Regional News category, Page 346
A Jefferson County man pleads guilty in federal court to buying guns for another man
A Jefferson County man has admitted in federal court about lying when he was involved with a gun sale. Brock Powell, 43, of Summerville entered his plea before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joy Flowers Conti to one count of making false statements in relation to the acquisition of firearms....
Police: Fayette woman scammed by fake Amazon customer service number
A Fayette County woman who thought she was calling Amazon customer service ended up getting scammed by the person on the other end of the phone, according to state police. The Springfield Township woman told troopers she didn’t receive an item she bought from the website and searched on March...
Elizabeth Warren bringing opioids message to hard-hit W.Va., Ohio
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Elizabeth Warren is set to visit a state that hasn’t been friendly to Democrats lately to pitch her plan to combat the opioid addiction crisis by boosting taxes on the wealthy. The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate will travel to Kermit, West Virginia, on Friday before...
State, local officials practice emergency response at Indiana County school
State and local officials participated in an emergency exercise Friday morning at an Indiana County school. There was an increased police presence at United Junior-Senior High School in East Wheatfield Township, state police said. Those involved responded to a simulated critical incident to practice emergency response, lockdown procedures and communication...
4 Southwestern Pa. trails could be part of coast-to-coast bike route
Four Southwestern Pennsylvania bike paths eventually could be part of a coast-to-coast mega-trail. The Great American Rail-Trail, proposed by the nonprofit Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, would link Seattle to Washington D.C. with 3,700 miles spanning 12 states. The conservancy has announced its preferred route for the trail, which would link up dozens...
Why this spring’s pollen counts are bad for allergy sufferers
If it feels like a bad spring for allergies, blame it on higher-than-normal pollen counts. Pollen counts throughout the region are reaching the highest levels that can be measured by the National Allergy Bureau, said Dr. Merrit L. Fajt, an allergist with UPMC. “The higher the count, the greater the...
Ex-Pennsylvania Special Olympics coach charged with raping player
A former coach for Berks County’s Special Olympics soccer team has been charged with raping a player with intellectual disabilities and will head to trial. The Reading Eagle reports Michael Sheldon was ordered held without bail after Thursday’s preliminary hearing on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual assault and related...
Philly woman who threw big prom party spared prison term for fraud
A Philadelphia woman who made headlines for an elaborate prom send-off has been spared a prison term for Social Security fraud. Saudia Shuler was ordered Wednesday to pay back the nearly $37,000 in benefits, do 100 hours of community service and serve three years of probation with six months house...
Pennsylvania awards $1M to small businesses for energy-saving projects
Twenty-six Southwestern Pennsylvania small businesses have received state grants to help them cut energy waste and expenses. The grants — including 14 in Allegheny County and nine in Westmoreland — were part of nearly $1 million in funding awarded Wednesday by the state Department of Environmental Protection through its Small...
Trump: GM to sell Lordstown, Ohio, plant to electric truck company
DETROIT — General Motors plans to sell its shuttered factory in Lordstown, Ohio, to a company that builds electric trucks. President Donald Trump announced the deal with a company named Workhorse on Twitter Wednesday morning. He also wrote that GM plans to spend $700 million at three locations in Ohio...
Orphaned bear cub rescued behind Rite-Aid in Pottsville
Pennsylvania Game Commission wardens received a call last month about a lone bear cub behind a Rite-Aid drugstore in Pottsville, Schuylkill County. Sure enough, Game Warden James Macunas and state police found the small cub without a mom in sight on April 28, according to a game commission account on...
Group seeks names of domestic violence victims for poster
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is seeking the names of people who died from domestic violence in 2018. The coalition will include the names on an annual poster. Submissions must have the names, ages, and states of origin of any victims killed by an abuser in 2018. These include...
Somerset man able to walk away after being hit by train
A 38-year-old man suffered only minor injuries after he was struck by a train while walking along the CSX tracks in Somerset on Tuesday, police said. Kevin McDougald of Somerset was walking along the tracks along the 300 block of North Pleasant Avenue about 4 p.m. when the train approached...
6 people, 2 cats displaced after Beaver County apartment fire
A fire broke out in a Beaver County apartment building late Tuesday, displacing six people and two cats. When firefighters arrived at the building on Riverview Street in Rochester, they saw flames coming from a third-floor window, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. NEW: fire forces six people & pets...
Somerset native flew on little-known first flight across Atlantic
“We have safely crossed the pond.” With that telegram, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Albert C. Read announced to the world the first transatlantic flight in 1919 — eight years before Charles Lindbergh’s solo, nonstop voyage. One of Read’s crewmen on the NC-4 seaplane was a Somerset County native by the name...
Occupants safe after Beaver County house catches fire
A Beaver County couple managed to make it safely out of their home after it caught on fire Tuesday morning. The fire was reported about 4:30 a.m. on Thompson Hill Road in Independence Township, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Officials told WPXI the blaze appeared to have started in...
Beaver County man pleads guilty to producing, sharing child porn
A Beaver County man admitted to producing child pornography in 2014 and sharing it online in 2015, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said Monday. Randolph Guy Gum, 25, a former resident of Rochester, Pa., pleaded guilty to three counts related to the sexual exploitation of a minor stemming from videos...
Gas prices expected to peak in June, analyst says
Gasoline prices could peak in the next week or so in much of the United States before dropping in June to match last summer’s prices, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “It appears that large increases in gas prices have begun to fade to distant memory, lending...
Butler County man shot in chest during domestic dispute
A Butler County man was flown to an Ohio hospital after he was shot in the chest during a domestic dispute early Sunday, state police said. The shooting happened at about 1:30 a.m. at a home in the 300 block of Hungarian Road in Cherry Township. Troopers with the Butler...
Firefighters douse fire at vacant apartment building in Fayette County
Firefighters from four departments were called Sunday morning blaze at a vacant apartment building in North Union Township, Fayette County. According to a 911 dispatcher the fire was reported shortly after 11 a.m. at 315 North Gallatin Ave. No one was living in the structure and no injuries were reported....
On the rise: Solar farms begin cropping up in Western Pennsylvania
Down a gravel road close to what constitutes downtown Slovan in rural Washington County, roughly 3,500 solar panels stand in a field of green grass, their blue-hued faces tilted toward the sun. The development, one of the largest solar farms in Western Pennsylvania, spans 4.5 acres and can power about...
Nearly 50 dogs removed from Mercer County home, 10 others died
Nearly 50 dogs were removed from a house in Mercer County, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. “It’s probably one of the hardest calls we’ve ever been on,” officials from the Humane Society of Mercer County said in a post on the organization’s Facebook page. According to a report from...
Uniontown Hospital to stop delivering babies, putting rural mothers-to-be in a bind
Uniontown Hospital’s pending closure of Fayette County’s only birthing center at the end of June comes with officials citing similar death knells as other facilities already shuttered around Western Pennsylvania — rising costs, challenges of recruiting doctors to rural locales, declining birth rates and other changes in the health care...
Tourism generates about $10B for southwestern Pennsylvania economy
Tourists taking in the numerous sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania — from the Laurel Highlands to Pittsburgh’s three rivers — added about $10 billion to the economy two years ago. Tourists’ spending added nearly $8.2 billion to the economy in Allegheny and surrounding counties in 2017, while tourism dollars added about...
Lyme Disease Awareness Month brings warnings and tips to stave off ticks
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. As ticks are known carriers of Lyme disease, tick bites can be debilitating with symptoms including fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, joint pain and, possibly, a bullseye rash. If you are outdoors in southwestern Pennsylvania, taking the following precautions can prevent tick bites and...
