Top Stories category, Page 1134
Dispatch: 4 people flown by medical helicopters after multi-vehicle crash in Washington Township
Four people were flown by medical helicopter to area hospitals following a multi-vehicle crash along Route 66 in Washington Township, according a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to Route 66 at Hancock Avenue shortly before 4:30 p.m. Both lanes of Route 66 were shut down for about two hours. The...
Woman accuses Allegheny County judge of victim blaming at sentencing in sexual assault case
A woman who was sexually assaulted lashed out Tuesday at the Allegheny County judge who presided over her offender’s trial, saying his verdict and the language he used with her was victim blaming. “I came to trial hoping for and expecting justice for being assaulted,” she said at the sentencing...
Former Pagans leader ordered to report to state prison July 30
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday ordered the former leader of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club to report to a Somerset County state prison in late July to resume serving an 80-month sentence for a drug conviction based on a 2011 raid of his Hempfield home. Dennis “Rooster” Katona, 54, was...
Condo board boss warned of worsening damage before collapse
Weeks before a Florida condo building collapsed, the president of its board wrote that structural problems identified in a 2018 inspection had “gotten significantly worse” and owners needed to pay a hefty price to get them fixed. The April 9 “Dear Neighbors” letter from Champlain Towers South Condominium President Jean...
Officials: Pool collapse causes propane leak in Fayette County
Several homes were evacuated in Fayette County Tuesday afternoon after an above-ground pool collapsed, pushing a 500 gallon propane tank into a neighbor’s home, causing a propane leak, officials said. Crews responded to Fords Hill Road in Redstone Township around 1:30 p.m., according to Rich Lenk, fire chief for the...
Catholic priest faces charges after being accused of sexually assaulting a child in 1998
A Catholic priest is facing multiple charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault on an 8-year-old boy on two occasions 23 years ago at a parish in Plum. The Rev. Robert Cedolia is charged by Allegheny County Police with aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, two counts of indecent assault...
Vandergrift’s historic Casino Theatre to reopen SaturdayVideo
Vandergrift’s historic Casino Theatre soon will welcome theatergoers again. The 121-year-old theater, which describes itself as Southwestern Pennsylvania’s oldest operating theater, was shuttered last year because of the pandemic. The Trib previously reported that the venue lost more than $70,000 in booking and show revenue since the pandemic-related shutdown. “We...
State police seeking witnesses to fatal Route 30 crash in Hempfield
State police in Greensburg are seeking information on a multi-vehicle crash Monday along Route 30 in Hempfield that claimed the life of a Fayette County man. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office reported the driver of one of the vehicles, Michael J. Yatsko, 69, of South Connellsville, died at Excela Health...
State Sen. Kim Ward recovering from mastectomyVideo
State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, underwent a double mastectomy at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh on Monday, according to a video she posted on her official Twitter account. She posted a thank you message to Twitter on Tuesday morning as well. Ward announced in May she was undergoing treatment for...
Man indicted on drug, firearm counts arrested in North Huntingdon drug sting
A Pittsburgh man indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury on illegal narcotics and firearm possession charges was jailed without bond in Westmoreland County Tuesday after his arrest in a North Huntingdon undercover drug sting. Hazeon “Ace” Kidd, 20, was arrested by township police on two counts of...
Tony Moreno re-enters Pittsburgh mayoral race as RepublicanVideo
Retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno announced Tuesday that he will run for mayor as a Republican in the November election. “I made a promise in the very beginning that I would not get out of this race until I was voted out,” Moreno said. “I won’t get out.” Moreno,...
Allegiant adds another Florida route in Pittsburgh
Budget airline Allegiant has added another nonstop flight from Pittsburgh to coastal Florida, airline officials said Tuesday. The flight, which will begin Nov. 11, is from Pittsburgh International Airport to Melbourne Orlando International Airport in Melbourne, Fla. The airport is about 50 miles southeast of Orlando and just across the...
Sandcastle’s Lazy River to flow once againVideo
The Lazy River at Sandcastle Waterpark took its time opening for a third consecutive season. After a monthlong delay, the water attraction in West Homestead is scheduled to finally begin flowing at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Sweltering temperatures and sun will coincide with the opening. View this post on Instagram A...
Pizza delivery driver carjacked at gunpoint in Perry South
A pizza delivery driver was carjacked at gunpoint in the city’s Perry South neighborhood late Monday night, police said. Officers from the Zone 1 station on the North Side responded to a 911 call in the 2500 block of North Charles Street shortly before 11:15 p.m. The victim told investigators...
Man grazed by bullet during early morning drive-by shooting in Manchester
A man was grazed by a bullet during a drive-by shooting early Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood, police said. Officer’s from the city’s Zone 1 station responded to a “Shotspotter” gunshot-detection notification shortly after 1 a.m. for multiple rounds fired in the 1200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, according to...
Westmoreland commissioner urges municipalities to apply for funds by Wednesday
Eighteen Westmoreland County municipalities could collectively be leaving nearly $2.5 million on the table if they don’t apply for pandemic relief funds by this week’s deadline, according to county Commissioner Doug Chew. Chew learned that, as of Friday, 18 local communities had not applied for their share of funds from...
Saint Vincent College campus reopens after police investigate bomb threat
A bomb threat prompted temporary closure of the Saint Vincent College campus Monday evening. College officials said the campus was cleared to reopen just before 10 p.m., after state police determined the threat wasn’t credible. At about 7:30 p.m., officials were notified of a threat involving the Saint Vincent Archabbey...
Aid for schools, overtime rule were key trade in Pennsylvania budget deal
HARRISBURG — A key trade that sealed a budget deal between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans who control the Legislature was a $100 million injection of cash into Pennsylvania’s poorest public schools in exchange for the governor backing off a regulatory expansion of eligibility for overtime pay. Wolf, a Democrat,...
Pilot, passenger injured when small plane crashes in rural Washington County
Two people were injured when a small plane crashed Monday evening in rural Washington County, according to authorities. Officials learned of the crash-landing in a large pasture near School and Short Cut roads in Somerset Township around 6:15 p.m., according to state police. Several ambulances, fire trucks and medical helicopters...
Temporary parking acceptable use of former Apollo nuke site, DEP says
The state Department of Environmental Protection said a company that temporarily stored RVs on a former nuclear fuels plant site in Apollo didn’t violate terms of a covenant for the property. “The temporary use of this site for the parking of vehicles will not present any radiological concerns, though substantial...
U.S. troops in Syria attacked after airstrikes on militias
WASHINGTON — U.S. troops in eastern Syria came under rocket attack Monday, with no reported casualties, one day after U.S. Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. Iraq’s military...
Excela Health posts $72 million net income for 1st 9 months of fiscal year
Excela Health saw its net income jump to $71.9 million from July 2020 through March 31, a $100 million turnaround from the $34 million loss it posted from July 2019 through March 2020, according to a hospital report. The Greensburg-based health system, with hospitals in Greensburg, Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant,...
Advocates for changes to reapportionment and the statute of limitations vow to fight on
State lawmakers left Harrisburg for the summer last week, but the advocates who clamored unsuccessfully for legislative changes say they aren’t giving up. Two of the most vocal groups — the organizations that promoted legislation on congressional and legislative reapportionment and those who pushed for the adoption of a window...
Pitt enrolling participants for covid-19 booster shot trial
The University of Pittsburgh is enrolling participants for a trial of booster shots that mix vaccines against covid-19. The goal is to see, for example, if a dose of Pfizer after a round of Moderna gives people stronger and broader protection. Pitt’s Pittsburgh Vaccine Trials Unit (PVTU) is one of...
Grass-cutting dispute led to assault in Hunker, troopers say
A Hunker man is headed to court next week after state police said he assaulted a neighbor with the butt end of a knife during an argument over cutting grass, according to court documents. Troopers last week arrested Ian Christian Cartia, 28, on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly...
