Local category, Page 3050
Theft, criminal mischief cases among recent Monroeville police investigations
Monroeville police filed the following charges April 5-10 in District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst’s office:Abdelazim Hagar, 19, of Pittsburgh with retail theft and defiant trespasser. Charges were filed April 5 in connection with an incident along the 3600 block of William Penn Highway. Joseph Grubor, 25, of Monroeville with defiant...
Drug, DUI cases among those recently handled by Judge Herbst in Monroeville
Monroeville District Court Judge Jeffrey Herbst handled these cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted. Waived preliminary hearingsPhillip Ahmad-Revis, 18, of Penn Hills on charges of possession of controlled substances and possession...
Brother Norman Hipps stepping down as Saint Vincent College president
Brother Norman Hipps plans to step down as the 17th president of Saint Vincent College in June, at the end of his ninth year in the role. Hipps, 75, was first affiliated with the Catholic liberal arts and sciences college in Unity in 1972, when he joined the faculty as...
Co-defendant in McKeesport slayings pleads guilty to third-degree murder
A McKeesport man was sentenced to 10 to 40 years in prison Wednesday in connection with the shooting deaths of two women in 2017. Miras Moortell Kelly II, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, burglary and a firearms violation,...
Texas man sentenced to time served in North Belle Vernon crash
A Texas truck driver was paroled Wednesday after he was sentenced to serve up to 23 months in jail related to a crash and house fire that damaged a North Belle Vernon home last year. Nathaniel Smyth, 27, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and causing property damage...
Tarentum man charged with child endangerment in swimming pool incident headed to court
The lawyer for a Tarentum man whose 2 1/2-year-old daughter was found unresponsive in a home swimming pool last month described the situation as a “very bad accident” and said his client did everything he could to try to help her. “I don’t see this rising to the level of...
Police: Pittsburgh man caught stealing items from unlocked cars in Buffalo Township
A Pittsburgh man suspected of rifling through unlocked cars early Monday was arrested as he drove from the scene, Buffalo Township police said Wednesday. At about 3:15 a.m. Monday, Patrolman John Gillette said spotted a figure in dark clothes going through items in a black Nissan sedan that was parked...
Jeannette woman facing murder trial pleads guilty to theft from Westmoreland Co. Housing Authority
A Jeannette woman awaiting trial in a murder case pleaded guilty Wednesday to unrelated theft charges. Crystal Belle, 39, was charged nearly four years ago with financial crimes related to checks police said she forged to steal money from the Westmoreland County Housing Authority. It was while she was free...
Surf’s up? Township wants to buy, reopen historic Ligonier Beach
Ligonier Township hopes to resurrect the iconic Ligonier Beach property. Supervisors voted unanimously this week to make an offer to buy the private pool and restaurant off Route 30 from Sherry and Steven Kozar. The Ligonier couple could not be reached for comment. The pool had operated for more than...
Lawsuits against Pittsburgh mounting following passage of gun legislation
Second Amendment advocates filed two more lawsuits contending Pittsburgh’s gun ban violates the Pennsylvania Constitution and are seeking to have Mayor Bill Peduto and six city council members held in contempt. The suits were filed Tuesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court by attorney Joshua Prince on behalf of multiple...
Report: Natural gas surpasses coal for electrical power generating capacity
Combined-cycle natural gas power plants like the one that opened in South Huntingdon in December are tipping the scales of U.S. electrical power capacity more toward natural gas and away from coal, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The EIA said that generating capacity from natural gas-fueled power plants...
‘CHOPeration’ pairs doctors, chefs to create liver-healthy cuisine
Paul Morrison, culinary consultant for Sysco Foods Pittsburgh, was all set to cook a beautiful dish at last year’s “CHOPeration” fundraiser, where doctors are paired up with local chefs in a competition style after Food Network’s popular “Chopped” series. But when Dr. Amit Tevar of the Starzl Transplantation Institute arrived...
Statewide ‘Stronger Than Hate Day’ established for Tree of Life synagogue victims
An official “Stronger Than Hate Day” was established in Pennsylvania during a joint legislative session that honored the victims of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. It’s just the third joint legislative session held in the last 78 years. The last time the two chambers of...
Brother of Penn Hills woman killed in 1973 calls cold case arrest ‘bittersweet’
Michael Pietropola was 11 when his sister Janice was killed while vacationing in Virginia Beach. Her death hit the family hard, Pietropola, now 57, told the Tribune-Review in a telephone interview Wednesday from his home in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek, Ga. “It was beyond words to describe the...
Burned-out bulb led to drug charges in North Apollo, police say
An Indiana County man accused of having drugs in a car that police said they pulled over in North Apollo because it had a burned-out license plate light is headed to trial. Jacob Shane Penrose, 31, of Clune, appeared for a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge James Andring in...
‘Bar of Thrones’ pops up in Downtown Pittsburgh
Bob Wolfinger never watched “Game of Thrones.” But that hasn’t stopped him from making the popular HBO series the theme of his latest pop-up bar at the space he owns on Forbes Avenue. After creating several holiday pop-ups at the former Pizzuvio space, including Jingle Bar, Lover Bar and Clover...
After a life of second chances WCCC student looks to help othersVideo
Emmanuel “Manny” Lebbie is all about second chances. The 23-year-old Greensburg man whose mother went missing in a civil war in the West African nation of Sierra Leone when he was a toddler has had his share of second chances. Now he says he wants to give back. Lebbie, who...
McKeesport students file civil rights lawsuit against district
High school students in the McKeesport Area School District filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday demanding the right to form a club called the Black Student Union. The lawsuit, filed by 11 students against the district with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, contends that...
Murrysville eyes nonprofit to boost recreation donations
Murrysville officials want to form a nonprofit organization to boost donations for recreational programming. “We’ve had a degree of success with Concerts in the Park,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said of the municipality’s replacement for the annual Community Day celebration. “I guess it was because of changes in the tax...
Route 119 ramp to close for repairs in New Stanton
Motorists headed south on Route 119 from Youngwood toward Uniontown will encounter a short detour beginning Monday in New Stanton. PennDOT announced it will close for repairs a ramp and exit drivers normally use to continue south on Route 119. The ramp — at the interchange with the Toll 66...
Harmar to decide on group’s application to open food pantry, worship site
Harmar’s zoning hearing board will meet Thursday to decide whether to allow Feeding the Flock Ministries to move into in a former church to open a food pantry and worship site. The nonprofit organization hopes to move into a former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses building at 490 Nixon Road....
Giant Eagle to introduce shelf-scanning robots
Giant Eagle is joining what appears to be a growing national trend: incorporating robots into the daily routine of its grocery stores. Going by the name Tally, the black, white and blue robot will roll up and down aisles alongside customers, counting inventory, detecting products that are running low or...
IUP honors philanthropy of Latrobe couple
A Latrobe couple who pledged $7 million to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and helped steer its ongoing fund raising campaign has received IUP’s inaugural Award of Excellence in Volunteer Leadership. Tim and Deb Phillips Cejka, of Latrobe and Houston, Texas, were honored for their generosity and work advancing IUP’s $75...
Quaker Valley baseball goes for fifth straight win to begin season
The Quaker Valley baseball team hopes to stay undefeated in Section 2-4A and overall when it hosts section foe Blackhawk on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. at Esmark Field at Bouchard Family Park. The Quakers are 4-0 overall and 1-0 section play. QV has outscored its opponents 30-6 and toppled 5A...
Baldwin Street residents offered unique solution to flooding issues
While solutions to the flooding problem in Bridgeville Borough are still being devised, one option for some residents has been put on the table: Get out. Borough Council authorized an application to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Program. The application is for residents of Baldwin Street....
