Western PA Local News category, Page 518
Pittsburgh police Chief Scirotto to step down amid refereeing controversy
Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto is resigning Nov. 1, capping more than a week of controversy over his decision to return to part-time refereeing at NCAA basketball games. Scirotto sent an email just after 10 a.m. Friday to the 751-member Pittsburgh Bureau of Police notifying the force of his decision....
Greensburg DAR chapter shines light on female patriot, rededicates St. Clair monument
Phoebe Bayard, described as an “American princess” in her youth, was born in 1743 in Boston to parents from two prominent and wealthy families. When she died 75 years later, she was living in a log home on Westmoreland County’s Chestnut Ridge, after sacrificing her fortune and enduring long separations...
Proposal floated to double property tax bills to cover rising fire department costs in Hempfield
Hempfield may double its property tax millage rate to support the expenses of its 10 fire departments. It would be the first tax increase in more than three decades. Township supervisors discussed a $17 million preliminary budget this week that included a 3-mill property tax. The tax levy has remained...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: Oct. 25
The following is a regular feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz:...
‘We can do big things’: Shapiro unveils $600M makeover for Downtown Pittsburgh
Buoyed by nearly $600 million of investments, a new plan for Downtown Pittsburgh unveiled Friday by Gov. Josh Shapiro includes nearly 1,000 new housing units, improvements to public spaces in the Golden Triangle and increased public safety efforts. “To have a strong and vibrant commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you have to...
Elon Musk’s PAC does not announce $1M daily giveaway after DOJ warning
After receiving a warning letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, Elon Musk’s super PAC didn’t announce a $1 million daily winner Wednesday for signing its petition. The letter to America PAC warned that its giveaway in battleground states to swing voters could be illegal, CNN reported, by violating federal...
Morning Roundup: Political signs targeted by vandals; North Strabane police seek robbery suspect
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Oct. 25: Political signs targeted by vandals A home in Lawrence County was vandalized, with suspects spray painting the word “Trump” in the driveway, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. Signs on the lawn and porch at the...
Aliquippa youth football teams ousted from league following violent incident
There will be no more football for kids in the Aliquippa Little Quips. The youth teams were removed Wednesday from the Beaver County Youth Football League. Team officials and parents told TribLive news partner WTAE they are distraught over the decision, which came by a 6-3 vote and just days...
West Hempfield elementary school site could be home to new fire station
About five months after Adamsburg fire station crews expressed interest in turning management of its service over to the township, Hempfield is considering building the firefighters a station on Hempfield Area School District property. Over the past several years, the township has invited its 10 fire stations to become “nonchartered”...
The Stroller, Oct. 25, 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. Veterans program scheduled at...
Burrell School District, parents spar over Kenmont Avenue bus stop and route safety
Lower Burrell resident Nancy Donaldson handles child care out of her Kenmont Avenue home. In the more than 25 years she has lived there, a school bus has picked up children at the end of her driveway. The pickups of two 7-year-old boys she cares for in the mornings continued...
Police: Chase spanning New Kensington, Plum and Penn Hills ends in crash, arrest
State narcotics agents are leading an investigation into a man who authorities say led them on a chase Wednesday through New Kensington, Plum and Penn Hills before hitting another vehicle head-on and being caught with nearly $7,000 in cocaine. Matthew Avans McCloud, 34, of New Kensington faces a litany of...
After Obama’s push for Harris, Black men still seem divided on how they’ll vote
When James Hill considers the weight of his singular vote on Nov. 5, he can’t help but think of his grandmother. Hill, 30, of Pittsburgh’s North Side said his grandmother grew up in the rural South and never dreamed possible that a Black woman would run for president. “Moments like...
Penn Hills Council relaxes billboard rules
Penn Hills Council passed an ordinance Oct. 21 to loosen billboard rules in industrial districts. The new regulations allow for larger and higher billboards in these areas, while also expressly permitting signs with electronically changing messages. Billboards remain banned in residential, conservation, business and mixed-use districts — an overwhelming majority...
Penn Hills man raises money for Second Avenue Commons pets
After hearing about the people and pets of the Second Avenue Commons in Pittsburgh being displaced after a devastating fire in June, a Penn Hills man decided to help the animals and their owners as much as he could. Jeremy Carter, 34, who recently was named one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s...
Audit of Scirotto’s refereeing while Florida police chief raises concerns among officials in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto keeps dribbling his way into controversy over his side hustle as an NCAA basketball referee. Three years ago, he was the subject of an audit about his officiating while running Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s police department. The auditor alleged that Scirotto was double dipping — being...
Police dogs working to sniff out potential threats mailed with ballots at Westmoreland courthouse
Police dogs are being used in the Westmoreland County Election Bureau and other courthouse offices to sniff out potential threats including drugs or explosives that could arrive among the thousands of mail-in ballots and other items arriving daily. “There were reports across the nation of elected officials receiving fentanyl-laced mail,”...
11-year-old gorilla Ivan dies during medical procedure at Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium announced the death of one of its lifelong residents, 11-year-old gorilla Djembe. Known to the public as Ivan, the Western lowland silver-back gorilla suffered cardiac arrest Wednesday while undergoing a medical procedure at the zoo, officials reported. Zoo officials said Ivan showed no pre-existing conditions,...
McKeesport carjacking suspect arrested after crashing in North Versailles
A suspect in a McKeesport assault and carjacking crashed on Route 30 in North Versailles on Thursday afternoon after failing to stop for an Allegheny County sheriff’s deputy, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy took the man into custody after he crashed into a utility pole near Grandview Cemetery,...
Monroeville officials lease convention center to tourism agency
After purchasing the Monroeville Convention Center earlier this year, Monroeville Council voted this month to enter into a 25-year lease agreement that will keep the center’s operations largely the same. Council voted to lease the space to Visit Monroeville, which was formed in 1987 and promotes both the center and...
Charges amended for Greensburg hospital nurses accused of taking, sharing patient photos
Attorney Samuel Cordes got emotional Thursday while discussing how a woman in her 90s became an unknowing subject in a video recording while she was a patient at Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg. Her nude body was visible in the video that, police say, was taken without her consent by a...
Police raid 3 vape shops in Westmoreland, confiscate drug-related items
Police raided three vape shops in Westmoreland County Thursday, confiscating illegal drug-related items, authorities said. The raids took place at EZ Tobacco & Vape in Delmont, Vape & Smoke City in Hempfield and The Vape EXcape in Latrobe. It was a joint effort by local and state police, as well...
Elon Musk’s PAC halts $1M daily giveaway after DOJ warning
After receiving a warning letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, Elon Musk’s super PAC didn’t announce a $1 million daily winner Wednesday for signing its petition. The letter to America PAC warned that its giveaway in battleground states to swing voters could be illegal, CNN reported, by violating federal...
Drop box plan thwarted again by Westmoreland’s GOP commissioners
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners on Thursday rejected what likely was the final push before the Nov. 5 election to have at least one drop box at the courthouse for mail-in ballots. Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes declined to consider a proposal to allow voters to drop off ballots without...
Records show school van driver had cocaine in system during crash that killed Serra Catholic student
Medical records in the case against two men accused of drag racing in a high-speed crash that killed a 15-year-old girl in Dravosburg show that the driver of the school van she was traveling in tested positive for cocaine. Defense attorneys for William Soliday and Andrew Voigt believe that detail...
