Top Stories category, Page 1083
Gun buyback event planned in Wilkinsburg; Giant Eagle gift certificates will be given out
The Wilkinsburg Police Department is teaming up with the Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project for Peace in an effort to reduce the number of firearms in the community in advance of the holiday season. A gun buyback event is slated for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13 in the lobby...
2 additional suspects arrested in Aug. 14 shooting death in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover
A man and a woman from Pittsburgh have been charged in the Aug. 14 shooting death of a man in the city’s Beltzhoover neighborhood. A city SWAT team and the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force on Thursday arrested Mariah Harrison, 19, of the city’s Fineview neighborhood, on charges...
Wilmerding’s Westinghouse Castle coming back to life with new purposeVideo
The lights were back on in the old “Westinghouse Castle” in Wilmerding Wednesday night. A few of the folks who gathered on the lawn in front of the stately Romanesque/Renaissance Revival building probably swore they saw George Westinghouse waving from his old office. The property of the General Office or...
Police: Man found dead along railroad tracks in Scott Township
Allegheny County Police homicide detectives are investigating the case of a man found dead Thursday along railroad tracks in Scott Township. County 911 dispatchers were informed just before 6 p.m. of an unresponsive man along the tracks, off Creek Street. First responders discovered the man was deceased, and county police...
Snow possible as weather turns chilly this weekend
For the first time since last spring, that four-letter weather word — snow — is being mentioned again. And it’s not one bit unusual for this time of year according to Jenna Lake, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Moon Township. “It’s very typical for this time...
A dozen Western Pa. health systems pledge to comply with vaccine mandate for hospital workers
UPMC’s top doctor affirmed Thursday that Pennsylvania’s largest health system and nongovernment employer will comply with a newly issued federal mandate that all health care workers get vaccinated for covid-19 by early January, in line with prior pledges by competing medical providers in recent months. Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chief...
Experts say Pa. mask mandate appeal seeks broader precedent
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration announced last week that it was prepared to lift the school mask mandate by Jan. 17. Why then, after the Commonwealth Court ruled Wednesday that Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam didn’t have the authority to issue the order in the first place, would the administration even...
Authentic piece of Bloomfield’s Little Italy — Donatelli’s — to close by year’s end
In the 1930s, Frank Donatelli allowed customers to stop in and pick up grocery items they needed from Donatelli’s Italian Food Center on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield – without paying. They could give him money later. “My grandfather started accounts for Italian immigrants,” said his grandson Russell Donatelli. “They paid...
Recount triggered for open Commonwealth Court seat, with Democrat Lori Dumas leading
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A close race for one of two open seats on a key Pennsylvania appellate court has triggered an automatic...
Family purchases Old Stone Tavern in Pittsburgh’s West End, promises to restore historic landmark
A family has purchased the Old Stone Tavern in Pittsburgh’s West End neighborhood, promising to preserve and restore the historic site, according to city officials. City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, whose district includes the West End, identified the buyers as Barbara and Steve Porter and their son Robert Porter. They...
Pennsylvania to begin counting covid reinfections
Thousands of new covid-19 cases could appear in the state Department of Health’s Monday report as Pennsylvania begins counting reinfections, officials said. For the past 19 months, state health officials have counted only one case per infected person, even if that individual contracted the virus again at some later time....
Pittsburgh Veterans Day parade honors those who served
Pittsburgh’s annual Veterans Day Parade was back in force on Thursday, with representatives of all branches of the military in attendance to honor veterans past and present. “We’re out here to say thank you to those who served before us,” said Master Sgt. Cameron Culliver as he prepared to march...
Ligonier man walks memorial-to-memorial to raise awareness about veteran suicides
In the United States, more than 6,200 veterans committed suicide in 2019. And the suicide risk for veterans that year was 52.3% higher than that of the general population, according to the Veterans Affairs Department’s 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report. Veteran David Rogers of Ligonier wants more people to...
Route 66 in Gilpin reopens after crash
Minor injuries were reported in a crash that closed part of Route 66 in Gilpin Thursday morning, state police said. Crews responded to the highway around 6:30 a.m. for reports of a crash involving a tanker truck, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. The road, which was closed between Schenley and...
‘They’re priceless’: Pa. Treasury program reunites unclaimed military medals with veterans, families
More than 500 military medals and memorabilia items — from Legion of Merits to Bronze Stars — sit unclaimed inside the country’s largest working vault in Harrisburg. It is Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s mission to return those decorations to their rightful owners. “As a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army...
Editorial: Veterans deserve our leaders’ respect and support beyond just Veterans Day
Everyone loves a veteran. Especially a politician. On Veterans Day, that pride and appreciation of those who stood up and did their duty when asked or stepped forward to volunteer will be on display in many corners. Flags will be flown and speeches will be given. Ceremonies will be held,...
Part of Butler Street in Lawrenceville closed after building facade fell
Hundreds of bricks were piled up on Butler Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood Thursday morning as cleanup began after part of a building’s façade crumbled overnight. A majority of the bricks had been piled up by midmorning, but dozens more remained strewn along the sidewalk in the 4300 block of...
Norwin High School Band goes through final tune-up before national competition
Like athletic teams preparing to play for a championship, the Norwin High School Band went through a dress rehearsal Wednesday night of the show it will perform at a national band competition in Indianapolis over the next three days. Playing before several hundred people under the lights at the high...
SpaceX crew launch marks 600 space travelers in 60 yearsVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket carried four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years. The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there...
Unity looks to hold line on taxes next year while continuing expanded paving program
Unity Township looks to hold the line on property taxes next year under a proposed $9.1 million budget while planning to continue an expanded road paving program. Supervisor Mike O’Barto noted the supervisors this year drew upon about $2 million from the township’s first-ever bond issue to pave a number...
Longtime nurse chief tapped to lead UPMC’s flagship hospital in Pittsburgh
A longtime champion for engaging front-line health care workers in executive decision-making will take the helm of UPMC’s flagship hospital operation at the start of next year. Sandra Rader — a seasoned chief nurse and vice president of patient care services before becoming chief operating officer — has been promoted...
Judge OKs $626 million settlement in Flint water litigation
DETROIT — A judge on Wednesday approved a $626 million deal to settle lawsuits filed by Flint residents who found their tap water contaminated by lead following disastrous decisions to switch the city’s water source and a failure to swiftly acknowledge the problem. Most of the money — $600 million...
3rd lawsuit filed over injuries on Mammoth Park’s Giant Slide
A third lawsuit has been filed against Westmoreland County over the newly built Giant Slide in Mammoth Park. Katherine McClelland of Fayette City, in court documents filed this week, claims she broke her ankle and suffered other injuries as a result of a ride down the slide July 14, 2020....
Allegheny County leaders ask all businesses to require employee covid vaccinations
Allegheny County officials are asking all businesses to require their employees to be vaccinated against covid-19 by Jan. 1. “Jan. 1 will be a year since these vaccines have been available,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said during a news conference Wednesday. “We know how safe they are, we know...
A massive probe of Pa.’s largest pension fund is nearly done, but taxpayers may never know the results
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — After months of work, prolonged silence from pension fund management, and more than $175,000 in legal bills, a law...
