Local category, Page 3132
3 Western Pa. state prison employees accused in drug smuggling cases
Three prison staff members, including a guard at SCI Somerset, are charged in unrelated drug smuggling cases, the state Department of Corrections said Wednesday. “When we closed off the mail as a major avenue for drugs getting into prisons, we knew there would be pressure on other avenues for contraband...
PWSA waives hearing on 161 criminal charges over replacing lead lines
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority waived a preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges that it violated Pennsylvania’s Safe Drinking Water Act during a lead line replacement program in 2016 and 2017. PWSA faces 161 criminal counts and fines ranging from $201,250 to $2 million. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office...
How Ash Wednesday ashes are made
Editor’s note: This story originally published in 2019, but the process of making ashes remains the same. The ashes smudged on people’s foreheads to mark the Christian holy day Ash Wednesday were made from the blessed palm fronds distributed at last year’s Palm Sunday services, which mark the beginning of...
Bellevue police searching for man, 56, missing since Feb. 1
Police are searching for a Bellevue man who has been missing for over a month. Wendell Caldwell, 56, was going to visit a friend on Pittsburgh’s North Side on Feb. 1, but never arrived, according to the Bellevue Police Department. The last communication his friend had with him was when...
Men need to step up to thwart violence against women, coalition says
“It’s none of my business.” “But he seems like a nice guy.” “Well, what was she wearing?” Those statements — referencing all-too-common reactions to reports of sexual abuse — are splashed across posters distributed around Western Pennsylvania alongside two words in large, bold lettering: “NO MORE.” Beneath the words appear...
Fox Chapel Area School Board considering new courses including coding, music production
Computer coding, music production and recreational fitness courses are in store for Fox Chapel Area students this fall. School board members approved five course changes during the regular meeting March 11 at the high school. They include: • A high school pilot course, Introduction to Sport and Exercise Science, for...
Amid code crackdown, Export officials remind residents of disposal options
Export residents, as part of their hauling contract with Republic Services, are able to dispose of household hazardous waste, borough officials reminded residents on Tuesday night. “For something like an old television, you call, let them know what you want to put out, and they’ll tell you when to take...
Irwin tables proposed amusement tax
Irwin Borough officials this week decided to delay any decision on starting an amusement tax. Options for the proposed tax, which has stirred controversy, include a levy of 5 percent or a flat 50 cents on the price of tickets sold at entertainment venues in the borough, such as The...
Woman hospitalized after crash in Pittsburgh’s West End
A woman was transported to a Pittsburgh area hospital in stable condition after crash in the city’s West End Tuesday. Department of Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said officers responded to a report of a vehicle crash around 5:36 p.m. near the intersection of South Main Street and Noblestown Road....
14 cats, 2 dogs found crammed into vehicles outside O’Hara hotel; 1 cat dies
At least one cat died and 15 other cats and dogs are being cared for by a Westmoreland County shelter after authorities discovered all 16 animals locked inside two vehicles in an O’Hara Township parking lot, Trib news partner WPXI-TV reports. A hotel employee alerted authorities Monday night after overhearing...
As Lent begins, Valos Chocolates gears up for busiest time of the yearVideo
They never give up chocolate here. Especially during Lent, which, beyond its religious aspects, is the run up to Easter, the busiest holiday of the year for Valos Chocolates in Arnold, according to owner and chief chocolatier John Mandak. At the company’s factory on Fifth Avenue, gallons of molten chocolate...
New Vandergrift resident running for council
A new Vandergrift resident plans to run for borough council in the upcoming primary on May 21. Steve Jurovic, 81, a Democrat and retired structural designer, has lived in the borough for about a year and a half. Jurovic, who has never held public office before, said he has some...
Second elderly Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to cocaine trafficking
An elderly Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to trafficking in cocaine and money laundering for more than 20 years. Richard Stuart Wright, 76, entered the guilty plea to three counts before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak. He will be allowed to remain at home...
Pittsburgh police say woman was drunk, combative when trying to pick up kids from YMCA
A Pittsburgh woman walked into the Hill District YMCA on Monday with a Smirnoff Ice in her hand, requesting to pick up her children, who had been taken home on a bus, according to charges filed against the woman. Staff members at the Centre Avenue facility told police that Anastasia...
QV’s Huang seeded third in 200 IM at states
Members of the Quaker Valley-Sewickley Academy combined boys and girls swimming and diving teams are seeded for the PIAA Class AA championships March 13-14 at Bucknell University. Freshman Isabel Huang, the WPIAL champion in the girls 200-yard individual medley, is the third seed in the event at states. She also...
North Park ice rink ends skating season early amid mechanical problems
The winter season has ended early at North Park’s ice rink. Allegheny County officials announced Tuesday that they shut down the outdoor ice rink for the remainder of the year because of mechanical problems with the cooling system. All public skating and open-stick sessions have been canceled at the rink...
Greensburg Community Development Corp. extends deadline for hotel proposals
The Greensburg Community Development Corp. is giving developers another month to make their pitch for a downtown hotel. The group issued a request for proposals last month in the hopes of attracting hotel development. The original deadline for proposals was March 1. “We had a few interested developers who say...
Democrat announces candidacy for Westmoreland County Register of Wills
Susan Vosefski, a Democrat from Unity, is seeking her party’s nomination for Westmoreland County Register of Wills in the May primary election. Vosefski, 58, works as an office and estate administration coordinator at Williams Law Office in Greensburg. The register of wills office oversees marriage licenses, estate records and orphans...
Live Bear cam debuts in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Game Commission flipped the switch Monday on a new live web cam in a bear den under a porch in Monroe County. In the den are a sow and an undetermined number of cubs. The agency can’t confirm how many cubs are in the den as the cam...
Officials from Westmoreland County townships to hold annual convention
Representatives from Westmoreland County’s 18 second-class townships will gather March 8 for their annual convention. The meeting, held at Stratigos Banquet Centre in North Huntingdon, will feature question-and-answer sessions with local state lawmakers and township solicitors as well as information from vendors, according to Donegal Township Supervisor Thomas Stull Jr.,...
Congregations in Tree of Life massacre grateful for ‘outpouring of support’
The three Jewish congregations targeted in the Oct. 27 Tree of Life synagogue massacre were thankful for the more than $6.3 million donated. “The generous outpouring of support through donations by people in Pittsburgh and from around the world demonstrates that love will triumph. We, along with our two partner congregations,...
Police arrest 3 in Greensburg man’s overdose death, search continues for fourth suspectVideo
Greensburg police Tuesday arrested three Westmoreland County residents and were looking for fourth person who they allege supplied a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a city man Jan. 14. Andrew C. Hohn, 33, of the Fort Allen area of Hempfield, and Hollie A. Schreiber, 39, of Beaver Road,...
Prosecution, defense spar over police reports in Michael Rosfeld case
Common Pleas Judge Alexander Bicket chastised prosecutors in the homicide case against Michael Rosfeld on Tuesday for the length of time it took them to hand over certain evidence to defense attorneys. The hearing came one week before jury selection is scheduled to begin in Dauphin County. Rosfeld is charged...
Hempfield doctor enters no contest plea in overdose death case
A Hempfield doctor could be ordered to serve up to 40 years in prison when sentenced this year for prescribing drugs to a patient who died from an overdose in 2015. Dr. Edgar Peske, 80, this week entered a no contest plea to a charge of drug delivery resulting in...
Pittsburgh offering free parking, shuttles to South Side on St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day revelers don’t have to worry about parking and transportation to bars and restaurants on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The city is offering free parking at a lot on Second Avenue in Downtown and free continuous-loop shuttle service to Carson Street, said Councilman Bruce Kraus, who represents the neighborhood....
