Latrobe rejects outsourcing garbage hauling from transfer stationVideo
Latrobe last month approved a new five-year contract with municipal garbage hauler Republic Services, but city council has since turned down the company’s separate proposal to also truck refuse deposited in large roll-off bins from the city’s transfer station to the local landfill. Republic proposed charging $200 per load —...
Highlands School District residents call for transparency on school closure, budget
Facing the proposed closing of a school and the possibility of a property tax increase, frustrated Highlands School District residents are demanding greater transparency and more information from the district’s elected leaders and administrators. At a public hearing Monday, Susan Bajack of Harrison said residents were pleading for greater transparency...
AccuWeather agrees to pay $290,000 for discrimination, sexual harassment
AccuWeather agreed to pay $290,000 after an investigation found the company discriminated against female employees by subjecting them to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs also found Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather did not exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct the discrimination and harassment....
Trump and Beto O’Rourke hold dueling rallies on immigration in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas — Undaunted by his past failures, President Trump on Monday again headed south to the border with Mexico to make his case to spend billions of federal dollars for a wall there, hoping to put Democrats in Washington on the defensive as another partial government shutdown looms....
Star of The Bachelor visits Pittsburgh’s children’s hospitalVideo
Colton Underwood took a break from handing out roses Sunday and instead visited kids at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The current star of ABC’s The Bachelor and a former NFL player with the then San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, Underwood spent time with the kids as part of...
Scottdale man served with President Ford aboard USS Monterey
Bob Clark of Rostraver didn’t know much about his father Robert’s military service until he read about it in a book published by a local author. “There was a high school teacher from Southmoreland who wrote a book about local veterans, and one of the chapters was about Dad,” Clark...
Pennsylvania college student charged with stabbing homeless woman
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A college student from Pennsylvania has been charged with what police call the unprovoked stabbing of a homeless woman in downtown Providence. Police say 22-year-old Conor Noll, of Blandon, Berks County, was arraigned Monday on a felony assault charge. He’s a student at Johnson and Wales University....
Multiple rape cases against Mt. Pleasant cop to be tried together in Westmoreland County
Allegations that a suspended Mt. Pleasant Borough police officer raped and sexually assaulted six different woman in four counties can be tried together in Westmoreland County, a judge ruled on Monday. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani, following a brief hearing, reaffirmed a ruling he issued in 2017 that consolidated...
Ice jams clear the Allegheny River but rain prompts flood warnings
The ice jams have cleared on the Allegheny River in Armstrong County, however, rain has triggered flood warnings and watches in the region. The Army Corps of Engineers reported Monday that ice jam on the Allegheny River in the upper reaches of Armstrong County late last week has melted. The...
Thieves targeting unlocked vehicles in at least 5 communities
It’s been a busy month for thieves who target unlocked vehicles. Police in at least five communities in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties have reported car break-ins involving dozens of vehicles. In the latest rash of thefts, a pistol, drivers license, debit cards, cash and change were stolen from a number...
Century III Mall granted $5M line of credit to keep operating during bankruptcy
Owners of West Mifflin’s struggling Century III Mall have been granted a $5 million line of credit by a bankruptcy court to keep operating during its case even as it remains closed by order of the borough code enforcement office. West Mifflin ordered the mall’s closure on Feb. 6 and...
Vulgar anti-Trump message in comic strip ‘Non Sequitur’ stirs anger
At first glance, Sunday’s “Non Sequitur” comic strip just showed bears dressed up like Leonardo da Vinci. The syndicated strip opens with Bear-Vinci holding a picture of a Virtruvian Bear. It ends with the ursine artist painting a Mona Lisa, who is also, you guessed it, a bear. They are...
Pa. Turnpike traffic restrictions lifted
Weather-related traffic restrictions for some commercial vehicles, all recreational vehicles and motorcycles were lifted at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between New Stanton and Carlisle. The move ended all vehicle restrictions on the Turnpike mainline, which had gone into effect beginning at midnight Monday in...
Fairfield cruelty case involving 99 animals to head to trial
Hundreds of animal cruelty charges against a Fairfield woman and her parents will go to trial after a Westmoreland County judge Monday refused to dismiss the cases. “It’s clear to me there is enough evidence to make a … case,” Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani said after hearing testimony from...
Storm prompts vehicle limits, lower speeds on major highways
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania officials are announcing restrictions on some interstates will take effect overnight Monday into Tuesday as a significant winter storm is forecast. PennDOT is banning commercial vehicles at midnight on Interstate 70 from the Maryland line north to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. That’s when it’ll also ban commercial vehicles...
Vandergrift Dollar General open, free $10 gift cards given for Saturday grand reopening
The new Dollar General in Vandergrift, located in the former Sprankle’s building, opened this weekend with a grand reopening set for Saturday. Sprankle’s, with stores in Leechburg and Kittanning, sold their Vandergrift site to Dollar General last year after they learned the national low-priced market was interested in locating there....
Isolated ‘casing issue’ likely caused problems at gas well near Beaver Run Reservoir, company reports
A pressure anomaly that recently forced the shutdown of a Utica shale gas well near Beaver Run Reservoir was likely caused by a “casing integrity issue” about a mile underground, CNX Resources told investors. The update was contained in a footnote in the company’s 2018 annual report, posted late last...
Injured hawk takes to the sky after successful rehabVideo
After two months of bed rest, an injured red-tailed hawk again took to the skies Monday over Western Pennsylvania. A man found the hawk in December lying in the street in Ohio Township and rescued it, bringing it to Wildlife Works animal rehabilitation facility in Youngwood. The cause of the...
More than 4 tons of deli meats, cheeses donated to Pittsburgh food bank
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is getting a sizable donation Thursday — about four and a half tons — from a Philadelphia company specializing in deli meats and cheeses. This is the third year that Dietz & Watson Inc. has donated to the Duquesne-based food bank at the suggestion...
Tube City Center opens in storied Daily News building in McKeesport
The storied Daily News building in downtown McKeesport came back to life Monday with the grand opening of Tube City Center, a multi-use, co-working space that will bring, among other things, media coverage back to the city. Trib Total Media donated the building to the city in late 2017, about...
W.Va. GOP chief rebukes delegate’s remarks on gay community
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The head of the West Virginia Republican Party has denounced comments from a GOP member of the House of Delegates about the gay community. State GOP chairwoman Melody Potter says in a statement Mercer County Delegate Eric Porterfield’s comments were “hateful, hurtful, and do not reflect the...
Rep. Ilhan Omar apologizes for tweets on AIPAC’s influence
WASHINGTON — Freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar “unequivocally” apologized on Monday for tweets about the influence in Congress of an American organization that supports Israel, which drew bipartisan criticism and a rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Minnesota Democrat said she had no intention offending anyone, including Jewish Americans,...
Poems about Pittsburgh neighborhoods will be displayed in Port Authority vehicles
A Pittsburgh nonprofit literacy organization is sponsoring a poetry contest designed to bring people together and help heal wounds left by violence in the city, including the October murders at Tree of Life synagogue. Crossing Limits has partnered with Port Authority of Allegheny County on the contest dubbed I Too...
Future of Penn Plaza site in East Liberty about to be finalized
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission has scheduled a hearing and vote for Tuesday on final plans for the controversial redevelopment of the former site of Penn Plaza Apartments in East Liberty. Pennley Park South, a subsidiary of Downtown-based LG Realty Advisors, is seeking to build a $100 million retail and office...
Judge finds suspended Westmoreland sheriff’s captain not guilty of trespassing charge
A suspended Westmoreland County sheriff’s captain was acquitted Monday of trespassing at the state police barracks in Greensburg. Senior Common Pleas Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr., following testimony from three witnesses during a summary appeal hearing, ruled there was not enough evidence to support the citation issued against Travis Day...
