Regional News category, Page 193
Police say 11-year-old’s 911 call from Brownsville school included background mention of firearm
An 11-year-old boy is facing charges through juvenile court after state police said he called Fayette 911 from Brownsville Area Elementary School on Tuesday and played a video that mentioned a firearm. The Luzerne Township school was locked down as a result and troopers said they used a police dog...
Beaver Falls man sentenced to 3 years for lying about gun purchases
A Beaver County man was sentenced Tuesday to just over three years in jail after lying about the purchase of four 9-millimeter pistols, which he gave to two men who’d accompanied him while buying them, according to U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung. Calvin Brady Jr., 25, of Beaver Falls, was sentenced...
80 years ago at Pearl Harbor, the world changed
Eighty years ago today, at 7:55 a.m. Pacific Time, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. The sneak attack killed 2,403 Americans, and 1,178 others were wounded. A total of 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed. Only the 9/11 attacks have surpassed...
Pitt continues to sort through vaccine mandate
Officials at the University of Pittsburgh aren’t saying how many students, faculty and staff are facing ouster for failure to meet today’s deadline to provide proof of covid-19 vaccination or an approved exemption. Unlike officials at Excela Health System and UPMC who have temporarily put their vaccine mandates on hold,...
Indiana teacher sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting teen in 2009
A former Indiana Area School District teacher who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sexually assaulting a student in 2009 was sentenced Monday to serve 5 to 10 years in state prison. President Judge Thomas Bianco also ordered Patrick J. McKee, 61, of Indiana, complete sex offender treatment and register...
Week in pictures: Nov. 29-Dec. 5, 2021
A selection of the best photos from Tribune-Review photographers from around the region from the week of Nov. 29-Dec 5. Previous weeks Week in pictures: Nov. 22-28 Week in pictures: Nov. 8-14 Week in pictures: Nov. 1-7, 2021 Week in pictures: Oct. 25-31, 2021 Week in pictures: Oct. 18-24, 2021...
White or multicolored holiday lights? Trib readers have strong preferences
Joe Weltner’s 90-year-old grandmother still tells the story. Back in the day, she and her husband were driving the grandkids around to look at the neighborhood Christmas decorations. From the back seat, young Joe — probably 6 at the time — was heard to mutter, “I hate white lights.” “From...
Man helping motorist on Beaver County highway falls to his death from overpass, police say
State police in Beaver County say a man who stopped to assist another motorist along Interstate 376 died when he fell from an overpass early Sunday. Investigators say Timothy Baclit, 41, of Beaver, stopped to help the driver shortly after 1 a.m. where the interstate goes over Bryson Road in...
Schools across Western Pa., U.S. try to keep students safe in face of increased threats
A barrage of threats against several school districts across the region — including Allegheny County this week and Westmoreland several weeks ago — sent administrators reaching for action plans to help thwart any potential danger to students and staff. Violence at schools is spiking as students return to in-person classes...
Inmate sentenced to life in prison for SCI-Somerset murder
SOMERSET — A Pennsylvania state prison inmate was handed two life sentences in Somerset County court on Friday for killing his cellmate at SCI-Somerset in 2018. Judge Scott P. Bittner sentenced Dale Michael Wakefield, 29, to life in prison for first-degree murder and life in prison for assault by a...
Best time to trim that tree? Whenever the holiday spirit moves you
These days, you often find Christmas decorations next to Halloween candy in the stores. In May, Better Homes & Gardens magazine made a case for decorating early. Among the reasons: • The decorations evoke feelings of nostalgia, excitement and happiness (harking back to childhood). • They foster feelings of coziness...
Allegheny Health Network moves forward with vaccination requirement; UPMC, Excela await court ruling
Leaders with UPMC and Excela Health said Thursday they will back off of covid-19 vaccine requirements while the federal mandates are challenged in court, though Allegheny Health Network’s top doctor said the health system’s Jan. 4 vaccine deadline remains firm. Separate federal mandates affecting both health care workers and workers...
Police in Westmoreland County to target DUI, aggressive drivers through New Year’s Day
Westmoreland County drivers can expect to see more police patrols focused on cracking down on aggressive and impaired drivers in the region through the New Year’s holiday. “Whether it’s day or night, people can expect to see increased state police patrols targeting impaired drivers,” said Lt. Ryan Maher of Troop...
Citing revenue loss, state senator seeks to bring back Pa. Turnpike toll workers
A senator from northeastern Pennsylvania is spearheading efforts to bring back turnpike toll workers. Sen. Marty Flynn, D-Scranton, said his plan stems from the amount of tolls — $104 million – that went uncollected on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the past year. “Not coincidentally, that’s also when the PA Turnpike...
National drop in gas prices skips Pittsburgh area, frustrating drivers
Rick Toney was pumping gas as a kid in the 1970s. And he’s still doing it today for his cousin, Joe Shamey, owner of Shamey’s Gulf Service on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington. It’s one of the few, maybe only, full-service gas stations in the area. So Toney hears...
Pennsylvania wine and liquor sales set another record, annual report shows
If you’re headed to a holiday party this month, chances are good that either Tito’s Handmade Vodka or Fireball Cinnamon Whisky will be on the bar. Unflavored vodka remained Pennsylvanians’ drink of choice during the 2020-21 fiscal year, bringing in $307.6 million and topping the sales list in 53 of...
Pittsburgh region’s jobless rate falls to 5.9%; labor force shrinks
The Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate in October fell below 6% for the first time since the pandemic took hold of the economy in April 2020, a combination of more jobs being filled and, once again, fewer people in the labor force. “It’s just as if the economy is stuck in...
Western Pa. covid hospitalizations hit highest point in more than 10 months
As the threat of the omicron variant looms, covid-19 hospitalizations in Western Pennsylvania have hit their highest point in more than 10 months. Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 504 covid patients in hospitals, the most since there were 535 patients on Jan. 12, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department...
Somerset County DA accused of sexual assault loses pay under new law
SOMERSET — A prosecutor accused of sexual assault lost his public salary and benefits by a vote of Somerset County’s salary board. Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Lynn Thomas will no longer collect his $185,000 salary, which for now goes to acting District Attorney Molly Metzgar. The move Tuesday was...
Allegheny Health Network can handle influx of covid-19 patients, but staffing, supply costs surging, CFO says
Despite confronting spiking staffing costs while covid-19 hospitalizations climb, Allegheny Health Network’s leaders say they’re confident in the 14-hospital system’s ability to treat influxes in patients as the pandemic rages on. “We have capacity and we’ve got the equipment that we need,” AHN Chief Financial Officer James Rohrbaugh told the...
Faculty retirements at Pa. state universities are double the number of a typical year
Nearly half of the 165 faculty members who signed up for its most recent incentive to retire by next summer work at a Pennsylvania state university slated for consolidation in the 2022-23 school year. Figures provided by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education show 50 of those faculty members who...
Former Indiana County prison inmate sentenced for burning corrections officer
A state prison inmate formerly incarcerated at SCI Pine Grove in Indiana County was sentenced Monday for burning a corrections officer in 2020 by throwing a scalding liquid on the man, causing minor burns. Judge Thomas Bianco ordered to serve a three to six year sentence for inmate David T....
Seven Springs kicks off season this Saturday, other ski resorts gearing up
With more than a week of snowmaking already underway, Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion will open its slopes Saturday. This year’s major upgrade is a new Doppelmayr Alpen Star chairlift that replaces the resort’s former Avalanche lift. The new lift will be able to carry an additional 600 people...
More details emerge about plane crash near Grove City that killed pilot, passenger
A 65-year-old Ohio man made a turnaround and a stop at the Clarion County Airport shortly before his plane crashed a few miles outside Grove City last week, according to flight records. Rick Briggs, 65, of Cuyahoga Falls died as a result of blunt force trauma as a result of...
‘More questions than answers’ about latest covid variant omicron, Pittsburgh doctors say
The newly flagged covid-19 variant dubbed omicron likely already has hit the United States — though scientists aren’t yet sure how contagious or dangerous the latest mutated version of the novel coronavirus might be. “Anytime a new variant is found, scientists start studying to see if it’s more contagious —...
