Local category, Page 3004
Route 28 reopens, flood watch remains
Route 28 in Pittsburgh reopened early Thursday morning after it was closed due to flooding, according to Allegheny County 911. Most of Western Pennsylvania remains under a flash flood watch until 11 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Much of Beaver County is under a flood warning. Showers...
Jeannette woman accused in boyfriend’s 2016 death wlll stand trial in October
The murder trial of a Jeannette woman accused in the bludgeoning death of her 19-year-old boyfriend will be held in October. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani this week ordered jury selection for Crystal Belle’s first-degree murder trial to be held Oct. 2 with the trial to start...
Joe Bullick, longtime curator of North Hills historical memorabilia, dies
Long-time North Hills historian Joe Bullick, whose eclectic collection of local history artifacts and American memorabilia is housed in the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Center in McCandless, has died, town officials announced. Bullick of Pine Township passed away May 25. He was 87, officials announced on the town’s website. Bullick began...
New Florence Borough planning for sesquicentennial celebration
The New Florence Borough Sesquicentennial Committee will hold an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in the New Florence Borough Building, 146 7th St. The borough in northeastern Westmoreland County is getting ready to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a one-day event on Aug. 17. The borough building is located...
Freeport man pulled unharmed from collapsed basementVideo
A basement window became an avenue of escape for a Freeport man Tuesday night. Just before 11 p.m., heavy rain sent water flowing down a steep hill behind Stewart Street. At one house, it was just too much. Suddenly, a concrete patio and basement steps came crashing down. Officials said...
Springdale getting more than $500K for traffic light upgrades
Springdale received more than $500,000 in grant money from PennDOT to make more upgrades to its traffic signals. The money will be used to upgrade the traffic signals at Pittsburgh and School streets and at Pittsburgh and James streets. Improvements will include new signal supports, LED lights, pedestrian accommodations and...
Port Authority proposes high-tech fare system
The Port Authority of Allegheny County is poised to offer a mobile ticketing application that would allow riders to pay fares through smart phones. Under the system, customers could purchase a ticket or pass using a credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through their phone and then immediately use...
Hempfield takes first step in creating 1 fire department
Hempfield officials are taking initial steps toward implementing a single reporting number for 12 fire stations — a move that could help improve results in an upcoming review. Supervisors this week voted unanimously to move forward with an application that would make the stations fall under one department in the...
Pittsburgh set to disburse $10M for affordable housing
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a plan for distributing $10 million in 2019 from an affordable housing fund. The Urban Redevelopment Authority, which administers the fund, has recommended that the money be divided into six programs this year, including rental assistance, subsidies to help with a...
Motorcyclist uses flannel shirt to save bald eagle on Chester County highway
A Lancaster man used his flannel shirt to rescue an injured bald eagle that had plopped down in the middle of a Route 30 bypass, stopping traffic, in Downingtown, Chester County, on Saturday, according to media reports. Dandon Miller was on his motorcycle when he encountered the traffic jam and...
Group gets OK to operate church, not food pantry, in Harmar
A church and nonprofit organization can move into a former Jehovah’s Witness hall in Harmar, but it can’t operate a food pantry there. Feeding the Flock on May 20 was granted an occupancy permit for the building. The group consists of a nonprofit organization, Feeding the Flock Ministries, and a...
West Newton family thanks Westmoreland dispatcher for emergency ‘delivery’
Russ Mitchell said Wednesday that he was not looking forward to listening to 18 minutes of the “most stressful time in my life” delivering his 6-pound, 2-ounce daughter on April 27 along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Penn Township. Mitchell, of West Newton, said he was eager to meet the Westmoreland...
Self-driving education grant runs into opposition at Pittsburgh City Council
Pittsburgh City Council will likely authorize acceptance of a $410,000 grant aimed at educating residents on the use of autonomous vehicles in the city, but members plan to provide amendments for how that should be done. Council in a preliminary vote Wednesday agreed to accept the money disbursed over three...
Walk-ins welcome at O’Hara blood drive
A community blood drive will happen Thursday in O’Hara. Walk-ins are welcome at the event, from noon to 6 p.m., at Lauri Ann West Community Center, 1220 Powers Run Road. According to Vitalant, patients every day in the U.S. need about 36,000 units of red blood cells, 7,000 units of...
Going outside comfort zone wins Chartiers Valley actor Gene Kelly honor
Samuel Kagle is sure his performance of “I Could Be That Guy” during Chartiers Valley’s spring musical “Sister Act” helped him stand out. Portraying Eddie Souther, Kagle switched to a deep, almost Barry White-like voice mid-song and quick changed into a white disco suit then into a policeman uniform, all...
Pittsburgh art to be showcased in London
Pittsburgh artists are being showcased across the pond. “Pittsburgh Art on the Bank” opens Sunday and runs through June 9 in London’s South Bank neighborhood. The exhibition will include tapestry pieces, digital installations, visual poems on acrylic, canvas oil paintings and archived photography from a dozen Pittsburgh artists. The exhibit...
2 Westmoreland municipalities awarded funding to improve intersections
Hempfield and Sewickley townships are receiving funds as part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s Automated Red Light Enforcement funding, money that will go toward 50 safety projects across the state. The $15.4 million project impacts 38 municipalities across the state, aimed at improving safety at intersections by upgrading traffic signals and...
Police: Philly man fleeing arrest in assault case kills pedestrian
Police say a man fleeing arrest in a sexual assault case struck and killed a female pedestrian in Philadelphia. Police say 36-year-old Raheem Geathers was spotted in a vehicle on a north Philadelphia street at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Police say he recognized an approaching police sergeant and drove onto...
Greensburg Navy vet helps sweep for mines in the Pacific Ocean
Marc Hoffman of Greensburg wanted travel and see the world, so he joined the Navy. These days, he helps patrol a 124-million-square-mile area stretching from the International Date Line to the India/Pakistan border, and from the Kuril Islands near Japan and Russia all the way to the Antarctic in the...
Services to begin at church in former Penn Hills YMCA building
A Monroeville church that bought the former YMCA building in Penn Hills will begin services June 1 and 2. The Rev. Lance Lecocq, a pastor at Monroeville Assembly of God, said the church closed on the property at 11817 Frankstown Road in February for $1.1 million, including many assets the...
Part of Jacks Run Road in Ross closing in June for 10-month bridge project
A section of Jacks Run Road in Ross Township is tentatively scheduled to close in June for a bridge replacement project that is expected to take until April to complete. The project is to replace the small bridge on Jacks Run near Balsam Street. Jacks Run Road will be closed...
Ghostly garb gets Penn Hills a Best Costume Design award for ‘Addams Family’
Penn Hills High School’s 2019 musical has won a Gene Kelly award for Best Costume Design. The honor was announced during the 29th annual Gene Kelly Awards ceremony in Downtown Pittsburgh on May 25, where the students performed an excerpt from “The Addams Family” in front of a crowd of...
Picnic, pie bake-off planned for award-winning author’s signing at McCandless book shop
Award winning writer Jerry Spinelli will be reading and signing his latest book “My Fourth of July” during a picnic-style event from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at Riverstone Books in McCandless. Spinelli is a Newbery Medal winner whose books include “Maniac Magee,” “Wringer” and “Stargirl.” The June 2 event...
Pittsburgh’s Becca Droz continues ‘Amazing Race’ in Switzerland
After flying on the world’s longest zip line in Dubai and winning first place in one of two episodes of CBS’s “Amazing Race” last week, Pittsburgh native Becca Droz again will be featured on the prime time adventure reality show tonight at 8 p.m. The excitement continues with Droz and...
Agan Park reopens after yearlong closure
Agan Park has reopened after being closed for the past year over concerns about the safety of a gravel road leading to the park. Agan Park is in Springdale Township, but responsibility for the facility switches each year between Springdale and Cheswick boroughs. The park was given to the local...
