Western PA Local News category, Page 2916
Report: Pittsburgh area home prices rise, sales slow slightly
Pittsburgh area home prices continue to rise, according to the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report. Although lower interest rates are helping affordability, the area has seen two straight months of accelerating price increases. If the trend continues, it’s not an encouraging development for Pittsburgh-area buyers, according to the July National...
Bottle rocket competition soars at Westmoreland FairVideo
Among the bottle rocket aficionados at the Westmoreland Fair, there’s a debate about which pop bottle works best. “Pepsi works better than Coke,” said Lyndsey Androstic, announcer for Tuesday’s 4-H rocket competition at the Peoples Grandstand Arena. Others swear by Mountain Dew. Regardless, what garnered the most attention on Tuesday...
Hempfield band, community show support for Terry Ranieri, their biggest fanVideo
A special performance for a beloved member of the Hempfield community shut down a township neighborhood Tuesday. Members of the Hempfield Area marching band played outside Terry Ranieri’s Beacon Valley Road home while he sat at a front window and listened from inside. About 100 band members, flanked by at...
McCandless mulls stiffer fines for residents who can’t control barking, roaming dogs
McCandless council is poised to consider a steep hike in the fines residents could face if they fail to keep their dogs from running loose or annoying neighbors with constant barking. The town’s current animal control ordinance calls for a $25 fine for each incident in which a resident is...
Former Cleveland judge pleads guilty in ex-wife’s stabbing death
CLEVELAND — A former county judge in Cleveland pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally stabbing his ex-wife moments after she had dropped off their two daughters last November. Lance Mason, 51, told a visiting judge in a Cuyahoga County courtroom that he wanted to “take responsibility for my crimes,” adding, “There...
Lawyer for fired sports authority controller questions latest allegation
The attorney for the fired controller of the Sports and Exhibition Authority is questioning allegations of a suspicious transaction that led the authority to fire his client. The SEA announced Monday it had terminated Sharon J. Mink after an internal review found she made an unauthorized wire transfer of more...
Latrobe zoning panel turns down nonprofit’s plan for Depot Street offices
Faith Forward Ministries’ plan for moving some of its office staff to a donated house on Latrobe’s Depot Street hit a roadblock this week when the city’s zoning hearing board denied a needed variance. Eric Cosby, who moved to deny the Latrobe-based nonprofit’s request for the variance at Depot and...
Highlands School Board approves new hires, resignations
Highlands School Board has approved several personnel moves ahead of the start of the new school year. The board hired three people: • Drew Karpen has been approved as the district’s new athletic and transportation director, retroactive to July 22. His salary was set at $65,000. • Theresa Bargh was...
Scottdale woman ‘got herself involved in every single organization she could’
Vicki Clark of Mt. Pleasant can’t remember her mother ever sitting down to relax. “She would be involved in so much,” Clark said. “She would call every single person in per phone book, she quit her job to babysit our girls. She got herself involved in every single organization she...
Ex-coach who chased Chardon High School shooter seeks Ohio House seat
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An educator who chased away the teenager who fatally shot three students at an Ohio high school says he’ll campaign for a state House seat. Frank Hall tells Cleveland.com he wants to join the Legislature to advocate for school safety and rural Ohio . Hall drew national...
Lauri Ann West Community Center opening earlier
Good news for folks who like to get their early morning exercise on. Lauri Ann West Community Center is rolling back its hours so that doors open at 5:30 a.m. weekdays. New hours begin Sept. 3. “We heard the feedback, and we know that people like to come to the...
Southwest to drop Pittsburgh-to-Los Angeles nonstop flights
Southwest Airlines will eliminate nonstop flights between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles as it drops nonstop flights to many of the cities it serves. The changes are effective Jan. 6, 2020. Also in January, Southwest will add more flights to Atlanta, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Chicago Midway, Fort Myers and Tampa,...
Police: Men who ditched stolen vehicle near South Busway get away
Two men who ditched an allegedly stolen SUV eluded police for two hours before authorities called off a search for them, Pittsburgh police spokesman Chris Togneri said. Officers stopped the Chevrolet Equinox at about 7:05 a.m. near West Liberty and Pioneer avenues, according to police. The men got out of...
Trial begins for Homewood man accused in 2017 Swissvale homicide
The trial of a 21-year-old Homewood man accused in the 2017 shooting death of a Swissvale teen in a drug deal gone bad started Tuesday. Investigators allege that William Henry Smoot, 21, shot and killed Vallen Davies-Mack, on May 18, 2017, at Collingswood playground in Swissvale. Smoot and two other...
Blawnox unveils new website
Blawnox council is keeping its promise to provide better communication with residents through a newly unveiled website. The site, blawnox.com, debuted this week and is designed to be more user-friendly, officials said. Residents can pay utility bills, report concerns and view council meeting minutes. “The borough had received a grant...
Work begins to repair retaining wall on Nadine Road in Penn Hills
The work to repair Nadine Road in Penn Hills and its retaining wall will begin Aug. 20, the Allegheny County Department of Public Works said. The section of the road between Allegheny River Boulevard and Lincoln Road has been closed since July 12 following storms that overturned the wall and...
Penn Hills man charged with false arrest
Penn Hills police say a North Braddock police officer unlawfully placed two men under arrest when he thought they were scamming him and his wife. Sharon Jackson, 26, of Braddock believed he and his wife were being scammed by two life insurance agents when they showed up to their Penn...
Motivational quotes at Hempfield school to spur positive behavior
“Your attitude determines your direction.” “Be a buddy not a bully.” “Be kind.” These are just a few motivational words West Point Elementary students will see when school starts Thursday. Stuck to the walls of almost every bathroom stall in the Hempfield school, the quotes are a way to spread...
Brownsville ambulance treasurer accused of stealing $132K
A Fayette County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations that he took $136,000 from the Brownsville Ambulance Service Inc. while working as the organization’s treasurer, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. Edward T. Stevenson, 62, of Newell is accused of mail fraud and theft in...
VFW hall damaged by fire in Armstrong County
A VFW hall in Manor Township, Armstrong County, was damaged by fire early Tuesday, according to emergency dispatchers. The fire at VFW Post 4843 on Bailey Avenue was reported shortly before 4 a.m. Nobody was hurt. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within two hours. The cause of the fire and the...
Hearing to address Elizabeth Forward bus standoff
Elizabeth Forward School District officials hope a court hearing Tuesday afternoon will end the district’s standoff with its transportation provider, but it’s still uncertain whether students will be able to get on a bus when school starts Thursday. If the hearing does not go well, officials may delay the start...
Police: 6-year-old started West Oakland fire that displaced nearly 80 peopleVideo
A 6-year-old boy started a fire in the laundry room of a second-floor apartment Saturday afternoon, causing a blaze that displaced nearly 80 people from a West Oakland apartment building, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said Monday. The boy, who isn’t being identified or charged by police, told investigators he used...
John Oyler: Revisiting Gettysburg
I am currently revisiting my interest in the battle of Gettysburg because of a project in which my daughter Elizabeth is involved. Her department at the University of Pittsburgh is sponsoring a performance of ‘Gettysburg,” a “poetic expression of the ill-fated friendship between Confederate General Lewis Armistead and Union General...
Man convicted of 1994 rape, murder in Carnegie found dead in prison
A prisoner who killed a Carnegie woman 25 years ago was found dead in his cell Sunday, according to the state Department of Corrections. Prison employees at the State Correctional Institution in Greene County were making their rounds when they found Jake Wesley, 51, unresponsive in his cell around 11:30...
North Hills School District introduce compostable trays, straws, napkins
North Hills students returning to school this week will notice some environmentally friendly improvements in the cafeteria. The district has replaced all Styrofoam trays with compostable ones as part of its ongoing initiative to work toward a greener school environment. The molded fiber trays have five compartments, just like their...
