$1 billion needed for infrastructure, maintenance at Pennsylvania state parks, forests
Deferred maintenance on Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests comes with a costly price tag of $1 billion and no clear way to pay for it, according to a new report. “The Legacy of Pennsylvania Parks and Forests: The Future Is in Our Hands,” a 48-page report from the Pennsylvania Parks...
Pittsburgh man sentenced to 9 months in prison, ordered to pay back nearly $422K for federal tax and Social Security fraud
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $422,000 in restitution for federal tax and Social Security fraud, federal authorities announced Friday. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Robert Alan Seth Sr., 58. He was also sentenced to...
Flooding closes both ‘bathtub’ on Parkway East and nearby Parkway North ramp, detours announced
Flooding has closed both the westbound “bathtub” section of the Parkway East (Interstate 376) and the southbound Parkway North (I-279) ramp to the Parkway East outbound in Pittsburgh. The closures occurred at about 8:20 Friday night. The dip in the Parkway East known as “the bathtub” was expected to close...
Reckoning time: Trump checks in for another medical checkup
BETHESDA, Md. — It’s reckoning time: President Trump had his annual medical exam Friday, a year after his doctor advised him to up the exercise and cut the calories. Trump spent more than four hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a checkup supervised by Dr. Sean P....
AP sources: Prosecutors probing National Enquirer after Jeff Bezos report
NEW YORK — The National Enquirer’s alleged attempt to blackmail Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with intimate photos could get the tabloid’s parent company and top editors in deep legal trouble and reopen them to prosecution for paying hush money to a Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with...
Congressional negotiators near deal offering Trump much less border money
WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators neared a deal Friday that would offer President Trump far less than the $5.7 billion he’s sought for walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, as lawmakers worked to prevent another government shutdown next week. Two people familiar with the talks said the understanding among Republicans is that...
Bridgeville suboxone clinic owner gets federal prison sentence, fine
An Upper St. Clair woman was sentenced Friday to serve more than a year in federal prison and pay a fine for violating federal drug dispensing laws and defrauding an insurance company. U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer sentenced Terri C. Brown, 53, of Morrow Road to a year and...
Accused Tree of Life gunman Robert Bowers to be arraigned Monday
Accused Tree of Life gunman Robert Bowers will be arraigned on 63 charges Monday in federal court. Bowers was originally indicted last year on 44 federal charges related to the Oct. 27 shooting that left 11 people dead inside the Squirrel Hill synagogue. A federal grand jury returned a superseding...
Abortion case shows Roberts firmly at Supreme Court’s center
Chief Justice John Roberts broke with the Supreme Court’s other conservative justices and his own voting record on abortion to block a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Roberts didn’t explain his decision late Thursday to join the court’s four liberal justices. But...
NY gov raps Amazon critics amid report company’s rethinking
NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Friday about what he called “political pandering” to critics of Amazon’s proposed secondary headquarters amid a report that the company is reconsidering its planned New York City headquarters. But opponents said they’d keep fighting a project they consider corporate welfare. The back-and-forth came...
Second woman accuses Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault
RICHMOND, Va. — A second woman has come forward to accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault. The woman said in a statement Friday that the attack took place when she and Fairfax were students at Duke University. “I deny this latest unsubstantiated allegation. It is demonstrably false....
Beaver pipeline explosion cited in DEP move to halt permits
The state Department of Environmental Protection says it is not approving any more clean water permits for Energy Transfer LP until the Texas-based company corrects problems related to a Beaver County pipeline explosion in September . DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said Friday that Energy Transfer, operator of the Revolution pipeline...
Pittsburgh officials eye new towing rules in wake of shooting
Pittsburgh officials hope to keep towing companies from competing with each other to reach crash sites by designating one towing for each of the city’s six police zones. The announcement comes less than a week after a dispute between two tow truck drivers escalated to violence, with one driver going...
Virginia Democrats try to thread the needle on crisis
RICHMOND, Va. — Confronted with a triple threat to the party’s top ranks, Virginia Democrats are trying to thread the needle, demanding anew that Gov. Ralph Northam resign but giving the benefit of the doubt — for the time being — to the lieutenant governor and attorney general. Key Democratic...
Westmoreland Manor administrator out, replacement named
The private company that manages Westmoreland Manor has hired a new administrator to oversee day-to-day operations at the county-owned nursing home. Premier Healthcare Resources, the Penn Township-based firm that was paid more than $586,000 last year to run the 408-bed facility in Hempfield, this week replaced John Austin, the nursing...
Guy Fieri could bring his Taco Joint to planned casino at Westmoreland Mall
Hempfield could land a little star power along with a mini casino planned for Westmoreland Mall. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s Taco Joint could be one of the options among entertainment options planned to go into the former Bon-Ton department store space. The Cordish Company, the Baltimore-based group heading the proposed...
Fayette County man accused of impersonating first responders in emergency dispatches
A Fayette County man was arrested Thursday by Uniontown Police on five counts of impersonating a public servant for allegedly making 21 illegal radio transmissions over the county emergency dispatch system while posing as a first responder. When police identified Jonathan M. Campbell, 27, as a suspect he told investigators...
Hempfield Republican announces bid for commissioner
A program director for a local senior citizens home on Friday announced she will be a candidate for Westmoreland county commissioner. Heather Cordial, 39, a Republican from Hempfield, said she will campaign on a platform of improving education and job creation in the county. “We have a major challenge in...
Cops sworn in to Pittsburgh force, some for 2nd timeVideo
Six veteran police officers from departments across the region took the Pittsburgh police oath Friday morning, two of whom will begin their second stints with the bureau. The new officers, considered veterans because they’ve served with other departments prior to joining Pittsburgh police, now move on to weeks of field...
Instagram video leads to arrests in alleged Jeannette alley assault
One male and three juveniles beat a man in a Jeannette alley on Super Bowl Sunday while an onlooker filmed the whole thing and posted it on Instagram, according to court papers. Jeannette Police charged Larenzo Dayshawn Peddicord, 18, of Jeannette, with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and simple...
Highlands changes location of school closure hearing, school board meeting
The Highlands School District has changed the location for a public hearing and school board meeting on Monday. The hearing and meeting, previously set to be held in the library at Highlands High School in Harrison, will instead be held in the high school auditorium, according to a notice on...
Nine on Nine in Pittsburgh to close its doors after Valentine’s Day weekend
Nine on Nine in Downtown Pittsburgh will breakup after Valentine’s weekend. The restaurant at the corner of Ninth Street and Penn Avenue in the cultural district is offering Valentine’s specials, Thursday through Saturday, serving a three-course dinner for two for $120. Then the doors will close for good. Owner Courtney...
Mt. Pleasant Township man accused of additional threats during standoff
A Mt. Pleasant Township man who was arrested last month after allegedly barricading himself in a camper with a handgun and firing at state troopers was charged Friday for allegedly threatening two area residents during the incident. Timothy B. Minerd, 47, of Mt. Pleasant, shot at the ground in front...
Woman recalls being beaten during carjacking outside Westmoreland prison
A 65-year-old woman testified Friday she initially couldn’t feel any pain after being beaten outside the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield last year as a recently released inmate carjacked her vehicle with her infant grandson still strapped in the backseat. “He punched me on the right side of my face,...
Police: Pleasant Unity woman took $32K from father’s estate
A Pleasant Unity woman is accused of taking $32,000 from her father’s estate that was to be split with her two siblings, according to county detectives. Kim Ellen Shilobod, 62, was charged Thursday with theft and misapplication of entrusted property. Detectives said Shilobod was named executrix of her father’s estate...
