Western PA Local News category, Page 3219
Jury begins deliberating in case of 2016 Thanksgiving crash that killed family
Jurors must decide whether the man charged with causing the 2016 Thanksgiving crash that killed a family of three truly intended to cause harm that day or if the crash was the unintended consequence of reckless actions. The jury began deliberating Wednesday, weighing not whether 24-year-old Demetrius Coleman is guilty...
Tarentum Friendship Garden planning spring cleaning, planting dayVideo
The ground may still be frozen and lightly covered with snow, but organizers behind the Tarentum Friendship Garden have their eyes on spring. The garden, located next to Dreshar Stadium along First Avenue, will enter its fifth season this year. To get ready, the annual spring cleanup and planting day...
Water main break closes Second Street and Cuyler Avenue in Jeannette
Pat Pfeil, who lives on Cuyler Avenue in Jeannette, admitted she had a difficult time getting her 2-year-old grandson to take a nap Wednesday. He “was looking out the window and saw we had a water gusher squirting into the air. All the fire trucks were here directing traffic, and...
Pennsylvania imposes $1.5M fine on gas pipeline builder
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The builder of a natural gas gathering pipeline system in southwestern Pennsylvania is agreeing to a $1.5 million fine for failing to prevent sedimentation and erosion into streams during construction. The consent agreement between the state Department of Environmental Protection and Rice Midstream Holdings was released this...
Human services group seeks scholarship applicants
High-achieving, community-minded high school seniors seeking college aid might want to consider applying for the $10,000 Jamie Ellenberger Memorial Annual Community Service Scholarship. Officials at the Passavant Memorial Homes Foundation said the organization will accept scholarship applications from students in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Butler, Cambria, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Fayette,...
Penn Hills School District financial recovery ‘not just a numbers game’ for state-appointed officer
Daniel Matsook has a daunting task ahead of him. As Penn Hills School District’s chief recovery officer appointed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Matsook is tasked with developing a plan to bring the financially struggling district back to solvency. Without one, the district could be placed into receivership, giving...
Export officials hope to begin McKinley Avenue wall repairs by mid-AprilVideo
The prospect of losing federal grant money is the latest reason Export officials hope to quickly fix a retaining wall along the north edge of McKinley Avenue. The main reason is that the wall is visibly failing and is located close to multiple homes as well as the borough building....
Pittsburgh’s Cinderlands in running as nation’s top new brewery
Cinderlands Beer Co. in Lawrenceville is one of 20 new breweries in the country in a competition to be voted the best in the land. The brewery and restaurant landed on USA Today’s list of the top 20 new breweries in the country. It was ranked No. 6 on the...
Sharpsburg pastor offers ‘Ashes to Go’Video
O’Hara resident Glenn Drexler walked briskly down Main Street in Sharpsburg until he came upon the Rev. Ben Phipps outside Roots of Faith. He gave a rowdy hello and stood outside to chat, despite temperatures that hovered in the teens just before 10 a.m. on March 6. “This fits perfectly...
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...
