Top Stories category, Page 1145
Pittsburgh’s Black artists organizing Juneteenth celebration
Fifteen Black artists are teaming up with 1HoodMedia for an arts and culture celebration Friday on Pittsburgh’s North Side that’s one of several Juneteenth events in the region. Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865 — the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news of the Emancipation Proclamation and slaves...
Pennsylvania Republicans eye referendums to get past vetoes
HARRISBURG — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Legislature are increasingly looking to take a different avenue to write laws, voter referendums, to get around Gov. Tom Wolf and make policy that the Democrat cannot block with his veto pen. On Friday, Republicans unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment to expand Pennsylvania’s existing...
Another former PWSA supervisor charged with violating Clean Water Act
A former supervisor with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is charged in federal court with violating the Clean Water Act. The case against James Paprocki, 51, of Ross is the third federal criminal case to be filed relative to the release of sludge into the Allegheny River over a...
As U.S. covid-19 death toll nears 600,000, racial gaps persist
Jerry Ramos spent his final days in a California hospital, hooked to an oxygen machine with blood clots in his lungs from covid-19, his 3-year-old daughter in his thoughts. “I have to be here to watch my princess grow up,” the Mexican American restaurant worker wrote on Facebook. “My heart...
Twisted Thistle in Leechburg temporarily closes amid staffing, cost issues
An upscale eatery in Leechburg has closed for the summer months. Twisted Thistle on Market Street announced the news on social media Saturday. Co-managing partners Linda Alworth and Joe Hesketh said the decision to close to the dining public was necessitated by staffing issues and increased food prices and poor...
Search of car stopped in Jeannette leads to additional drug charges
A man arrested in Jeannette last month after police seized 40 stamp bags of heroin stuffed in his underwear is facing additional charges after police say they found two more bricks of heroin in the car he was riding in, according to court papers. Nicholas J. Travis, 36, of Indiana,...
Military training could mean low aircraft over Pittsburgh region
The Department of Defense is conducting training this week in and around Pittsburgh, which could mean low-flying aircraft overhead, officials said. The planned training and exercises are in conjunction with state and local law enforcement, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said, and will run through Saturday. Authorities said residents might “see...
More storms expected Monday as cleanup from severe weather continues
Francesca DeAngelis-Witchko and her husband were grilling outside in McCandless when Sunday’s hail storm hit. Then, their basement flooded. “Our backyard, it was basically a river,” she said. “It just started seeping into our basement and it came in through a bunch of our walls.” Their basement has about four...
5 things to know about Flag Day ties to the Pittsburgh region and Pennsylvania
The national day of recognition celebrating the American flag — June 14 — has roots in the Pittsburgh region and Pennsylvania. On this day in 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution approving the design for the first flag of the United States, which at that time was “thirteen stripes...
‘M*A*S*H’ reunion brings Swit, Farr and hundreds of fans to MonroevilleVideo
Loretta Swit was so excited to get out in front of “M*A*S*H” fans Sunday morning at Steel City Con that she showed up 10 minutes early for an event that wasn’t scheduled to begin until 11 a.m. A crowd of about 750 fans of the legendary TV show came to...
Tarentum bridge reopens to traffic headed toward New Kensington
The Tarentum Bridge reopened Sunday to traffic going toward New Kensington. The bridge closed Wednesday to all traffic, and the closure for vehicles headed toward Tarentum is expected to remain in effect through June 27. The closure is needed for a $3.4 million rehabilitation project, which is expected to be...
3 dead identified in SUV crash into North Side plasma clinic
All of the people killed when a vehicle crashed into the Biomat USA plasma clinic in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood Saturday morning have been identified. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner confirmed Sunday that two women, Laura Elaine Meneskie, 35, and Parveena Begum Abdul, 55, died at the scene. Both were Biomat...
Pelosi demands Trump-era attorneys general testify on subpoenasVideo
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded that Trump-era officials testify under oath about the Justice Department’s effort to secretly subpoena data from House Democrats and the news media. Former attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, along with Rod Rosenstein, a former deputy attorney general, must answer to questions about subpoenas...
Thinking of skipping your 2nd covid shot? Here’s why that’s a bad ideaVideo
The increased availability of the covid-19 vaccine — and the myriad options for where one can receive it — has hampered efforts to track just how many people are skipping their second dose, which experts say is crucial to having the highest immunity possible against the virus. Data from UPMC...
AP source: Justice Dept secretly subpoenaed Don McGahn’s records
WASHINGTON — Apple informed former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife that the Justice Department had subpoenaed information about accounts belonging to them in 2018, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday, days after two House lawmakers disclosed they, too, had their information secretly subpoenaed. It’s...
Israel swears in new coalition, ending Netanyahu’s long rule
JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament on Sunday narrowly approved a new coalition government, ending the historic 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sending the polarizing leader into the opposition. Naftali Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu turned rival, became prime minister after the 60-59 vote. Promising to try to...
Chicago man jumps into Lake Michigan for 365th straight day
CHICAGO — A Chicago bus driver looking for a way to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic jumped into Lake Michigan for a 365th straight day on Saturday. Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city’s North Side last year to relieve stress....
Exodus of election officials raises concerns of partisanship
There is no shortage of job openings for local election officials in Michigan. It’s the same in Pennsylvania. Wisconsin, too. After facing threats and intimidation during the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath, and now the potential of new punishments in certain states, county officials who run elections are quitting...
After G-7, Biden says he’s reestablishing U.S. credibility
NEWQUAY, England — President Joe Biden on Sunday said the United States had restored its presence on the world stage as he used his first overseas trip since taking office to connect with a new generation of leaders from some of the world’s most powerful countries and more closely unite...
Schools across U.S. brace for surge of kindergartners in fall
School districts across the United States are hiring additional teachers in anticipation of what will be one of the largest kindergarten classes ever as enrollment rebounds following the coronavirus pandemic. As they await the arrival next fall of students who sat out the current school year, educators are also bracing...
Pandemic wreaks havoc on school food service, transportation budgets
As school leaders across the region debated the best way to keep students safe during the covid-19 pandemic, budgets for food and transportation services largely went bust as both districts and outside companies were left with fewer bodies queuing through cafeteria lines or riding buses. With schools bringing students back...
Man in stable condition following Perry South shooting
A man was transported to a hospital in stable condition after being shot Saturday night in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood, according to police. Zone 1 officers responded around 9:35 p.m. to the 500 block of Chautauqua Street for a report of a male shot. They arrived to find a man...
More storms pelt Pittsburgh area with rain, wind, hail
A line of thunderstorms clogged roadway drains, downed trees and left standing water on roadways throughout the region Sunday. The weather cleared for much of the day until about 6 p.m., when more storms blew through, bringing with them more rain, wind and hail that pelted Pittsburgh and its northern...
As Principal Tom Rocchi retires, Hunt Elementary staff praise his impact and leadership
Even after 60 years in education, Thomas Rocchi sometimes wonders if he made a difference. The answer came in hugs at the door of Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold on Monday, where Rocchi, the school’s principal, welcomed back members of Valley High School’s graduating Class of 2021. Dressed...
Audubon opens nature center and park in Buffalo TownshipVideo
About 12 years in the making, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania opened its Babcock Nature Center and Buffalo Creek Nature Park on Saturday in Buffalo Township. The six-acre site at 154 Monroe Road is nestled between Little Buffalo Creek and the Butler-Freeport Community Trail. The parcel is owned by...
