Regional News category, Page 301
Robert Levin ‘coming back’ to save Levin Furniture
The former owner of Levin Furniture will come out of retirement to take over the furniture company that was at risk of going out of business, officials said Thursday. A statement from the company indicated a deal was struck Wednesday night in which Robert Levin will acquire the Pennsylvania and...
Museums in Westmoreland, Allegheny receive operating grants
Several Westmoreland and Allegheny county museums were awarded grants to help with their general operations through the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Three museums in Westmoreland and six in Allegheny were among 153 eligible museums that received part of a $2 million award aimed at strengthening those not supported by...
Indiana man accused of sexual abuse of children, indecent assault
A 36-year-old Indiana County man was charged Wednesday with 26 counts of sexual abuse of children and one count of indecent assault after state troopers say they found multiple still images and one video recording depicting child pornography. Robert Earl Rout III of Indiana was arraigned before Homer City District...
Speeders beware: Work zone cameras are live
Beware work zone speeders: Cameras are watching. Drivers going 11 mph or faster over the posted speed limit in an active work zone will be targeted by electronic devices through Pennsylvania’s new Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program. Two timing devices were used around the state for 60 days during...
Cops: Women who stole wallet at Greensburg SeaBase failed at returning it
Two women accused of going on a spending spree last month and stealing a Greensburg man’s wallet failed in a bid for redemption, according to city police. Alexis Hudson, 23, of Ford City and Emily Jean Long, 21, of Kittanning are charged with theft, access device fraud and receiving stolen...
Power restored to most after high winds cause outages
The lights are back on for most Duquesne Light and West Penn Power customers who dealt with power outagess Tuesday night after rain accompanied by high winds moved through the region in the afternoon and again in the evening. Wind gusts reached 40 to 50 mph in the mid-afternoon and...
4 locals caught in national elder fraud sweep; hotline set up to help potential victims
A National Elder Fraud Hotline is being launched by the Justice Department. The hotline was announced as U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady joined other federal officials in touting a national elder fraud sweep that included four people from the region who are being prosecuted for crimes against seniors, according to...
Flu season may be peaking in Pennsylvania, Health Department says
The flu season may have peaked in Pennsylvania, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department said Tuesday. “While cases are increasing, the number of new cases each week is decreasing,” spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said. The news comes as state health officials are bracing for potential coronavirus cases to surface in...
Point Park University adds 2 to board
A state lawmaker and a Highmark Health executive are the newest members of the Point Park University Board of Trustees. University officials said Point Park appointed Saurabh Tripathi, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Highmark Health, and state Rep. Austin Davis to three-year terms on the private university’s...
Indiana police detail robbery, shooting investigation near IUPVideo
Three masked Philadelphia men mistakenly robbed three people at the wrong house last month in Indiana, according to borough police Chief Justin Schawl. When they realized their mistake, the group went a few doors down on Wayne Avenue to their intended target, leaving one person there with a gunshot wound...
Grammar — a ‘dating deal breaker’ — celebrates its own day; Oxford comma still debated
Wednesday is National Grammar Day, a time to celebrate good writing, strong syntax and proper punctuation. Grammar nerds likely cringed at that last sentence. It all depends on your feelings about the Oxford comma — which comes before the last item in a list, such as after “trains” in the...
State-owned universities offering enhanced retirement program
More than 200 faculty members across Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities have signed on to a retirement incentive program, meeting the threshold required for the plan to go into effect, according to university officials. The incentive was laid out in January as a way to pare the number of employees at...
Coronavirus prep: Supplies dwindle at Western Pa. stores as officials urge readinessVideo
Local agencies are encouraging people not to panic as the coronavirus spreads, with over 100 confirmed U.S. cases and nine fatalities so far. The virus, which has infected more than 92,000 people and killed over 3,000 in places like China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran, has started to spread...
4 Philadelphia men jailed in connection with shooting near IUP
Four Philadelphia men are in jail on charges related to the shooting of Indiana University of Pennsylvania students during a robbery of an off-campus apartment on Valentine’s Day. Indiana police arrested Nafis Dandre Harper, 23, Daron Reel, 19, Mamadi Saccoh, 20, and Samuel Nyenow Wilson, 20, in connection with the...
Monroeville-based website launches with MeSearch AI, providing unique reader experience
A new website for Monroeville news and information will have artificial intelligence curating the most important and interesting stories for readers based on their preferences. Trib Total Media announced Thursday that its TribLIVE has launched TimesExpress.com, which is the latest addition to the company’s stable of hyper-local community news websites....
Coronavirus fears pushing oil, gasoline prices lower
The spread of coronavirus could result in lower prices at the pump, according to an industry analyst. Drops of 25 to 35 cents per gallon are possible over the next few weeks, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Oil prices have been walloped and motorists should avoid...
County leaders across Western Pennsylvania endorse Joe Biden
A coalition of 12 Democratic county leaders from across Western Pennsylvania came forward Monday to endorse Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential race. The group includes Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli, along with 10 Democratic commissioners from Armstrong, Beaver, Butler,...
Troopers accuse Fayette man of strangling woman, teen after chasing demon dog for Satan
A Fayette County man was jailed Sunday for allegedly strangling a 28-year-old woman and her teenage son in her LaBelle home on the pretense of chasing a demon dog into the house on behalf of Satan, state police at Uniontown said. The suspect, Terry Lee Murphy, 31, of LaBelle, was...
Edinboro University launches honors college
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania will bump up its quest for the best and brightest next fall with the official launch of an honors college. The university, one of the 14 schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, previously offered an honors program for high-achieving students. A university spokesman...
Low income residents, Southwestern Pa. farmers should benefit from surplus food expansion
Low-income residents in Southwestern Pennsylvania could receive more fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, dairy, meat and grains from local farms. Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2020-21 budget proposes to increase spending from $1.5 million to $2.5 million for the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System program, which distributes surplus produce, dairy and meat from local...
Indiana County man fired AR-15 rifle during argument with girlfriend, troopers say
A 28-year-old Indiana County man is accused of firing two shots from an AR-15 rifle during a several hour standoff with state troopers over the weekend before he surrendered, according to state police. Jacob M. Bloomberg was arraigned on charges of illegal possession of prohibited offensive weapon, reckless endangerment, terroristic...
Police: Fayette man claimed to chase ‘demon dog’ into neighbor’s home, choked occupants
A Fayette County man who told police he had been using crystal methamphetamine for days is accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home Sunday and choking two people, according to state police. Terry Lee Murphy, 31, of Luzerne Township, reportedly yelled “that he was chasing a demon dog into their...
Somerset meetings to address 9/11 benefits for local first responders
Local emergency personnel who responded to the Flight 93 crash near Shanksville may qualify for federal benefits through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center Health Program. Meetings about the benefits, eligibility criteria and enrollment information are scheduled for March 25, 26 and 27 at the...
Warm, rainy March likely for Pittsburgh region
Southwestern Pennsylvania is enjoying some unseasonably warm temperatures in the first week of March. Temperatures Monday are about 10 degrees higher than average — though nowhere near 1972’s record-setting high of 72 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. “The average for now is around the mid-40s, and we’re sitting...
Don’t succumb to stock market panic, advisers caution
Stocks tumbled, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged and the S&P 500 index fell dramatically — all over bad news out of China. That was a little more than a year ago — when Apple announced that iPhone sales in China were slumping. This year, the bad news out of...
