Local category, Page 3193
Prosecutors want John Kunco’s attorneys to turn over evidence in rape retrial
Westmoreland County prosecutors want defense lawyers for a former Harrison man accused of a brutal rape in New Kensington nearly three decades ago to turn over evidence that could be used during a retrial. Assistant District Attorneys Barbara Jollie and James Hopson filed court documents Wednesday seeking reports and mental...
Former cop facing drug charges in connection to death of teen girl
A former narcotics detective has been arrested for allegedly bringing drugs into a Beechview home where a 15-year-old died of an overdose. Stamp bags from the bedroom of the 15-year-old allegedly matched stamp bags found in the room of Daniel Bondi, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Wednesday. The girl died...
North Hills playing host to spring Community Pep Rally on March 11
The North Hills School District is holding a spring Community Pep Rally at 7 p.m. on March 11 in the annex gym at the middle school. Members of the spring varsity track, lacrosse, softball, baseball, boys’ tennis and boys’ volleyball teams will be introduced. Everybody who attends the free event...
Hempfield officials find $125,000 union settlement agreement not done in public eye
A $125,000 settlement agreement made between Hempfield officials and a union in 2017 was not done in the public eye, a township review found. The agreement was put under review in January when Supervisor Rob Ritson called for a state audit. The deal was executed without a corresponding vote or...
Underground Railroad topic of next Ross Historical Society program
The Ross Historical Society will feature a program about the Underground Railroad at its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. on March 15. The program about the mid-19th century network of secret routes and safe houses in the United States used by slaves escaping to free states will be lead by...
Auditor General: Wilkinsburg schools have hope ‘for first time in generation’
The Wilkinsburg School District is finally heading in the right direction, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced Wednesday. “We now have some hope in the Wilkinsburg School District, I think for the first time in probably a generation,” DePasquale said, unveiling the results of a recent audit, which covers July...
Walmart to allow more time for greeters with disabilities to adjust to new demands
Walmart’s decision to change the job requirements for its greeters has caused a national controversy as some believe it targets people with disabilities. But some disabled worker advocates say they haven’t seen any issues locally yet. Lisa Razza, spokeswoman with ACHIEVA, which works with people with disabilities in Allegheny and...
Generators protect Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County from disruptions during power outages
Water continued to flow to the more than 120,000 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers, even as thousands of residents continued to deal with power outages caused by recent wind storms. Authority officials said Wednesday the water system is relying on generators at nine pump stations where power has been...
Pittsburgh poised to spend nearly $1M on water safety training, new rescue boat
Pittsburgh is poised to spend nearly $1 million on a new River Rescue boat and water safety training for firefighters, paramedics and police officers who staff River Rescue crafts and the city fire boat. City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary approval for a three-year, $360,000 contract with Lexington, Ky.-based National...
U.S. Attorney will not charge Pittsburgh police officers in Kopy’s brawl
The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Wednesday announced it will not file charges against the undercover Pittsburgh police officers involved in a brawl with members of the Pagans motorcycle club at a South Side bar last year. The FBI was investigating whether there were any civil rights violations by the officers....
Larry Richert to host KDKA history program at McCandless museum
The McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Center will play host to a program featuring TV personality Larry Richert at 6 p.m. on March 13. Richert’s program will focus on the history of KDKA-TV, which is one of the nation’s pioneering commercial television stations. Richert is a native of the North Hills and...
Penn Hills residents warned to avoid contaminating recyclables
Penn Hills’ contracted waste service company is cracking down on contaminated recyclables. Republic Services sent a letter to the municipality saying it will be paying close attention to what residents are putting in their bins. “Residents may have service delayed or not occur if unacceptable levels of contamination are inside...
Loyalhanna Watershed Association farm preserved by state agriculture board
Bluebirds and foxes can call a Ligonier Township farm home for good now that the 120-acre tract has been preserved by the state. “It’s a huge thing for us and for, I think, our neighbors to know that” the farm was safeguarded, said Susan Huba, director of the Loyalhanna Watershed...
Shiras Street in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood to close for 5 days
Pittsburgh will close Shiras Avenue in Beechview for about five days starting Monday during a repair project, the Mayor’s Office announced Wednesday. The street running from Candace Street to Palm Beach Avenue will be closed while a Department of Public Works crew builds a retaining wall along the street. The...
Bridgeville driver license center temporarily closed
The driver license and photo center in Bridgeville is temporarily closed while state transportation officials relocate the office for a Friday opening. The PennDOT announced the closure Wednesday. The Department of Motor Vehicle site at the Chartiers Valley Shopping Center at 1025 Washington Pike, Route 50, in Bridgeville closed Tuesday...
Police say DNA, debit card, receipt all point to Penn Hills man charged with fatal 2017 crash
A Penn Hills man has been charged with causing the death of a woman driver in a 2017 head-on crash in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood. Pittsburgh police charged Taariq Tyler, 22, with homicide by vehicle, reckless endangerment and other related charges on Feb. 22, after determining his rental pick-up truck...
Nearly 4,000 PWSA customers remain under boil water advisory
About 3,800 Pittsburgh households remained under a boil water advisory Wednesday, a day after a contractor broke a water line while working on Shaler Street in Duquesne Heights. Nearly 1,000 of those households had no water service. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority issued an advisory for residents of Crafton...
New chronic wasting disease cases prompt steps to prevent spread of deer infections
New cases of chronic wasting disease among deer in three Pennsylvania counties have prompted state officials to take action against the spread of new infections. The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the state Department of Agriculture will contact landowners in Clearfield, Jefferson and Franklin counties about “targeted removals” of deer within...
‘Paint with a Purpose’ in Murrysville to provide art scholarships for the developmentally disabled
Gabi Nastuck, director of Miss Gabi’s Art is Good Studio in Latrobe, will mark a year of working with East Suburban Citizen Advocacy in April, and it has been one of the most rewarding years of her artistic career. Nastuck, 40, of Latrobe will host an all-inclusive art class, “Painting...
Elizabeth Street in Dravosburg to close Monday for landslide repairs
A road in Dravosburg will close Monday and remain closed until mid-May to build a retaining wall after a 2018 landslide, the Allegheny County Department of Public Works said. Elizabeth Street will also be paved as part of the $506,133 project. Traffic will be detoured using Elizabeth Road, Maple Avenue,...
Ex-Istanbul Sofra owner accused of sexual assault is a predator, prosecutors argue
Prosecutors on Wednesday laid out their sexual assault case against former restaurant owner Adnan Pehlivan, calling him a restaurateur by day and sexual predator by night, while defense counsel set out to prove the case is a hook-up gone wrong. The jury of eight men and four women heard opening...
Penn Hills Library moves two chess players to final tournament
Two children from the area will proceed to the final round of an Allegheny County chess tournament after their wins at the Penn Hills Library Feb. 23. Adam Alaali, 10, of Penn Hills and Brayden Wong, 6, of Upper St. Clair won in the library’s senior and junior division, respectively....
Sharpsburg’s Ketchup City offering bike maintenance class
Spring weather is just around the corner and Ketchup City Creative in Sharpsburg is helping people get ready with a hands-on bicycle maintenance class for all skill levels. The session will cover flat tires and clean chains – topics all bikers should be familiar with, owner Nanci Goldberg said. “We...
Zoey the sea lion dies after battling cancer at Pittsburgh Zoo
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium officials are mourning the death of one of their sea lions. Officials announced Wednesday that a 24-year-old sea lion named Zoey died from cancer after being diagnosed last year. “Zoey was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma in 2018 and was the first sea lion...
Community College of Beaver County names Roger Davis as president
Community College of Beaver County named Roger W. Davis as its ninth president. Davis had been interim president since May 2018, when Christopher Reber left the Center Township-based community college for a similar post in New Jersey. Davis also served as an executive vice president and provost of CCBC, a...
