Top Stories category, Page 1188
Westmoreland commissioners say $140 million borrowing plan will put off future tax hike
Westmoreland commissioners said a plan to borrow about $140 million this year to bolster the county’s pension fund could prevent a future property tax increase. Commissioners on Thursday signed off on the preliminary work to hire financial advisers, lawyers and underwriters who will finalize the plan that officials said will...
Peduto orders crackdown on contractors committing tax fraud
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto used Thursday — April 15, traditionally the deadline for tax filings — to announce an executive order to crack down on construction companies that skirt tax laws. Although the tax deadline has been extended until May 17 this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Peduto used...
Pittsburgh police report another black bear sighting, create email for wildlife concerns
Pittsburgh police reported another black bear sighting on Thursday, the latest in a string of reports in the city and Allegheny County. This time the bear was spotted on Lemington Avenue in Lincoln-Lemington. Police reminded anyone who comes across a bear to leave it alone, refrain from feeding it and...
Feds: Scott Twp. man set up fake PPP loans for gold bars, college tuition, fancy cars and more
He bought a Ford Mustang, two Mercedes SUVs, a BMW, a Land Rover and Porsche. He bought gold bars and silver coins, jewelry, art and firearms. He gave money to his family. He paid their college tuition. All of that, the FBI said, after Randy Frasinelli fraudulently applied for and...
Video: Chicago boy wasn’t holding gun when shot by officerVideo
CHICAGO — Disturbing bodycam video released after public outcry over the Chicago police shooting of a 13-year-old boy shows the youth appearing to drop a handgun and begin raising his hands less than a second before an officer fires his gun and kills him. A still frame taken from Officer...
Pfizer CEO says 3rd covid-19 booster shot ‘likely’ needed within a year of getting vaccinatedVideo
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted Thursday that people who have received the company’s covid-19 vaccine will “likely” need a third booster shot within a year to maintain protection against the virus. “It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla told...
Penalty, interest on local income taxes filed after April 15 waived for 80+ Allegheny County communities
An organization representing nearly two dozen Allegheny County school districts in the north hills, east suburbs and Sewickley and Allegheny valleys is waiving the penalty and interest for local earned income taxes that are filed after the April 15 filing deadline. The coronavirus pandemic prompted the U.S. Internal Revenue Service...
‘Bicycle Bob’ has been located and is safe, state police in Greensburg report
Hours after posting an alert for a missing endangered person, state police in Greensburg said they have located the missing man known in the Greensburg-Latrobe areas as “Bicycle Bob.” “He has been located and is safe,” said Trooper Stephen Limani about 4:25 p.m. Thursday. “We received a tip he was...
Excela Health has more vaccine doses than appointments in Westmoreland County
Some coronavirus vaccine appointments at Excela Health’s North Huntingdon clinic have been going unfilled, causing concern that demand is dropping while new positive cases rise. An increase in supply allowed the health system to streamline its registry, making it easier for anyone interested in getting the vaccine to make an...
Hempfield fugitive arraigned on assault, firearm charges related to shooting at apartment complex
State police this week apprehended a Hempfield man charged with the shooting of a teen at an apartment complex. Darnell Albert Dennison, 19, was arraigned Thursday on charges of aggravated assault, illegal possession of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment, simple assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was ordered...
Pa. officials extend Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause
Pennsylvania vaccine providers will not administer Johnson & Johnson vaccine until at least April 24, state officials said Thursday, extending the distribution pause by four days. Federal regulators had recommended a pause in the single-shot vaccine Tuesday, after six women reportedly experienced blood clots and low platelet counts in the...
Tip from Tarentum leads to charges in case of racist Pittsburgh graffiti
A tip from a Tarentum police officer led Pittsburgh police to a man accused of painting racist, profane graffiti at a South Side Slopes ball field, according to charges against the man. The graffiti was sprayed across the concession stand at Quarry Field off South 18th Street and consisted of...
Ex-Minnesota cop faces hearing in shooting of Daunte Wright
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — Black community leaders and family members of Daunte Wright were calling for more serious charges against a white police officer in Wright’s death, comparing her case to the murder charge brought against a Black officer who killed a white woman in nearby Minneapolis. Former Brooklyn Center...
Covid hospitalizations continue to be a concern in Allegheny, Westmoreland
A day after a data dump by a lab in Allegheny County led to more than 1,300 additional covid cases being reported, the county saw 403 cases on Thursday. The abnormally high number of cases Wednesday was attributed to GS Lab’s delayed return of data to the state and county....
State police say Loyalhanna Township man arrested after threatening neighbors over music
A Loyalhanna man was arrested Wednesday, charged with twice threatening to harm his neighbors because he thought they were playing music too loud. Robert L. Spigler, 35, is charged wth two counts each of disorderly conduct, harassment, making terroristic threats and public drunkenness after troopers were dispatched twice to the...
AHN closing outpatient center; UPMC plans grand opening in New Kensington
One of the region’s largest medical providers will be closing a facility in New Kensington and its rival will be opening a new one within days of each other in May. Allegheny Health Network will close its outpatient center in the former Citizens General Hospital on May 11, the network...
Parking app breach affects 20 million users, including Pittsburgh Parking Authority customers
More than 20 million users of an app used to pay for parking were exposed to a data breach last month, the company that administers the app said. Included among them are those who use the Pittsburgh Parking Authority’s app, Go Mobile Pittsburgh. The data that was accessed includes license...
Former Rex Theater donates $80K in equipment to new Pittsburgh arts group
The former manager of the shuttered Rex Theater is turning his pandemic misfortune into a feel-good moment by reaching out to a fledgling arts organization in Pittsburgh. Ben Penigar, whose company, Grey Area Productions, ran the Rex Theater, has donated $80,000 worth of equipment to the Steel City Arts Foundation...
1 dead in Jeannette shooting; no arrest so far
A 43-year-old Jeannette man was fatally shot early Thursday, and investigators are trying to identify a suspect, according to police Chief Shannon Binda. The shooting happened about 2:40 a.m. in a residential area near the intersection of Gaskill Avenue and North Seventh Street. “We received a call of shots fired...
National Senior Games making a return to Pittsburgh, first time since 2005Video
There will be more winners crowned in the City of Champions. Pittsburgh was selected for the 2023 National Senior Games, announced Wednesday at the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District. The event will be held in the summer of 2023. This is the second time the city...
Allegheny County Police investigate shooting in North Versailles
Allegheny County Police are investigating a shooting reported Wednesday morning in North Versailles. According to police, county 911 was notified after 10:15 a.m. of a shooting in the 100 block of Second Street. First responders found evidence of a shooting and property damage at the scene. Authorities were unable to...
Months after hack, U.S. poised to announce sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing to announce sanctions in response to a massive Russian hacking campaign that breached vital federal agencies, as well as for election interference, a senior administration official said Wednesday night. The sanctions, foreshadowed for weeks by the administration, would represent the first retaliatory action...
J&J vaccine to remain in limbo while officials seek evidenceVideo
Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine will remain in limbo for a while longer after government health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the risk really is. The reports...
Profane anti-Biden sign in Allegheny Township is ‘over the line,’ supervisor says
Allegheny Township Supervisor Mike Korns said he avoids driving along a section of the township’s Markle Road when his grandchildren are with him because a resident there has placed vulgar flags in his front yard. One of the anti-President Biden flags contains obscenities. “I strongly support free speech, but that’s...
Arnold shooting victim identifies defendant in attempted homicide trial
Malcolm Dunem didn’t hesitate when asked in court on Wednesday who shot him just yards from his Arnold home three years ago. “Nick comes out from behind a fence with a gun pointed at me,” Dunem testified in a Westmoreland County courtroom during the second day in the attempted homicide...
