Regional category, Page 182
Beaver County men get 30 days behind bars for their participation in Capitol riot
Two Beaver County men who roamed around inside the U.S. Capitol for 25 minutes during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots and bragged about smoking marijuana in the building will serve 30 days behind bars. Mitchell P. Vukich, 26, of New Brighton, and Nicholas Perretta, 27, of Baden, were sentenced in...
Requiem for the Blue Streak and the memories of Conneaut Lake Park
In the Pittsburgh area, we celebrate summertime fun at places like Kennywood and Idlewild. For those who live an hour or so north of the three rivers — think of them as Yankee Yinzers — there also was Conneaut Lake Park. It pains me to type the “was” part. Located...
Charleroi man gets state prison for Baldwin DUI crash that killed his brother
A Charleroi man will serve at least two years in state prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to a drunken driving crash that killed his younger brother. Bryan Devon Harris, 24, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence and related counts stemming from the Jan. 11, 2020, crash...
Season’s 1st winter snowfall headed to Western Pennsylvania
Just when it seemed like the region was headed for the winter that wasn’t, the first significant snowfall of the season is expected to arrive later this week. Up to 2-3 inches of accumulation is predicted for Thursday, with 4-6 inches in the higher elevations, according to meteorologist Pat Herald...
GOP state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe won’t seek reelection
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection this year. The Republican from Cranberry is in his 12th term representing a district that encompasses part of Butler County, including Adams, Clinton, Cranberry, Forward, Middlesex and Penn townships and Callery, Mars, Seven Fields and Valencia boroughs. “After family...
Johnstown shooting death of teen ruled a homicide
EBENSBURG — The death of a woman whose body was found New Year’s Day in a car in the Hornerstown section of Johnstown has been ruled a homicide. Jaydin Sanderson, 19, of the Ferndale area, died of a gunshot wound to the head, Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said Monday...
State police: New Year holiday crashes up, citations down from 2019-2020
Crashes and related injuries and deaths in Pennsylvania were up this New Year’s holiday weekend compared with the same three-day period in 2019-20, before the pandemic had an impact on travel, according to state police. The number of arrests across the state for driving under the influence stayed nearly the...
Connellsville man sentenced to 40 years in prison for rape of child
A Connellsville man was ordered Monday to serve up to 40 years in prison for the rape of a child that a Westmoreland County judge described as “one of the worst cases of a sexual nature that I’ve seen.” Shawn Tracy Melville, 44, pleaded guilty in October to eight offenses...
Gas prices stabilize on rising oil prices, easing omicron fears
After a run of declines, gasoline prices are largely unchanged in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. In Pittsburgh, prices are down less than 1 cent per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.51 on Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations....
NASA: Exploding meteor had same energy as 30 tons of TNT
NASA is weighing in on the New Year’s Day boom heard across the Pittsburgh region. Researchers confirmed an exploding meteor was the “likely culprit” and estimated the size of the object at about one-yard wide, with energy the equivalent of 30 tons of TNT, according to the NASA Meteor Watch...
Covid causes weeklong closure of St. Gregory Catholic School in Zelienople
Covid-related staffing shortages will close a school in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh this week. St. Gregory Catholic Elementary School in Zelienople will switch to remote learning after seven staffers tested positive for covid-19, Principal Erin Rice said. “Although we seemed to have conquered the odds and provided in-person learning...
Pennsylvania casinos not ready to cut smoking from gambling experience
Like flashing lights, dings and coins splashing into a slot machine tray, an equally familiar — even stereotypical — casino experience involves plumes of smoke wafting skyward from patrons puffing on ash-tipped cigarettes. Casinos, and the states that host them, have permitted smoking for decades, with the industry bypassing a...
Man pulled from Mon River in Elco identified
The Washington County coroner has identified the man pulled from the Monongahela River in Elco early Sunday. Joseph Passafiume, 69, of California, PA, was discovered at 10:35 a.m. entangled in debris, about eight feet from the river bank off First Avenue, the coroner said. The victim was pulled to the...
Slippery Rock program for students with intellectual disabilities offers Greensburg woman chance to thrive
Lizzie Ammons had fought too hard to let the prospect of college slip from her grasp when word began circulating that Slippery Rock University might shutter its Rock Life program — one of about 300 college programs across the nation for students with intellectual disabilities. Ammons, 21, of Greensburg was...
Animal Friends’ New Year’s Rescue returns
Animal Friends’ New Year’s Rescue returned this year after a hiatus in 2020 due to covid-19. Dogs, cats and rabbits from four partners—the Lawrence County Humane Society, the Humane Society of Greene County, Erie Area Rabbit Society and Animal Charity of Ohio—were brought to Animal Friends on New Year’s Eve...
Western Pennsylvania gets another rainy holiday for New Year’s
Instead of a white Christmas, Western Pennsylvania got a wet Christmas, and the region is in for a soggy New Year’s Day as well, according to weather forecasters. Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington and Beaver counties were part of a hazardous weather advisory released early New Year’s Day by the National Weather...
Trail book great resource for Great Allegheny Passage hiking, biking
If your New Year’s resolution is to get into shape and lose weight — a perpetual wish for many Americans — by hiking, biking or jogging along parts of the 150-mile trail that connects Pittsburgh with Cumberland, Md., there’s a new book that will enhance your time doing it. In...
New Year’s resolution to get more exercise? Cycling offers a variety of local options
One of the most popular among New Year’s resolutions is the one about getting back into shape, getting out more and exercising. Western Pennsylvania residents are being afforded more and more opportunities to do just that, through the ongoing development of trails across the region that appeal to walkers, runners...
Looking ahead to 2022: Pandemic continues, campaigns heat up, new mayor for Pittsburgh and more
The New Year in Southwestern Pennsylvania is expected to carry over storylines popular in 2021 — especially in how the pandemic will play out in its third year and intense political races among the crowded field of candidates vying for U.S. Senate and governor as well as those slugging it...
Nutting family completes sale of Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, Laurel Mountain to Vail Resorts
The Nutting family and Vail Resorts have completed the sale of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort and the Laurel Mountain Ski Area for $118 million. “Looking back over the past 15 years, I am proud to be leaving all three properties much better than we had found them,”...
Photos of the year 2021
It was a year of starting again. Giving it another try. The coronavirus continued to invade our homes and communities in 2021 but we learned how to rise above it. We got our children back in classrooms and engaged in after-school activities. Restaurants and theaters welcomed patrons in greater numbers....
Hope springs eternal: Community leaders look forward to better 2022
Seen in a meme: “The fact that 2021 is almost over proves that time also flies when you’re NOT having fun.” Wasn’t 2021 supposed to be the year that life returned to normal — or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof? At the beginning of the year, it seemed as...
Record-setting number of tornadoes strikes Pittsburgh region in 2021
A record number of tornadoes blew through the Pittsburgh region in 2021. Jason Frazier, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Moon office, said there were 28 twisters in the coverage area, which includes parts of Ohio and West Virginia. The previous record was set in 1990 with 17. But there’s...
UPMC receives limited supply of preventative antibody treatment for the most immunocompromised
George Spine Jr. thought it was a scam when he first got a call from UPMC around 7:45 a.m. Thursday offering a new antibody treatment meant to protect the most immunocompromised before they’re exposed to covid-19. “I thought it was a scam, so I gave the girl a hard time,”...
University of Pittsburgh issues shelter-in-place request, required covid testing for students
The University of Pittsburgh’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office has released a plan for the spring semester that includes a phased move-in beginning Jan. 8 along with a shelter-in-place request and testing for students. Pitt will make available one covid-19 test through Quest Diagnostics for all of the approximately 34,000 students...
