Local category, Page 649

A new Verona Garden Club has formed following a mass exodus of board members a few months ago. The nonprofit beautification group installs and maintains hanging baskets throughout the borough as well as planting at the war memorial and other projects. Recently appointed club president Daniel Showalter said its former...

A 25-year-old woman returned to the witness stand Wednesday, six years after she first testified about allegedly being raped and sexually assaulted when she was an adolescent. The woman testified before a Westmoreland County jury she was 12 when she was subjected weekly rapes and other sexual activity at the...

The mother of a Pittsburgh teen who claims her daughter was raped during the school day by three fellow Allderdice High School students at a nearby Starbucks has filed a lawsuit over the incident. The lawsuit, which includes claims for negligence, was filed Tuesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court....

Jackie Cafaro works day and night to rescue cats left abandoned on Pittsburgh streets. She’s developed Catcalls Rescue, the nonprofit she co-founded in 2021, into an operation that saves, spays or neuters and puts up for adoption 40 to 60 cats a month — with the help of about 30...

A South Fayette man is headed to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on charges that he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl and used “multiple iPhones” to film the pair having sex, court records show. Matthew Alexander Trax, 24, allegedly had sex several times with the girl, including...

Replacement of the historic Salina Bridge that connects Bell and Kiski townships will cost $33 million. The apparent low bidder for the project was Mekis Construction Corp. based in Fenelton, according to PennDOT. Project manager Troy Pritts said he expects construction to start by spring. The price tag includes additional...

Tonya Piper said she will not return to her career caring for special needs children even after a jury found her not guilty of an alleged assault against a boy with autism. Piper, 52, of New Stanton was emotional after the verdict was returned Wednesday and said she was grateful...

Derry council is expected to consider a two-year moratorium on any revival of the borough’s police dog program, which was disbanded in October following the August euthanization of its police dog, Smoke. In addition to the moratorium, council Tuesday will consider allowing a privately funded memorial stone for Smoke at...

Father Tom Kredel didn’t quite say it was a miracle that he found a kidney donor after celebrating Mass at St. Alexis Church in McCandless last summer. But he is certainly grateful. Kredel, a retired priest of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh who is suffering from kidney failure, was running...

Jefferson Hills police said a man who fled from his second traffic stop in three months in late January was taken into custody Wednesday evening. He was transported to Allegheny County Jail. Police were searching for Thomas W. Hanbury, 32, of the South Hills, who fled on foot from police...

A former City of Pittsburgh building inspector pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal bribery charge for soliciting over $5,400 in items from a developer. Walter Eiseman entered the plea in U.S. District Court before Judge Mark Hornak. Prosecutors said during the hearing that Eiseman, a city building inspector at the...

Pine-Richland High School placed 13th out of 184 schools nationwide in the Sodexo Healthy High School Challenge, earning $1,000 for the high school student government. Schools earned points for every meal combo and healthy a la carte items purchased. Based in Gaithersburg, Md., Sodexo provides catering, facilities management and employee...

Church News • Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1120 Harvey Ave., Greensburg, will have worship services Wednesdays from Feb. 14 (Ash Wednesday) through March 20 at the church. Fellowship will begin at 6 p.m. and the service will be at 7 p.m. Sunday services are 9:30 a.m. Details: 724-837-3540 or wpcgreensburg.org. •...

Members of Highlands varsity band boosters fear that someone is running an online scam to collect craft show registration fees and defraud the group from its profits. “I’ve had a couple people call to let me know they’ve received emails to pay with PayPal,” said Desirae Dunmire, the boosters’ vice...

Isabella DiCecca has a super-tight deadline on an order to create a T-shirt for a fellow Taylor Swift fan. The Greater Latrobe junior began her week using a laptop to piece together design elements for a shirt celebrating the Feb. 11 Super Bowl appearance of Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs...

The Starbucks coffee chain is preparing to open a drive-through location in East Huntingdon. Earth-moving has begun at the site along Bessemer Road, between Route 119 and a GetGo convenience store. “Starbucks is always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of our customers,” a company spokesperson said....

The National Transportation Safety Board will meet later this month to determine the probable cause of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse. The 447-foot-long span collapsed in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park the morning of Jan. 28, 2022. Six vehicles, including a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus, fell into the ravine below, injuring several...

Something needs to be done to stop muskrat from boring holes into the dikes at a mine drainage treatment site in Mt. Pleasant Township. The holes can cause polluted water to foul Sewickley Creek, according to a member of the group that works to protect the area’s watershed. If the...

Here are some noon headlines from TribLive, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. • Police work interest declines in the region “Our biggest issue is finding people who want to police anymore,” said Penn Township police Chief John Otto. • Another social media app? Bluesky offers users a place to...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Feb. 7: Brentwood shooting suspect arrested Police have arrested a man they believe was involved in a shooting last week in Brentwood. Joseph Luman, 45, was arrested by Pittsburgh police with help from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task...

Plans for more development along New Kensington’s Tarentum Bridge Road commercial district have been approved. City council on Monday unanimously approved three resolutions related to the construction of a Harbor Freight tools store and a Starbucks cafe in Riverview Plaza. Their construction follows a new Aldi grocery store, which opened...

Participants will have their hearts into running a 5K race set for Saturday in Latrobe. The annual Cupid’s Chase will kick off at 10 a.m. at Memorial Stadium, raising funds for Community Options, a nonprofit that provides support and services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Westmoreland and...

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. Grants available to Westmoreland County performing arts groups The Westmoreland County...

While the Pennsylvania State Police force is seeing increased interest from people wanting to become troopers, many suburban and rural departments in Western Pennsylvania are facing a challenge trying to attract new officers. Last year, Murrysville received 18 applications from people interested in becoming police officers for the municipality —...