Local category, Page 3119
D. Raja concedes, Democrat Pam Iovino takes 37th state Senate seat
Democrat Pam Iovino will be the new senator for Pennsylvania’s 37th state Senate district. Republican D. Raja conceded the race at about 9:30 p.m., when unofficial vote tallies showing Iovino leading by almost 4,000 votes with more than 87% of precincts reporting. With all 214 Allegheny County precincts reporting, Iovino...
New ‘utility compatible’ trees to be planted along Hulton Road in Oakmont
The Oakmont Shade Tree Commission wants to bring back some green and other colors to Hulton Road. Duquesne Light recently removed 28 trees from the main thoroughfare so crews could replace an aerial cable. The company funded the removal and offered to contribute $150 toward replanting each tree. Borough Manager...
Tarentum considers bids for West 8th Avenue waterline replacement
Tarentum is gearing up for a major waterline project on West Eighth Avenue this year. The borough got six bids to replace the waterline along almost all of the road, borough Manager Michael Nestico said. One block was not included because of cost. Ron Gillette Inc. of Harrison submitted the...
Tarentum considering hiring summer help to resume cutting grass on private lots
Tarentum officials are considering a policy reversal and resuming cutting grass on vacant private properties. Last year, council agreed with its then-new borough manager, Michael Nestico, that the borough should not be cutting grass on vacant properties it doesn’t own. That position was a break with the borough’s long-running practice...
Wilkinsburg man gets 4 years in prison for dealing heroin, fentanyl out of Monroeville hotel
A Wilkinsburg man faces four years behind bars for conspiring to sell heroin and fentanyl after officials caught his drug-dealing crew operating out of a Monroeville hotel, federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh said Tuesday. Termane Thomass Eleam, 33, was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in October, U.S. Attorney Scott W....
Plum School District, teachers union reach tentative new deal, avoid strike
Plum School District and teachers union officials have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract. Details of the new contract may be released once both parties have formally signed off on it. Plum Borough Education Association members are expected to vote on the agreement Thursday. The school board...
Attorney: No basis for appeal for Salem woman who bludgeoned mother
The new lawyer for a Salem woman serving a life prison sentence for the 2013 bludgeoning death of her mother said in court documents filed Tuesday there is no basis for her appeal. Sarah Vercauteren, 30, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to a mandatory term of life...
Costa leads MLK legacy call to action
Senate Democrats are marking the 51st anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination with what they are calling a tribute to King’s fight for poor and working people. On Thursday, the senators say they will kick off a Call to Action on the Crisis of Poverty and Economic Insecurity with events...
Apollo woman pleads guilty to fraudulently collecting Social Security benefits
An Apollo woman admitted to defrauding the federal government of more than $25,000 in Social Security benefits by lying about her marital status, prosecutors said Tuesday. Tara Jo Frain, 33, pleaded guilty to a theft charge for pocketing Supplemental Security Income benefits that she knew she wasn’t entitled to receive,...
Carbon issues resolved with Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County drinking water
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County was cited last month for excessive levels of organic carbon in the drinking water consumed by about half of the more than 400,000 residents serviced by the utility. Both state and local officials said the violation involved a slight increase in the substances deposited...
Monroeville offering ‘Food for Fines’ as part of National Library Week
The Monroeville Public Library will celebrate National Library Week in April with prizes, raffles, books and other offerings. Library Week will be held nationally from April 7 through 13. The theme is “Libraries = Strong Communities.” Gates Foundation Co-Founder Melinda Gates will serve as the 2019 National Library Week honorary...
Trial under way for Youngwood man accused of raping teen girls
A Youngwood man was so detailed in his confession to alleged sex crimes against children he included his victim’s ages in a handwritten letter to his Westmoreland County Prison cellmate, according to evidence presented at trial Tuesday. Jared Letosky told jurors during the first day of the rape and sexual...
How friends came together to revamp River Forest Country Club
A little more than a year ago, now-retired professional golfer Missie Berteotti knew two of her friends “just had to meet.” That meeting eventually led to a revitalized 450-acre River Forest Country Club. Andi Irwin and her husband, Steve, owned half of the country club in Allegheny Township when they...
McKeesport bus driver snagged by state’s Child Predator Unit for alleged explicit messages
A McKeesport bus driver is accused of sending sexually explicit messages and photos to a Massachusetts police officer posing as a minor, leading to his arrest Monday by agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. Todd Murray, 55, faces five felony charges, including corruption of minors and unlawful contact with...
Lloyd Avenue traffic delays to return in Latrobe
Traffic delays are expected once again on Lloyd Avenue, one of the main entrances into downtown Latrobe, as crews begin preliminary work for replacing a small PennDOT bridge. Daytime lane restrictions are set to begin April 16 as contractor C. H. & D. Enterprises installs drainage along a section of...
Drs. Cyril Wecht, Sanjay Gupta examine ‘deaths of despair’ in HBO documentary
A new HBO documentary relies on Dr. Cyril Wecht, the renowned forensic pathologist, to provide medical support for the idea that stress is dramatically reducing the life expectancy of Americans. “One Nation Under Stress,” which premiered on HBO on March 25, opens with a bird’s eye view of Western Pennsylvania...
2 flu deaths reported in Allegheny County, increasing season total to 12
The Allegheny County Health Department reported two flu-related deaths, bringing the total this season to 12. Both were males in their early 80s, with one death occurring in mid-January and the other in late February, health officials said Tuesday. The county receives its data on flu-related deaths from the Pennsylvania...
Lower Burrell mayor with 2 donated lungs now sets sights on a new kidney
After surviving a double lung transplant in 2015, the mayor of Lower Burrell is looking for a new kidney. But you would never know Rich Callender, 51, needs a new kidney, as he often arrives at city hall by 9 a.m. on weekdays, ready to tackle the problems of the...
Therese Rocco film ‘The Rock’ will air on WQED
Pittsburgh public TV station WQED on April 20 will air an abridged version of the new documentary “The Rock: The Therese Rocco Story” about Pittsburgh’s first female assistant police chief. Rocco and the film’s producer, Sharon Liotus, will appear on the WQED program “Filmmakers Corner” at 10 p.m. April 13,...
Pittsburgh police searching for suspect in fender bender-turned robbery
Pittsburgh police continue to search for a man they say caused a fender bender last week in Bloomfield and then robbed the other driver. The incident happened March 25 near the intersection of Baum Boulevard and Liberty Avenue, according to the police report out of the city’s Zone 5 station....
Westmoreland activist points to military as beacon of equal pay for women
Aryanna Berringer never dreamed she’d have to go to war to find a workplace where equal work meant equal pay. But looking back, the 36-year-old businesswoman, author and social activist said that’s exactly what happened. Speaking at Tuesday at Seton Hill University’s annual Equal Pay Day Rally at Courthouse Square...
No developers answer Greensburg’s call for hotel pitches
The Greensburg Community Development Corp. asked developers for their best pitches for a downtown hotel, but the extended deadline has come and gone, with no proposals submitted. Ashley Kertes, director of the corporation, said she’s in talks with several developers interested in bringing a hotel to the city, though they...
Women make up 24% of cybersecurity workforce, new study says
The gender problem in cybersecurity just might be getting a little better. Globally, women make up just 11 percent of the workforce; 14 percent in North America, according a 2017 report by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education. Those numbers have been relatively stable since 2013. But a new...
White House correspondent Maggie Haberman to give free lecture at Chatham
New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman will speak Wednesday at Chatham University. The lecture, titled “The President and the Press: What a long, complicated relationship it’s been,” is part of the 2018-2019 Elsie Hillman Chair in Women and Politics series. Established by the Hillman Foundation in 1997, the...
Mercury spill keeps Marshall postal facility closed for over a week
The U.S. Postal Service Network Distribution Center remains closed more than a week after a mercury spill suspended retail services at the Marshall facility. The mail processing plant mainly handles packages mailed to and from Western Pennsylvania and some customers are still waiting to receive their mail. “We still don’t...
