Western PA Local News category, Page 3230
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...
CCAC to offer information technology support program at Homewood-Brushton Center
The Community College of Allegheny County’s Homewood-Brushton Center is offering a new information technology support certificate program. The “Pathway to a Technology Career” program will provide students with the skills for employment as a user support or network support specialist. The program includes a total of nine courses that run...
Riverside Park track in Oakmont to be repaired, Riverview track team to have home meets next year
Riverview High School’s track team may have home-field advantage next school year after two consecutive seasons on the road. Oakmont council awarded an estimated $61,000 repair project to New York-based Nagle Athletic Surfaces to fix the track in the lower section of the borough’s Riverside Park. Meets were first rescheduled...
Jeannette woman rescinds murder plea, will head to trial
A Jeannette woman accused of violently beating her boyfriend to death on Thursday withdrew her guilty plea to third-degree murder. Crystal Belle, 39, pleaded guilty in September for the June 11, 2016, beating death of 19-year-old Khalil Parker, of Brentwood, Allegheny County, in her South Seventh Street home. The deal...
Allegheny County Health Department issues enforcement order against U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities have violated local and federal air quality regulations and must get back in compliance, according to an order issued by the Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday. The order requires the facilities — which include Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Edgar Thomson Plant in...
Tarentum man indicted on federal bank fraud charge
A Tarentum man was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of bank fraud. U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said David Linder, 40, participated in a scheme to defraud S&T Bank by opening accounts with a false Social Security number, depositing fraudulent checks into those accounts, and then...
U.S. Rep. Reschenthaler opens district offices in Hempfield, Washington, Pa.
U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, the region’s newest congressman, on Thursday said he has opened district offices in Hempfield and Washington, Pa. Both offices will be open for constituent services from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Hempfield office is at 700 Pellis Road, Suite 1, fronting...
PWSA repairs broken water main, boil advisory for West End continues
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority finished repairing a broken 16-inch water main in Duquesne Heights Thursday afternoon, but a boil advisory for about 3,800 customers in the West End and Mt. Washington remained in effect. PWSA expected by evening to have service restored to about 900 homes that had...
Rostraver man accused of faking drug test
A 45-year-old Rostraver man was accused this week of submitting an altered urine sample to the Westmoreland County Probation office after a probation officer noticed a white tube protruding from the man’s underwear as he was performing the court-mandated drug test. Brett Michael Toman was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge...
Allegheny County DA will not charge Pittsburgh police officers in Kopy’s brawl
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday said it will not pursue state criminal 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 news comes a day after the U.S. Attorney’s Office...
Cops accuse ex-employee of Greensburg convenience store with burglary, theft
City police accused a former employee of a Greensburg convenience store of entering the business after hours and stealing hundreds of dollars. Aaron P. Payne, 43, of Hempfield, is charged with burglary, theft and receiving stolen property in connection with entering the CoGo’s store at 219 East Pittsburgh St. at...
New Kensington native to be honored for teaching career in Colorado
A New Kensington native now living in Colorado will receive an award Saturday honoring her career as a teacher. Jamie D. Johnson will receive The Education Center’s Lifetime Educator of the Year 30 Year’s award during a banquet Saturday. Johnson, who still has relatives in the area, was born in...
