ago after apparently being hit by a vehicle. And while it acted like a typical hawk and took...
Concern about tiny houses has Ross considering setting minimum home size
Concern about tiny houses lowering the value of neighboring homes has Ross commissioners considering setting a minimum size for single-family homes in the township. As proposed, all single-family dwellings, whether constructed or altered, would have to be at least 1,500 square feet. But when introduced at a commissioners meeting Monday,...
Drawn to a ‘great cause’: 500 participants of 8th Killian 5K fundraiser start in rain, end in sunshine
About 500 runners and walkers braved the dark clouds and rain to participate in the eighth annual Killian 5K Run/Walk on July 26 at the North Park Boathouse in McCandless. By the time the race was over, the rain had let up and everyone celebrated under the bright sunshine. The...
Fire crews fish truck out of Allegheny River in Harmar
When firefighters arrived at the Deer Creek Boat Ramp in Harmar on Monday, it wasn’t a boat they found in the Allegheny River. The crews instead found a white Chevy Colorado pickup mostly submerged in the water, according to Allegheny Valley Fire Chief Jay Zangrille. The driver, who escaped without...
1 injured in McKees Rocks shooting
Allegheny County Police said they are investigating a shooting Monday night in McKees Rocks that left one man wounded. Around 10 p.m., first responders located a man on the 900 block of Gray Street who had sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. He was transported to an area hospital...
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board opens summer whiskey lottery
Nine whiskey lotteries are now open for Pennsylvania liquor connoisseurs. The lottery, run by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, allows consumers to enter into a drawing for the opportunity to purchase special liquor with limited quantity but high demand. Among the bottles up for grabs are two varieties of Blanton’s...
Victim identified in fatal Coraopolis hit-and-run
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday identified the pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run crash in Coraopolis as Ulises Montalvo. Paramedics pronounced Montalvo, 61, of Coraopolis dead at the scene at 8:41 p.m. Sunday, the medical examiner said. Montalvo was hit by the vehicle at the intersection of Main...
The Stroller, Aug. 5, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Tarentum Summer Concert series...
Nicely Elementary fire alarm should be up and running for 1st day of school, superintendent says
Greensburg Salem aims to have a working fire alarm system at its Nicely Elementary School before students return to its halls Aug. 26. The school’s fire alarm stopped working in mid-April when a power surge — prompted by nearby line replacement work by West Penn Power — damaged the alarm...
Rolling Rock Town Fair debuted at Westmoreland Fairgrounds 25 years ago todayVideo
If you grew up in Western Pennsylvania during the rise of alternative and grunge rock in the ’90s and early 2000s, there’s a good chance you recall hearing radio commercials for the annual Rolling Rock Town Fair. For a handful of years, some of the biggest names in modern rock...
Pittsburgh drug ring leader sentenced to prison
A Pittsburgh man who authorities say was the ringleader of a drug-trafficking organization has been sentenced to nine to 18 years in prison for for distributing controlled substances in Beaver and Allegheny counties. Dennis Alexander, 29, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty to four counts of possession with intent to...
$1 million scratch-off ticket sold at Giant Eagle along Frankstown Road in Penn Hills
A $1,000,000 Winnings scratch-off lottery ticket that won a top prize was sold at the Giant Eagle at 9001 Frankstown Road in Penn Hills, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Monday, Aug. 4. The store will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the ticket. The $20 ticket offers five top prizes of...
Retrial begins in 2020 New Kensington fatal shooting
For the second time in 14 months, Westmoreland County prosecutors will attempt to convince a jury that Letresse Williams killed a suspected drug dealer during a botched robbery attempt. Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli said the Jan. 15, 2020, fatal shooting of Anthone Williams warrants a second-degree murder conviction. (Letresse...
Police arrest 2 in Stowe carjacking after chase shuts 31st Street Bridge
Two carjacking suspects were arrested Monday afternoon after crashing the vehicle police said they stole and trying to run from authorities — triggering a manhunt that shut down the 31st Street Bridge and snarled traffic on nearby Route 28. Stowe police reported a carjacking around 3 p.m. and called in...
Feds take down drug ring dealing meth in Western Pa.
Ten people from California, Michigan and Pennsylvania, including three from the Pittsburgh area, are charged in federal court with trafficking methamphetamine and other hard drugs in Western Pennsylvania. Christopher Love, 28, and Calil Francois-Moon, 20, both of Homestead, and Jonathan Toledo, 25, of Turtle Creek, were indicted last month on...
Saturday fire in New Kensington considered suspicious
A fire early Saturday in New Kensington is considered suspicious, authorities said. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that police are investigating the blaze along Sixth Avenue as potentially intentional. “On behalf of the New Kensington police department, we can confirm that police and a Pennsylvania State Police fire...
Barrage of weekend violence not a bellwether for Pittsburgh or region, officials say
The first weekend in August was the most violent weekend of the summer in and around Pittsburgh thus far, a TribLive analysis found. There were six separate shootings: four in Pittsburgh, one in Scott and one in Monroeville. “Isolated incidents of violence are tragic, but do not define a neighborhood...
Probe into fatal East Hills fire that killed girl, 2, remains open
A 2-year-old girl killed when a December fire gutted a Pittsburgh apartment died from thermal injuries and breathing in carbon monoxide, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Monday. Firefighters pulled Praise Lemons from the blaze that broke out at Maple Ridge Apartments in the city’s East Hills neighborhood around...
Man who killed cousin, terrorized North Braddock pastor, pleads guilty but mentally ill
Derek and Bernard Polite Jr. were cousins, but Derek always treated the younger man like a son, regularly welcoming Bernard into his North Braddock home when he needed a place to stay over the last 15 years. That, their family said on Monday, is what makes it so much harder...
North Hills welcomes partnerships with local businesses as it prepares for first day of school
Students in grades 1-12 in the North Hills School District will begin the new school year on Aug. 20; kindergartners will start two days later. With the students’ return comes an opportunity for the community to have a hand in their success. The school board announced a fundraising opportunity to...
Final member of trio charged in fatal Pittsburgh drug robbery heads to trial
Police say Sammie Lane Jr. executed Tayrod Ford in August 2022 during a drug robbery in Pittsburgh’s East End and then fled several hours later aboard a Greyhound bus. It would take nearly three years for authorities to track Lane down. They found him in March in a Lancaster County...
Botched bail hearing sparks memo to judges in wake of homicide
Allegheny County’s top judge has clamped down on a controversial legal maneuver that freed a violent crime defendant from jail, enabling him, authorities say, to walk away from an unsecured facility and kill a woman several months later. A judge in the court’s criminal division repeatedly denied bail for Isreal...
PennDOT sets nighttime I-70 lane restrictions in Rostraver, ramp closures at North Belle Vernon
Motorists traveling at night on Interstate 70 in Westmoreland County will encounter lane restrictions in Rostraver and ramp closures at the North Belle Vernon exit this week as PennDOT contractors work on road improvements. The North Belle Vernon exit and entrance ramps for westbound traffic on I-70 (Exit 42) will...
