Hempfield Mini-THON raises more than $61K for childhood cancer research
Hempfield Area students raised more than $61,500 for the Four Diamonds nonprofit through their 2023-2024 Mini-THON fundraisers that culminated in a 12-hour event on April 5. Mini-THON, a high school version of the popular Penn State fundraiser that raises money for pediatric cancer patients and families, raised $57,600 last year...
‘If not me, then who?’: Greensburg helicopter restoration project honors Vietnam War veterans
Stephanie Redovan was walking in Lynch Field Park in Greensburg and she noticed the Army helicopter dedicated to a Vietnam War veteran needed some TLC. “The thing that kept echoing in my head was, ‘If I don’t do this, who’s going to do it?’ ” said Redovan, 34, of Jeannette....
Evolution Grille in Buffalo Township set to close
A Buffalo Township restaurant known for its farm-fresh entrees and bold flavors has announced plans to close. Evolution Grille along Route 356 posted to social media Friday, saying it is extending heartfelt gratitude to diners who have showered the restaurant with love. “Life, my friends, is a fickle sous-chef,” the...
Pittsburgh police seek help finding 12-year-old boy last seen at Westinghouse Academy
A 12-year-old boy last seen Friday at Westinghouse Academy in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood has not returned home, authorities said. Pittsburgh Police are seeking help to find Taeshawn Battles, who is considered at risk because of his age. Taeshawn is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, with...
Missing 12-year-old girl near the city’s East End was found
Pittsburgh police said they have located a 12-year-old girl who went missing on Friday. Akiyah Willie went missing about 11 a.m. after an argument with her mom, police said. “Thank you to everyone who shared the information,” police said in the update. She is known to frequent the area near...
Police investigate 2 shootings within minutes in Sharpsburg, Etna
Allegheny County Police are investigating two shootings that occurred within 15 minutes Friday in Sharpsburg and Etna, communities that sit less than a mile apart. Police were called at 11:45 p.m. to the 300 block of Linden Avenue in Sharpsburg after a woman was shot in the leg. She was...
Coroner reports driver in Fayette crash that killed 5 had cocaine in his system
The driver involved in a three-vehicle crash in late March that killed himself and four others, including an infant, had cocaine in his system at the time of the collision, the Fayette County coroner reported Saturday. All five people killed in the March 26 crash on Route 40 were from...
45th Senate District sees competitive Dem, GOP primary races
Allegheny County’s 45th state Senatorial District has attracted more candidates than any other race in the region, in a contest that could be crucial in determining which party controls the state legislature’s upper chamber next year. And, at least on the Republican side, there are a bit of fireworks. Kami...
32nd District Democrats to get first full chance at naming late Rep. DeLuca’s successor
For the first time since 1982, the Democrat ballot for Pennsylvania’s 32nd House District won’t feature Tony DeLuca. The late lawmaker of 40 years died in October 2022, one month before the general election and too late to print new ballots. He won nonetheless, triggering a special election. Joe McAndrew...
Police say couple set up woman to be stabbed in Point State Park
A man and a woman are in the Allegheny County Jail after police said they duped a woman into going to Point State Park on Friday where the man stabbed her in the neck and attempted to drag her into the river. Cody Linders-Heck, 23, no address available, and Janelle...
Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ a thrilling snapshot of rock ‘n’ roll history
On Dec. 4, 1956, rock ’n’ roll history was made. Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash gathered at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn., for a recording session the likes of which would never again be repeated. That evening is revisited in the musical “Million Dollar Quartet,”...
The Stroller, April 20, 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. Alle-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame tickets on sale Alle-Kiski Valley Sports...
Road projects to trigger monthlong detour in Mt. Pleasant Township, lane restrictions near Donegal
Road projects set to begin on Monday, April 22 will result in a detour on Boyer Road in Mt. Pleasant Township and lane restrictions on Route 711 in the Donegal and Stahlstown areas, according to PennDOT. Boyer Road is scheduled to close at 7 a.m. Monday between Hecla Road and...
Freeport Area must decide if renovation or relocation works for aging high school
Freeport Area School District officials agree that the district’s aging high school, at a minimum, needs renovations. The challenge ahead is figuring out how far the district can afford to go. The school board recently released the results of a feasibility study by HHSDR Architects and Engineers offering ways to...
North Huntingdon aiming to rewrite backyard chicken rules after flap over fowl
North Huntingdon officials plan to create new rules for keeping backyard chickens in an attempt to balance the rights of those who want them against those who cry foul over the fowl. Township commissioners this week voted to repeal an ordinance that allowed chickens to be kept in residential neighborhoods...
Challenger Comans seeks to oust incumbent Salisbury in Democratic primary for Pa. House’s 34th District
In Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods and nearby suburbs, a Democratic primary battle for a state House seat is pitting a progressive challenger against a mainstream incumbent. Ashley Comans, a Wilkinsburg school board member, said the 34th Legislative District is hungry for someone who champions progressive policies like boosting public schools,...
Defense lawyers cry foul over lack of investigation into murder weapon in Wilkinsburg homicide trial
Allegheny County homicide detectives never followed up on information they received more than 2½ years ago that a gun seized in a traffic stop matched one used to kill a teenager in Wilkinsburg four months earlier. The gun’s existence was a surprising piece of evidence that suddenly appeared this week...
Local Holocaust survivors’ stories counter rising trend in antisemitism
Voices from the past that keep alive the horrors of the 20th century Holocaust carry an urgency today. Those voices are demanding increased attention through programs based in Southwestern Pennsylvania and New York, even as the current tragedies of the Israel-Hamas conflict reverberate around the world and antisemitic incidents continue...
Former Pittsburgh radio host Larry O’Brien, known via ‘O’Brien & Garry’ show, dies at 81
Pittsburgh radio host Larry O’Brien, who comprised half of the popular morning duo “O’Brien & Garry” for 20 years, has died. “He was a funny, bright man, and he kept up on Pittsburgh sports until the very end,” his wife, Winkie O’Brien, said from their home in Hilton Head, S.C....
State court sends Christopher Columbus statue removal debate back to Allegheny County Court, advocates react
The fate of the Christopher Columbus statue in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park must once again be debated before an Allegheny County judge. A Commonwealth Court ruling last week, in its primary effect, reversed an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit the Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA)...
Hempfield man accused of seeking to pay to have his sister murdered
A Hempfield man is charged with attempting to hire someone to kill his sister, apparently motivated by a proposed change in the family estate. Westmoreland County detectives and sheriff’s deputies arrested Peter John Cute, 63, Friday afternoon after he met with a man that Cute allegedly offered to pay to...
Beaver County man gets 10-year prison term for severe abuse of disabled residents
A Beaver County man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison Friday in Pittsburgh on federal hate crime charges stemming from severe abuse of disabled residents he was responsible for assisting at an in-patient health care facility in the county. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the...
Most farmers don’t mind record-setting April rain
It’s been a soggy April. And it’s about to be the soggiest, according to the National Weather Service. “Prior to today, we’re 0.27 inches away from tying the wettest April on record,” said weather service Meteorologist Fred McMullen on Friday. What that means to local farms is highly dependent on...
Penn Hills health care facility owner indicted on federal charges
The owner of a Penn Hills facility that services people with intellectual disabilities faces a federal indictment on charges of health care fraud and other crimes. Kelley Oliver-Hollis, 59, of Pittsburgh faces 33 counts, including making false statements to health care matters and money laundering, federal officials announced. Oliver-Hollis is...
Leechburg police officer is issued citations stemming from alleged traffic incident
A Leechburg police officer has been issued two citations stemming from a traffic incident in Parks Township. Clarence Lee Schumaker was charged April 9 by state police for careless driving, obedience to a traffic control device warning of hazardous conditions and disorderly conduct. According to Leechburg police Chief Jason Schaeffer,...
