Top Stories category, Page 1057
Alec Baldwin speaks out on fatal shooting: ‘She was my friend’
Alec Baldwin has spoken publicly for the first time on camera about the cinematographer he fatally shot on the movie set of “Rust,” calling her a friend and saying he is in “constant contact” with her grieving family. “She was my friend,” Baldwin told photographers Saturday on a roadside in...
Allegheny County Council candidate Joe Wise dies
Joe Wise, a Republican candidate for Allegheny County Council, died on Saturday. Sam DeMarco, chair of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, confirmed the death in a statement. Wise, of Moon Township, was running for the council seat in District 1. He was facing Democrat Jack Betkowski of Ross. “Personally,...
3 seats up for grabs on Allegheny County Council; GOP candidate Joe Wise dies days before election
From sewer sludge to paid family leave to no-tax-hike pledges, a wide range of issues dominate the respective platforms of Allegheny County Council candidates facing off Tuesday. Six council races are on the general election ballot, but just three were contested in the general election. Joe Wise, a Moon Township...
Pitt police: Fire extinguisher left in a hot oven explodes, no one hurt in Irvis Hall dorm
An arson investigation is underway at a University of Pittsburgh student dormitory after officers say a fire extinguisher was placed in a hot oven causing it to explode. First responders were called to Irvis Hall shortly before 4:40 a.m. Saturday for reports of an oven explosion on the ground floor’s...
Westbound lanes of Parkway East reopen after multi-vehicle crash
Westbound lanes of Parkway East have reopened after a multi-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon, according to PennDOT. The roadway was closed between the Wilkinsburg and Edgewood/Swissvale exits for more than an hour. The roadway reopened around 3:20 p.m. According to an Allegheny 911 shift commander, three vehicles were involved in the...
2 development projects bring $27M in affordable housing units to East Liberty
Local officials and members of the East Liberty community gathered Thursday in a new housing development to celebrate $27 million worth of affordable housing units in the neighborhood. The ceremony marked the completion of one development — Mellons Orchard South — and the groundbreaking of a second — Harvard Beatty...
Obituary: Pittsburgh jazz musician Hill Jordan ‘made everyone feel like family’
The Pittsburgh jazz family is somber today. One of its own, Hill Jordan, 50, died Wednesday of unknown causes. Jordan, known to many as “Hilly,” was a trombonist and leader of Hill Jordan & Slide Worldwide. He regularly played clubs and festivals throughout Pittsburgh and the region. Many knew him...
Officials identify woman who died in overnight crash in Pittsburgh’s Overbrook neighborhood
An Allison Park woman died and several others were injured early Saturday in a crash in Overbrook early Saturday morning, police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the crash victim as Bridget Teresa Ebbert, 23, of Allison Park. Crews responded to the intersection of Saw Mill Boulevard (Route...
Women’s business ownership growing; still face different challenges
Tracy Alaia of Trafford had always dreamed of owning a boutique, but she wanted it to be more than just a shop. “I wanted it to be helpful to other artists,” said Alaia, who initially was going to have a paint studio, but that grew into a gift shop in...
No director, no problem: Westmoreland makes final election preparations
Westmoreland is one of five counties in Pennsylvania without a permanent election director heading into Tuesday’s balloting, but local officials insist operations have never run better. With days before voters head to the polls Tuesday and results are tallied, the fury and confusion that plagued the county election bureau a...
Pittsburgh police: Man flees from crash through North Side park, nearly hits officers
A man was arrested Friday evening after Pittsburgh police accused him of fleeing a crash scene and driving through a North Side park. According to a release from Pittsburgh Public Safety, officers responded around 6:50 p.m. to a report of a vehicle hitting a tree in the 300 block of...
Officer Brian Shaw’s Burrell football jersey retired at memorial ceremony
Burrell High School officials have added another layer to the legacy of the late Brian Shaw. Shaw, a New Kensington police officer and a 2010 Burrell graduate, was killed after a traffic stop while on duty in New Kensington in November 2017. He was shot when he pulled over an...
Compass Inn hosts spooky storytelling, pumpkin carving contest
Knox Lipinski was having a tough time picking out his favorite pumpkin on Friday night. Knox, 7, of Latrobe was at the Compass Inn’s sixth annual Pumpkin Carving Contest, which takes place this weekend during the inn’s Halloween Hauntings Storytelling event. He finally settled on a large pumpkin that, upon...
Supreme Court declines to block Maine vaccine mandate
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from health care workers in Maine to block a vaccine mandate that went into effect Friday. Three conservative justices noted their dissents. The state is not offering a religious exemption to hospital and nursing home workers who risk losing their...
Men get federal prison for helping destroy Pittsburgh police car during George Floyd protestsVideo
Two men accused of conspiring to light a Pittsburgh police car on fire during protests last year over the death of George Floyd are going to federal prison. Da’Jon Lengyel, 24, of McKees Rocks, was ordered to serve 27 months, while Christopher West, 36, will serve four years. They both...
Somerset County DA’s accuser agrees PFA not needed given bond conditions on him
The attorney for a woman seeking a protection from abuse order against embattled Somerset County District Attorney Jeffery Lynn Thomas on Friday agreed to withdraw her petition. Somerset lawyer Matt Zatko said his client filed the petition seeking the protection of the court the day after Thomas was arrested and...
How to choose your candidate for Allegheny County Common Pleas Court
The primary field of 39 candidates for Allegheny County Common Pleas Court judge has been cut by more than half as 18 people are running for 10 seats on the bench in Tuesday’s election. With that many candidates, trying to figure out who to vote for can be as much...
North Park eagles could rebuild after nest tree collapses, game commission says
When an old dead oak holding a bald eagle nest crashed to the ground in North Park last week, a legion of photographers and watchers collectively gasped. The tree supported not just the park’s only eagles’ nest, but the only such nest in any Allegheny County park. The two bald...
FDA paves way for Pfizer covid-19 vaccinations in young kids
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday paved the way for children ages 5 to 11 to get Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine. The FDA cleared kid-size doses — just one-third of the amount given to teens and adults — for emergency use, and up to 28 million more American...
6 local districts partner in Consortium for Public Education program for student career readiness
A local collaborative that helps students prepare for future success has launched an initiative with six area school districts to create a pathway to that goal. The nonprofit Consortium for Public Education is partnering with the Burrell and Deer Lakes school districts in the Allegheny Valley, the Greensburg Salem and...
Tickets nearly sold out for dinner, comedy show benefiting New Kensington’s Knead Cafe
Tickets for a dinner and comedy show in downtown New Kensington are nearly sold out — and that’s no joke. The Nov. 12 event, with musical comedian Mark Eddie headlining, will benefit Knead Community Cafe and will be held in its banquet room. Only about 25 of 250 tickets were...
Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh reinstates manager after racism allegations during Barrel and Flow Fest
Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh has decided to provisionally reinstate a general manager who had been accused of racism during a Black craft beer festival. The employee was previously suspended after organizers of Barrel and Flow Fest, a September event celebrating Black brewers and artists, accused the general manager of harassment and racism....
‘The Pumpkin Guy’: Aspinwall man carves oversized gourds for charity
A giant gourd is helping one man give back. Joel Keefer, 70, of Aspinwall began decorating oversized pumpkins for the public’s enjoyment 25 years ago. “I’m known as The Pumpkin Guy,” Keefer said. Keefer initially began his Halloween tradition of carving gourds weighing more than 1,000 pounds in an effort...
Bus driver fired after Pittsburgh student slept through stop, was found at bus garage
A bus driver with W.L. Roenigk Inc. was fired Thursday after a Pittsburgh Public Schools student was found at the company’s bus garage in McKees Rocks after sleeping through her stop. Parents of the child, a student at Pittsburgh Beechwood PreK-5, reported her missing when she didn’t get off the...
Biden at Vatican to talk climate, poverty with Pope Francis
VATICAN CITY — Declaring it’s “good to be back,” President Joe Biden on Friday opened a five-day European trip at the Vatican, where he and Pope Francis — the world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics — planned to discuss the covid-19 pandemic, climate change and poverty. A dozen Swiss Guards...
