Local category, Page 3142
Death penalty upheld for ‘Greensburg Six’ roommate Melvin Knight
A Westmoreland County judge has upheld the death penalty imposed against one of the six Greensburg roommates convicted in the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman. Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway ruled evidence presented in a sentencing trial last November was sufficient to support a jury finding...
Char Valley students build 100-pound robot, gear up for competition
Eclipse leaped off its stand in the center of Chartiers Valley Middle School and got to work. Placing the hatch covers on the makeshift rocket ship? Check. Picking up “cargo” — or large rubber balls — and loading them onto the “rocket?” Check again. The 100.5-pound robot — moving remotely...
‘Guys and Dolls’ coming to Pine-Richland stage
“Guys and Dolls” isn’t the easiest musical for high school students to tackle, which is why producer Kathy Morrissey said it wasn’t initially a title they were considering for this year’s show. “We always hold auditions first to see who comes out and what kind of dynamic there is with...
Shaler Area students place in Scholastic Art Awards
Shaler Area recognized high school students who recently won awards for their submissions in the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a national juried exhibition. High school art students competed against 1,700 submissions in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the Pittsburgh region. The Scholastic Art Awards recognizes students...
Hampton grads earn victory at International Builders Show competition
A pair of Hampton graduates who attended A.W. Beattie Career Center were part of a team that recently won a national competition. Hanna Gibson and Nathan Tabon, who were in A.W. Beattie’s Carpentry/Building Construction programs, competed in the 2-year College Residential Construction Management Competition at the International Builders Show in...
Redd-up season arrives: Great American Cleanup of PA begins 2019 campaign on Friday
The Great American Cleanup of PA begins on Friday, with hundreds of clubs, schools, businesses and organizations expected to soon start cleaning up communities throughout Pennsylvania — including across the Pittsburgh region. The three-month event, sponsored by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, continues through May 31. Registered events can get free trash...
Overnight snow blankets Pittsburgh region, but commuters spared headaches
Pittsburgh-area residents who woke up to a fresh blanket of snow today as they prepared for the morning commute were met with some good news. Between 2 and 5 inches of snow fell across the region between Thursday night and early Friday morning, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jason...
Claridge event to give ailing Army veterans ‘Hope’
An upcoming veteran-focused event in Claridge will serve as a fundraiser for Army veterans dealing with medical issues. The “Veteran X Celebration of Hope” on March 20 at the Bushy Run American Legion is being planned by nonprofit group Devil Dogs. Veterans, their families and the public are invited, vice...
Cops: Speed, alcohol likely contributed to fatal Fayette County crash
State police in Uniontown said speed and alcohol are believed to have been contributing factors in a single-vehicle crash late Wednesday that killed a 62-year-old Fayette County woman and seriously injured her husband in Menallen Township. Deborah K. Kaider of New Salem, who was a passenger in a 2015 Chrysler...
Greensburg diocese launches quarterly TV show and magazine
The Greensburg Catholic Diocese takes to the airwaves this weekend for the launch of a new multimedia outreach program, complete with a quarterly 30-minute Sunday morning television show. The program airs at 11:30 a.m. on WTAE-TV, Channel 4, the local station that once employed Jennifer Miele — the diocese’s chief...
Sign removed at Schreiber Industrial Park
Workers from Shurina Brothers Landscaping used cutting torches, a front loader and some old-fashioned elbow grease to remove the sign Friday afternoon at Schreiber Industrial Park. The New Kensington Redevelopment Authority bought the park last year. The aluminum giant Alcoa employed 7,000 people at the site in its heyday. Public...
Cal U honored for voter engagement with Gen Z
California University of Pennsylvania’s effort to engage Gen Z students in the electoral process is getting rave reviews. The Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project recently named Cal U among the top 10 voter-friendly universities in Pennsylvania. This marks the second time the school has won the designation, first for...
Vandergrift man gets up to 10 years in prison for raping 9-year-old boy
A Vandergrift man will serve up to 10 years in prison for raping a child. Brian Redmond, 33, pleaded guilty Friday in Westmoreland County to charges of rape and two other counts in connection with sexual assaults prosecutors said occurred in late 2016 and early 2017. Police also charged Redmond...
Allegheny County expands WIC access for new moms, pregnant women in A-K Valley
New mothers, pregnant women and guardians of children age 5 and younger soon can access free benefits such as baby formula and monthly food vouchers at a new location in Tarentum. The county Health Department announced Friday that it has partnered with Highlands Family Center on Fourth Avenue to expand...
Victim of White Oak stabbing late Thursday in critical condition
A male victim was listed in critical condition at a local trauma center after suffering stab wounds Thursday night in White Oak, according to Allegheny County police. Allegheny County 911 was notified at about 9:50 p.m. of the stabbing in the 3600 block of Sherbine Way. First responders arrived and...
Penn Hills School District is in ‘the worst financial shape’ in Pennsylvania, auditor general says
The Penn Hills School District is confronting the most severe financial crisis of the 500 districts statewide, and it’ll be nearly impossible to turn around without the Gov. Tom Wolf administration and lawmakers stepping up to bail it out, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale told a packed auditorium Thursday night....
Church or food pantry: Harmar Zoning Hearing Board to decide Feeding the Flock Ministries’ fate
Feeding the Flock Ministries will have to wait at least another few weeks to get a decision from Harmar’s zoning hearing board on whether it can move into a building along Nixon Road. The board held a hearing Thursday night that lasted two hours. The non-profit organization hopes to move...
Police investigating motorcycle-vehicle wreck along Rostraver Road
At least one person was injured in a motorcycle crash involving another vehicle along Rostraver Road on Thursday night. Westmoreland County 911 said the wreck happened just after 7 p.m. near the Kmart and Burger King at a shopping center near the Westmoreland-Fayette county line. No other details were immediately...
A therapy dog, with special needs of his own, visits kids at Leechburg Area High SchoolVideo
Don’t tell Boone he ain’t nothing but a hound dog. Boone, a 1-year-old hound mix, cruelly became a double amputee when he was a puppy. “Boone’s legs were intentionally cut off by his previous owner,” said Boone’s human “mom” Tanya Diable, of Butler Township. Boone, sporting a signature bow-tie —...
Several hundred power customers remain without electricity in wake of Sunday’s winds
About 700 West Penn Power customers remained without electricity late Thursday, four days after high winds left hundreds of thousands in the dark and cold. As of 11:40 p.m Thursday., just eight Duquesne Light customers were in a similar situation. Duquesne Light was reporting four customers were without power on...
North Allegheny gears up for musical ‘Good News’
North Allegheny is presenting the musical “Good News” on March 13, 14, 15 and 16 at 7 p.m., and March 17 at 2 p.m. The show is set in the 1920s on the campus of Tait College. It follows a star football player who is struggling in one of his...
Pittsburgh recognizes remarkable women through video seriesVideo
Pittsburgh has been home to scores of women who achieved remarkable success during their lifetime, but they remain mostly forgotten in history books, according to Gloria Forouzan. Forouzan, who serves as Mayor Bill Peduto’s office manager, said she was astounded to learn a woman was one of the city’s first...
State appeals court upholds verdict in 2017 Excela stent cases; several others still pending in court system
A state appellate court affirmed a 2017 Westmoreland County jury verdict that cleared a doctor and Excela Health of wrongdoing for implanting cardiac stents into a patient who claimed they were unnecessary. The appeal involved a lawsuit filed by a North Huntingdon man who claimed five of the seven stents...
Youngstown native remembered for passion, love for life
Helene Smith would be ready to travel at the drop of a hat. “She’d pack up, let’s go,” her husband Wayne Smith Jr. said. “I would have a tough time keeping up with her.” But her passion for traveling and meeting new people lead Mrs. Smith to write and publish...
North Park bald eagles, watchers are waiting for an egg
Do they or don’t they? The North Park bald eagles are drawing crowds of watchers noting that the birds have been spending lots of time at their nest — but not enough time to confirm an egg just yet, according to North Park rangers on Thursday. The pair built the...
