Local category, Page 3131
Pittsburgh ranks 8th-best U.S. city to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
It must be the luck of the Irish. Pittsburgh ranked N0. 8 out of 200 U.S. cities to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, according to a recent WalletHub.com report. That’s great news, because we moved up two spots from last year’s No. 10 ranking. The report used 17 key...
Vandergrift green lights code violation tickets
Vandergrift residents who turn a blind eye to code violations on their property are about to see the light. Council on Monday approved the so-called Quality of Life ordinance that will allow the borough to issue tickets to code violators and fine them. The fine for the first occurrence is...
Former Tarentum mayor Magnetta to be honored at Riverview Memorial Park
Former Tarentum Mayor Carl Magnetta Jr. will be honored at a memorial service in April. Magnetta, 79, died July 1. He served in public office in his hometown for 30 years, most recently as mayor from 2009 through 2017. The borough’s Recreation Board is planning the service for Saturday, April...
PennDOT monitoring large sinkhole along Route 51 in Rostraver
PennDOT crews are monitoring a large sinkhole in a gas station parking lot along Route 51 in Rostraver. The crater is on private property, said PennDOT spokeswoman Valerie Petersen. “We do know that it’s close to the road,” she said. The sinkhole has been growing over the last eight years,...
Union group to air Medicare for All video
A 23-minute video that makes the case for Medicare for everyone will be aired at 7 p.m. March 18 at the Greater Westmoreland County Labor Council meeting at Hempfield No. 2 Fire Department, Thornton Road. A panel discussion will follow the video with labor activists from the Western Pennsylvania Coalition...
Bigfoot, UFO presentation coming to Vandergrift library
Bigfoot, UFOs and other strange occurrences in the region? You betcha, according to Stan Gordon, author and paranormal investigator, who will speak for a free presentation at 11 a.m., March 30 at the Vandergrift Public Library. Although Gordon’s presentation isn’t typical library fare, it’s a “spine-tingling program” that is interesting...
North Hills Geneaologists hosting program on using software to trace ancestry
A pair of experts in the use of software programs that can help people trace their ancestry will be the guest speaker at the North Hills Genealogists’ meeting on March 19. Susan Ennis and Elissa Scalise Powell will explain the inner workings of the Reunion and RootsMagic genealogy programs and...
Tarentum fire company planning for annual fireworks display
A Tarentum fire department is making preparations for this year’s fireworks display. Summit Hose is asking the borough to contribute $1,500 toward the community fireworks scheduled for July 3. The borough has donated that amount in past years. The company also is asking for permission to use Dreshar Stadium on...
Westmoreland shelter seeking donations after cats, dogs rescued from hotel parking lot
A group of frightened cats hid in two kennels Wednesday at the Humane Society of Westmoreland County after they were rescued this week from vehicles parked outside an Allegheny County hotel. The felines looked much better than they did Tuesday, when they were taken to the Hempfield shelter by Hoffman...
Allegheny County Council to consider banning conversion therapy
A political newcomer’s challenge to a longtime Allegheny County councilman appears to have pushed the council to take up the issue of conversion therapy. Council members Tuesday introduced a ban on the controversial and widely discredited practice used to attempt to remove a person’s feelings of same-sex attraction or to...
Allegheny County launches Adopt-a-Roadway program
Roads owned by Allegheny County are now up for adoption, so to speak. The county has launched a new Adopt-a-Roadway program that will allow people and organizations to pledge to keep sections of roads clean of litter. Litter on the roads is especially visible during this gray time of year....
Amish work highlighted at Pittsburgh Home & Garden ShowVideo
Amish furniture companies are showcasing their work this week at the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show. The event gives the companies a chance to make contacts with future customers. “This is the only show we do,” Daniel Schlabach, a second generation owner of Schlabach Furniture Apple Creek, Ohio. “It is...
Bradford Woods Reserve closed 2 days for tree work
The Bradford Woods Reserve in Bradford Woods will be closed today and Thursday while crews trim and remove trees. The 5-acre conservation area off Lincoln Road is being shut down to prevent the possibility of people being injured while the work is being conducted, according to Bradford Woods borough officials....
Victim identified in fatal Indiana County crash
An Armstrong County man was killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning in Indiana County, according to investigators. Douglas Chris Craig, 55, of South Bend Township, was driving east on Route 422 in Armstrong Township just before 4 a.m. when a Ford box truck crossed the center line and hit...
Tarentum Council considering boat dock fee increase
It could cost more this year to rent boat dock space along the Allegheny River in Tarentum. Council is considering increasing the per-foot cost by $1, from $13 to $14 per foot. For a minimum of 50 feet, that would increase the cost from $650 to $700 for the boating...
North Hills hosting student performances to mark Music in Our Schools Month
The North Hills School District is celebrating Music in Our Schools Month with a series of performances by student musicians and singers during March. The month-long celebration kicked off on March 1 with a Cabaret Night featuring members of the high school choirs. An Orchestra Night was held March 5...
Poll workers needed in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County needs poll workers in several locations for the May 21 primary. Workers will be trained and make $95-$130 for the day. Polls are open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Openings are available in Allegheny Township, Avonmore, Derry Township, Hempfield, Irwin, Ligonier Township’s Wilpen area, Monessen, Murrysville, New Kensington, North Huntingdon...
Penn Hills man pleads guilty to conspiracy to sell 14 ounces of fentanyl
A Penn Hills man will spend at least a decade in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Investigators say Veryl Long, 29, conspired to distribute more than 14 ounces of the drug between October 2016 and March 2017, according to prosecutors....
Man arrested short time after allegedly robbing bank in McCandless
A Beaver County man who allegedly robbed a bank in McCandless on Tuesday morning was arrested after police spotted him fleeing in a vehicle along Interstate 79. Patrick Acierno, 34, of Freedom is in the Allegheny County Jail after failing to post a $250,000 cash bond, according to court records....
Gibsonia woman shares Lithuanian heritage through favorite family dish
Kugelis and Balandeliai/Halupki are Lithuanian heritage recipes that Donna Urbanec, a resident of Gibsonia, is so proud to share. Her grandparents, Vincas Kapucinskas and Magdelina Romanauskas Kapucinskas came to the United States through Ellis Island and insisted that their eight children all learned how to cook — especially these two...
Carnegie Boys & Girls Club presented strong message about drugs
District Judge Jack Kobistek had the roomful of youngsters at the Carnegie Boys & Girls Club riled up. Drugs ruin people’s lives, and he had the proof. “How many of you would steal $8,000 from your grandma?” he asked the kids, who displayed shocked and horrified faces. “Do you want...
Woman celebrates 106th birthday, gives valuable advice about life
At 106 years old, ManorCare-Health Services North Hills nursing home resident Emma Hughes has a zest for life. Her family threw her a birthday party March 2 at the facility in Ross. “(She) still has her right mind,” said her granddaughter, Linda Hughes, 59, of McKees Rocks. “People drop off...
Shaler Area senior places in Brain Bee
Andrew D’Agostino, a senior at Shaler Area High School, recently competed in the Pittsburgh Regional Brain Bee and brought home two trophies. D’Agostino competed in the regional competition at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Neuroscience and won second place in the individual competition, and first place in team competition...
Hampton officials seek 100 volunteers for annual clean-up day
About 100 volunteers would be ideal for Hampton’s annual litter/cleanup day, March 30. This would be quite a jump from last year’s 30-some participants, but the need is there, especially with the amount of trash they’ve collected in years past, according to Township Manager Christopher Lochner. “You would be surprised...
North Area Environmental Council kicks off annual seedling sale; orders due April 5
North Hills gardeners looking ahead to the spring planting season can get what they need to beautify their landscapes while helping out a local organization devoted to environmental awareness and stewardship. The North Area Environmental Council, which is marking its 50 year, is now taking orders for its annual seedling...
