Westmoreland pension fund reported in good shape
Westmoreland County’s pension fund lost more than $45 million in 2018 and for the first time in five years has been designated at a minimum distressed level. The account, which provides benefits to about 1,300 government retirees, has more than $415 million in assets after its value dipped by nearly...
Nancy Pelosi shows pragmatic streak in pursuit of border deal
WASHINGTON — Republicans have vilified Nancy Pelosi for years as a San Francisco liberal and now they’re trying to portray her as a captive of resurgent left-wingers in her Democratic Party. But in her early moves so far as House speaker, Pelosi is displaying her pragmatic streak. She’s set to...
Ted Bundy’s murderous charm still polarizes, 40 years later
CINCINNATI — She kept her eyes on the dapper, wavy-haired man who smiled, winked and exuded self-confidence as the courtroom proceedings moved along. “I don’t know what it is he has, but he’s fascinating,” the teenage spectator explained to me at the time. “He’s impressive. He just has a kind...
$1,500 fine announced for disturbing nesting bald eagles at North Park, viewing area created
Allegheny County Parks announced public viewing areas, restrictions and a $1,500 fine for disturbing a pair of bald eagles that recently built a nest on a wooded hillside near the park’s ice skating rink. The North Park nest is among only a handful of bald eagle nests in heavily populated...
Rachel Carson Bridge scheduled to close Monday for 18 months
Motorists are reminded that the Rachel Carson Bridge, which links downtown Pittsburgh with the North Shore, is scheduled to close Monday through summer 2020. The 97-year-old span, also called the Ninth Street Bridge, will get a new concrete deck, structural steel repairs and a fresh coat of Aztec Gold paint,...
Trump administration waives environmental review to replace more San Diego border fencing
SAN DIEGO — Describing San Diego’s border with Mexico as “an area of high illegal entry,” the Trump administration announced this week it is waiving environmental reviews to speed up replacement of 12.4 miles of the secondary border fence. This project was funded by a 2018 bill that allocated $251...
Warren makes presidential bid official with call for change
LAWRENCE, Mass. — Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren made her bid for the presidency official on Saturday in this working-class city, grounding her 2020 campaign in a populist call to fight economic inequality and build “an America that works for everyone.” Warren delivered a sharp call for change at her presidential...
Pedestrian struck in Pittsburgh hit-and-run on Jan. 23 dies of his injuries
A 75-year-old Pittsburgh man who was struck by a hit-and-run driver last month near the South Side Slopes has died of his injuries at UPMC Mercy Hospital, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. John J. Kulinski died Friday of multiple injuries suffered Jan. 23 about 9:40 p.m. as...
Parkway East ‘bathtub’ section and Parkway North ramp in Pittsburgh reopened to traffic
PennDOT District 11 reopened the “bathtub” area of the Parkway East in Pittsburgh this morning. The area was closed Friday evening due to flooding. In addition, the southbound Parkway North, I-279, ramp from the Fort Duquesne Bridge to the eastbound lanes of the Parkway East were also reopened to traffic....
East Deer woman battling rare cancer put in tough spot by UPMC’s hardline insurance stanceVideo
An East Deer woman has a potentially life-altering decision to make in the next four months: keep her UPMC oncologist but pay more for a secondary insurance plan, or risk finding another whose knowledge of her rare form of cancer is not as sophisticated. Brittany Eckert, 32, was diagnosed with...
Lyme, West Nile prevention focus of Hempfield program
A bug as small as the period at the end of a sentence is the cause of a major health concern in Pennsylvania. Tiny blacklegged ticks, and the Lyme disease they can transmit, will be discussed at a Feb. 21 program sponsored by the Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association. The 6:30...
Police: Fayette man used altered pistol to kill dog
A Fayette County man is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after he allegedly shot and killed one of his boxer/pit bull dogs on Thursday . Dylan Wilfong, 26, of North Union Township, used a movie prop pistol that had been converted into a working firearm to shoot the dog...
‘This Is Us’ star Milo Ventimiglia honored at Harvard
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — “This Is Us” actor Milo Ventimiglia was Friday as Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals at Farkas Hall in Cambridge. The Emmy-nominated actor received the award after a roast from Elizabeth Mann and Mariana Sanchez Medina of the Hasty Pudding Theatrics, who poked...
Booker urges activists, leaders to heed social justice call
IOWA CITY, Iowa — On his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker urged Democratic activists and black leaders on Friday to heed his call for social justice and apply it to the fight for universal health care coverage and a fair criminal justice...
Hair raising: Donate your locks to help Wigs for Kids
It all began with a casual conversation about wigs during a hair appointment. Christina Wonnacott and Jess Arnone, her stylist at Cardamone’s Salon in Downtown Pittsburgh, talked about how women with cancer often struggle with having to cut their locks because of the effects of chemotherapy and other medical issues....
$530 million investment in Aurora Innovation could create Pittsburgh jobs
A $530 million infusion into a self-driving startup could mean dozens of new jobs in Pittsburgh. Announced this week, Aurora Innovation raised the money from a group of investors that includes the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, Amazon and T. Rowe Price Group. Founded two years ago, the...
Longtime Valley News Dispatch sports editor remembered for his keen eye for young talent
During his 26-year tenure as sports editor for the Valley News Dispatch, Bob Schank oversaw a drastic transformation of the local sports scene. From the mergers of Alle-Kiski Valley high school sports programs to the elevation of the Pirates and Steelers from punchlines to world champions, Schank saw it all....
Video of Broward deputy calling a black father ‘boy’ amid foul language sparks complaint
MIAMI — The actions of a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy with a history of making false arrests drew a complaint from the Broward Public Defender’s Office after bodycam video from a July 2017 incident emerged last month. Deputy James Cady confronts Allen Floyd, a black father calmly holding his infant,...
Pittsburgh police: Resident, suspect in Knoxville home invasion shot; suspect critical
Pittsburgh police are investigating an alleged home invasion in the Knoxville neighborhood in which two people were shot Friday night. Soon after arriving at the 300 block of Moore Avenue about 7 p.m., police found “multiple shell casings and a male resident with a gunshot wound to the hand,” spokesman...
Shapiro charges 13 in alleged Allegheny-Westmoreland gambling ring
The office of state Attorney General Josh Shapiro has charged 13 people, including residents of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, with taking part in a gambling ring that involved illegal sports bookmaking and lotteries. Based on a grand jury investigation launched in March 2015 with the Attorney General’s Office and state...
Pilot had been disciplined for dangerous flying years before Southern California crash
LOS ANGELES — Years before his plane plunged into an Orange County suburb, killing him and four others on the ground, Antonio Pastini was disciplined twice by federal regulators for flying in dangerous conditions and lying about his credentials, records show. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration told the...
Programs to combat homelessness in Pennsylvania to receive $108 million in federal grants
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $108 million in Continuum of Care Program grants to support local homeless programs in Pennsylvania, officials announced Friday. “Local communities in Pennsylvania are on the front lines, working day in and day out to reduce homelessness,” said Joe DeFelice, regional administrator...
Ice causes crashes across Alle-Kiski Valley
Ice on a sunny, but cold afternoon apparently caused two accidents within 20 minutes in the Alle-Kiski Valley and numerous others across the region. An Apollo man was driving down a small car down South Leechburg Hill in Allegheny Township at about 5:40 p.m. when he hit a patch of...
Arizona wants care unit where patient was raped to stay open
PHOENIX — The embattled operators of an Arizona long-term care facility agreed Friday to be regulated by the state, effectively nixing a plan to close down the unit where an incapacitated woman gave birth after being raped. The state received written confirmation that Hacienda HealthCare would enter into a voluntary...
Snowbound California guests freed after 5 days at lodge
LOS ANGELES — More than 120 visitors and staff who were snowbound in a Sierra Nevada resort for five days have been freed, authorities said Friday. Up to 7 feet of snow trapped the guests and staff at Montecito Sequoia Lodge in Sequoia National Forest starting Sunday following a storm,...
