Top Stories category, Page 1079
Pittsburgh advances proposal to purchase North Side site for new public works facility
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced a measure to move a Department of Public Works facility out of Riverview Park to a new site on the North Side, despite concerns that the proposed site is involved in ongoing litigation regarding a billboard. The proposal calls for moving the Department of...
Woodland Hills Superintendent James Harris’ contract terminated via 8-1 vote
Woodland Hills School District officials voted Wednesday night to terminate the contract of Superintendent James Harris effective Dec. 17. The vote was 8-1, with board member Andre Patterson casting the lone dissenting vote. Patterson participated via Zoom. Harris was present in the meeting room, sitting next to board president Jamie...
Crowd gathers to remember New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, killed on duty 4 years ago
More than 100 people gathered Wednesday evening outside New Kensington City Hall to honor the life of fallen New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw. New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo led a memorial service near the Brian Shaw Memorial outside City Hall on the fourth anniversary of Shaw’s death. Shaw was...
West Deer residents split on whether proposed well pads will benefit township
West Deer residents have differing opinions on whether the township should approve proposed natural gas well pads at two locations in the township. Residents and taxpayers spoke Tuesday during the ninth and final public hearing regarding the proposal presented by Olympus Energy LLC. The hearing took place at West Deer...
Ties in 39 races to be broken Friday in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County election officials said 39 races on the Nov. 2 ballot ended in ties that will be broken Friday through a casting of lots, including one open seat for Jeannette city controller where 30 candidates each received one write-in vote. The county’s elections board on Wednesday issued a precertification...
House censures Rep. Paul Gosar for violent video in rare rebukeVideo
WASHINGTON — The House voted Wednesday to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword, an extraordinary rebuke that highlighted the political strains testing Washington and the country. Calling the video a clear threat to...
Police: Law student from Pittsburgh killed by train in Vermont
ROYALTON, Vt. — A driver who died after being hit by an Amtrak train had crossed the tracks, backed into a driveway to turn around, and was attempting to cross back when he was hit, investigators in Vermont said Wednesday. The crash happened at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the...
Pennsylvania officials, lawmakers and judges get big pay raise in 2022
HARRISBURG — Inflation is driving up consumer prices and will drive a big salary increase for Pennsylvania state lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials in 2022. For many of these positions, it’s the biggest increase in three decades. Salaries across the board will rise 5.6%, a figure tied by...
Report: Pennsylvania casinos shatter record, generate $425 million in revenues
Pennsylvania casinos generated more than $425.9 million in October, eclipsing a revenue high set in July, state regulators said. Casinos generated $2.25 million more last month than in July, when revenues topped $423.6 million, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. In addition, revenues last month increased...
As national overdose deaths top 100K in a year, Pa. official urges naloxone use
State officials are encouraging people to stock up on opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone as overdose deaths climb locally and nationally. The coronavirus pandemic upended a lot of progress officials statewide had made on reducing the number of drug overdoses, said Jen Smith, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug...
Carnegie Science Center unveils Gus & Yiayia’s cart in railroad display
With unseasonable temperatures climbing to 70 degrees, Wednesday was a perfect day for the unveiling of an ice ball cart. The Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh’s North Shore showcased its latest addition — Gus & Yiayia’s Ice Ball Cart — to be added to the Miniature Railroad & Village. The...
Police: Watson Institute nurse stabbed by woman wielding knife during hostage situation
A New Castle woman is accused of stabbing a nurse, taking a boy hostage and biting police officers during an incident at a school in Leet Wednesday. Leet police said Rochelle Lynn Pinkle, 40, was subdued with a Taser because she would not surrender to officers, a criminal complaint against...
Jan. 6 rioter who carried spear, wore horns gets 41 months in prison
Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Jan. 6 rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the assault on the Capitol, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison. Chansley, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official...
Port Authority instructor files discrimination lawsuit over Black Lives Matter mask
An instructor at Port Authority’s Ross garage filed a federal lawsuit this week against the agency, claiming racial discrimination after she was suspended for a week for wearing a Black Lives Matter mask. Monika Wheeler-Hanna, of Penn Hills, is also alleging harassment and retaliation. Her lawsuit is the second to...
Pittsburgh area getting last warm day before rain, colder temps move in
Anyone who enjoys warm, dry days better get out Wednesday and enjoy it, for it will be here but a day. The high temperature is expected to rise into the mid-60s this afternoon, with a high of 67 expected in the Pittsburgh area, National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Hendricks said....
1 killed, another critically hurt after hit by vehicle in Duquesne
One man was killed and a second was critically hurt after they were hit by a pickup in Duquesne Wednesday morning. According to Allegheny County Police, the collision at Duquesne and Hoffman boulevards was reported shortly after 6 a.m. The men, whose ages were not released, were taken to unidentified...
Robbers assault Greenfield pizza shop worker, flee with cash register
A pizza shop in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood was robbed early Wednesday morning, according to police. The robbery at Vocelli Pizza in the 4200 block of Murray Avenue was reported around 2:30 a.m. According to police, a man was locking up the business when two men approached from behind and forced...
Truck driver flees police stop on Pa. Turnpike, crashes in Ohio
The driver of a tractor-trailer reported driving erratically on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and accused of fleeing from a traffic stop was apprehended after crashing in Ohio Monday, according to state police. State police charged Ricardo Andres Kostyk, 30, of Clearwater, Fla., with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to...
Brackenridge woman accused of hitting man with car with 1-year-old inside
A Brackenridge woman is accused of hitting a man with a car on the side of Route 28, then fleeing with her 1-year-old son in her car. State police charged Shakeira Ladaisa Hardin, 25, with felony counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child and misdemeanor charges...
Death ruled a homicide at scene of East Hills shooting
The death of a 20-year-old man shot in Pittsburgh’s East Hills Tuesday has been ruled a homicide. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Michael Smith, who died at the scene at 2300 Wilner Drive and East Hills Drive. According to police, officers responded to alerts of...
Pitt gets $100M infusion to build biomanufacturing hub at Hazelwood Green brownfield site
Pittsburgh’s last brownfield-turned-tech hub just got another $100 million infusion. The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced Wednesday that it’s gifting the money to the University of Pittsburgh to develop a large swath of the 178-acre Hazelwood Green development along the Monongahela River into a biomanufacturing powerhouse. The $100 million grant...
Buffalo Trace kicks off holiday round of PLCB’s rare liquor lotteries
Anyone who ever wanted tickets to a massively popular concert is familiar with the scenario: Tickets go on sale, and immediately giant blocks of them are snapped up in the first few minutes. Before the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board instituted its limited-release lotteries in 2015, the same thing happened to...
Penguins fans sound off on potential ownership change
The news traveled faster than a Sidney Crosby slap shot. By game time Tuesday, fans at PPG Paints Arena to watch the Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres had already heard. Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park, is in advanced negotiations to purchase the Penguins....
Carnegie man gets 5 to 10 years state prison in fatal DUI crash on Parkway West
A Carnegie man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing a South Park woman in a 2019 crash in which he was under the influence of drugs. Aaron Hutchison, 21, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, as well as his fourth DUI offense, and related charges. As...
Boosters for all adults in U.S. closer with panel meeting set
NEW YORK — An influential U.S. advisory panel will discuss expanding eligibility for covid-19 vaccine booster shots to all adults Friday, a move that could make the shots available nationwide as early as this weekend. Some cities and states already allow all adults to get boosters of Pfizer’s vaccine, but...
