Western PA Local News category, Page 887
Pittsburgh officials plan to break up homeless encampment Downtown
Pittsburgh officials plan to tear down a homeless encampment Downtown next week, a city spokesperson confirmed Friday. City outreach workers have given “credible offers of housing” to everyone living at the encampment along First Avenue, said Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey. Officials are “hopeful” everyone living in...
PennDOT spends more than $900K fixing roads affected by landslides in Plum
PennDOT spent $925,000 fixing four landslides impacting state-maintained roads in Plum this year. The work on Old Leechburg, Milltown, Leechburg and New Texas roads inconvenienced drivers who had to take detours or find other ways around as the slides were repaired and the roads were rebuilt and resurfaced. The four...
Hempfield man gives $19,000 to scammer claiming to need bail money
An elderly Hempfield man lost $19,000 Thursday in a scam, according to state police. The man got a phone call from a person who claimed to be a family member in jail and made a request for money to post a fictitious bail. Another person claiming to be an attorney...
Butler County motorcyclist killed after striking deer along I-79
A Harmony motorcyclist was killed in a crash early Friday along Interstate 79 near the Cranberry exit. Pennsylvania State Police in Butler said the crash happened at 5:43 a.m. just south of Route 228 in Butler County. Police said Michael Webb, 52, was traveling southbound in the left passing lane...
Normalville woman dies in Fayette crash
A Normalville woman was killed in a crash this week in Fayette County. State police said Brittany R. Nicholson, 31, crashed a Subaru Outback that had been reported stolen. Nicholson was driving north on White Road in Saltlick Township, between Bear Rocks and Normalville, on Tuesday when troopers said she...
McKeesport teachers union votes down proposed contract, strike still possible
The McKeesport Area Education Association has voted down a tentative one-year contract, according to Tribune-Review news partner WTAE. The one-year deal had been worked out between the McKeesport Area School Board of Directors and the Association. However, in a vote Thursday night, union members rejected the deal by a vote...
Morning Roundup: SWAT team called to Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny; crash shuts down Greensburg street
Here are some of the latest news items for Friday, Nov. 3: SWAT team called to incident in Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny A SWAT team was called to an incident in Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny neighborhood early Friday morning. Police said the situation came to an end just before 6 a.m. after...
Pittsburgh housing fund board votes on $10 million proposed 2024 budget
Pittsburgh’s Housing Opportunity Fund advisory board on Thursday voted to support a proposed $10 million spending plan, though members acknowledged there’s more need than the money can address. “It’s infinite need and limited funding,” board member Adrienne Walnoha said ahead of the board’s vote Thursday. The proposed spending plan for...
The Stroller, Nov. 3, 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. Volunteers needed to prepare income tax returns AARP Foundation is seeking...
New Kensington’s small-business owners reflect on how they have succeeded
The owners of a New Kensington ax throwing business are making a joke of their second anniversary. Brothers Brian and Zach Heidenreich and longtime friend Brian Mangone opened Las Hachas on Fifth Avenue in downtown New Kensington in 2021. They will celebrate their anniversary Saturday with their first comedy show...
PepsiCo opens distribution center in Coraopolis
PepsiCo has an eye on expansion as it opened a 150,000-square-foot distribution center and warehouse in Coraopolis. The facility officially opened Wednesday near Pittsburgh International Airport. It handles about 10 million cases annually of beverages like Pepsi, Starbucks, Gatorade and Rockstar that it sends to retailers in Allegheny, Butler, Beaver...
‘One of a kind’ parking cashier at West Penn Hospital sets tone for patients, visitors
Most patients and family members visiting West Penn Hospital — especially those who park in the Liberty Avenue parking garage — pass Cora Brandon. The parking cashier, who started working at the Bloomfield hospital 17 years ago in the cafeteria, holds court behind her glass window to greet visitors or...
Legislation to pay incarcerated workers at Allegheny County Jail fails
An effort to pay people being held at Allegheny County Jail $10 a day for work performed there failed on Thursday because the majority of the oversight board said there wasn’t enough information to ensure such a mandate would be funded. The motion, made by board member Bethany Hallam, got...
Hampton Middle School Teacher steps of of comfort zone to direct performance
Stepping outside of your comfort zone can prove to be enlightening and beneficial, and that’s the case for Gregory Shumaker, a seventh-grade teacher at Hampton Middle School for 24 years. A few years back, he was handed the role of director for the middle school drama club’s annual performance. For...
A look at some of the victims in connection with Heather Pressdee’s murder, attempted homicide charges
Heather Pressdee faces two new counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for overdosing patients with insulin. The 41-year-old nurse from Harrison is accused of crimes at five nursing homes: Concordia at Rebecca Residence in West Deer; Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation (Guardian) in Lower Burrell; Quality Life...
Motorcyclist found 30 feet over embankment in Bell Township after collision with deer
A motorcyclist was found about 30 feet over an embankment Thursday after a collision with a deer in Bell Township. According to Westmoreland County 911, police received a call at 5:48 p.m., and the male driver was conscious with “numerous head injuries.” The collision occurred at the intersection of Pine...
Westmoreland commissioners vote to show support for Israel
Westmoreland Commissioners took an unusual step into foreign policy on Thursday as they formally expressed support for Israel following last month’s terrorist attack that left more than 1,300 dead. Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution that backs Israel’s right to defend itself, condemns terrorism and called for humanitarian aid to innocent...
5 things to do in Westmoreland: Nov. 3-5
We’re just past the Halloween season and the fall calendar is filling up quickly, starting with a wide range of attractions — from reptiles to creative crafts and insightful tours. Masters of Illusion Live The Palace Theatre in Greensburg will host Masters of Illusion Live at 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets...
Excela Health reports $36.2M loss for fiscal year ending June 30
Westmoreland County-based Excela Health, which merged with Butler Health System in January to form Independence Health, lost $36.2 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to a new disclosure report. That’s $15 million more than losses reported in the previous fiscal year ending in June 2022, when it...
Pittsburgh synagogue shooter appeals death penalty conviction, seeks new trial
The man sentenced to death for the mass shooting at a Squirrel Hill synagogue that killed 11 people is seeking a new trial. Robert Bowers, 51, who was convicted over the summer of 63 counts for the Oct. 27, 2018, attack at the Tree of Life synagogue at Wilkins and...
Hampton fire departments agree to merge
The North Hampton and Hampton Township No. 1 volunteer fire departments have agreed to merge. Besides the financial considerations of operating two separate departments, the manpower simply isn’t there anymore, according to municipal manager Christopher Lochner. “The big problem, in addition to the extraordinarily high cost of equipment, is really...
Judge says Rialto gunfight ‘terrorized the entire community’ as he gives shooters prison sentences
A gunfight after a confrontation outside a Greensburg bar could have been averted if either man would have just left the area, a judge said Thursday. “This conduct is the kind of thing that terrorized the entire community,” Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani said. He sentenced the men involved in...
‘I love these people’ Santa says during another Westmoreland Mall visit from New Jersey
It may be the final time Michael Collins dons his red and white Santa Claus suit at the Westmoreland Mall. The New Jersey resident, who portrays a beloved version of the Christmas character, said his health is declining. “For the people, I’ll make the trip every year that I can,”...
Labor union members picket outside several Westmoreland County facilities, call for bargainings
Members of Westmoreland County’s largest labor union on Thursday continued to pressure county commissioners to return to the bargaining table. Members of the Service Employees International Union and HealthCare Pennsylvania conducted informational picketing in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse as well as other county facilities including Area Agency on...
Hempfield man charged with rape of mentally disabled person, false imprisonment
A Hempfield man was charged Thursday in connection with state police accusations that he raped a woman who has an intellectual disability, according to court papers. Dennis M. Hertzog, 56, is free on $125,000 bail in two cases. Troopers said the accuser reported being sexually assaulted by Hertzog multiple times...
