Local category, Page 2890
Verizon store closed at Westmoreland Mall
Another store has joined a list of businesses permanently shutting their doors at Westmoreland Mall. Verizon Wireless, which sat between Greenhouse Winery and T-Mobile on the first floor of the mall near JCPenney, closed at the end of June, said David Weissmann, public relations manager for the Verizon Consumer Group....
UPMC: Visitor brought in bacteria to Children’s Hospital ICU
A visitor to the neonatal intensive care unit at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is believed to have brought in the antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria that spread to six babies and six staff members, a hospital official said Tuesday. The hospital began testing the NICU infants and staff Thursday afternoon after...
Teenager in Uniontown charged as adult after refusing to drop knife, troopers say
A Fayette County teenager was charged as an adult Monday with six counts of aggravated assault and related charges after state police say they were called to an apartment complex in Uniontown to break up a street fight and she refused to surrender a knife to police. Jamayla Jones, 16,...
Harmar bridge to close for 3 months for replacement project
A Harmar bridge will shut down this month and remain closed for three months for a $1.1 million bridge replacement project. Little Deer Creek Bridge on Jacoby Road will close at 6 a.m. July 17, according to the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. The closure will be followed by...
Customers lament lack of items at Allegheny Township Kmart
What’s next for the only remaining Kmart in the Alle-Kiski Valley? Some customers shopping Tuesday at the Big Kmart in Hyde Park Shopping Center in Allegheny Township were pondering that question as they commented on changing conditions at the store. The Valley’s only other Kmart, along Tarentum Bridge Road in...
Leechburg area campaign underway to say thanks to troops, first responders
Leechburg-area children and adults are encouraged to take part in the second annual Operation Gratitude collection of letters, cards and drawings for troops and first responders from the community. The drive is underway through the end of the month. Sponsor Brittany McLaughlin said she is hoping to get at least...
Harrison man indicted for possessing child pornography
A Harrison man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of possessing child pornography last year, according to federal prosecutors. According to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady, Jack Ulrich Jr., 41, used computer graphics files to store pornographic photographs and videos of minors, some of whom...
Family still looking for clues to Penn Township woman, daughter missing since 1985
The family of a Penn Township mother who went missing with her 10-year-old daughter in 1985 hopes the recent discovery of a junior high school ring that belonged to the woman may jog some memories that could solve the mysterious 34-year-old disappearance. “It would be wonderful to have some sort...
Penn Hills School District’s state allocation only a Band-Aid, board president says
The Penn Hills School District was able to dodge a property tax hike that would have thrust the district to the top-highest tax rate in Allegheny County, but many residents know budgets last only one year. By then, Earl Jenkins said he and his wife might move down South. “We...
LCB awards nearly $765,000 in grants to reduce underage drinking
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board approved almost $765,000 in grants to 44 schools, community organizations, municipalities and law enforcement organizations, among others, to reduce underage and dangerous drinking. The grant money will cover projects like enforcement patrols and tactics, awareness campaigns, educational efforts and alternative, alcohol-free activities. “Since 1999, the...
Police investigate equipment theft at Pittsburgh maintenance facility
Pittsburgh has hired security guards and assigned employees to work evening shifts at a maintenance facility in Squirrel Hill that was burglarized several weeks ago on three separate occasions, a city official said. Department of Public Works Director Mike Gable said about $10,000 worth of equipment, including lawn mowers, weed...
Fox Chapel Area Superintendent to retire in 2020
Fox Chapel Area School District Superintendent Gene Freeman has announced his impending retirement after five years with the district. His departure is effective June 12, 2020. Freeman said it has been a great honor to lead the district and he’s proud of the path it has taken. Since he began...
Man acquitted of most charges in Irwin animal cruelty case
A man previously from Irwin was ordered to pay a fine on a summary neglect of animals count after a nonjury trial Tuesday. Antoine M. Prigg, 24, of Oxford, Chester County, was acquitted of the majority of animal cruelty and related charges against him in connection with what police described...
Pa. Senate Republicans issue letter to Lt. Gov. Fetterman over Senate floor chaos
State Senate Republicans issued a letter to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman Tuesday expressing “grave concerns” over what they described as his “dereliction of duty and defiance as the presiding officer of the Senate.” Signed by all 28 Republicans in the state Senate, the letter refers to chaos — shouting, name...
North Huntingdon doctor ruled competent to stand trial in 2 drug overdose deaths
A former North Huntingdon doctor is competent to stand trial in connection with the 2016 drug overdose deaths of two patients, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Tuesday. But the attorney for Michel Toret, 73, of Jeannette, doesn’t believe the case will go before a jury. Attorney Michael DeRiso said Toret...
Police investigating bank robbery in Downtown Pittsburgh
One man is in custody and another is being sought after the Tuesday morning robbery of a Downtown bank, Pittsburgh police said. The robbery was reported to police at 10:43 a.m. at the PNC branch in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue. A man approached a teller and passed a...
Road work project in downtown Greensburg to be completed next week
Downtown Greensburg still smells like fresh asphalt, but the paving project that has snarled city traffic is almost complete, according to PennDOT. Workers repaved Pittsburgh and Otterman streets. The two one-way roads travel east to west through the heart of downtown. They’re both state roads, maintained by PennDOT. Paving started...
Tarentum jewelers create meaningful relationships with friends, families
Seita Jewelers in Tarentum has been putting engagement rings on people’s fingers for more than 60 years. Owners Curt and Sandi Marino have plenty of stories about how their customers popped the question, from putting a ring inside a specially made hockey puck to proposing on top of a Las...
Sweetwater launches Acoustic Music Series
Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley has held its wintertime SweetJazz Music Series for nearly 20 years. The concerts frequently sell out, and Sweetwater’s community room transforms into an intimate nightclub setting for each show. The Sweetwater staff has looked to provide a summer music series offering the same...
Governor commutes life sentence of Robert Wideman in 1975 murder case
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday commuted the sentence of Robert Wideman, who was serving life in prison for his role in a 1975 murder. Wolf affirmed the Board of Pardons recommendation issued in May. Wideman, 68, of Homewood, was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Nicola Morena....
Audubon seeks volunteers to collect discarded fishing line in O’Hara, along North Shore
With more than one million birds killed each year from debris like discarded fishing line, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is seeking people to help combat those numbers. The group, headquartered at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel, is looking for stewards to maintain fishing line recycling bins....
Seton Hill names director of National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education
A new director of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education has been appointed at Greensburg’s Seton Hill University. James Paharik, who has been involved in Holocaust education on international and national levels, started Monday. He has presented several times at the International Conference on Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem,...
New Stanton man charged with assaulting woman in Bell Township
Police say a New Stanton man put his knee on a woman’s throat and held a lit cigarette to her chest during an assault in Bell Township. State police said Cody James Barron, 26, of East Street, New Stanton, also is accused of hitting a woman in the face with...
Youngwood man sent to prison for sexually assaulting 2 teen girls
A Westmoreland County judge sentenced a Youngwood man to 8-1/2 to 17 years in a state prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2016. Darell Deisean Walker, 23, was ordered to spend an additional five years on probation following the prison term. “Your conduct and the testimony …...
Pittsburgh firefighter charged in scuffle with boy at playground
A Pittsburgh firefighter is on administrative leave after police charged him in connection with a June 25 altercation with a 13-year-old boy, authorities said. Officers found Thomas Louis D’Andrea, 46, of Greenfield, holding down the boy at the playground near his residence, police said. The boy suffered a large lump...
