Top Stories category, Page 1153
South Side’s Boom Boom Room raided by state police, shut down by health department
State police raided a South Side club and seized gallons of alcohol over the weekend, while the county health department shut down the bar for operating without a license, records show. State troopers with the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement along with Pittsburgh police served a search warrant on the...
Purchase of SWAT bots questioned by Pittsburgh council
Pittsburgh City Council members gave preliminary approval Wednesday for the police department to buy two small robots equipped with cameras. But they did so only after discussion among members and asking the police department’s Special Deployment Cmdr. Ed Trapp about how the robots will be used. “It’s just distressing to...
Covid cases, hospitalizations continue to drop in Pennsylvania and Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
Covid cases and hospitalizations in Pennsylvania and Allegheny and Westmoreland counties have continued to drop in recent days, as the number of people vaccinated slowly rises. Cases The Allegheny County Health Department reported 42 additional cases — 35 confirmed and seven probable — on Wednesday, with the county’s total reaching...
Lawrenceville’s retro Arsenal Bowl up for sale
Lawrenceville’s iconic Arsenal Bowl is up for sale. The bowling alley, in operation since 1938, survived the pandemic after a record-setting year in 2019, according to the Specialty Group, the real estate broker tasked with finding a buyer. Pennsylvania’s pandemic-related business restrictions have been slowly loosening for months, and all...
Galley Bakery Square’s 4 new restaurants officially open for business
Pittsburgh’s East End received a dining infusion Tuesday. Four restaurants officially opened as part of Galley Group’s latest endeavor: Galley Bakery Square. The options are as diverse as the restaurants themselves: City Fresh Pasta, Bubba’s, Somi and GG’s Cafe. The timing comes on the heels of the state lifting capacity...
Zappala: No plea deals to Black attorney who called his office ‘systematically racist’
Five days after well-known Black attorney Milton Raiford spoke out against racism in the criminal justice system, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. emailed all of his deputy prosecutors forbidding them from offering any plea deals to Raiford or his clients. “On May 13, we experienced another issue...
It’s official: Part of Route 981 to be renamed for late state Rep. Mike Reese
Nick Molitor of Norvelt was having a difficult time battling both the county and township to determine who was responsible for fixing an embankment near his home. “As soon as I told the township I was going to contact my state rep, Mike Reese, they were out there taking care...
Hacking outfit linked to Russia is behind JBS cyberattack, sources sayVideo
A notorious Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS SA, according to four people familiar with the assault who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The cyber gang goes by the name REvil or Sodinokibi. While it’s unclear if all of REvil’s hackers operate in...
Driver injured when garbage truck loses brakes, shears off front of Etna home; occupants escape injuryVideo
The occupants of a home in Etna, including two toddlers, escaped injury when the front of their home was sheered off by a garbage truck that lost its brakes while coming down a steep hill. The truck was traveling down Kittanning Street shortly before 4 p.m. on Tuesday and crossed...
WPXI-TV: 1 killed in Munhall house fireVideo
One man perished in a fire that broke out at his Munhall home on Tuesday, WPXI-TV reported. Citing fire officials, the station reported the man was disabled and was found near the home’s front entrance. An Allegheny County fire marshal is expected to investigate. The fire was in a house...
North Huntingdon man ordered to stand trial for Penn Township slayingsVideo
“I told you this would happen. I told you not to run your mouth,” Victor F. Steban allegedly said as he stood over Jacob Erdeljac, taunting the dying man. Steban, 53, had just ambushed Erdeljac, 40, and his girlfriend, Mara Casale, 27, outside the home they shared in Penn Township,...
Biden to suspend oil leases in Alaska’s Arctic refuge
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is suspending oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as it reviews environmental impacts of drilling in the remote region that has been the focus of a political fight for decades, according to two people who have been briefed on the administration’s...
China reports human case of H10N3 bird flu, a possible first
BEIJING — A man in eastern China has contracted what might be the world’s first human case of the H10N3 strain of bird flu, but the risk of large-scale spread is low, the government said Tuesday. The 41-year-old man in Jiangsu province, northwest of Shanghai, was hospitalized April 28 and...
Wilkinsburg man killed in shooting near Mt. Carmel Road in Penn Hills
A 24-year-old Wilkinsburg man was shot and killed in Penn Hills on Tuesday morning, according to the Allegheny County Police Department. Police said a shooting was reported at around 10:39 a.m. near the 7700 block of Mount Carmel Road. Robert Higginbotham, 24, was identified as the victim by the Allegheny...
Florida governor bans transgender women from school sports
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Republican governor signed a bill Tuesday barring transgender females from playing on public school teams intended for student athletes born as girls, plunging the state into the national culture war over transgender rights. “In Florida, girls are going to play girls sports and boys are going...
Looming closure of Tarentum Bridge prompts planning by police, drivers
PennDOT hasn’t released the official detour route for when the Tarentum Bridge will be closed this month, but New Kensington police are getting ready for the closure. The New Kensington Bridge, spanning the Allegheny River between the city and East Deer, is likely to be part of the posted detour...
Anxiety runs high as Pa. begins massive overhaul of 60-year-old unemployment computer system
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 — “I feel like I am a sinking ship right now.” “Next month will be a year that they have...
Allegheny County covid case average hits lowest mark since last June
With lower covid-19 case counts continuing in Pennsylvania and the region, coronavirus figures are reaching lows not seen in about a year. Allegheny County achieved just that with new data released Tuesday. Cases Allegheny County reported 113 new covid-19 cases over the past three days, according to the county Health...
Western Pa. restaurants struggle to open at full capacity as most covid restrictions end
Beginning on Memorial Day, restaurants and other businesses were permitted to open at full capacity, seemingly a positive sign after a year of covid-19 mitigation measures took their toll on the industry. But being allowed to open at full capacity is not the same as actually having the resources to...
Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket worth $250K sold in Rostraver
Someone is a little richer after a winning Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket was sold at a Rostraver gas station, according to Pennsylvania Lottery officials. The winning ticket worth $250,000 less withholding was sold at a GetGo along Route 51 for Monday’s drawing. The ticket matched all five balls...
Pa. chooses ‘responsibility’ over $1 million lotteries to encourage covid-19 vaccination
Pennsylvania officials considered tactics such as a lottery to motivate people to get vaccinated against covid-19, and they remain a possibility, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. Some states are touting prizes worth $1 million or more to spur people to get the covid-19 vaccines. But Beam expressed confidence...
Stage AE announces live music schedule, Steelers tailgates
Stage AE will reopen for live shows on Aug. 11 with up-and-coming bluegrass-fusion artist Billy Strings. “He’s a really exciting national bluegrass act,” said Amy Cooper, Stage AE Director of Marketing. “He’s never headlined a tour before.” Named “one of string music’s most dynamic young stars” by Rolling Stone and...
Ross Park Mall beefing up security with cameras, K9 unit after gunfire erupts
A day after the Allegheny County district attorney criticized operators of the Ross Park Mall for not having surveillance cameras, company officials said they will take steps to beef up security. The Allegheny County district attorney said the mall’s owners, Simon Properties Group, could do more to help prevent incidents,...
Monessen man arrested on gun, drugs charges in Rostraver
A Monessen man who pleaded guilty to involvement in a 2012 shooting was arrested Saturday outside a Rostraver restaurant while state police were investigating a reported fight involving a gun, according to court papers. Terrance James Stepoli, 28, is charged with gun and drug violations, fleeing from police and related...
Groups of off-road vehicles reported driving around Pittsburgh
Hundreds of off-road vehicles were spotted on streets around Pittsburgh Monday, police said. Officers fielded numerous complaints of as many as 300 motorcycles, ATVs and dirt bikes riding in large groups, some of which were driving dangerously. Many of the vehicles were not legal for street use and some drivers...
