Local category, Page 2911
Allegheny County Board of Health begins search for new director
The Allegheny County Board of Health has started the search for a new health department director. Dr. Karen Hacker, 63, will step down July 31 to become director of the Centers for Disease Control National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. She has led the county health department...
Avalon man convicted in drunken driving crash that killed McKeesport teen
A 23-year-old Avalon man who killed a McKeesport teen in a crash after drinking at a birthday party and on a party bus was found guilty on charges including homicide by vehicle while drunken driving during a non-jury trial before Allegheny County Judge Thomas Flaherty. Robert L. Darrisaw Jr., 23,...
Foxwall EMS recognized by American Heart Association
Foxwall EMS has earned recognition from the American Heart Association for its work to improve treatment of heart attack patients. The group, housed along Squaw Run Road in Fox Chapel, was given the Mission: Lifeline EMS Silver Plus Award for improving response measures, Commander Josh Worth said. Mission: Lifeline’s EMS...
Greensburg man’s alleged attempt to avoid taxi fare ends in ride to jail
A Greensburg man’s alleged attempt to stiff a taxi driver out of an $89 fare instead got him a ride to the Westmoreland County Prison on Wednesday. Keith T. Hohman, 29, was charged by city police with theft of services because a cab driver reported Hohman ran out on a...
Allegheny County Health Department to begin public health survey
The Allegheny County Health Department plans to begin surveying residents next week about public health priorities. Last conducted in 2014, the Community Health Assessment is used to help the health department identify what public health areas need more support. Access to healthcare services, chronic diseases like obesity and smoking, environmental...
Ligonier Beach site of Titanic movie filming
No, Ligonier Beach is not open. The shuttered pool, however, has been the site for the last few days of filming for an independent movie about the sinking of the Titanic and its aftermath. The familiar summertime sight of the pool full of water caught some off guard, Ligonier Township...
Brentwood’s Fourth of July celebration turns 100
It’s a day unlike any other in Brentwood Borough. The American flag is flying high on the telephone poles and more than 40,000 people line Brownsville Road — more than four times the borough’s population — to celebrate the Fourth of July. They’re decked out in their best red, white...
$1 million scratch-off ticket sold in Pittsburgh
Someone is walking around with $1 million scratch-off winner. The lottery announced that a Max-A-Million Scratch-Off ticket winner worth $1 million was sold at Z & Z Associates at 300 Sixth Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. The seller gets a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. No winner was announced,...
Raccoon in Etna tests positive for rabies
The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has confirmed that a raccoon discovered on Ganster Street in the Borough of Etna has tested positive for rabies. Rabies is a virus transmitted by an animal bite or scratch, and exposures due to a bite or scratch are almost always fatal when left...
Assault, drug cases among those recently handled by Judge Zucco in Plum – Jun. 20, 2019
District Judge Linda Zucco recently handled the following cases. Charges were filed by Plum police unless otherwise noted. Held for courtJames Jones Jr., 36, of Pittsburgh on charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief. Charges were filed Sept. 23. Ethan Duvall, 22, of New Kensington on charges...
Mother Nature soaks Greensburg pool’s reopening
Even with a return of a summer-like weather forecast for Friday, when the sun is expected and temperatures could reach into the 70s, there is no guarantee the freshly refurbished Veteran’s Memorial Pool at Greensburg’s Lynch Field will be open. “Believe me, nobody — and I mean no one —...
Lower Burrell man moving closer to priesthood after spending year at Murrysville parish
Mark Dunmire didn’t always want to be a priest, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about it. Now that he’s about to be ordained a deacon, he’s well past the point of accepting a calling that began years ago with a suggestion from his parish priest. Dunmire, 35, of...
Woodland Hills school board votes to increase taxes, furlough staff
The Woodland Hills school board voted Wednesday to accept a budget that includes a 3 percent tax increase and furloughs at least 60 staff members. The 5-3 vote increases the millage rate from 25.35 to 26.1105 mills — an increase of $65.94 per year, or about $5.50 per month, for...
Beyond the Ceiling murals unveiled in Sharpsburg
For longtime Sharpsburg resident and business owner Evelyn Shoop, it wasn’t always easy being a lady in the Pittsburgh business scene. Shoop, now 83, found it quite the task in the 1970s to open a credit card or get a loan in her own name without the signature or backing...
Indiana County man arrested, accused of sexually assaulting teenage boy
A 51-year-old Indiana man was arrested Wednesday on accusations he sexually assaulted a teenage boy he met online. Stephen Joe Czerniec Jr. was taken into custody without incident on 10 counts of sexual abuse of children, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and corruption of minors. He was arraigned before...
Fox Chapel teen biking across country for Parkinson’s awareness
Fox Chapel teen Kathryn Rockwell bikes every day, often training on Lower Valley roads, so she will be ready to pedal across America coast to coast this summer. Her trip kicked off June 27 and is dedicated to raising funds for Parkinson’s research. Rockwell’s passion for cycling will manifest in...
Celebrate summer — Go Skateboard DayVideo
Started in 2004 by the International Association of Skateboard Companies, Go Skateboard Day — June 21 — celebrates the summer solstice by encouraging skaters to make their favorite sport a top priority. Started in the late 1940s as a way for surfers to enjoy days without waves, skateboarding has more...
Recently released Fayette man accused of threatening witness in theft case
A Fayette County man released from prison last fall is in Westmoreland County prison after allegedly retaliating against a witness to his theft of landscaping equipment in 2016. Justin A. Pirl, 31, of Normalville, was charged Thursday by state police in Greensburg with retaliating against a witness and making terroristic...
Tornado confirmed in Indiana County, 4th in less than a month
Indiana County saw damage from its fourth tornado in less than a month on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Moon. A damage assessment team visited Green Township on Wednesday and determined that the EF1 tornado — capable of moderate damage — touched down at 7:55 p.m. The...
Part of McFarland Road in Dormont, Mt. Lebanon closed this weekend for repairs
A portion of McFarland Road that runs through Dormont and Mt. Lebanon will be closed this weekend while repairs are made to the roadway, PennDOT announced. The road will be closed between Beverley Road and Dell Avenue between 9 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday. The project will include concrete...
Safety program set for Conemaugh River Lake this weekend
A festival to promote outdoor safety and raise awareness about the Conemaugh River reservoir, bordering Indiana and Westmoreland counties, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Conemaugh River Lake, 1665 Auten Road, Conemaugh Township. Tours of the dam, children’s activities, safety demonstrations and a free lunch...
State to audit gun instant background check system
Pennsylvania’s auditor general is launching a review of the state’s instant background check system for firearm purchases. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is conducting the review at the request of a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, but not as the result of problems or complaints about how the system is operated....
Flood waters trap people in vehicle in Monessen
Emergency responders rescued occupants of a vehicle surrounded by flood waters around midnight Wednesday, according to dispatches from the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety. Monessen firefighters responded to Graham and Parente boulevards at 11:50 p.m. where about four people were stranded in a vehicle surrounded by flood waters. All...
Shaler Garden Club’s annual tour in full bloom
Located near a Ross shopping center, Alex and Sue Colaizzi’s property manages to feel secluded thanks to its gated entryway and curved gardens filled with Japanese maples, evergreens, hydrangeas and rare trees. The gardens surrounding their 1929 stone home are among five stops on the 12th annual Shaler Great Gardens...
Dreary June weather sinks attendance at Pittsburgh area pools
Sylvan Pool manager Nancy Tarella said the Harrison pool typically attracts more than 200 people a day during the summer swim season. But this June has been anything but typical. Lately, Sylvan’s attendance hasn’t been breaking 30 people. “This is not a good pool season so far,” she said. “June...
