Western PA Local News category, Page 2889
Shredding investigation clears Fox Chapel Area School District
An independent audit of document disposal by Fox Chapel Area School District found no wrongdoing by staff or administration, an attorney said at the Sept. 9 board meeting. Thomas Breth, a Butler-based attorney, spearheaded an investigation into record shredding by the school district that was presumed to avoid disclosure of...
Crash kills 3 men in Greene County
WAYNESBURG — Authorities say a crash over the weekend claimed the lives of three men in southwestern Pennsylvania. State police in Greene County say a vehicle traveling on Route 19 in Franklin Township went out of control on a curve, struck a guardrail and hit a tree before overturning. Three...
1 in custody, 3 in hospital after stabbing in East Pittsburgh
Police took a suspect into custody after multiple people were stabbed Monday night near a public housing complex in East Pittsburgh, officials said. Medics took at least three people to the hospital in connection to the incident, an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. The extent of their injuries were...
Hempfield set to host 1st classic car cruise
Hempfield Township officials are hosting their first classic car cruise this weekend as part of their final summer concert at Hempfield Park. The event will kick off Saturday at 5 p.m., and performers will include Aubrey Burchell, who competed on American Idol last year, and Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers,...
Police search for man who robbed Citizens Bank in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood
Police are searching for a man suspected of robbing a bank in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood on Monday afternoon, officials said. A man wearing dark ski glasses, a ball cap and dark clothing entered the Citizens Bank branch on Fifth Avenue shortly before 2 p.m., Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said....
More than a farm: Blackberry Meadows in Fawn works with, engages communityVideo
Before Jen Montgomery and Greg Boulos bought Blackberry Meadows Farm in Fawn in 2008, customers rarely ventured up to the fields. They instead got all their produce from a barn along Ridge Road. About three years ago, the couple decided to change that by inviting people up to the farm....
Jeannette to hire private firm to bolster football game securityVideo
The Jeannette School District intends to hire a private security company that will station four guards at McKee Stadium for Friday’s football game, complementing a contingent of officers from the Jeannette Police Department and state police. The school board Monday voted to hire Tactical Enforcement Agents, a Pittsburgh area security...
Gasoline prices continue decline despite oil prices moving higher, analyst says
Gasoline prices have continued to fall in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation. “For its eighth straight week, the national average has declined even as oil prices have bucked the trend in the last week, moving higher on optimism over upcoming trade talks between China and the United States,”...
Wolf administration to give away free Naloxone at health centers in Western Pennsylvania
The Wolf administration later this month will give away free Naloxone at nearly 100 state and local health centers, including those in Western Pennsylvania, as part of an ongoing effort to reduce opioid overdoses. Naloxone is used to reverse overdoses caused by opioids by blocking the effects of opioids on...
Pittsburgh group to visit for moonlight hike on Roaring Run and history tour
The Pittsburgh group Venture Outdoors is planning a full moon hike on the Roaring Run Trail in Kiski Township and an Apollo history lesson on Saturday. John Linkes, a director with the both the Roaring Run Watershed Association and the Kiski Watershed Association, was pleased that a Pittsburgh group of...
Police: Vandergrift man traded $100 of crack cocaine for $15K Rolex, other jewelry
A Vandergrift man is accused of trading $100 in crack cocaine for stolen jewelry, including a $15,000 Rolex watch. A criminal complaint filed in the case against Levern Baccus, 38, said a Vandergrift couple reported the missing jewelry to borough police on Sunday. The missing items included the Rolex, two...
Charges dismissed against former Jeannette man accused of interfering with firefighters
Westmoreland County prosecutors Monday dismissed criminal charges against a former Jeannette man accused of interfering with firefighters as they attempted to extinguish a blaze at his home last year. Keith Cerqueira, 59, now of Trafford, pleaded no contest to a lesser charge, a summary count of disorderly conduct, and was...
Vandergrift couple owe property taxes even after fire ravaged home
A former volunteer firefighter watched helplessly last year as his Vandergrift home and everything in it burned. In the six months following the Nov. 7 blaze, Rich Hooks and his wife, Catherine, had to find and furnish a new home while tearing down and removing the one destroyed by an...
Gateway football player charged in alleged robbery
A Gateway High School senior and football player was arrested Monday on charges that he robbed two people at gunpoint in August. Jaquan Thomas, 18, faces six felonies in connection with the Aug. 11 incident. He is being held at Allegheny County Jail on a $50,000 straight bond. According to...
Judge declines to toss fatal drug delivery case against Derry Twp. man
Drug delivery resulting in death charges will stand against a Derry Township man accused of selling the lethal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a Greensburg man in 2017. In a ruling issued Monday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani said there has been no violation of the...
Double your elk-watching: Murrysville company sets up live webcam in Benezette
The Murrysville man who set up the Pittsburgh eagle webcam now has a live webcam with two cameras in Benezette capturing all of the excitement of the bull elk in rut. Elk in Pennsylvania were wiped out by the late 1870s. But the Pennsylvania Game Commission re-introduced elk from the...
Uniontown man convicted of possessing 1,181 images of child porn
A Uniontown man who admitted to having more than 1,181 images and videos of child pornography on his home computers was sentenced to serve more than three years in prison Monday. Jason A. Early, 41, was sentenced to three years plus one month in prison, to be followed by 10...
Westmoreland tax sale draws huge crowd, pulls in $1.08MVideo
The South Greensburg rental home where Rich and Erin Paul have lived with their three young children for five years was up for sale Monday after its owner failed to pay property taxes. The Pauls were among nearly 150 bidders who attended what Westmoreland County officials said was the largest...
Penn Hills Anti-Litter Group participating in Pittsburgh Garbage Olympics
Penn Hills litter haters will have two hours on an upcoming Saturday to collect as much garbage as possible to compete for prizes in the third annual Pittsburgh Garbage Olympics. The Penn Hills Anti-Litter Group will meet from 9 to 11 a.m. to compete in the Sept. 21 event. The...
Health department investigates complaints about white dust in Harrison
The Allegheny County Health Department is investigating complaints about a white dust in parts of Harrison. The department has received at least five complaints since the beginning of August, according to Jim Kelly, deputy director of environmental health. Opal Court residents have complained about white dust being found on cars...
Fire heavily damages church in SheradenVideo
Dozens of firefighters worked for more than two hours Monday to extinguish a fire that destroyed the roof of a church in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood. “It just basically burnt the roof off the building,” Pittsburgh Fire Chief Darryl Jones said. One firefighter was injured while battling the four-alarm fire at...
Police: Driver bites Greensburg police officer during traffic stop involving reportedly stolen SUV
A traffic stop in Greensburg on Sunday involving a reportedly stolen vehicle ended up with officers scuffling with the driver, who is accused of biting a patrolman, according to court papers. Cody Storm Vaughan, 29, of Sarver, Butler County, was pulled over at 10:30 p.m. Sunday at the Sheetz convenience...
Brackenridge tries more ways to go after delinquent taxes, blight
Brackenridge Council has compiled a list of properties to keep track of tax delinquents and deteriorated structures. Council decided in the spring to survey borough and Allegheny County records to catalog properties that are vacant and dilapidated in response to residents’ complaints about blight. The list will serve as a...
Pittsburgh’s Armstrong Tunnels to close Tuesday after morning rush
The Armstrong Tunnels in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood will close Tuesday morning for a short period of time after rush hour, Allegheny County officials said. Pavement painting inside of and outside of the tunnels will begin at 9 a.m., requiring closure of both tunnels starting with the outbound tunnel. Each tunnel...
Teen shot, killed in Duquesne Heights was a Brashear High School student
The 16-year-old who died after a Sunday afternoon shooting in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Heights neighborhood was a junior at Brashear High School, Pittsburgh Public Schools said in a statement. Police are still investigating, police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. It was reported to 911 at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the 300 block...
