4 competitors rise to the top in Westmoreland Fair’s specialty baking contests
Four competitors at the 2024 Westmoreland Fair had the right ingredients to take home top honors in specialty baking contests. Shelia Suhan’s warm apple crumble pie with raisin sauce led the field of 25 entries in the Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest. The judges found that the apples in the...
Queen of Angels students, staff create a legacy with mosaic
A mosaic in the design of a Western Pennsylvania landscape — rolling hills, clouds in a blue sky with a shining sun — is framed around the doorway at the Queen of Angels Catholic School in North Huntingdon, a legacy for the students, staff and the artist who worked on...
As artificial intelligence surges across daily life, so do concerns
The breakneck pace of advancements in artificial intelligence development has led to the technology touching seemingly every facet of life, from work to finances to health care. That rapid growth and unchecked development have created as much anxiety as hope, from Wall Street to the White House. But while AI...
These men are credited as being founding fathers of AI — and 2 are from Carnegie Mellon
Pittsburgh may not be the birthplace of AI, but it served as a cradle. And the technology is older than you probably think. Carnegie Mellon University is one of the places where AI was being developed more than 50 years ago. Tom Mitchell, who has taught at Carnegie Mellon since...
‘Free Marc Fogel’ event at Pitt seeks to keep former Oakmont teacher held in Russia in the public eye
When former Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel was arrested three years ago in Russia, the government there said it was because the longtime teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow possessed less than an ounce of medical marijuana. But on Saturday, former Ambassador Eric Rubin, who previously served as deputy chief...
Bushy Run Battlefield reopens after June tornado
Anna Watson couldn’t wait to return to the walking trails at Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township. “We didn’t realize how much damage it did,” said Watson, 33, of Sewickley of the June 26 tornado that cased what officials estimated to be about $1 million in damage to the historic...
Red sand used to bring awareness to human trafficking in Westmoreland County
For Sister Mary Norbert Long, the red sand being spread on sidewalks in Greensburg represents a mission to ensure that the issue of human trafficking is one that remains on the front burner. Long, 85, a nun with the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and a member of Westmoreland...
Trump set to return to Westmoreland County
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to Southwestern Pennsylvania this month to speak at an event in Westmoreland County. On Saturday, the Trump campaign announced Trump will address The Projecting America Initiative, a nonprofit group led by former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grennel. The group says it...
Allegheny Valley Hospital union nurses, employees agree to tentative deal with AHN
A union representing nurses and other employees at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison has reached a tentative contract with the Allegheny Health Network. The union, SEIU Healthcare PA, issued a statement Saturday saying the tentative agreement was reached late Friday night. Union members will vote on the contract Monday, Sept....
Kamala Harris breaks from debate prep in Pittsburgh to make campaign stop
After spending several days in Pittsburgh this week, Vice President Kamala Harris ventured out Saturday afternoon for a quick campaign stop in the Strip District. She was greeted by emotional supporters. Harris departed the Omni William Penn Hotel in Downtown around 1 p.m. Security was high around and inside the...
Aging truck forces Vandergrift to can curbside recycling
Budget restrictions forced Vandergrift to end curbside recycling pick up earlier this month. Instead, residents will have to take their glass and metals — plastics remain a no-go — to the borough garage at 600 Oak St. and deposit them in the appropriate bin. These containers will be ready by...
The Stroller, Sept. 7, 2024: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. 9/11 Moving Flag Tribute...
The River Community Church merges with Church of God, sets new digs in Lower Burrell
The River Community Church has a new location but the same emphasis on community. The River moved to 273 Chester Drive in Lower Burrell from New Kensington as part of a merger with the Church of God in Lower Burrell. The River had been located at 200 Freeport Road for...
North Apollo issues ultimatum to Kiski Township ahead of possible Armstrong County police shake-up
North Apollo officials say they need proof that Kiski Township is holding up its end of a $58,000 contract to provide police coverage to the borough after two officer departures and an anecdotal decline in patrols. Council will draft a letter giving Kiski Township 15 days to produce police schedules...
As drug overdose rates rise, Saint Vincent organization talks prevention and awareness with Westmoreland families
Good kids can sometimes make stupid choices. That’s what Laurie Moorhead tells the families she meets while giving drug prevention presentations in schools across Westmoreland County. Moorhead has spent a decade working for Saint Vincent Prevention Projects. Since 1978, the organization — affiliated with Saint Vincent College in Unity —...
Gilded Manos engraving revealed after 15 coats of paint stripped from Palace Theatre ticket booth
The intricate, decorative details of The Palace Theatre ticket booth were lost to 10 decades and 15 coats of paint. But now that the layers have been scraped away as part of a large restoration project in preparation for the Greensburg theater’s 100th anniversary, the old-time grandeur is visible once...
Youngwood centennial time capsule yields mystery VHS, sparks school memories
The first step will be finding a working VHS player. Then the question is: Will the 25-year-old videocassette still play? Most of the items pulled Friday from Youngwood’s 1999 centennial time capsule were souvenirs from that celebration or from earlier town milestones. Some paper items, including a centennial cookbook, were...
Prost! Sprankle’s Octoberfest at Lernerville Speedway aims to be authentic
Lauren Stumpp of the South Hills has a special connection with her mother, Carol Killian. While growing up in New York City, the pair were part of a dance group at the Bavarian club Gemuetlichen Enzianer. Stumpp, the second of five children, learned traditional German dance moves and celebrated their...
Penn State seeks to add 800 students at its main University Park campus as branch campus enrollment sags
Penn State trustees plan a nearly $225 million addition to the university’s five-year capital plan to fund endeavors that include a new classroom building to support a planned 800-student expansion at University Park. The move from 9,200 to 10,000 incoming students is envisioned to take place over several years. Student...
OSHA to probe fatal Hempfield tractor accident
Federal workplace safety regulators will investigate the fatal accident that killed a man driving a tractor that overturned into a creek at a Hempfield nursery on Thursday, an agency spokeswoman said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct the investigation into the death of Clifford E. Schweinsburg Jr., 79,...
Crews work to clean up hydrochloric acid spill on Toll 66
A southbound lane restriction was in place Friday afternoon on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Toll 66 Amos K. Hutchinson bypass as emergency crews worked to mop up a hazardous material leak. Minor slowdowns were reported in traffic getting by the closed right lane near mile marker 7, between Routes 130 and...
Latrobe Italian Festival returns with parade, food, music ranging from rock to opera
A new diverse mix of musical entertainment and food is slated for the third annual Latrobe Italian Festival, returning this weekend to the city’s First Ward neighborhood. Organized by Michael Ciotti, owner of 512 Coffee and Ice Cream, and his father, Paul, the festival will offer more than 50 food...
Trump pledged to block U.S. Steel merger with Nippon, but his inner circle is pushing for the deal
Former President Donald Trump was quick to announce his opposition earlier this year to a proposed $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese corporation Nippon Steel, but influential people close to Trump have been working to push the sale through behind the scenes ever since. Trump, who is...
Duo sentenced to 4 to 10 years in 2023 Latrobe machete attack
Two men were sentenced to identical state prison terms Friday in connection with a Latrobe robbery during which one of them wielded a machete. Codi J. Barger, 30, and Marc A. Barger Jr., 34, both of Latrobe, were sentenced to four to 10 years in a state prison followed by...
Judge: 16-year-old Greensburg accused in violent armed robbery will be tried as an adult
A Westmoreland County judge ruled this week that a 16-year-old boy accused in what police described as a violent armed robbery will continue to be prosecuted in adult court. Judge Timothy Krieger wrote in a memorandum that Cayden Essway, 16, of Greensburg, seemed to be disingenuous and self-serving during brief...
