Regional category, Page 355
Authorities: Philly police shoot, wound 2 dogs that charged at them
PHILADELPHIA — Police have shot and wounded two pit bulls that allegedly charged at officers as they tried to serve warrants at a Philadelphia home. The shootings occurred just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in the 3100 block of North 25th Street in North Philadelphia. Authorities say the officers had entered...
Trash truck driver charged with vehicular homicide in Philly bicyclist’s 2017 death
PHILADELPHIA — A garbage truck driver has been charged with vehicular homicide in the death of a bicyclist in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that 28-year-old Jorge Fretts of Philadelphia was charged Tuesday with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person. Authorities said Fretts was driving a...
ATF joins state police probe into arson at Indiana County church
Federal agents have joined state police fire marshals to investigate an arson early Tuesday that destroyed a church in rural Indiana County. Investigators, including agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are seeking information from anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity of...
Thousands, many in the A-K Valley, still waiting for electricity after brutal wind storm
There were more than 2,800 West Penn Power customers who remained without power Wednesday night — and some of them might have to wait until Saturday before their electricity is restored. As of 9:45 p.m. areas where customers still didn’t have power included Lower Burrell, Harrison, Leechburg, Ford City, Cranberry,...
Plumbers union looking for apprentices
The Plumbers Local Union No. 27 is accepting applicants for its apprenticeship training program at its Coraopolis headquarters now through March 9. The union is looking for 22 applicants, who will embark on a 5-year apprenticeship that includes working fulltime and attending classes two to three nights a week for...
Fayette man pleads guilty in sex sting
A Fayette County man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he attempted to solicit sex from a 14-year-old boy. Kelly Lee Harrington, 49, of Normalville, was arrested last June as part of a sting operation by the state Attorney General’s office. Investigators said Harrington contacted a teenage boy through social...
Turnpike traffic restricted between Irwin and Monroeville exits
Single-lane traffic restrictions will go into effect beginning Wednesday on a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Pittsburgh exit in Monroeville and the Irwin exit in North Huntingdon, to allow for crews to remove old bridge abutments. Weather permitting, the single-lane pattern will apply to eastbound motorists between 6...
Western Pennsylvania weighs in as Methodists uphold church LGBTQ bans
United Methodists from Western Pennsylvania were split on the idea of their church embracing homosexuality — about as split as the vote that struck down the idea Tuesday. During a special session of the church’s General Conference, members, by a 374-449 vote, rejected a proposal that would have allowed local...
State police discover 4th meth lab in 2 months in Indiana County
State police are continuing an investigation into a suspected methamphetamine lab discovered Monday inside a West Wheatfield Township residence in Indiana County near the Westmoreland County border. Troop A spokesman Cliff Greenfield said the lab was discovered about 1:50 p.m. at 91 Caroline St. in the village of Robinson. Greenfield...
Ham products recalled for possible plastic contamination
You might want to check that ham in your refrigerator because it could be contaminated with plastic. Sahlen Packing Company, based in Buffalo, is recalling approximately 13,224 pounds of ready-to-eat deli ham products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and...
United Auto Workers sues GM to stop 3 plant closings, including Lordstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The United Auto Workers has sued General Motors in federal court to stop the closing of plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland, claiming the company is forbidden from idling plants under its current contract. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Youngstown, Ohio. The plants at which the...
9 suspects in southwestern Pa. gambling ring waive hearings, head to trial
Nine alleged bookmakers in an illegal multi-county sports gambling ring in southwestern Pennsylvania on Tuesday waived preliminary hearings before North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware on charges of conducting illegal sports betting and numbers lotteries. Robert “Bobby I.” Iannelli, 88, of Wexford, and his son, Rodney “Rusty” Iannelli, 58, of...
$500K winning Cash 5 ticket sold in Ambridge
Someone who stopped at a Beaver County convenience store and bought a lottery ticket is $500,000 richer. A winning Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket was sold at the Circle K on Duss Avenue in Ambridge. The ticket matched the all five winning numbers that were drawn on Friday — 02-33-37-41-43...
Police: Arson destroyed Indiana County church
A state police fire marshal has ruled that a Tuesday morning fire that destroyed an Indiana County church was deliberately set. Firefighters responded to the fire at Harmony Grove Lutheran Church on Five Points Road in Washington Township shortly after 4 a.m. Flames were reportedly through the roof. Officials told...
Thousands remain without power in wake of high winds
Power outages caused by Sunday’s high winds continued into Tuesday. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light was reporting just under 11,000 customers without electricity. West Penn Power was reporting a little more than 9,800 customers affected in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Duquesne Light was reporting the...
Transportation secretary on Real ID backlog: ‘We’re ramping up’
Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards told a state senate committee Monday she’s not concerned about a backlog of requests for Real ID cards that many residents plan to use for domestic air travel next year. “We’re ramping up and we feel very comfortable where we are right now,” Richards told...
Sled tracks lead Erie police to burglary suspect
Erie police said sled tracks left in the snow led officers to items stolen in a burglary at a westside residence on Monday morning. Matthew S. McClure, 28, was arraigned late Monday night on charges including burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property in the burglary at a residence...
Indiana inmate hanged himself, coroner says
An inmate died Sunday after hanging himself at the Indiana County Jail, officials said Monday. Robert Taylor, 31, of Black Lick Township was pronounced dead at UPMC Mercy hospital at 7:50 p.m. Sunday, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Taylor was taken to the hospital after he was found...
Indiana County jail inmate dies of injuries in Pittsburgh hospital
An inmate at the Indiana County Jail who was hospitalized Thursday after he was found unresponsive in his cell has died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Robert S. Taylor, 31, of Blacklick, was pronounced dead 7:50 p.m. Sunday at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh, the medical examiner’s office...
Cedar Point says it will allow cellphones on Steel Vengeance roller coaster
SANDUSKY, Ohio — Ohio’s Cedar Point amusement park has reversed a policy that banned visitors waiting in line for the roller coaster Steel Vengeance from carrying cellphones. The Sandusky-area park is adding zippered pouches to the bottom of the roller coaster seats, to hold phones and other loose items. Cleveland.com...
Rostraver Township police seek Duquesne man for alleged Feb. 15 shooting
Rostraver Township police obtained an arrest warrant for an Allegheny County man who allegedly shot a man during a robbery inside an apartment earlier this month. Solomon Reddick-Barker, 18, of Duquesne, is charged with aggravated assault, robbery, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and carrying a firearm without a license in connection...
Gasoline prices see biggest jump of 2019 as oil prices continue to rise
Gas prices in Pittsburgh have gone up 4.6 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $2.62, according to GasBuddy. The national average has also gone up, by 6.1 cents per gallon, to $2.39. “Gasoline prices saw their biggest weekly jump of 2019 with the national average...
Thousands could remain without power in Western Pa. until Wednesday night
Tens of thousands of Western Pennsylvania households who lost power during Sunday’s wind storms could be waiting until Wednesday night for their electricity to be restored. Nearly 30,000 Duquesne Light customers and more than 28,000 West Penn Power customers in the region remained dark Monday night, the utility companies reported....
Backlog of REAL ID applications hits Pennsylvania
The first wave of Real ID seekers produced a backlog of more than 30,000 unprocessed PennDOT applications, raising concerns about wait times for the new identification cards people will need to get on an airplane next year. In the past two weeks, the logjam has been reduced to 14,000 pending...
Red Cross, ‘Game of Thrones’ team up for blood donor giveaway
The characters in the violent world of “Game of Thrones” bleed plenty, but they’re not usually given a T-shirt or a cookie for their trouble. HBO and the American Red Cross have teamed up to make giving blood a little more rewarding with the “Bleed for the Throne” campaign, which...
