Top Stories category, Page 1092
Gooski’s, Bridgeville pizza place cited by health department
Records show management at Gooski’s in Polish Hill has requested a re-inspection a week after the Allegheny County Health Department hit the dive bar with a slew of health code violations. According to the inspection report from Aug. 26, inspectors found mold-like substances in coolers and on the soda gun...
$4M deal: Hempfield purchases 43 acres from Excela, agrees to transfer grant
Excela Health will receive $4 million in a deal with Hempfield supervisors, who agreed to pay the health care provider $1 million for a 43-acre parcel of land in the township and transfer funds from a $3 million state grant. County records show Excela originally bought the land for $3.75...
Board gets heated after Allegheny Co. jail contractor refuses to disclose background
A man hired to provide militaristic training to officers at Allegheny County Jail refused to answer questions about his military service or criminal history during a heated Jail Oversight Board meeting Thursday. “I never touted anything other than my 27 years of law enforcement experience,” said Joseph Garcia, who runs...
U.S. hiring slows to just 235,000 jobs after 2 strong months
WASHINGTON — America’s employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a surprisingly weak gain after two months of robust hiring at a time when the delta variant’s spread has discouraged some people from flying, shopping and eating out. The August job gains the government reported Friday fell far short of...
Migratory birds being helped on journey by Pittsburgh Lights Out program
As the calendar flips to fall, roughly a hundred thousand birds are passing over the Pittsburgh region as part of their seasonal migration. It’s not an easy trip and apparently the bright artificial light given off by the tall buildings that make up the city’s skyline isn’t helping. Migrating birds...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Sept. 3-6
It’s Labor Day weekend — the unofficial end to summer. Here are a few ideas of how to spend it. Ribs, music, football The Heinz Field Kickoff and Rib Festival is Friday through Monday at Heinz Field on the North Side. Hours are noon to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and...
Pittsburgh’s council, school board districts to be redrawn using 2020 census figures
If you like to look at and draw maps, crunch population and demographic numbers and you live in the City of Pittsburgh, there’s an unpaid gig that requires regular meetings for the next year or so. The process to redraw Pittsburgh’s city council and school board districts will begin later...
Labor Day: Fun facts, travel tips, picnic fare and that rule about white
The first Monday in September is set aside to recognize the social and economic achievements of American workers. It’s also a last hurrah of summer, as family members and friends get in that last trip, party or other warm-weather special event. Here are some fun facts about Labor Day and...
Fire destroys Guy’s Tavern building in Avonmore
Lisa Sturiale fought back tears Friday morning as she stood steps away from crews battling a fire that destroyed her family’s commercial building in Avonmore. Guy’s Tavern on Westmoreland Avenue erupted in flames around 2 a.m. Sturiale, who lives in Pittsburgh’s North Side, said the building was originally owned by...
Afghanistan’s arc from 9/11 to today: once hopeful, now sad
ISLAMABAD — It was Nov. 13 , 2001. The sun had just begun to rise over the Hindu Kush Mountains when the Taliban disappeared from Kabul, the battered capital of Afghanistan. The bodies of foreign Arabs who had stayed behind were mutilated and bloodied. They had been found and killed...
Shooting in Pittsburgh’s East End leaves man with multiple wounds
A man was taken to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds following a shooting Thursday night on Frankstown Avenue, in Pittsburgh’s East End, a city Public Safety spokesman said. The man was alert and in stable condition, according to the spokesman. City police responded just before 10 p.m. to...
Bethel Park man charged with homicide by vehicle in death of man in wheelchair
A Bethel Park man is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of a controlled substance in the July 15 death of a man seated in a motorized wheelchair in Homestead. Eric Walker, 50, also is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Anthony Donofrio, 72,...
5 things to watch in WPIAL football Week 1: Teams roll with covid cancellations
If high school football teams were hoping covid shutdowns were left behind in 2020, this week shows they’re not gone yet. In all, four Week 1 matchups were canceled. Scheduled games between Riverview and Chartiers-Houston, Beaver and Central Valley, Hopewell and Blackhawk, Butler and Erie High, and Westinghouse and Kirtland...
Man in stable condition after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood
A man was taken to a local hospital in stable condition as a result of a shooting Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood, according to a city Public Safety spokesman. City police responded shortly before 2:30 p.m. to a Shotspotter alert in the 300 block of North Aiken Avenue. Officers...
Derry Township chainsaw injury sends man to hospital via helicopter
A man was flown to a trauma center for treatment after being injured by a chainsaw Thursday in Derry Township, according to emergency responders. Bradenville firefighters were dispatched at about 4:30 p.m. to establish a landing zone for a medical helicopter in the middle of Laughlin Farm Road, according to...
Washington County woman gets prison for keeping disabled sister locked in cage
A Washington County woman pleaded guilty Thursday to keeping her developmentally disabled sister in a cage, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. She will spend just under two years in prison. Leona Biser, 53, pleaded guilty to abuse of a care-dependent person and neglect of a care-dependent person. The...
Mixed-use retail, apartments proposed for Route 22 corridor in Murrysville
Murrysville officials are considering the second proposal for upscale housing in the Route 22 corridor in recent months. Chris Hamm of KDH Consulting Engineers this week showed council plans for Kistler Place. It’s a 5,800-square-foot building proposed on 3.6 acres near the intersection of Kistler Road and Route 22. The...
Ex-Fayette law clerk accused by U.S. Attorney of improperly representing Capitol riot defendants
The acting U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., complained to a federal judge this week that a lawyer representing 17 defendants in Capitol riot cases improperly used a Fayette County man “who is not a licensed attorney” to represent his clients during court appearances. Defense attorney John Pierce of Los Angeles...
U.S. sues UPMC and top surgeon, alleges care violations and false billing
The federal government on Thursday filed a civil complaint against UPMC, its longtime head of cardiothoracic surgery and a physicians group, accusing them of knowingly submitting hundreds of false claims to Medicare, failing to follow medical standards for surgery and knowingly putting patients at risk. The allegations against Dr. James...
Experimental program will provide $500 per month to 200 Pittsburgh residents
A program that could be launched before the end of the year would give a $500 monthly payment to 200 low-income Pittsburgh residents for two years with no strings attached. “It allows people to use the money in the way they need to improve their lives and the lives of...
Police: ‘Dozens’ of empty alcohol bottles in SUV at time of fatal Monroeville hit-and-run
Police say they found dozens of empty alcohol bottles and cans in the SUV of a man charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run Wednesday in Monroeville. Braden Chetsko told police he has a drinking problem, and he’d been drinking and smoking marijuana before work and continued drinking during and...
Parents urge Greensburg Salem to defy state mandate, stick with mask-optional school planVideo
Some Greensburg Salem parents urged the district to stick with its recently approved mask-optional policy inside its schools, despite a statewide K-12 mask mandate set to take effect Tuesday. At this week’s board discussion meeting, Ryan Silowash and Susanna Dejeet, both of Salem, and Carrie Hamley, of Greensburg, all spoke...
Lawrence County woman charged in Capitol riot case
A Lawrence County woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly participating in January’s Capitol riots. Julia Jeanette Sizer, of Ellwood City, is charged with knowingly entering a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. She is not accused of damaging any property, harming...
Some Verona residents upset over presence of armed ‘militia’ at Hula Bar
Several Verona residents and business owners expressed concern for their safety and the well-being of the borough after they saw suspected militia members at the Hula Bar, a popular bar and restaurant. “Verona is a small, family-oriented community,” said Jeanine Hurt-Robinson, a resident and vice president of the Riverview School...
Debate continues over possible Amazon site in Churchill
In a public hearing that has already lasted over 33 hours over several meetings, a heated debate continues about a potential Amazon distribution site in Churchill. Texas-based Hillwood Development has proposed to build a distribution center on the 133-acre parcel that formerly housed the Westinghouse Research Park. Their plans include...
