Local category, Page 3001
Cause of fire that destroys vacant house in Plum under investigation
An Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating a fire that destroyed a vacant house Friday night in Plum. No injuries were reported. The blaze started shortly before 9 p.m. in the 800 block of Unity-Center Road. Smoke could be seen from blocks away. Unity Volunteer Fire Dept. Fire Chief Glenn...
Nobody hurt in Vandergrift kitchen fire
Nobody was hurt in a kitchen fire in Vandergrift Friday night, according to Westmoreland County 911. The fire on the 500 block of Longfellow Street was reported around 10:15 p.m., dispatchers said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. Details about how the fire started and how much damage it did to...
Murder charges dropped in Swissvale shooting of father, 7-year-old
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has withdrawn homicide and conspiracy charges against three men who had been accused of killing a father and his young son in a shootout in Swissvale in December 2017. The charges were withdrawn because of the death of a key witness, James Backus, according...
Police dog, GPS trackers help FBI nab trio accused in Harrisburg-Pittsburgh heroin ring
A police dog, cellphone location data and GPS tracking devices covertly planted on vehicles helped authorities apprehend two men and one woman from Western Pennsylvania accused of trafficking large amounts of heroin and cocaine from Harrisburg into Pittsburgh, court records show. Harvey Hicks, 48, of Penn Hills faces drug, conspiracy...
Mineo’s Pizza to open a third location in the North Hills
There is a third slice to this Mineo’s pie. The Squirrel Hill pizza staple for more than six decades, which also has had a location in Mt. Lebanon for 25 years, will celebrate a trifecta — opening on Wildwood Road in Hampton. The expected time frame is by the end...
Roaring Run Rumble brings mountain biking to Apollo this weekend
The Roaring Run Rumble is coming back to Apollo this weekend, with activities for biking pros and novices alike. “The theme is to get people out on bicycles, get them trying bicycles,” said Ashley Reefer, event organizer and owner of Greensburg’s Flat Tire Co. bike shop. The annual rumble is...
Burrell High School Prom
Burrell High School had its prom Friday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights from the grand march....
Former McKeesport nurse charged with taking explicit photos of elderly patients
A former nurse at McKeesport’s Kane Hospital allegedly took photos of elderly patients — and one toddler patient — often when they were naked and in need of medical care, according to Allegheny County police. Ashley Ann Smith, 30, faces nearly three dozen charges, including invasion of privacy, neglect of...
Mount Pleasant Senior High School Prom
Mount Pleasant Senior High School had its prom Friday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights from the grand march....
Tourism generates about $10B for southwestern Pennsylvania economy
Tourists taking in the numerous sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania — from the Laurel Highlands to Pittsburgh’s three rivers — added about $10 billion to the economy two years ago. Tourists’ spending added nearly $8.2 billion to the economy in Allegheny and surrounding counties in 2017, while tourism dollars added about...
Pittsburgh tax preparer pleads guilty to filing $1.5 million in false returns
A Clairton man pleaded guilty in Pittsburgh federal court to aiding or assisting in the preparation of filing false federal tax returns. Quincy K. Denson of Clairton pleaded guilty to two counts before U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer. In connection with the guilty plea, Denson, while a tax preparer...
Duquesne Light grant will help restore historic Pittsburgh park
A grant from Duquesne Light Co. will help fund the next phase of restoration of a historic park in Pittsburgh’s North Side. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy announced Friday that Duquesne Light’s donation of nearly $500,000 would be used along with a state grant would pay for restoration of the park’s...
Pittsburgh appeals arbitration ruling that reinstated police officer who was fired
Pittsburgh has appealed an arbitrator’s ruling that reinstated a police officer who was terminated after an alleged road rage incident in 2017. Officer Robert Kramer was charged with pointing a gun at another motorist while off duty on May 3, 2017. An Allegheny County jury last year acquitted him of...
Bridgeville man sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for child porn
A Bridgeville man was sentenced Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh to spend two years in prison for having child pornography. Senior U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on John Edward Desalome, 31. According to prosecutors, in November 2016, Desalome was found to have 43 videos in...
Lyme Disease Awareness Month brings warnings and tips to stave off ticks
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. As ticks are known carriers of Lyme disease, tick bites can be debilitating with symptoms including fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, joint pain and, possibly, a bullseye rash. If you are outdoors in southwestern Pennsylvania, taking the following precautions can prevent tick bites and...
Pa. senior centers get grants to improve buildings, programs
Several Westmoreland and Allegheny County senior centers are receiving grant money that will help modernize buildings and expand programs. As part of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, almost $2 million in grants was given to almost 50 senior centers across the state. In Westmoreland County, the New Kensington Center for...
E-ZPass penalty charges irk Pennsylvania Turnpike drivers
Patty Wolfe was browsing Facebook when she saw a friend’s warning: Check your E-ZPass statement for higher-than-usual toll fees for trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Wolfe heeded the advice. “The very first statement I looked at showed me getting on at Irwin, for $10, and me getting off in Monroeville,”...
Murrysville’s massive voting precincts to be split after court grants petition
When the 2020 election rolls around, more than 7,000 Murrysville residents won’t have to wait nearly as long to cast ballots. A county judge on Friday signed off on a petition brought by Murrysville’s two major political committees, which seeks to break up two massively oversized voting precincts. Lines at...
Greensburg Police allege woman bilked 14 customers in firearms sale scheme
Greensburg Police accused an Allegheny County woman this week of bilking $15,235 from 14 customers in an online firearms sale scheme. Jennefer Bittner, 24, of Monroeville, was charged by city police with 14 counts each of theft, theft by deception and receiving stolen property before District Judge Chris Flanigan. Det....
Week-long ‘Camp Invention’ returns for 5th year at Gateway High School
Gateway High School will offer a week-long program in July through the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and is seeking students entering kindergarten through sixth grade to sign up. The program, Camp Invention, is in its fifth year at Gateway and this year will focus on creating solutions to real-world...
At least 1 injured in Penn Hills crash
Penn Hills police say at least one person was injured in a three-car crash on Saltsburg Road at Alcoma Boulevard just after 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2019. A black Jeep and a grey Nissan sustained heavy front damage with airbag deployment. A white sedan went off the road...
Project Day caps school days for Greensburg Salem seniorsVideo
As the school year was wrapping up last spring, teachers at Greensburg Salem Senior High School distributed more than 200 three ring binders — one to each member of the outgoing junior class. The students would have the summer to consider the senior projects that they are required to document...
Proposed bill would waive Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls for police, first responders
Robert Stafford, captain of the Greensburg Police Department, admits scratching his head last year after a bill crossed his desk from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission requesting a toll payment for a city patrol car that entered the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass during a pursuit. “They sent a a picture of...
Allegheny County Health Department to join lawsuit against U.S. Steel
The Allegheny County Health Department announced its intention to join a federal lawsuit brought by environmental groups against U.S. Steel. “Joining this action will ensure the strongest case possible is brought against U.S. Steel,” a health department statement said. “After reviewing the initial filing, our legal counsel determined that collaborating...
Consumer alert lifted but some problems continue at Crafton Family Dollar
The Family Dollar on Chartiers Avenue in Crafton is still working on a pest control problem, even though the Allegheny County Health Department lifted a consumer alert against the store April 29. The most recent alert was issued April 18 following complaints about rodent droppings and pests in the store....
