Western PA Local News category, Page 531
Pennsylvania hit hardest by nationwide whooping cough outbreak
A nationwide whooping cough surge has infected nearly 2,200 Pennsylvanians, outpacing every other state and putting local medical experts on high alert. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified more than 16,000 cases of whooping cough this year, more than four times as many as the same...
The Stroller, Oct. 12, 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. Freeport Area HS Key...
Westmoreland, Allegheny community colleges aim to increase graduation rates with national program
Andrew Barnette wants to spend more time reading names while standing on the stage at Westmoreland County Community College’s graduation ceremony. “I am privileged to be asked every year to read names at graduation,” said Barnette, dean of the School of Art, Humanities, Social Sciences and Public Service. “It’s the...
Suspect in New Kensington tried to jump out window, police say
A man tried to jump out a third-floor window of a Valley Royal Court apartment in New Kensington, where police said they later found drugs hidden inside a toilet, according to a criminal complaint. Police charged Sean Barr, 27, of New Kensington on Thursday with felony and misdemeanor drug offenses...
Urgent wait for treatments: The race against time in the fight against FSHD, a genetic muscle disorder
Mark J. Christman continues to wait, but time is of the essence. Ongoing research and clinical trials are underway, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved any treatments to stop the progression or increase muscle mass in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a genetic disorder...
Get Out the Vote bus tour, along with Black fraternities and sororities, mobilizes voters in Hill District
On Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the Freedom Is At Stake GOTV Bus Tour made a stop at Freedom Corner to mobilize voters and spread awareness about the importance of voting. The group partnered with several organizations to bring the event to fruition, including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.,...
Woman struck by vehicle in Squirrel Hill
A woman was in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle Friday night in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, according to city police. Police and EMS were called to Forbes Avenue near Denniston Street shortly before 7 p.m. The woman pedestrian had injuries to her head and both legs, and...
Police: Man shot in Perry South, another taken for questioning
A man was hospitalized and another taken for questioning in connection with a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood late Friday morning. Public Safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne said officers were dispatched shortly after 11:30 a.m. for reports of shots fired at the the intersection of Perrysville Avenue and North Charles...
Point Park University faculty give initial vote of no confidence in its president
The assembly representing Point Park University faculty passed an initial vote of no confidence this week regarding President Chris Brussalis, citing issues including inadequate communication and lack of shared governance. Of the 80 faculty present during Monday’s closed session, 63 later voted in favor, 11 opposed, and six in attendance...
Judge: Mt. Lebanon School District violated parents’ rights in transgender identity lesson for first graders
Mt. Lebanon School District violated the constitutional rights of parents, a federal judge said, when it allowed a first-grade teacher to give a lesson on transgender identity to her students without first providing parents notice and the ability to opt out. Senior U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti ruled in...
Pa. AG charges 7, dismantles Pittsburgh-based retail theft, gun-trafficking ring
Authorities Friday accused a Pittsburgh pawn shop owner of running a retail theft and gun-trafficking ring that bought and resold stolen items including iPhones, electronics and lawnmowers. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office charged Osman Musa and six other people identified as members of a group dubbed the “Six Figure Boys”...
North Side man gets life in prison for 2021 shooting death in Carrick
A Pittsburgh man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was sentenced Thursday for killing the woman he had been dating. A jury convicted Donte Moss, 44, of the North Side of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm in the March 27, 2021, death of...
Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium launches 20-year makeover
The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium is renovating its grounds over the next 20 years. “It’s not a secret that a lot of our facilities are over 30 years old and at the end of their life,” said Jeremy Goodman, the zoo’s president and CEO. “What was state of the art...
House Speaker Mike Johnson stumps with Rob Mercuri, dismisses Dems’ strategy
The Pittsburgh area attracted another high-profile surrogate Friday as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. visited Beaver County, where he exuded confidence that Republicans will sweep the national elections, belittled Democrats’ campaign strategy and downplayed the controversy over the 2020 election. Johnson stopped at PGT Trucking in Hopewell Township with...
Tarentum declines police dog gifted by singer Brian Kelley
Tarentum will have to wait for a police dog. Borough officials declined a surprise gift from country music star Brian Kelley of a police dog during an August benefit concert. Kelley donated an 18-month-old German shepherd, Ikon, during an Aug. 9 concert in West Deer that doubled as a fundraiser...
RAM Run supports Pine-Richland cross country
What better way to support a cross country program than to run. Simply walking was welcome, too, during the 11th annual RAM Run, held on the bright, eventually warming morning of Oct. 6 near Pie Traynor Field at North Park. Proceeds benefited Pine-Richland cross country, along with Wexford, Richland, Hance...
Jeannette officials approve new public works contract with Teamsters
A new five-year contract with Jeannette’s sanitation and streets department was approved by council Thursday. The collective bargaining agreement, if also approved by Teamsters Local Union No. 30, will run through the end of 2027. It will be retroactive to January 2023 after the previous pact expired in December 2022,...
With bids for new Jeannette fire station at $4M, city looks to scale back plans
After construction bids came in higher than expected for Jeannette’s new fire station, officials are adjusting the scope while time is running out to spend grant money designated for the project. Four bids were opened Wednesday, but only two offered a price for the entire project. The lowest bid to...
Plan to track Westmoreland County-owned vehicles with GPS on hold because of sheriff’s lawsuit
Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office vehicles won’t be tracked by GPS until a lawsuit challenging a policy requiring the devises on county vehicles is resolved, a judge ruled. The policy, enacted this summer by the commissioners but not yet put into practice, requires around-the-clock tracking of all county owned and leased...
UPMC names new president, CEO of health plan
Mary Beth L. Jenkins will be UPMC Health Plan’s next president and CEO starting Jan. 1, the health care provider announced Friday. She will also serve as president of UPMC Insurance Services Division and executive vice president of UPMC. “Mary Beth’s forward-thinking work within UPMC’s successful integrated health care delivery...
$880K in repairs to start on Jeannette bridge ‘in really bad shape’
Work is expected to start in November on a small bridge that carries South Sixth Street over Brush Creek in Jeannette. Council on Thursday accepted a bid of just over $882,000 from CH&D Enterprises for the project. City Manager Ethan Keedy said the presumptive lowest bid was deemed to be...
Cornel West to appeal after judge denies spot on Pa. presidential ballot
A federal judge on Thursday said third-party presidential candidate Cornel West cannot have his name placed on Pennsylvania’s ballot — despite the court’s concerns over how state election laws treat minor-party candidates. “Common sense tells the court that we are less than one month from a presidential general election,” wrote...
When can cops lie? Pittsburgh rape defendant asks Pa. high court to decide
When Pittsburgh police interviewed Keith Foster in 2020 about a rape, a detective told him he wasn’t a suspect. That was a lie. Detective Brian Sellers had already gotten a search warrant for Foster’s DNA. During the interview, Foster claimed he didn’t know the victim or have sex with her....
Firefighters encourage clean furnaces, air ducts as colder weather approaches
With October being Fire Prevention Month and as colder weather moves in, Upper Burrell firefighters are urging homeowners to clean their furnaces and chimneys — and make sure their smoke detectors are in working order. Firefighters put out a blaze earlier this week in the Lincoln Beach section of the...
Revenue drop averted at Bushy Run thanks to community support
Bushy Run lost dozens of trees in a tornado that whipped through Penn Township this summer, but a community donation may help restore that loss across the 213-acre park. Friends of PTARC — the nonprofit fundraising group associated with the Penn-Trafford Area Recreation Commission — donated $1,000 to support the...
