Western PA Local News category, Page 914
Record 36th gun found at Pittsburgh airport checkpoint; Uniontown man arrested
Allegheny County Police arrested a Uniontown man after he was stopped Tuesday with an illegal gun at the main security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport. It was the 36th gun seized this year at the airport and breaks the annual record for the number of guns found in carry-on bags,...
Bethel Park students earn National Merit Scholarship honors
Four Bethel Park High School seniors have been recognized for academic excellence by one of the country’s best-known and longest-running scholarship programs. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. has designated Bryce Clancy, Henry Gaston, Lucas Hertzel and Lupe McElvenny as 2024 NMS commended students. Clancy and Gaston have also been named...
Westmoreland inmate accused of attacking guards during prison cell search
A Unity man is accused by police of attacking guards at the Westmoreland County Prison during a search of his cell for communication with a nurse at the Hempfield facility. Jerome W. Thornton, 33, was awaiting arraignment on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated harassment by prisoner and simple assault. Westmoreland...
Morning roundup: Gov. Shapiro orders flags at half-staff; 2 arrested at Downtown Pittsburgh bus station
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 11: Flags ordered to fly at half-staff for Israeli victims Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday issued an order that the U.S. and Pennsylvania flags on all public buildings and grounds be flown at half-staff this week in...
Environmental groups claim victory in EPA ruling on U.S. Steel plant in Clairton
Government regulators sided with environmental advocates, in part, when they ruled recently that a U.S. Steel plant in the Mon Valley might be violating clean-air laws under a current permit that restricts its emissions. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered a split decision last month over petitions by four...
The Stroller, Oct. 11, 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. Donations being accepted for holiday turkey vouchers Allegheny Valley Association of...
Fox Chapel Area High School student earns worldwide recognition for perfect AP score
Who says there’s no such thing as perfection? Anna Delale-O’Connor, a junior at Fox Chapel Area High School, recently earned a perfect score on the Advanced Placement (AP) World History: Modern Exam. Her score landed her in the company of only five other students globally. “I didn’t believe it at...
Allegheny Township appoints new officer in charge, hires full-time officer
There’s new leadership in the Allegheny Township Police Department. Supervisors appointed Sgt. Dan Uncapher on Monday as officer in charge, replacing Chief Duane Fisher, who ends his employment with the township Oct. 20. Fisher submitted his resignation in mid-September and recently was named police chief in Manheim Township, a Lancaster...
Hempfield chooses owner’s rep to navigate stalled high school project
Hempfield Area School District hired McKinley Architecture and Engineering this week to work as an owner’s representative in the preconstruction phase of the district’s high school renovation project, which has been on pause since bids came back millions of dollars over budget. The firm, which has locations in Pittsburgh and...
Westmoreland County to distribute opioid settlement funds
Westmoreland County Commissioners are expected to award grants to three municipalities this week with money from the national opioid abuse settlements. North Huntingdon is slated to receive nearly $105,000, while Rostraver and Lower Burrell each will receive $62,832 to operate drug prevention and education programs through municipal police departments. The...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in the Mt. Pleasant area
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Arnold formalizes firing of city manager, names temporary replacement
Arnold Council approved starting a search for a new city manager Tuesday after firing its former manager and hiring a temporary replacement. Council voted 4-1 to fire Mario Bellavia, with Councilman Phil McKinley casting the only vote against. While McKinley previously said Bellavia had been fired on Sept. 20, city...
Derry council disbands police dog program as residents vent anger over K-9 incident
Derry Borough residents had a lot of questions but didn’t get any answers from council members Tuesday night after they met for the first time since the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office announced evidence does not support a criminal charge in the death of the borough’s police dog, Smoke. Several...
Pleasing turnout for 50th-anniversary fall festival at Hampton museum
A steady flow of guests visited Hampton’s Depreciation Lands Museum for Hydref, the Fall Festival & Market Faire held Oct. 7. The influx was gratifying for Carol Greiner, president of the museum’s board, as the history-preserving site continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary. “After last year when we got rained...
Allegheny County Executive Fitzgerald proposes $3B budget with no tax increases
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald presented his 12th and final budget and comprehensive fiscal plan Tuesday, touting the economic growth of the region under his tenure and shoring up the county’s finances by dramatically increasing its rainy day fund. Fitzgerald’s 2024 budget proposes a total of about $3 billion, which...
4 candidates compete for 2 seats on Hampton Council
Four candidates are vying for two open seats on Hampton Township Council in the Nov. 7 election. Two Democrats and two Republicans are running for the open positions, and Richard “Rock” Kernick is running for re-election. He was chosen during a special election process and served a two-year-term. The other...
Court hearing set for Hempfield students in school gun case
Three Hempfield Area High School students charged last week with possessing guns on school property are scheduled to appear in court this month. They are being prosecuted in the juvenile court system and are scheduled to appear for adjudication hearings Oct. 26 before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michele Bononi....
Attorney: Charges withdrawn against Springdale woman for not cutting grass since June implosion of smokestacks
The attorney for a Springdale woman who lives across from the former Cheswick Generating Station says the woman didn’t cut her grass because, if she did, it would reexpose arsenic and other toxins from the June 2 implosion of the plant’s smokestacks. Brittni Bair, 33, received two summary offenses in...
PNC laying off employees, exact amount not announced
PNC Bank is laying off an undisclosed number of employees, according to a statement from the company. It remains unclear how many workers will be let go. The banking giant based in Downtown Pittsburgh said in a statement that it is reviewing its organizational structure and “have identified an opportunity...
Over-the-counter voting begins for Allegheny County election
Voters in Allegheny County can vote early in the upcoming general election starting Tuesday in Downtown Pittsburgh. Registered voters can complete a mail-in ballot application, get approved, and then fill out and turn in their ballot on the spot at the County Office Building in Downtown Pittsburgh. A kiosk is...
Friends group gives $10,000 to Bethel Park Public Library
Friends of the Bethel Park Park Library members made a $10,000 donation to the institution they support, fittingly enough during September, Love Your Library Month in Allegheny County. The money was raised through Friends of the library activities throughout the year, and the donation will go toward purchasing materials and...
‘Absolute worst in monster-movie mayhem’: Award-winning show nears 5-year mark on Bethel Park TV
Dressed in perhaps the campiest pirate costume imaginable and uttering nonsense like “avast, ye scurvy dogs,” a character called Capt. Calico Drake scowls at a video camera to address his audience. “Welcome once again aboard the Swashbuckler’s Haunt, the most disreputable ship of the Three Rivers and the Seven Seas,”...
Gainey-Zappala dispute escalates as DA election nears
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is upping the ante in his public dispute with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. In an interview with Tribune-Review editors and reporters last week, Gainey pushed back on criticism he has received from Zappala and said the district attorney is not present enough...
Giant Eagle to donate money from paper bag sales to charities as plastic ban takes effect
Giant Eagle will donate money from the sale of paper bags at its Pittsburgh stores to local nonprofits. This is set to start on Saturday, the same date Pittsburgh’s plastic bag ban goes into effect. The ordinance bars most single-use plastic bags and requires stores charge a 10-cent fee for...
Some Plum residents, activists push back against additional injection well
Some Plum residents, officials and local activists are continuing to push against the possibility of a second injection well in the borough. Delmont-based Penneco Environmental Solutions is looking to launch a second injection well on a site off Old Leechburg Road, where the company has had one Sedat injection well...
