Recycling market driving area surge in garbage rates
Residents in numerous communities across Southwestern Pennsylvania experienced sticker shock this year when they placed their trash and recyclables at the curb to be hauled away. Refuse collection rates in some municipalities have soared anywhere from 20 percent to 60 percent, and industry officials say a key factor in driving...
Handicapped parking in Vandergrift now limited to 15 percent of any block
Vandergrift Council has adjusted the borough’s handicapped parking policy. Now, up to 15 percent of any block of a street can be set aside for handicapped parking. Previously, it was a maximum of two cars per block. Borough officials continue to grapple with the needs of an aging population in...
Simplify your gardens with raised beds
If you’re looking to start a new vegetable garden, or to simplify the garden you already have, consider installing raised beds. Raised bed gardening can’t be beat for its ease and efficiency. It also saves gardeners time, space, and money. With little wasted space, raised beds are high-yielding and easy...
In Syria, U.S.-backed forces launch battle for last Islamic State foothold
BEIRUT — U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced the beginning Saturday of the possible final battle for the last village controlled by the Islamic State. In a brief statement posted on its website, the Syrian Democratic Forces said the push began on Saturday night and was focused on the village of...
Telemedicine struggles to lure patients
Walmart workers can now see a doctor for only $4. The catch? It has to be a virtual visit. The retail giant recently rolled back the $40 price on telemedicine, becoming the latest big company to nudge employees toward a high-tech way to get diagnosed and treated remotely. But patients...
Lawyer: Head injury effects render Laurel Mountain man unfit for murder trial
The lawyer for a Laurel Mountain man jailed nearly five years on charges that he killed his live-in girlfriend wants a county judge to rule him incompetent to stand trial. Defense attorney Brian Aston, in court documents filed this week, argued Gregory Randall, 62, suffers memory and cognitive impairments as...
Hundreds of Seton Hill students volunteer in honor of Martin Luther KingVideo
A lot of college students might have woken up Saturday, saw the temperatures outside dipped to the low teens, rolled over and hit the snooze button. But that was the furthest thing from Seton Hill University junior Molly Carbone’s mind. “No way. I love doing carpentry, and I really love...
Search continues for body in Brush Creek in North HuntingdonVideo
The search for a body along Brush Creek in North Huntingdon Township has entered its second day as rescue crews resumed Sunday morning. A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher confirmed the search had resumed, but no other updates were immediately available. Police received a report Saturday that a body was spotted...
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....
