Local category, Page 3024
Upper Burrell awaits judge’s OK on redrawn voting districts
Westmoreland County elections officials Tuesday approved a redistricting plan for Upper Burrell that is expected to shorten lines at the polls. The proposal calls for moving the line that separates the town’s two voting precincts several blocks in the Seventh Street and Pleasant Valley Road areas, elections bureau director Beth...
Brewery owners seek ‘clarity and parity’ at beer tax hearing
At a public hearing examining a new beer tax in Pennsylvania, Adam Harris of the Brewers of Pennsylvania made it clear what brewery owners want. “We want clarity. Because of different rules, there is confusion,” Harris said. “I’ve been going around the state talking to our brewers, and they’re very...
Oakmont apartment struck by lightning, no injuries reported
Dave Kalatschoff was shocked when lightning struck his Oakmont apartment on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. “I saw this big white flash, and it felt like someone shook you really, really hard,” he said standing outside the three-story building near the intersection of Eighth Street and Washington Avenue. “I didn’t get...
PennDOT schedules road maintenance in Westmoreland County
PennDOT officials on Tuesday said numerous maintenance projectshave been scheduled for Westmoreland County this week. Crack or joint sealing will take on Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell, Bushy Run Road in Penn Township and Belle Vernon Monessen Road in Rostraver Township. Shoulder repairs will take place on Baker School Road...
Oblock Junior High’s annual Reach Out Club Easter egg hunt packed with participants, eggs
Oblock Junior High’s third annual Reach Out Club Easter egg hunt broke a record for participants and eggs. More than 500 people participated and 6,500 eggs were used in the hunt inside and outside the school at 440 Presque Isle Drive. Children from infants to age 14 were separated into...
Mt. Pleasant Twp. teen races to marry sweetheart after rare cancer returns
The way Brady Hunker figures it, he doesn’t have any time to lose. On Thursday, he asked his high school sweetheart, Mollie Landman, 18, of West Newton to marry him. She said — yes. Although they’re as happy as any newly engaged couple could be, they face an uncertain future....
Latrobe woman sentenced up to five years in prison on drug-related crimes
A Latrobe woman was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to five years in prison on two drug-related crimes. Fallon Handlin, 34, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs last September in Latrobe. According to court records, Handlin was pulled over for a traffic stop when police suspected she...
Feds: Dormont man remanded to prison for blogging hate speech
A Dormont man, who has over the past 15 years been acquitted of murder, praised a convicted cop-killer, left anti-Semitic fliers on cars and twice violated the terms of his federal parole, could again have that parole revoked as he is accused of blogging calls for violence against the Jewish...
Dalai Lama’s personal doctor visits Pittsburgh, teaches mindfulnessVideo
Dr. Barry Kerzin had two questions growing up in California that propelled him to become a family medical doctor, Buddhist monk and personal physician for the 14th Dalai Lama. He hasn’t quite yet answered the first — “Who am I?” — but he’s pretty sure of the second. “To me,...
Westmoreland approves multiple polling location changes for primary
Westmoreland County Elections Board members on Tuesday approved changes to some polling locations for the May 21 primary. Officials moved several polls back into the proper voting districts, allowed for expanded parking and handicapped accessibility and in some instances approved changes in response to requests from landlords who no longer...
Westmoreland County Transit Authority launches mobile ticketing ability
Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus riders can now pay fares via smart phones. Authority officials announced Tuesday a mobile ticketing app has been launched to expand the agency’s ability to accept cashless fares. The app, WestMore Tix, can be downloaded through Google Play or the Apple App Store. Passengers who...
Belle Vernon School District seeks judge’s OK to sell former WCCC building to church
The Belle Vernon Area school officials want permission from a Westmoreland County judge to sell the former community college building in Rostraver to the Monongahela Valley C&M Alliance Church. Attorney Victor Kustra notified the court this week in a petition that Howard Hanna, the school district’s real estate agent, has...
Kiski Area students get real lessons from a real cop
The mood was sober during Allegheny Township police Officer Charity Butz’s presentation Tuesday on the dangers and penalties for driving under the influence for a freshman health class at Kiski Area High School. But the students perked up considerably when they wore goggles that simulate being drunk or under the...
North Huntingdon, Penn Township police to collect unwanted meds
Residents can get rid of old or unwanted prescription drugs at collection points set up Saturday by the North Huntingdon and Penn Township police departments as part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. North Huntingdon police will have a collection bin at the police station at the Town...
West Mifflin police seek help finding 2 missing teen girls
West Mifflin police are asking for the public’s help finding two missing teen girls. Someone last had contact with Brianna Shumard, 17, on Feb. 24, police said. She is described as having dark or multi-colored hair, and weighing 130 pounds. Bailey Reagan, 15, was last seen between 2 a.m. and...
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald opposes bid to add state oversight to airport board
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald expressed concern Tuesday that a proposal to expand the county’s airport authority to add members appointed by state officials could hamper progress at Pittsburgh International Airport. Fitzgerald said even having a proposal like the one offered by state House Speaker Mike Turzai is hurting efforts...
Police say Homestead man shot in Kittanning over drug debt
A 40-year-old Homestead man was shot in the hand in Kittanning on Friday over a drug debt, state police said. Police said the incident happened in an apartment along the 100 block of South Jefferson Street at about 9:45 a.m. Willie Lunsford, 33, of Mount Union; Eric McKenzie, 32, of...
Armstrong County man charged with raping mentally disabled teen
An Armstrong County man already required to register as a sex offender is accused of raping a mentally disabled teenage girl last year, according to state police. Dwayne Edward Hawk, 52, of Manor Township also is charged with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and three related charges. He was...
St. Paul Meals on Wheels offers Mother’s Day incentive
St. Paul’s Meals on Wheels will offer new members a free meal on Mother’s Day – May 12 – when they purchase a week’s worth of meals for $25. The group delivers to about 50 elderly residents of Pitcairn, Wall, Wilmerding, Trafford, Level Green and parts of Monroeville. About 700,000...
Deer Lakes High School hosts prom for senior citizens
If you’re over 55 years old and looking for an excuse to dress up and have some fun then you’re in luck. The Deer Lakes High School National Honor Society is putting on a Senior Citizen Prom Night in May as a way to provide a night of entertainment for...
Pittsburgh publicity video gets a seat in Times SquareVideo
Pittsburgh is inviting the world to have a seat in the Steel City. That’s the message in the latest marketing campaign launched on Tuesday by VisitPittsburgh, Allegheny County’s official tourist promotion agency. VisitPittsburgh parlayed Western Pennsylvanians’ quirk for using chairs placed curbside to save a parking space into a video...
Harrison commissioners OK removing roads from projects
Harrison may not be able to repair all the roads it planned to this year. The township sought bids to resurface 18 roads and to seal and coat nine alleys and lanes. The two contracts came in at $481,500, nearly $80,000 more than the township budgeted, according to township Engineer...
McKeesport school officials say they did not block Black Student UnionVideo
McKeesport Area School District officials on Tuesday refuted claims in a civil rights lawsuit that they are trying to thwart formation of a Black Student Union. Superintendent Mark Holtzman, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with the district, told reporters that the American Civil Liberties Union...
McCandless OKs Sheetz move; judge quashes 1 of 2 lawsuits filed by residents
A judge has quashed one of two lawsuits filed by residents opposed Sheetz’s plan to build a new gas station across the street from its current location on Perry Highway. But a second court action could delay the start of work even though the company can obtain a building permit...
Pennsylvania is tops in craft beer production, brewers group says
Pennsylvania is ranked No. 1 in the country in one craft beer category — production. The state’s 354 breweries produced more than 3.7 million barrels of craft beer last year, more than in any other state in the nation, according to statistics compiled by the Colorado-based Brewers Association, a national...
