Regional News category, Page 325
VP Mike Pence to speak at Flight 93 Memorial on 9/11
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt will be the keynote speakers for the 18th annual 9/11 observance at the Flight 93 National Memorial on Wednesday, the National Park Service announced Friday. Pence last spoke for the memorial’s 9/11 observance in 2017. President Trump spoke in...
Study: Women spend more at craft brewpubs, while men prevail in volume
Craft beer drinkers might be predominantly male, but a recent study shows women spend more per brewpub trip. A recent survey of 5,000 visits over two years conducted by Secret Hopper, which conducts mystery shopping and consulting for the craft beer industry, found women spent nearly 7% more than men....
Hoodlebug Trail bike run kicks off annual Homer City festival
A bicycle poker run, a 5K foot race, a car cruise and a parade are among the highlights of Sunday’s annual Hoodlebug Festival in Homer City. An 11:45 a.m. flag-raising ceremony at the Homer City fire hall signals the start of many festival activities, taking place through 7 p.m. at...
Get a $30 Walmart gift card for recycling car seat
Walmart and TerraCycle are partnering on a recycling program offering $30 Walmart gift cards to be used for baby merchandise for customers turning in an old car seat from Sept. 16-30. All car seats collected in this program will be recycled through TerraCycle, and each component will be diverted from...
Police: Boy, 7, made threat at Indiana County school
A 7-year-old boy made a threat while inside a classroom at an Indiana County school Thursday, according to state police. The threat was overheard by a classmate near the end of the school day at East Pike Elementary in White Township who reported the situation to a parent, troopers said....
Butler County woman lied about husband to get $60K in Social Security benefits
A Butler County woman has pleaded guilty to receiving more than $60,000 in fraudulent Social Security benefits by lying about her husband, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Pattie Lou Smith, 56, of Connoquenessing admitted to making false reports to the federal government on documents required to determine eligibility for benefits between...
Firefighters mixed on call for Pennsylvania funding reform
Pennsylvania’s auditor general wants to reduce restrictions on how firefighters can spend state aid, but Western Pennsylvania fire departments have mixed feelings over whether change is needed. “The law has not kept pace with changing times and, in my view, puts too many restrictions on how relief associations can spend...
Sheetz appears to call peace with Wawa, others in convenience store feud
It looks like the great Sheetz-Wawa rivalry has entered a new chapter. In a tweet Thursday, the Altoona-based convenience store chain seemed to call a stop to online arguing about which store is the best. Sheetz went on to call Wawa “cool,” while also complimenting Quik Trip, Pilot Flying J...
Ohio man indicted in death of 14-year-old found buried on farm
CARROLLTON, Ohio — Authorities say an Ohio man faces multiple charges for giving a 14-year-old boy a fatal dose of the powerful opioid fentanyl and then burying his body in a shallow grave. Thirty-year-old Matthew Little, of Carrollton, was arrested Wednesday after a grand jury indicted him on charges that...
Labor Day weekend vehicle crashes down slightly from last year
The Pennsylvania State Police reported 5% fewer crashes on state-patrolled roads over the four-day Labor Day holiday compared to last year. This year’s holiday weekend saw 684 crashes that injured 204 people. In 2018, there were 722 crashes that injured 224 people. Across the state’s southwest region, which includes Allegheny...
Police say Ring video-sharing partnership has helped solve crimes
Two Western Pennsylvania police departments that have established partnerships with the doorbell-camera company Ring said the alliance has helped them solve crimes and benefited their communities. Baldwin Borough and Castle Shannon police are among roughly 400 police forces across the United States that have partnered with the Amazon-owned company, giving...
Analyst: Hurricane Dorian not expected to impact gas prices
Gas prices have continued to fall locally and across the nation, and they are expected to continue falling with the switch to cheaper winter gasoline and plummeting demand, an industry analyst says. “While a China/U.S. trade deal could undermine the normal seasonal decline in prices that we anticipate, its still...
State officials pledge more ‘aggressive’ approach to combating overgrowth at Somerset County lake
Two state legislators are pledging a more aggressive approach to reclaiming a lake in Somerset County that experienced a serious fish kill this summer. State Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, and state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Connellsville, met with officials of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and Pennsylvania Game Commission last...
Police: Man dies in fall from Cleveland apartment filled with drugs
CLEVELAND — Authorities in Cleveland aren’t sure if a man who died in an eight-story fall over the weekend had jumped from a balcony when a bail bondsman showed up serving a warrant. Police say the body of the 24-year-old man was found Saturday in downtown Cleveland’s Flats entertainment district....
Woman found dead in portable toilet on W&J campus likely OD’d, coroner says
A woman found dead Tuesday morning inside a portable toilet at a construction site on the Washington & Jefferson College campus likely died of a drug overdose, the Washington County Coroner’s Office said in a release. The coroner’s office identified the woman as Margaret Esther Tinglum, 30, of Hermitage. The...
School lunches get upgrade, pleasing palates and boosting nutrition
Americans of a certain age remember the famous school pizza meal: the little square bits of pepperoni, the likely imitation cheese, the slight taste of the freezer still lingering with every bite. Even though kids probably knew it wasn’t exactly healthy, they ate it — and might have grown to...
Mt. Lebanon man drowns in family outing at Ohiopyle
A Mt. Lebanon man drowned Saturday in a rafting accident along the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle State Park in what was a weekend outing for family and friends, the Fayette County coroner said Monday. Peter Quigley, 46, of Pine Tree Road, was pinned underwater when he fell out of a...
Staycation: Linden Hall in Fayette County
If you’ve never heard of Linden Hall, it’s OK. It says right on their website, “One of Pennsylvania’s best kept secrets.” The Linden Hall mansion sits on 785 acres nestled in the Laurel Highlands between Dawson and Perryopolis in northern Fayette County. Not far from the Youghiogheny River, Linden Hall...
Doctors fear vaping to blame for spike in lung illnesses
Doctors in Western Pennsylvania are concerned and frustrated with an uptick in vaping-related lung illnesses diagnosed over the past few weeks. Pittsburgh joins a growing list of places that have identified people with breathing problems related to vaping. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 215 possible cases...
Rafter dies at Ohiopyle
A man died after his raft overturned Saturday at Ohiopyle State Park, officials said. Park Manager Ken Bisbee said the victim, believed to be 40 to 50 years old, was confirmed dead after his raft flipped downstream of Dimple Rock. Bisbee said the victim’s foot was trapped, making rescue attempts...
Slew of shootings, several homicides probed in Philadelphia
Authorities say a slew of shootings, including several homicides, have the holiday weekend off to a violent start in Philadelphia. Police say gunfire shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday in the Hunting Park neighborhood of north Philadelphia killed a 25-year-old man and a 31-year-old man and wounded two other men listed...
Indiana County native, Cold War code-breaker, dies at age 101
Angeline Nanni could have lived her life in relative peace and quiet working at her sisters’ Blairsville beauty shop. Instead, she became part of one of the most important counterintelligence programs of the Cold War. Ms. Nanni and her compatriots in the Venona Project helped decrypt thousands of coded messages...
9/11 Promise Run launches inaugural cycle relay
Keeping this promise will require stamina. Even veteran athlete Mark Mhley, who has completed multiple Ironman triathlons, worries that pedaling 198 miles over steep winding country roads that cross the mountains between Washington, D.C., and the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Somerset County, will be a stretch. Mhley, 44,...
Cranberry Toyota dealership pays school lunch debt totaling more than $22,000
A Toyota dealership will wipe out more than $22,000 of student lunch debt that’s accrued in a Western Pennsylvania school district. Baierl Toyota in Cranberry presented a check Friday for $22,181.47 to the Ellwood City Area School District to pay off the debt. “This is just a great thing for...
Western Pennsylvania first responders move south ahead of Hurricane Dorian
As Hurricane Dorian barrels toward Florida, some Western Pennsylvania first responders are already headed south to lend a hand. Specialized ambulance units and paramedics from Fayette Emergency Medical Service, headquartered in Connellsville, and Murrysville Medic One left at 8 a.m. Friday to head to a staging area in Georgia. Florida...
