Local category, Page 3081
Graeter’s Ice Cream to open in Castle Shannon
A new craft ice cream shop is coming to Castle Shannon. The family-owned Graeter’s Ice Cream is opening a store April 5 on Mt. Lebanon Boulevard, according to a news release. Graeter’s has been around since 1870. The store offers a variety of flavors, sundaes, milk shakes, old-fashioned sodas and...
Game Commission hopes plastic bag in nest won’t harm Hays bald eagles
The male Pittsburgh Hays bald eagle brought an unusual, and potentially dangerous, object to the family aerie earlier this week: a black plastic bag. An official with the Pennsylvania Game Commission said Friday she hopes the plastic bag won’t wrap around an adult’s leg or one of the two young...
Salem man sent to prison for high-speed police chase while under the influence
A Salem man will serve up to six years in prison after he was sentenced Friday for being under the influence of controlled substances when he led police on a 20-mile, high-speed chase last year that started in Greensburg and ended with a crash in Loyalhanna. David Negich Sr., 52,...
Hempfield Area High School students to compete in BotsIQ finals
Together with their robot, 25 Hempfield Area High School students are preparing for their final battles at the BotsIQ Finals Competition, which features student-made robots battling for the top spot. “Take NASCAR, boxing and MMA and put it together,” said Hempfield’s teacher advisor Craig Siniawski. “These kids have a small,...
IUP student honored with Biden Courage Award for stopping sexual assault
Adrianna Branin says she has never seen herself as a hero; others do. Last week, former Vice President Joe Biden honored the petite coed with the Biden Courage Award for intervening to stop a sexual assault outside of an off campus party at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Branin, a 20...
Trump derails cuts to Special Olympics funding as Westmoreland County branch to mark 50th anniversary
Milton Claney remembers standing in the University of Pittsburgh’s stadium in 1968 when a boy ran past holding his bronze medal yelling, “I won! I won! I won!” At that moment, he realized what Special Olympics was all about. “I can’t say in 35 years I saw one Special Olympics...
Monroeville man linked to massage parlor human trafficking, prostitution case gets lower bond
A Monroeville man accused of helping run a human trafficking and prostitution ring out of five massage parlors in Monroeville and Murrysville returned to court Friday asking a judge to lower his $100,000 bond. Chang Yu Chen, 51, of Monroeville, who was described by the state Attorney General’s Office and...
Rivers Casino announces April events, promotions
Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore has announced special events for April, including an appearance by the music band Blues Traveler on Saturday, April 27. Tickets are $25 and parking is free. The show will take place in the casino’s new event space, which was unveiled in February. The second-floor...
Heinz History Center to digitize old Kennywood photos, videos
Thousands of images, a dozen videos and hundreds of pages documenting the history of Kennywood Park will now be digitized at the Heinz History Center. The photos and videos were once housed on the third floor of a haunted house. The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the history...
Ex-Franklin Regional student working on plea deal in connection with cyber attack
The lawyer for a former Franklin Regional High School student charged with initiating cyber attacks that disrupted school and government computer systems throughout Westmoreland County in 2016 said in court Friday that plea bargain negotiations are progressing. Michaela Gabriella King, 21, of Murrysville, is awaiting trial on felony charges of...
Humane agents: 2 dogs left in 27-degree temperature in Derry Township
Two Avonmore people are accused of animal cruelty in connection with two dogs found in a “deplorable” recreational vehicle parked in Derry Township during below-freezing temperatures, according to court papers. David Gailbreath, 39, and Lori Gailbreath, no age available, are both charged with animal cruelty and neglect. Humane agents from...
Penn Law professor Amy Wax among Saint Vincent conference participants
University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax will be among the speakers at a Saint Vincent College conference on “Science, Human Nature and Public Policy” April 5-6. The 2019 Culture and Public Policy Conference, sponsored by the college’s Center for Political and Economic Thought, will focus on themes of human...
Pitt Dance Marathon to benefit Children’s Hospital
They’ll be dancing for a reason for 12 hours Saturday at the Pitt Dance Marathon. The event, held annually by University of Pittsburgh students, benefits UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. It begins at noon Saturday in the Charles L. Cost Center on Pitt’s campus in Oakland. This year’s theme is...
Franklin Park residents can get yard debris chipped for free
Franklin Park residents who have been stockpiling brush and tree trimmings from their yards can have the debris chipped for free on Monday. Public works crews will be making the rounds through the borough on April 1 with a chipping machine to cut up and remove the brush. Residents should...
Alle-Kiski Valley natives stunned to see Valley Daily News in French museum
It was the last thing Jim West and his wife, Kathy, expected to see when they stopped at the Museum of the Surrender while on vacation in Reims, France. Upon entering the museum, the first exhibit they saw included a framed front page of an Extra Edition of the May...
Dismissal begins at Norwin Schools after temporary lockdown
Norwin School District began dismissing students about 3:30 p.m. Friday after an hour-long delay due to an ongoing police investigation. Tim Kotch, assistant superintendent of secondary education with the school district, said that North Huntingdon Police requested the delay due to an ongoing, active criminal investigation. However, parents were notified...
Police arrest man suspected in East Liberty bank
Pittsburgh police arrested a man they suspect of robbing the Key Bank branch in East Liberty, police spokeswoman Alicia George said. Police went to the bank in the 200 block of North Highland Avenue for a report of a man demanding money at about 9:15 a.m., George said. She said...
Teachers growing impatient in New Kensington-Arnold 573 days after contract expired
A 40-day gap in contract negotiations between New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers’ union seems to have increased frustration for both sides. The negotiating teams from the school board and the New Kensington-Arnold Education Association last met Feb. 28, and the next session is not scheduled until April 11....
Munhall man found dead in Pittsburgh after being sought for kidnapping ex-girlfriend, burning her Irwin house
A Munhall man has been found dead in Pittsburgh of an apparent suicide after police spent Thursday and Friday searching for him in connection with a kidnapping in Butler County and a fire in Westmoreland County, emergency dispatch officials reported. John Thomas O’Leary, 52, was being sought for starting a...
Parkway North HOV lanes closing until mid-June starting Tuesday
Starting early Tuesday morning, the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes along the Parkway North will close for repairs that will take until the middle of June to complete, according to PennDOT. The HOV lanes are scheduled to close at 3 a.m. on April 2 for work that includes concrete patching, paving,...
Train vs. dump truck crash reported in Beaver County, no injuries reported
No injuries were reported when a tractor-trailer truck was struck by a train Friday at a crossing on Route 68 in Industry, Beaver County. The mishap occurred shortly before noon. Beaver police Chief Dan Madgar, whose department patrols Industry, said the trailer-trailer driver was crossing the tracks when the railroad...
Veteran Mt. Pleasant District Judge Roger Eckels retires
The Pennsylvania Crime Codes manual, vehicle law handbook, all of the legal newsletter updates, criminal and civil complaints had been cleared Friday morning from atop the desk of longtime Mt. Pleasant District Judge Roger Eckels. Hanging in front of the desk was a banner reading “Happy Retirement.” An unopened bottle...
Entire school system in a West Virginia county closes for flu outbreak
NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. — All of the schools in a West Virginia county are being closed because of a flu outbreak. A state Education Department spokesperson forwarded a voicemail from the Hancock County school superintendent confirming the Friday closures. In the voicemail, Superintendent Timothy Woodward says all schools in the...
Photo Gallery: Big Jag Little Cub Club at Thomas Jefferson High School
Thomas Jefferson High School students and their second-grade pen pals attended a Big Jag Little Cub Club meet-and-greet at the high school Friday, March 29, 2019. The high school students and district second-graders have been exchanging letters all school year, and the event offered them the opportunity to finally meet....
Port Authority bus operators to show off skills in ‘Roadeo’
Plenty of skill is required to drive a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus, keeping passengers on schedule while negotiating tight turns and traffic. Now nearly 20 Port Authority bus and light rail drivers will showcase the skills they use daily in an upcoming competition. The contests known as “Roadeo”...
