Western PA Local News category, Page 841
Pittsburgh’s URA to offer vacant land to urban farmers
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is looking to make vacant land it owns available for urban farming. The URA board on Thursday approved guidelines for the Farm-a-Lot Program. Through the program, farmers will be able to use vacant URA-owned land for personal agricultural or for the sale of agricultural products including...
Police arrest Turtle Creek man in connection with robbery at North Huntingdon bank
Investigators believe the man who robbed a North Huntingdon bank on Thursday is also responsible for the Nov. 17 robbery at a First National Bank branch in Hempfield, according to court papers. North Huntingdon police arrested Steven A. Schaffner, 45, of Turtle Creek, in connection with the robbery at KeyBank....
Jeannette contractor accused of bilking $7.2K from church that hired him to demolish house
A Jeannette man is accused of taking $7,200 from a city church to raze a building and never completing the work, according to court papers. An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for Lee E. Dobies, 49, on charges of theft and deceptive business practices filed by Westmoreland County detectives. First...
Jeannette police chief to retire, sergeant promoted
Jeannette officials said goodbye Thursday to the city’s police chief and a councilwoman. Police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. is retiring Jan. 1. Mayor Curtis Antoniak announced Thursday his replacement will be Sgt. Derek Manley. Johnston said he got interested in police work during high school and later was hired as...
Greensburg merchants’ Holiday Open House includes ‘stocking exchange’ benefiting shelters
Visitors who shop in downtown Greensburg this Sunday will have the opportunity to get a treat in return for providing a practical holiday gift for neighbors who are in need. Fifteen businesses will welcome shoppers and diners noon to 5 p.m. Sunday during the town’s 55th annual Holiday Open House....
No real estate tax increase, more money for firefighters in Lower Burrell’s 2024 budget
Lower Burrell Council has approved a 2024 budget that includes no tax increase for property owners and a larger donation to the city’s volunteer fire departments. City council approved the budget this week. It totals slightly less than $11.2 million and maintains a millage rate of 24.75 mills. At that...
Man accused of robbing Homer City bank caught
A Homer City man was arraigned Friday morning and jailed on $250,000 bail in connection with a bank robbery in the borough earlier this week. Dylan Robert Clark Rider, 28, who lives within walking distance of the S&T Bank branch on North Main Street, was spotted Thursday afternoon in Wilkinsburg...
Pittsburgh police set to realign next year amid union concerns about staffing
Pittsburgh police are working to realign the shrinking 770-officer force in the new year, but union leaders warn that the bureau shouldn’t reorganize in the midst of a staffing crisis. In 2024, Chief Larry Scirotto said he plans to launch a street crime team, hire a dozen young adults as...
Allegheny Township promotes 2 corporals to sergeant, hires others to bring police force to 13 officers
The Allegheny Township supervisors have approved the promotion of two officers and hired full-time and part-time officers. Promoted were Cpls. Mark Junod and Charity Hollis, who were elevated to the rank of sergeant. Junod has served in the department since 2007 while Hollis has been a township officer since 2014....
Morning Roundup: Jeannette Rite Aid set to close; stranded sea turtles recovering at Pittsburgh Zoo
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Dec. 15: Jeannette Rite Aid to close The Rite Aid on Clay Avenue in Jeannette is set to close Jan. 11, according to a company spokesperson. The closure will add to others in Westmoreland County and the region...
Westmoreland Meals on Wheels programs prepare for winter weather
The weather outside isn’t frightful. At least not yet, and weather predictions say Western Pennsylvania is in for another mild winter. But volunteers at Delmont Meals on Wheels aren’t taking any chances — they are collecting donations for Winter Weather Kits that will be distributed to all 50 of its...
The Stroller, Dec. 15, 2023: 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. Gift card collection to aid A-K HOPE Center The Alle-Kiski Area...
Wreaths delivered for placement at North Huntingdon, Jeannette cemeteries
The North Huntingdon chapter of Wreaths Across America will place 3,125 wreaths Saturday on the graves of veterans buried in Union Cemetery in Irwin and Penn Lincoln Memorial Park, Long Run Presbyterian Cemetery, Brush Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Cemetery and Immaculate Conception Church Cemetery. The wreathes were delivered Friday...
Freeport official forms coalition to promote child seat safety and provide loaner car seats to the public
Roberta Bouch of Harrison takes her great-grandmother responsibilities seriously. A part-time caretaker for her two young great-grandchildren, Bouch was unsure whether the two child safety seats in the backseat of her vehicle were installed properly. “When I first put the car seat in a few years ago, I contacted a...
Dorseyville Middle School honored as a ‘School to Watch’
Dorseyville Middle School has been designated one of Pennsylvania’s “Don Eichhorn Schools: Schools to Watch.” Dorseyville and 10 other Pennsylvania middle grade schools are being recognized for 2023-24 as part of a program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. “These schools demonstrate that high-performing middle grade...
Carnegie Mellon graduate alleges ‘cruel campaign of antisemitic abuse’
A Jewish woman and graduate of Carnegie Mellon University is suing the school in federal court, alleging she faced “a cruel campaign of antisemitic abuse” by campus faculty and administration. Yael Canaan, 23, a New Jersey resident of Israeli ancestry, filed her complaint in U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania...
Pittsburgh police search for teen missing since June
Detectives from the Pittsburgh police Special Victims Unit are searching for a teenager has been missing since June. Jordan Boyd, 15, was reported missing Thursday by Pittsburgh police. Police suspect he is in the Pittsburgh or McKeesport areas. Boyd is about 6 feet tall and 155 pounds. He has brown...
Greensburg Night Market wraps up last of the year’s 11 events
The final Greensburg Night Market of the year was held Thursday on three blocks of South Pennsylvania Avenue. The popular event featured music by Chad Toland and The String Theory as well as ice carving, a Letters to Santa station and ornament-making station. The series began in 2019 and has...
No tax increase, other good news announced by Hampton Council
There was good news all around at the Hampton Council meeting on Dec. 13. Council approved a real estate tax rate for 2024 at 2.9241 mills, representing no increase. Additionally, community leaders awarded former council member Martha J. Hunkele with a plaque that will stand at her namesake playground at...
Man shot at Arby’s in Downtown Pittsburgh
A man was injured Thursday afternoon during a shooting in a fast-food restaurant Downtown. Pittsburgh police responded to an Arby’s in the 800 block of Liberty Avenue around 3 p.m. after shots were fired inside the restaurant, spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. A total of 15 rounds were fired. Two men...
For the first time, Pa. will provide counties with funding to help indigent defendants
For the first time in Pennsylvania’s history, the state next year will provide funding to counties for indigent legal defense. While the proposed $7.5 million in funding passed earlier this year with the budget, it wasn’t until Wednesday night that the funding mechanism to allow the money to be allocated...
Westmoreland commissioner criticizes 3.5% raises for elected county officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will receive bigger paychecks starting in January. Annual cost-of-living increases for 2024 will total nearly 3.5% for county commissioners and row officers, marking the third year in a row that elected leaders will see a significant bump in pay. Since the start of 2022, Westmoreland’s elected...
Chelsea Holding to expand operations to Westmoreland industrial park; 150 employees could be added
An Oakmont-based building products manufacturer will spend nearly $1.8 million to buy a 30-acre lot at Commerce Crossing industrial park in Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County commissioners said Thursday. Chelsea Holding Co. will buy one of five lots at the 206-acre industrial park. The company, which develops, manufactures and distributes exterior...
Jury begins deliberating in Western Pa. federal nursing home fraud case
Federal prosecutors said the criminal case against two nursing care facilities and five people who worked there is about lies and greed. “It’s not complicated,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gal-Or. “It’s very simple. The defendants lied. They lied about patients … just to squeeze as much money as possible...
FBI responds to North Huntingdon bank robbery
The Key Bank in North Huntingdon was robbed Thursday morning. Catherine Coennen, public relations officer for the FBI’s Pittsburgh office, confirmed the agency is assisting North Huntingdon and state police with investigation of the robbery at 201 Ronda Court. Township police said in a news release the robbery was reported...
