Local category, Page 3120
New self-serve fuel pump to be installed at Rostraver Airport
Pilots at Rostraver Airport will soon have an easier time refueling now that the Westmoreland County Airport Authority has approved replacement of the self-serve pump and software. Airport authority members Tuesday awarded a contract to Purvis Brothers Inc. to install a new pump and software for $14,587, as well as...
Rosfeld trial will bring traffic restrictions to Downtown Pittsburgh streets
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said traffic will be restricted on streets around the perimeter of the Allegheny County Courthouse during the trial of former police officer Michael Rosfeld starting next week. Hissrich said restrictions will be in place only during trial sessions, which are expected to run from...
Firefighters respond to Unity airport after problem with plane’s landing gear
Firefighters responded Tuesday to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport after a small plane had trouble with its landing gear. Those aboard the multi-engine plane at 1:30 p.m. learned from air traffic controllers the aircraft’s landing gear had not fully extended, said Dwayne Pickels, spokesman for the Unity airport. The pilot flew...
Patricia Fritz announces bid for commissioner, while her former boss files to run again for Westmoreland sheriff
Embattled Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held and his former chief deputy filed campaign documents Tuesday to run for public office. Held, a Hempfield Republican, will seek a third term as the sheriff while state prosecutors prepare to retry him on public corruption charges. He is accused of forcing on-duty deputies...
Munhall man gets 1½ years for stealing packages, mail from Pittsburgh
A Munhall man was sentenced to 1½ years in prison for stealing packages and mail from apartment buildings in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside and North Oakland neighborhoods. U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said Christopher Eric Carr, 46, and co-defendant Ron Matthew Sharp, of Duquesne, went to multiple apartment buildings and stole packages...
Pittsburgh bans open containers of alcohol in Market Square on St. Patrick’s Day
For years, Pittsburgh allowed St. Patrick’s Day revelers to openly drink alcohol in Market Square. No longer. The city Tuesday announced street closures and other preparations — including the banning of open containers of alcohol in Market Square — for Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebration. Public Safety Director...
Solar farm could power Hunker Wastewater Treatment Plant
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County could soon use a solar farm to power its Hunker Wastewater Treatment Plant. The 12-acre farm would be located along Hunker-Waltz Mill Road in Hempfield, near New Stanton, and would hold about 11,000 solar panels, said David Hommrich, president of Sunrise Energy, contractor and...
DCNR officials to tour Aspinwall Riverfront Park Wednesday to discuss regional trail needs
Aspinwall Riverfront Park will be the backdrop Wednesday for a meeting of Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officials. Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and others will tour the 10-acre site that abuts the Allegheny River, while discussing how the Restore Pennsylvania proposal could help address infrastructure needs at local park...
State audits released for Hunker, Mt. Pleasant and Yukon-South Huntingdon fire relief associations
Two Westmoreland County volunteer fire department relief associations in Hunker and Mt. Pleasant received clean administrative and financial bills of health in audits released Tuesday by state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. Meanwhile, an audit of the Yukon-South Huntingdon Township fire department relief association for 2016-2017 showed it was in compliance...
Pittsburgh waiting to see if Picklesburgh is picked
The polls are closed, now the waiting begins. Will Picklesburgh be the top dill? The winner of the USA Today best specialty food festival in the country will be announced at noon on March 22. Voters had propelled Picklesburgh atop the leader board last week. Voting concluded at noon Tuesday....
Police: 23rd victim reports giving money to Derry Township constable
A new theft charge was filed last week against a Derry Township constable who now is accused of pocketing nearly $12,000 from 23 people. Brian William McDowell, 35, is accused of taking $200 from a neighbor in June and September after McDowell claimed to need money for a shooting competition...
Goodwill offers free classes to prepare for GED
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania will begin offering adult education classes at multiple locations in the Pittsburgh region. Goodwill’s classes help prepare students to take a high school equivalency test, either GED or HiSET, so they can earn their Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma. All classes incorporate reading comprehension, math, language arts,...
Youth can get on-the-job training through county, city Learn & Earn program
Applications are available for the Allegheny County and city of Pittsburgh Learn and Earn Program. Now in its fifth year, the program matches people ages 14 to 21 with a six-week summer job. It’s managed through a partnership among Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Partner4Work, the public workforce development board for...
Leon Ford ends campaign for Pittsburgh City Council seat
Leon Ford on Tuesday ended his campaign for a Pittsburgh City Council seat representing part of the East End. Ford, 26, an activist who was paralyzed after being shot by Pittsburgh police in 2012, said in an email that he decided “after several weeks of reflection” to drop out of...
Police: Man crashed into his former home after West Newton chase
An Allegheny County man led West Newton police on a 2-mile chase Monday evening that ended when he crashed into his former home, according to court papers. Malcolm Long, 23, of Elizabeth Township, is charged with fleeing from police, reckless endangerment, driving with a suspended license and summary traffic violations....
Nine jurors selected for Rosfeld trial, race issues arise
HARRISBURG — Nine jurors from Dauphin County were selected Tuesday in the first day of jury selection in the homicide case against former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld. Three men and six women were among those chosen out of the 24 interviewed by the time court recessed for the...
Reigning Miss America visiting Irwin in May
Want to meet Miss America? Now’s your chance when she heads to downtown Irwin for a meet-and-greet. Nia Franklin, who won the crown in September, will head to Wight Elephant, a local clothing boutique, May 18, according to store owner Victoria Piekut. Franklin, formerly Miss New York, will be available...
No injuries when ambulance involved in Hempfield crash
No one was hurt Monday when a Mutual Aid Ambulance Service van was involved in a crash on Route 30, according to state police. The ambulance was traveling east in Hempfield when it was rear-ended near West Newton Road at 3:14 p.m. by a Nissan Xterra. Troopers said the ambulance...
Iwo Jima veteran from South Hills to speak at Saint Vincent
One of World War II’s “Greatest Generation,” who took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima, will relate his wartime experiences in a March 18 presentation at Saint Vincent College in Unity. South Hills resident Jack Watson will discuss his military service with Todd DePastino, a Mt. Lebanon native who...
North Side man suspected of East End graffiti arrested
A man suspected of causing more than $20,000 in damage spray painting graffiti in Pittsburgh’s East End has been arrested. Trevon Kinnon, 24, of Pittsburgh’s North Side, was charged March 13 with six counts of criminal mischief and two counts of institutional vandalism, said Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri....
8 displaced after tree crashes onto Pitcairn apartment building
Eight people escaped without injury after a tree fell early Tuesday morning onto a Pitcairn apartment building. A female tenant said she was trapped temporarily in her bed when the tree fell but was able to get out without assistance, WPXI reported. The massive tree fell onto the roof just...
Reconciliation: Healing wounds of the past
As is frequently the case, a couple of recent incidents have combined to get me interested in the concept of reconciliation. The first incident was the February edition of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall’s fine “Second Saturday Civil War Lecture Series.” This presentation, entitled “The Meaning and...
Distinguished Service Cross recipient Stevon Booker ’embodied Army values’Video
Army Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker didn’t have to climb out of his tank on April 5, 2003, but his unit was under heavy fire near Baghdad and he refused to hunker down. Booker, then a 34-year-old commander of the M1A1 tank, climbed up to fire a .50-caliber machine gun mounted...
Pittsburgh native David Conrad talks about coming home for ‘Legend of Georgia McBride’Video
Of all the stage and screen actors the Pittsburgh area has produced, David Conrad is one of the most successful. He has starred on Broadway and in more than 30 movies and television series including “Wedding Crashers,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” and “Ghost Whisperer.” Conrad is back in the area appearing...
P-R Crew team gearing up for racing season
The Pine-Richland crew team looks forward to turning things around after a disappointing showing at the Erg in the ‘Burgh Indoor Rowing Championships on Feb. 23 at North Allegheny. “Our performance did not go as well as we would have hoped, although we did see a number of (personal records)...
