Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority aims to replace 3,400 waterlines in 2019
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will replace at least 2,800 lead waterlines this year and try to finish an additional 600 before year’s end, the executive director said Friday. Authority board members during a meeting unanimously approved construction contracts totaling $35.9 million for the lead program this year. Executive...
Westmoreland YWCA founder Kuyat dedicated life to service, education, family
Aside from her children, Reta Snodgrass Kuyat’s proudest accomplishment was founding the YWCA Westmoreland County. “Mom started with meetings in our house, and then in a tiny storefront on Main Street across from church,” said her daughter, Karen Nagy of Oakland Park, Fla. Her mother was ahead of her time,...
Residents argue for and against Pittsburgh gun ban during public hearingVideo
Scores of people stood for hours Thursday night in a reconfigured first floor of Pittsburgh’s City-County Building to argue for three minutes each for or against the city’s proposed firearms ban. They included military veterans, attorneys, moms, dads, friends of people killed in Squirrel Hill’s Tree of Life synagogue on...
200 reported missing after Brazil dam collapse
SAO PAULO — An iron ore tailings dam collapsed in southeastern Brazil on Friday, inundating a nearby community in mining waste and leaving an estimated 200 missing, according to Minas Gerais state firefighters. Brazilian mining company Vale SA said in a statement that tailings reached the community of Vila Ferteco...
Allegheny County ranks 2nd for most insurance fraud cases in Pa.
Allegheny County ranks second among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in prevalence of insurance fraud, according to cases filed in recent years through the state’s judicial system. A report issued Friday by the Administrative Office 0f Pennsylvania Courts indicates there were 348 insurance fraud cases filed in Allegheny from 2013 through 2017,...
Jeannette couple sentenced in 2016 North Huntingdon armed robbery case
A Jeannette couple pleaded guilty Friday to charges they shot a man during an armed robbery more than two years ago in North Huntingdon. Romel Crosby and Brittany Kruel, according to police, lured their victim, 32-year-old Ronald Hines Jr. of Penn Township, to an alley in the Westmoreland City section...
Mattress Factory art museum taps Hayley Haldeman, wife of Conor Lamb, as interim director
The Mattress Factory contemporary art museum has tapped Jones Day attorney Hayley Haldeman for its new interim leader as the popular tourist destination in Pittsburgh’s North Side rebounds from allegations that supervisors retaliated against employees who reported sexual harassment. Haldeman is a litigator based in Pittsburgh who specializes in complex...
Greek lawmakers ratify Macedonia name-change deal
ATHENS, Greece — Greek lawmakers ratified an agreement Friday to end a nearly three decade-long dispute over neighboring Macedonia’s name, in a landmark vote that will see the small country renamed North Macedonia and clear its path to NATO membership. The deal passed with 153 votes in the 300-member parliament,...
Norwin World Color Guard show includes former ‘American Idol’ contestant
The Norwin World Color Guard ensemble is making its 2019 show a little more interesting with the help of a former “American Idol” contestant. The show, titled “Out of My Mind,” features Aubrey Burchell, a Norwin senior who competed in “American Idol” in March, making it to the top 70...
Hawaiian Air flight diverted after flight attendant dies
SAN FRANCISCO — A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to New York City was diverted to San Francisco after a flight attendant died of an apparent heart attack, officials said Friday. Hawaiian Airlines Flight 50 landed Thursday night after a crew member had “a suspected heart attack,” San Francisco airport...
Police: Woman drove drunk on vanilla extract
NEW CANAAN, Conn. — Police say a Connecticut woman charged with driving under the influence was drunk on vanilla extract, which contains a significant amount of alcohol. Hearst Connecticut Media reports that New Canaan police found 50-year-old Stefanie Warner-Grise sitting in a car at an intersection with her eyes closed...
Butler County state rep. accused of drugging woman, sexually assaulting her
HARRISBURG — A woman who alleges that a Western Pennsylvania lawmaker sexually assaulted her while she was incapacitated believes she was drugged on the night the incident occurred, according to Pennsylvania’s top advocate for crime victims. Jennifer Storm, head of the state’s Office of the Victim Advocate, said the woman...
Retired Munhall Catholic priest arrested, charged with child sex abuse
Allegheny County police Friday arrested a retired Catholic priest for the alleged assault of a 10-year-old boy in 2001, authorities said. The Rev. Hugh J. Lang, 88, was a priest at St. Therese in Munhall at the time of the alleged assault, said police Inspector Andrew Schurman. Schurman said the...
Faraway space snowman is pitted and has bright ‘collar’
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The space snowman visited by NASA on New Year’s Day is pitted all over and has a bright “collar” between its two fused spheres. These are the newest details to emerge about Ultima Thule, the most distant object ever explored. A close-up picture taken by NASA’s...
Rapper Nelly seeks dismissal of lawsuit alleging sex assault
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The rapper Nelly is asking a federal court in St. Louis to dismiss a British woman’s lawsuit that alleges he sexually assaulted her after a concert in England. The lawsuit was filed in November in the rapper’s hometown. The woman accuses Nelly, whose real name is...
Bethel Park High School to host inductions into the school’s Great Alumni Hall of Fame
Actress, comedienne and reality television personality April Brucker will be inducted into the Bethel Park High School Great Alumni Hall of Fame during halftime of Friday’s boys varsity basketball game. The hall of fame was created in 2013 to recognize and honor alumni who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments either personally...
Trump, Congress agree to end longest government shutdown for 3 weeks
Submitting to mounting pressure and growing disruption, President Donald Trump agreed to a deal Friday to reopen the government for three weeks, backing down from his demand that Congress give him money for his border wall before federal agencies get back to work. Standing alone in the Rose Garden, Trump...
Jack’s Run bridge replacement will detour Hempfield motorists
A detour is ahead for motorists in Hempfield as PennDOT plans to replace a bridge on Keystone Avenue. The bridge over Jack’s Run will be closed beginning Feb. 7, shutting down traffic on a section of Keystone between Route 119 South and Club Way, according to PennDOT. The posted detour,...
National Aviary to offer discounts, activities to celebrate RAD 25th anniversary
Cheers to 25 years! In celebration of the Allegheny Regional Asset District’s 25th year and the significant support it has provided the National Aviary through the years, the aviary announced Friday that on the 25th day of each month it will offer special activities, prizes or discounts for visitors. To...
Harrison judge slams commissioners for not reaching deal with police chief
An obviously exasperated District Judge Carolyn Bengel tore into the Harrison commissioners in public Thursday night, taking officials to task for not reaching an employment agreement with the township’s longtime police chief that would facilitate his retirement. In May, commissioners deadlocked 2-2, with one absent, to approve a four-year contract...
Report: U.S. pedestrian deaths exceed 49,000 in 10 years
DETROIT — The authors of a new report are calling on federal, state and local governments to do more to address a staggering spike in pedestrian fatalities. The report, “Dangerous By Design 2019,” urges swift action to curb the death toll, approximately 49,340 people in the 10-year period ending in...
Police in Canada charge minor with terrorism
TORONTO — Canadian police have charged a minor with a terrorism-related offense as part of a national security investigation that also involved the FBI. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement Friday that an adult male has also been arrested in Kingston, Ontario, but was not charged. The...
Apollo moves to fill borough official vacancies
Following a rash of resignations and redefining positions, Apollo is hoping to move forward after a series of appointments Thursday night. However, one of the council members resigned Thursday night. Council members said salaries of Thursday’s appointees have yet to be determined. Borough council appointed Deanne Shupe as part-time borough...
Marijuana business owners plead to drug, racketeering counts
DENVER — The owners of a Denver marijuana business have pleaded guilty to drug and racketeering charges, stemming from a yearlong grand jury investigation that prosecutors say uncovered more than two tons of marijuana entering the black market. Matthew Aiken, Christian Johnson and Anthony Sauro pleaded guilty Friday to violating...
Parkland shooting survivor: ‘We need more mayors like Peduto’
A high school shooting survivor praised Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Friday for his gun reform efforts during a Washington, D.C., panel aimed at reducing gun violence. The panel, “City Initiatives to Reduce Gun Violence,” saw Peduto seated next to 18-year-old anti-gun violence activist David Hogg. Hogg rose to national...
