Regional News category, Page 312
Dollar Bank network issues resolved, accounts are current, spokesman says
Dollar Bank has resolved its network issues that caused its online and mobile banking services to go down Thursday night and resulted in direct deposits not posting until Friday afternoon, a bank official said. “We apologize to all our customers for this inconvenience and appreciate their patience,” said Joe Smith,...
Beaver County man gets nearly 5 years behind bars for robbing 4 banks, CoGo’s
A former Beaver County man will spend nearly five years behind bars for robbing four banks and a convenience store of more than $27,000, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Patrick Acierno, 34, who has ties to Freedom, Beaver County, was convicted of the spate of robberies in Allegheny and Beaver counties...
New Castle man accused of selling crack cocaine in Butler faces new charges
A New Castle man has been accused of scheming to sell large amounts crack cocaine to addicts in Western Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Zaamar Stevenson, 43, who goes by the nickname “Scrap,” faces new charges from a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh related to possessing and selling more than...
Pennsylvania hunters take in record number of bears in 2019
The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported the state’s highest bear harvest ever this year as the agency tries to slow a growing bear population. Locally, hunters took the most bears in Armstrong and Butler counties, with numbers in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties holding steady. Expanded hunting opportunities doubled the number of...
‘Dangerous’ snow squall leaves behind slick roads, minor crashes in Southwestern Pa.
A squall that blanketed Southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon — leaving roads slick and myriad minor car crashes and disabled vehicles in its wake — was akin to a summer thunderstorm, just one full of snow instead of rain, said meteorologist Matthew Kramer of the National Weather Service. “You can...
Allegheny County sees 66% increase in flu cases over past week
The Pittsburgh area continues to lead the state in confirmed flu cases, with a large increase in Allegheny County in the past week. There were more than 6,900 confirmed influenza cases statewide as of the week ending Dec. 14, according to the state Department of Health. That is a 57%...
Police: Butler County couple stole more than $340K from employer
State police say a Clinton Township husband and wife stole more than $340,000 from their former employer over two years. Adam Joshua Lesseski, 35, and Kara Lynn Lesseski, 37, took the money from Concrete Coring in Jefferson Township between January 2017 and last March , police said. Adam Lesseski was...
Police: Erie teens covered cars, house in cheese slices
Pennsylvania State Police say three Erie-area teens are facing charges for throwing cheese slices all over a pair of cars and a house. ErieNewsNow reports state police say the incidents were reported between midnight and 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Investigators say a 18-year-old from Lake City and two 17-year-olds from Lake...
Once upon a time, malls transformed into Christmas wonderlands
When Debi Hall’s daughter, Kelly, saw the Christmas decorations at the former Greengate Mall in Hempfield years ago, she thought she was at the North Pole. Each year, the mall was decorated with a towering Christmas tree set up near the Lazarus department store, curtains of string lights flowing from...
Mon Wharf parking area expected to flood
The Mon Wharf parking area will be closed Wednesday because of flooding, the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh announced Tuesday. All vehicles will have to be removed from the lot by 7 p.m. Tuesday, the authority said. The wharf will be closed until further notice. A flood advisory for the...
Connellsville man arrested for Vanderbilt bank robbery
A Connellsville man is charged with robbing a Vanderbilt bank on Friday, state police said. Donald Ray Homer Jr., 56, is facing two counts of robbery, two counts of terroristic threats and one count each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, according to a criminal complaint against...
Proposed bill would honor 3 men who dedicated lives to community, country
Three Western Pennsylvania men who dedicated their lives to ensuring the safety of their communities and country could soon be memorialized for their sacrifices. Former Greene County Sheriff Brian Tennant and Pfc. Joseph Frank Duda and Cpl. Denny Ray Easter, both of Fayette County, could live on through street names...
Activists across Western Pa. to rally for Trump’s ouster on eve of House impeachment vote
Local police say they are confident they are prepared for impeachment rallies planned across the region Tuesday evening. Activists calling for the impeachment and removal of President Trump have scheduled five rallies at locations across the region at 5:30 p.m. on the eve of the U.S. House of Representatives’ historic...
State police: Driver attacks New Castle man after crash, flees
State police are looking for the driver of car who allegedly attacked another driver after hitting his car in Lawrence County. The man police said hit the car and then attacked the driver fled the scene, officers said. The driver who was attacked had a minor injury but declined to...
Gas prices fall to lowest level since March, analyst says
Gasoline prices have slid to their lowest level since March thanks to rising U.S. inventories and sluggish demand, according to an analyst for the price-tracking firm GasBuddy. “The jump in gasoline inventories has been so large it has offset oil prices, which touched $60 per barrel last week, as well...
Snow, freezing rain may impact evening, morning commutes
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory from 4 p.m. Monday through 11 a.m. Tuesday. A mix of snow up to around an inch with a light glaze of ice from freezing rain is possible, according to the advisory for Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Roads could be...
Week in review: Banking on old Civic Arena site, flu outbreak, human trafficking pleaVideo
Here’s a look at the top stories across the region from the past week. ‘Widespread’ flu outbreak Of the 4,424 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza have been reported in Pennsylvania, more than half are in the Greater Pittsburgh area, according to data the state Department of Health. Seven counties in Greater...
Police seek Fayette bank robber
State police are seeking the man who robbed a bank in Fayette County Friday afternoon. The man, wearing a green jacket and a blue tassel cap, robbed the Vanderbilt branch of the Scottdale Bank & Trust Co. at 704 Main St., Vanderbilt, at about 12:30 p.m., according to state police...
Penn State Extension hosting hemp conference in February
Penn State Extension will present a one-day conference on growing industrial hemp on Feb. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Chadwick in McCandless. The conference will focus on planting, growing and harvesting industrial hemp. Hemp was designated a legal crop in the 2019 Pennsylvania Farm Bill. There...
Conor Lamb supports impeachment: ‘What the president did was wrong’
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb said Thursday he plans to vote in favor of both impeachment articles Democrats plan to lodge against President Donald Trump. The Mt. Lebanon Democrat — a rising-star politician serving his first full year in Congress — said the last few weeks of evidence and testimony in...
Beaver County man pleads guilty to robbing Cranberry PNC Bank over the summer
A Beaver County man this week pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing a Cranberry bank over the summer. Michael Ryan Neppach, 40, of Patterson, pleaded guilty to a charge of bank robbery, prosecutors said. Authorities said shortly after 4:45 p.m. Aug. 28, Neppach went to the PNC Bank at...
Chevron hints at selling or reducing natural gas production in Appalachia
Chevron, one of the largest producers of natural gas in the region, may begin divesting in its gas operations in Appalachia, the company announced Tuesday. In Chevron’s exploratory budget for 2020, the company announced a flat spending budget of $20 billion. Domestic projects include the Permian Basin, which spans much...
Outrage grows over Pennsylvania deer-torture video as investigation continues
A video showing two teens torturing an injured deer has rocked a small Western Pennsylvania community while generating outrage far and wide, including online where nearly 600,000 people have signed a petition calling for criminal charges. As of midday Wednesday, authorities had not charged the teens, who can be seen...
Police investigating dorm room assault of female Allegheny College student
MEADVILLE — The on-campus rape of an Allegheny College student inside her dormitory room by an armed man early Tuesday morning is under investigation by Meadville Police Department and Allegheny College. The female student was attacked by an unknown man in her room in Ravine Hall, according to authorities. Ravine...
Indiana county man accused of shoplifting from Sheetz, hitting employee with car
A 44-year-old Indiana County man with a taste for stolen Slim Jims hit a Sheetz employee with his car as he fled the store near Blairsville last month, police said. James Fitzgerald Higgins, of Josephine, is in the county jail on $50,000 bail in connection with the Nov. 24 incident...
