Local category, Page 2938
Fort Necessity to celebrate anniversary of the battle
Were it not for a French officer showing civility toward his vanquished foe — in which honor and head were left intact — George Washington’s scalp might well have hung from a native American’s lodgepole 265 years ago today near a circular wooden fort built out of necessity in a...
New Kensington’s fire chief still named Saliba
The name of Ed Saliba will remain at the top of the New Kensington Fire Department’s chain of command. On Monday, Edward C. Saliba, the son of the city’s longtime fire Chief J. Edward Saliba, was appointed unanimously by council to succeed his father as the city’s fire chief. The...
Decades old gas lamps in Oakmont to be converted to LED lights
Gas lamps along Allegheny River Boulevard in Oakmont may be going out as a borough committee seeks state funding for replacements. Oakmont Boulevard Project members have been working on converting the lamps across from the businesses along the cobblestone road into LED lights for years. Some were converted in 2015...
Gov. Tom Wolf signs law that protects regional DUI checkpoints
Small police departments across Pennsylvania are celebrating freshly inked legislation that protects their right to collaborate with other agencies to run DUI checkpoints, weeks after a state Supreme Court decision put such enforcement efforts in jeopardy. Gov. Tom Wolf signed House Bill 1614 into law Tuesday afternoon. “It will save...
Family of flesh-eating bacteria victim urges caution in the water
Former Charleroi resident Carolyn “Lynn” Fleming liked to read, play word games and take trips to the beach. Unfortunately, a June 14 visit to Coquina Beach near Bradenton, Fla., with family members visiting from Pennsylvania, proved fatal when she stumbled, fell in the water and suffered a cut on her...
Route 28 to be reduced to one lane early Wednesday morning
Route 28 will be reduced to a single lane in Springdale and Harmar townships early Wednesday morning. Crews will be conducting demolition work on the Hite Road Bridge, near exit 12, causing single-lane restrictions in both directions. The southbound lanes will be restricted to one lane from 3 a.m. to...
Vandergrift will have to wait until next year for paving money
Vandergrift got some bad news from the Westmoreland County planning department last month. The borough was turned down in its bid to acquire funds to pave 12 streets this summer. Instead, Vandergrift will have to reapply for funding through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program next year. The...
Dept. of Health issues cease and desist order to medical marijuana grower
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has ordered a Greene County medical marijuana grower/processor to discontinue most of its operations after a surprise inspection found numerous violations. The state told AGRiMED Industries of Carmichaels to cease and desist harvesting, cutting or destroying marijuana plants without a department inspector present. During the...
Congressional stamp of approval expected to boost 1,300-mile long Sept. 11th National Memorial Trail
The likely passage of U.S. Senate and House bills are expected to boost continued development of the 1,300-mile-long September 11th National Memorial Trail connecting all three plane crash memorial sites in Shanksville, Pa., New York City and Arlington, Va. The September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance, along with others, has...
Pittsburgh police charge ‘Chomp’ alligator owner with neglect, animal cruelty
Pittsburgh police on Tuesday charged a Beechview man, who admitted he owned a five-foot alligator who escaped from his home, with 33 counts of neglect. As police probed the case surrounding the rogue reptile named Chomp, they learned that Mark A. McGowan, 44, who lives on Rutherford Avenue, kept reptiles...
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...
