Western PA Local News category, Page 310
Future of PSNK property uncertain after college closes in 2027
Area leaders hope the future of the soon-to-be-shuttered Penn State New Kensington campus in Upper Burrell is one that will benefit the community’s long-term needs. “I think it’s important that we continue to engage the community that lives there, and how and what they’d like to see,” said state Rep....
Living with lupus and the mystery of the disease
Kyleigh MacGregor plans her life five years at a time. MacGregor has lupus, an incurable disease in which her immune system attacks her body’s organs and tissue. It’s been a year since MacGregor, 31, stepped away from her altruistic work in the community. Through EMS and firefighting, her main goal...
Experts say Penn State’s campus closures the harsh reality
Decades ago, the good times rolled at Penn State. In the 1990s, the state’s flagship was one of the most popular institutions nationwide, claiming to receive more SAT scores from high-school seniors than any other college, according to reports at the time. Pennsylvania was expecting its college-going population to swell,...
Westmoreland WWII airmen remembered 80 years after perishing in Tokyo POW prison fire
Two Westmoreland County airmen who survived the loss of their B-29 bombers during separate World War II missions over Japan were among POWs who perished 80 years ago when the military prison where they were being held was destroyed during an American firebombing raid on Tokyo. The stories and sacrifices...
Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg honor ‘the very, very best of our community’ with banners
Cindy Anderson can only imagine what it was like for her mother to watch three of her sons leave at the same time to serve in the military during World War II. “The three oldest all went off to war at the same time,” said Anderson, of Greensburg, “which is...
Neighbors describe helping elderly woman shot in Unity domestic, standoff incident
A 59-year-old man accused of shooting his 80-year-old mother surrendered after an hours-long standoff with authorities Saturday in Unity. State police charged David Andrew Rebar Jr. with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, according to court records. The woman, who was shot in an arm, was being...
Western Pa. slated for good weather, heavy travel Memorial Day weekend
As Western Pennsylvania residents choose how to spend Memorial Day, the weather is shaping up for an ideal three-day weekend outdoors, according to the National Weather Service. Little chance of rain and steadily escalating temperatures are in the forecast, said Timothy Cermak, a meteorologist for the weather service’s Pittsburgh office...
Barry Manilow says a fond farewell to Pittsburgh
It takes a true showman like Barry Manilow to say goodbye in style. The soft-rock singer and songwriter has sent more than 50 songs into the Adult Alternative Top 40 since the mid-1970s — and amassed an impressive number of “Fanilows” in the process. Even if Manilow’s tunes aren’t your...
Westmoreland happenings: Strawberry festivals, Memorial Day observances, vacation Bible school, more
Bus Trip • Westmoreland Garden Council will sponsor a one-day bus trip June 18 to the Stan Hywet Hall in Akron, Ohio. The trip will include a guided tour of the Corbin Conservatory, the 65-room Tudor revival manor house and various gardens. Lunch will be at Cracker Barrel on the...
Route 130 slide repair will trigger detour in Penn Township
A portion of Route 130 will be closed to traffic beginning Tuesday as crews conduct landslide repairs in Penn Township, just west of Jeannette. The closure will be in effect between 14th Street and Burrell Hill Road and is expected to continue through late August. A detour will be in...
Brackenridge mayor, an independent, seeking re-election; may be challenged by write-in
Brackenridge was without a mayoral candidate on the primary ballot, but that doesn’t mean the current mayor wouldn’t like to keep her job. Incumbent Lindsay Fraser announced on primary election day that she is running for a second, four-year term. A registered independent, Fraser was not able to be on...
The Stroller, May 24, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Leechburg celebration to include...
Allegheny County launches 1st-of-a-kind free audio tours at Hartwood Acres sculpture garden
Visitors to Hartwood Acres can pop in their headphones to hear highlights of Pittsburgh’s industrial legacy while taking in the park’s impressive sculpture garden. It’s part of a mission to provide more people access to world-class art. Allegheny County on Thursday launched a new initiative to offer free, self-guided audio...
Judge to decide future of Ligonier pavilion
Ligonier Borough neighbors are asking a Westmoreland County judge to enforce a zoning board ruling and rescind permits that allowed owners of a boutique hotel to build and host events in an adjoining designer pavilion. A land use appeal filed this week challenged a legal claim made by owners of...
Norwin High School sends off the Class of 2025 at commencement ceremony
Norwin High School seniors graduated Friday, one of the first in the area this year. There were 411 students in the Norwin Class of 2025. Other upcoming graduation ceremonies include: Friday, May 29 — Greater Latrobe, Belle Vernon Area; May 30 — Derry Area, Hempfield Area, Jeannette City, Mt. Pleasant...
McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority lauded for lifesaving work at open house
A former McCandless resident attended an open house of the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority on May 18 to publicly thank its crews for helping to save his life last year. The MFPAA invited the public to its headquarters along Grubbs Road in McCandless to tour the station, showcase its equipment...
Mentally ill Greensburg mother to serve prison sentence for daughter’s attempted murder
A Greensburg woman told a Westmoreland County judge she believed her best option to protect herself and her then-6-year-old daughter from an imagined serial killer with whom she believed she had been romantically involved was to end their lives in her own way. Skye C. Naggy, 32, on Friday insisted...
Judge rejects defense call to dismiss death penalty case in New Kensington son’s slaying
A Westmoreland County judge on Friday rejected claims from a Brackenridge father facing a potential death penalty that prosecutors are biased and have insufficient evidence to prove he killed his 9-year-old son three years ago in New Kensington. Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio in a 19-page ruling found there was...
Buffalo Township mother isn’t sure whose pet’s ashes were added to her daughter’s
Kadyn Jack and her dog Blue were inseparable. Where the girl went, like a furry shadow the mini Australian shepherd followed. Her mother, Kristi Jack, 52, said Kadyn would find any way to include Blue — named by 10-year-old Kadyn after her favorite color — in her day. Sometimes she’d...
Hempfield plans work to improve safety along Route 66
Improved safety measures are coming for two sections of Business Route 66 in Hempfield, as well as a park in the north end of the township. Supervisors on Wednesday awarded a contract to Penn Line Service, Inc. for $125,000. Hempfield received $140,000 in funding from PennDOT’s Automated Red Light Enforcement...
MAWC details uninterrupted service amid storm power outages
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday the agency continued to serve its more than 123,000 customers even as late April’s violent storms shut off power to hundreds of thousands of residents. “Nobody noticed we kept the water flowing,” said authority business manager Brian Hohman as administrators briefed authority...
Penn State closing vote draws harsh reactions
Over the past two years, Darcy Holtzman worked with her fellow teachers at Burrell High School to provide more hands-on, real-world career experience for her students. Part of that included visits to the Penn State New Kensington campus in Upper Burrell. “Penn State New Kensington has been a huge help...
What’s a lame-duck mayor to do? Gainey has 7 months to cement his legacy
Lame-duck Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey faces a stark choice in his remaining seven months in office: Ramp up efforts to push his passion projects across the finish line — or while away the final days of his single term. On Tuesday, Gainey lost the Democratic primary to Corey O’Connor, virtually...
Emails from Trump shooter show he was designing a bomb, report says
Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate now-President Donald Trump in July, was in the process of designing a bomb, according to documents obtained by CBS News. Crooks, 20, ordered more than two gallons of nitromethane from an online specialty fuel retailer using an encrypted email account. When the purchase...
Trump announces ‘planned partnership’ between U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel
President Donald Trump on Friday announced an agreement between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, which both steelmakers have confirmed. “I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will REMAIN in America and keep its headquarters in the great city of Pittsburgh,” the president wrote on...
