Top Stories category, Page 1001
Harrison zoning board to weigh Aldi proposal for Freeport Road
Harrison residents will have a chance to weigh in on a proposal by grocery giant Aldi, whose company officials are eyeing a site along Freeport Road. J.R. Perry, Aldi’s Saxonburg Division vice president, confirmed last month that plans are in the works for a store in the Natrona Heights section...
Tarentum residents will face instant penalty for unsafe, eyesore properties
A new quality-of-life ordinance approved by Tarentum Council is expected to keep residents accountable for their properties, council members said during a meeting Tuesday night. Council enacted new guidelines aimed at keeping properties tidy and safe. The ordinance outlines health and safety requirements that target high grass, junk vehicles and...
Airstrike hits Ukraine maternity hospital, 17 reported hurt
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — A Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital Wednesday in the besieged port city of Mariupol amid growing warnings from the West that Moscow’s invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn. Ukrainian officials said the attack wounded at least 17 people. The ground shook...
Temperatures drop, snow returns — more expected this weekend
Winter isn’t over quite yet. A cold front moving across the region Wednesday morning has dropped temperatures into the 30s and brought a morning snowfall, said Myranda Fullerton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “We’re not expecting anything significant in terms of snowfall accumulation with this,” she...
Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco exploring run for Congress
An Allegheny County councilman who heads the county’s GOP committee said he’s exploring a run for Congress in a district representing Beaver County and much of suburban Pittsburgh. Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette, said Tuesday he is gathering signatures to get on the ballot in the upcoming primary...
Federal judge orders New Kensington landscaping company to pay $150,000 in back wages, penalties
A New Kensington landscaping company has been ordered to pay $150,000 in back wages and penalties after an investigation found the employer denied overtime pay to its workers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the investigation found that Shurina Brothers LLC did not pay employees time-and-a-half for overtime hours...
Congress passes bill to shore up Postal Service, delivery
WASHINGTON — Congress on Tuesday passed legislation that would shore up the U.S. Postal Service and ensure six-day-a-week mail delivery, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The long-fought postal overhaul has been years in the making and comes amid widespread complaints about mail service slowdowns....
Hempfield School Board decides to tear down existing high school to its bare bones, building up from there
Hempfield leaders are moving forward with a multimillion-dollar project that will involve tearing down the high school to its structural system and replacing everything as new. School board members voted 8-0 Tuesday night to overhaul the 66-year-old building rather than renovate the existing structure or build a new school. Board...
Allegheny Health Network to boost nurses’ pay
In an effort to retain nurses by making their pay more competitive, Allegheny Health Network announced Tuesday plans to boost wages for nonunion nursing staff. The pay raises are part of $92 million for increased pay and workplace enhancements the network plans for this year. “You always want to maintain...
Westmoreland courthouse structural concerns identified in January; collapse threat not imminent
Engineers in late January found deteriorating structural beams in a parking garage below the Westmoreland County Courthouse in downtown Greensburg. County officials said Tuesday that while urgency is needed to make repairs, there is no imminent threat of collapse. Core samples taken in October found evidence of deteriorating beams from...
Former Pittsburgh defense attorney gets 5 years in prison for marijuana distributionVideo
A former defense attorney who became known for his satirical ads offering his ability to “think like a criminal” will spend five years in prison for his role in a large-scale marijuana ring. Daniel Muessig, 40, of Squirrel Hill, was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab...
Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess proposes 1% tax on higher-ed students, medical patients
A proposal introduced to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday would impose a 1% tax on people seeking higher education and receiving medical care in the city, with the proceeds going toward a new fund for repairing the city’s aging infrastructure. “The strongest part of our economy is the educational and...
Mayor Gainey says Pittsburgh will reinspect all city-owned bridges in poor condition
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said Tuesday that the city will work with PennDOT to reinspect every city-owned bridge that is rated in poor condition. “If any of those bridges are deemed unsafe to travel on, they will be closed immediately,” Gainey said during a news conference at the site of...
Proud Boys leader charged with conspiracy in Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — The leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was arrested Tuesday on a conspiracy charge for his suspected role in a coordinated attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Proud Boys former chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio wasn’t there...
U.S. banning Russian oil imports as Biden warns of ‘costs’
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, but he acknowledged it will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump. The action follows pleas by Ukrainian President...
Fern Hollow Bridge construction expected to begin in April
Less than two months after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh, PennDOT officials are announcing both design and construction efforts are underway to replace the bridge. The new structure will remain along the same roadway, with four lanes for vehicles, shoulders, a sidewalk, and a shared-use path. Construction is...
UPMC moves forward with plans for 636-bed hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland
Health care giant UPMC is moving ahead with plans to build a new 636-bed hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission was briefed on the proposed development Tuesday. Called the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital bed tower, the project was first unveiled nearly five years ago. At the time, UPMC touted...
2nd man arrested in bail scam that targeted Hempfield woman
A second New Jersey man has been arrested in connection with a bail scam that duped a Hempfield woman out of thousands of dollars. Noel Medrano-Abreu, 29, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. He was arraigned Tuesday, with the help of an interpreter, on two conspiracy...
People flee embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors
LVIV, Ukraine — Evacuations of people fleeing embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors began Tuesday, while U.N. officials said the exodus of refugees from Russia’s invasion reached 2 million. The Russian onslaught has trapped people inside cities that are running low on food, water and medicine amid the biggest ground...
Crews respond to fire in North Braddock
Crews responded to a fire in North Braddock on Tuesday morning. The fire was reported at 6:19 a.m. in the 500 block of Stokes Avenue, an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The dispatcher said no one had been taken from the scene with injuries, though crews were still battling the...
Franklin Regional ‘pauses’ teaching of novel about Iranian Revolution after complaints
Franklin Regional School District is “pausing” use of a novel in a freshman honors English course after school board members asked administrators to review its use amid concerns from some residents in the district. “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel about growing up as a 10-year-old girl amidst the Iranian Revolution...
Jury orders West Mifflin School District to pay $2.9M to former superintendent
A federal jury on Monday ordered West Mifflin School District to pay nearly $3 million to former Superintendent Daniel Castagna in connection with his 2019 firing. The jury late last week ruled in favor of Castagna, now acting superintendent at Woodland Hills, on all but one of the claims he...
Man dies after collapsing at Allegheny County Jail
A 26-year-old man died Sunday shortly after collapsing at Allegheny County Jail. A jail spokesman said the man, later identified by family members as Gerald Thomas, exited his cell shortly after noon and asked other inmates for assistance before collapsing. “A medical emergency was called, and life-saving measures were performed...
Pittsburgh foundation donates $100K to Ukrainian relief
A Pittsburgh foundation has donated $100,000 to help transport desperately needed medical and other supplies to those who have fled war-torn Ukraine and those who remain under siege by the Russian army. Eden Hall Foundation has donated $100,000 to Brother’s Brother Foundation of Pittsburgh’s North Side to help pay to...
Trial begins for Washington Township couple sued by friend paralyzed in swimming pool accident
Lawyers for a Vandergrift man who suffered a broken neck and spinal cord injuries in a swimming pool accident at a friend’s Washington Township home in 2013 on Monday asked a Westmoreland County jury to award him more than $9 million in damages. Jurors will spend the next week hearing...
