Local category, Page 2964
Syrian refugee charged with plotting to bomb Pittsburgh church
Federal investigators arrested a Syrian refugee living in Pittsburgh on charges of plotting to bomb a church in the city’s North Side next month to support the terrorist group ISIS, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, who resided in a Northview Heights housing complex and...
Greater Latrobe OKs 1-mill tax hike, $57M budget
Greater Latrobe School District property owners will pay an additional 1 mill of taxes to help support a 2019-20 district budget of $57 million. The board this week adopted a final version of the spending plan by a 7-1 vote, with Merle Musick absent. Board member Michael O’Barto cast the...
Oakmont looks to control vacation rentals in town
Oakmont officials want to adopt some new regulations so borough property owners think twice before turning their homes into hotels. Council approved advertising a short-term rental ordinance June 17 and could vote on it next month. According to the proposed ordinance, a property being rented out must be the permanent...
River Road in Gilpin Township re-opened after landslides closed it
River Road reopened Wednesday after landslides had closed the road Tuesday, according to PennDOT. The road was open before 2:30 p.m., a PennDOT spokeswoman said. The road had been closed at the Leechburg and Parks Township borders, from the the intersection of Main Street in Leechburg and to Airport Road...
Fatal Penn Hills pedestrian accident victim not ID’d, no relatives found
The identity of a man who died after being hit by a car in Penn Hills last week has not be released because authorities can’t find any relatives to notify. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 66-year-old Penn Hills resident was struck and killed while crossing Saltsburg Road...
Beaver County man confessed to robbing 4 Western Pa. banks of more than $26K
A Beaver County man confessed to robbing four banks across Western Pennsylvania of more than $26,000, federal prosecutors said. Patrick Acierno, 34, of Freedom pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery. The banks were robbed between September 2018 and March of this year, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said....
Assault, drug cases among those recently handled in Judge DeLuca’s Penn Hills court – Jun. 18, 2019
Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca handled the following cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Charges were filed by Penn Hills police unless otherwise noted. Held for courtEdward Palmer, 23, of McKees Rocks on charges of terrorristic threats, unlawful dissemination of...
Murrysville Medic One will demonstrate dive team skills at swim club
The Murrysville Medic One dive team has searched for missing people, evidence and even for severed fingers. They’ve searched ponds, creeks and quarries. But they’ve never searched a swimming pool. Searching is just one of the things Medic One divers will demonstrate June 28 at the Murrysville Swim Club in...
Driver of rig that struck Westmoreland County Transit bus on Route 22 cited
A tractor-trailer driver who allegedly caused a crash Thursday at the intersection of Routes 22 and 819 in Salem, sending six people to area hospitals, was issued three traffic citations by state police at Kiski — including one accusing him of running a red light. Ibrahim Mulder, 49, of Lyndhurst,...
County Council selects Pittsburgh attorney Paul Zavarella to fill District 8 seat
Allegheny County Council voted 11-1 Tuesday to select Pittsburgh attorney Paul Zavarella to fill the vacant District 8 seat. “I thank county council for showing confidence in me,” Zavarella said by phone Wednesday, adding that he’s looking forward to working with council and other county officials. Councilman DeWitt Walton, of...
3 killed in Fayette County crash
A man, a woman and a 4-year-old child were killed Tuesday afternoon when their pickup truck collided with a tri-axle truck along Route 21 in Fayette County, state police said. Officials weren’t able yet to identify the victims, but Fayette County Coroner Phillip Reilly indicated they were related, including an...
Highmark-insured seniors who use UPMC could get another chance to switch plans
Highmark-insured seniors and people with disabilities who use UPMC hospitals and doctors may get another chance to decide which insurance plan they want to have for the remainder of 2019. U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar informed U.S. Sen. Bob Casey by phone that the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services...
Greensburg woman serving life sentence claims she can’t leave prison for appeal hearing
Westmoreland County prosecutors argue a former Greensburg woman serving a life prison sentence for her role in the murder of a former boyfriend in 2006 should appear in person for her upcoming appeal hearing. Jennifer Vinsek, 37, contends she should receive a new trial based on allegations that her former...
Lawyer: Latrobe vet with PTSD wants to withdraw attempted murder plea for attack on wife, others
A Latrobe man told a Westmoreland County judge Tuesday he wants to withdraw a guilty plea to charges he attempted to kill three women in 2017. Scott A. Matuszky, 47, said he received bad legal advice from his former lawyer when he pleaded guilty last year to attempted murder, aggravated...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling could favor doctors in defamation suit against Excela Health
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a lawyer for Excela Health waived attorney-client privilege when he turned over a confidential document to a private media relations firm hired to oversee publicity related to allegations that patients were subjected to unnecessary cardiac procedures. Attorneys for doctors George Bousamra and Ehab...
Clairton Coke Works fire renews residents’ concerns over air quality
Some Mon Valley residents are once again wondering if their air is safe to breathe after another fire this week at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. “It’s really scary actually, because it’s summertime, and we like to be outside,” Clairton resident Tonya Carroll, 29, said Tuesday. Carroll, who has two...
Alle-Kiski SWAT team on hold to comply with recent state Supreme Court ruling
Police officials say a recent state Supreme Court ruling that postponed the finalization of a multi-municipal SWAT team in the Alle-Kiski Valley by several months is probably a good thing. The court ruled May 31 that municipalities must enact ordinances under the state’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Act to allow police to...
Owners begin to pull classic cars from Etna warehouse destroyed by fire
The 1954 Ford Crestline convertible was like a member of the family to Dick Fischerkeller. The Shaler man watched Tuesday as the car, now speckled with ash, was driven onto a flatbed tow truck and hauled away from the STORExpress location in Etna, nearly six weeks after a massive May...
Bond denied for man accused in Vandergrift shooting
A Leechburg man was arraigned Monday on charges that he shot a woman in the face before shooting himself in the head at a Vandergrift residence in May. Police said Roy Edward Berry Jr., 49, was in a bedroom with a woman on May 5 when he fired a shot...
Franklin Regional approves 2019-20 budget, hikes taxes 2.2 mills
The Franklin Regional school board approved a 2019-20 budget Monday night that raises property taxes by 2.2 mills. The proposed final budget of $59.7 million is about $1.45 million more than the 2018-19 budget. Most of that increase is the district’s contribution to teacher pensions, or the PSERS system, which...
Real ID seminar to be hosted at Hempfield Area High School
Have questions about getting a Real ID? State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, is hosting a July 8 seminar along with PennDOT officials to discuss where people need to go to get an ID and what documents are required. PennDot officials will give three 20-minute presentations throughout the day starting at...
Cops: Woman ran up $17K in online purchases on ex-husband’s tab
The ex-wife of an 80-year-old Derry Township man was arrested Tuesday for using a credit line and bank accounts to defraud him of $17,464 since August, state police allege. Theresa L. Kinney, 48, of White Township, Indiana County, was arrested by state police at Kiski on charges of theft, access...
Gamers can make global connections at Sharpsburg camp
Get your game on, teens in the Lower Valley. For one week, July 8-12, youngsters can enroll in a free hands-on summer camp to learn the ins and outs of gaming design. Presented by the Pittsburgh International Game Developers Association and Global Game Jam Next, field experts will deliver tips...
Work on $60M Rivers Casino hotel to begin soon on North Shore
High rollers and others visiting Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore will soon not have to leave to rest between bets. The $60 million Landing Hotel Pittsburgh will be attached to the casino and will face the Carnegie Science Center on the east facade of the casino, Rivers announced Tuesday....
Photo Gallery: Sharpsburg fundraiser
Sharpsburg resident Sarah Moran, along with friends and family, hosted a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on June 16 at the Sharpsburg Family Worship Center on Clay Street. Moran and her three children lost everything in a house fire at their home on Cecil Street on April 30, 2019. The fire was...
