Top Stories category, Page 177
Plum Zoning Board rejects fracking injection well after lengthy battle; company plans to appeal
After a yearslong legal battle, the Plum Zoning Hearing Board rejected the application for a second injection well in the borough, which is an about-face from its initial decision. Board member Mike Monfredi, who made the motion to reject the application, was joined by Andrew Novick and Linda Wilkins in...
USGA’s course maintenance teams work all night to ensure a pleasant U.S. Open experience
Leighton Schwob, the U.S. Golf Association’s U.S. Open Championship director of operations, wishes he had a little more darkness to work with. “Too much land, not enough night,” he said of the daily — or in this case, nightly — maintenance of public areas at Oakmont Country Club. One doesn’t...
Bicyclist who died after colliding with SUV in McKeesport identified
A bicyclist who died Wednesday afternoon after colliding with an SUV in McKeesport has been identified. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the deceased as Taylor Mehalcik, 29, of Versailles. Allegheny County Police said the collision in the 600 block of Eden Park Boulevard was reported shortly before 3:30 p.m....
U.S. Open volunteers share what drove them to come to Oakmont this year
Karen Beeken assured a volunteer arriving early Wednesday at Oakmont Country Club that they would get their credentials. “I’ll take care of ya,” said Beeken, 72. Beeken of O’Hara is one of more than 4,000 volunteers working the 125th U.S. Open. They come from near and far, from all across...
Westmoreland Mall a feasible location for proposed convention center
A 200-room hotel and convention center with 15,000 square feet of meeting space could find a home at Westmoreland Mall. Some results of a study examining the feasibility of a hotel and convention center in Westmoreland County were revealed Wednesday by Sean Sullivan, general manager of Live Casino Pittsburgh, during...
Alerts issued for air quality, high temperatures across Pittsburgh region
Authorities have issued advisories for air quality and high temperatures Thursday in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is the primary reason for the National Weather Service issuing an air quality notice. While the smoke has recently been at high levels in the atmosphere, causing hazy skies, an inversion will...
Kennedy names 8 vaccine committee replacements, including covid shot critic
NEW YORK — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week. They include a scientist who researched mRNA vaccine technology and transformed into a conservative darling for his criticisms of covid-19 vaccines,...
Key Pa. senator says bipartisan energy bills on hold until contested climate program settled
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A group of bills aimed at boosting electricity production and regulating clean energy has rare, bipartisan support in Pennsylvania’s divided legislature. But a...
Former Crafton man who dealt drugs smuggled from Mexico gets 23 years in prison
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a former Crafton man to serve 23 years in prison for his role in running a complex heroin and cocaine distribution operation in Western Pennsylvania. The sentencing concludes the long-running case against Andrew Beatty, 41, who was charged more than a decade ago. Beatty,...
Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer’s poet laureate, dies at 82
Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and other summertime anthems and made him one of the world’s most influential recording artists, has died at 82. Wilson’s family posted news of his death to his...
Where and when Saturday’s No Kings protests will happen in Western Pa.
Cities across the United States will gather Saturday for a No Kings Day protest against the Trump administration — and Pittsburgh is no exception. On that day — President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday — thousands of people are expected to rally outside the City-County Building on Grant Street in demonstration...
Kennywood’s Steel Curtain stalls, stranding riders on hill
Kennywood’s Steel Curtain came to a complete stop with riders onboard Saturday after the roller coaster’s safety sensors were triggered mid-ride. Social media posts showed photos of 24 riders stuck on the lift hill as the coaster sat motionless on the tracks. Kennywood spokeswoman Lynsey Winters said the Steel Curtain...
McKeesport man pleads guilty to gun theft from North Huntingdon home
An Allegheny County man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the theft of guns from a North Huntingdon home in 2021. John Steven Hudak, 49, of McKeesport was charged nearly three years ago with the theft and illegal possession and sales of 13 guns from a home safe while its owner...
Trump says U.S. gets rare earth minerals from China; tariffs on Chinese goods going to 55%
LONDON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States will get magnets and rare earth minerals from China under a new trade deal and that tariffs on Chinese goods will go to 55%. In return, Trump said the U.S. will provide China “what was agreed to,” including allowing...
Pittsburgh City Council expands paid sick leave requirements for businesses
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure that will mandate businesses provide additional paid sick days for workers. Under the city’s existing Paid Sick Days Act, which went into effect in March 2020, employers with 15 or more employees must give workers up to 40 hours of paid...
What is a Labubu? Viral monster dolls tough to find in Pittsburgh region
When Divina Rocco first heard of the viral Labubu plush dolls sold by the Chinese collectibles retailer Pop Mart, she admittedly thought they were “ridiculous.” Now, she owns seven of them. The monster-like creatures were created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. He created “The Monsters” in 2015, first as...
Make sure to bring a healthy appetite to the U.S. OpenVideo
Should you be eating a Philly cheesesteak for breakfast? It’s a culinary debate for the ages. Dick Atzeni of Sligo, Clarion County, and his granddaughter, Hannah, certainly weren’t against it, as they chowed down on their sandwiches around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Open in Oakmont. Atzeni has been...
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver indicted on federal charges from skirmish at New Jersey immigration center
TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted Tuesday on federal charges alleging she impeded and interfered with immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention center while Newark’s mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Acting U.S. Attorney for New...
Young fans give tips regarding the hunt for U.S. Open autographsVideo
To get an autograph at the U.S. Open, you must be assertive, pushy and, for the most part, you have to be a kid. On Tuesday, Oakmont Country Club was flooded with people and families coming from all over the country. Among the crowd, tiny hands gripped flags, posters, hats...
USGA prioritizes player, family experiences at Oakmont championship
As USGA’s director of player relations, Rosalyn Barnett deals with tasks as large as flying golfers’ families across the world to ones as small as helping locate their lost keys. It’s a busy but fun job, she said, where she deals with “anything and everything.” And it’s one she has...
Father of man killed in Penn Hills hookah lounge shooting files wrongful death lawsuit
The father of a man shot and killed last year at the Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar in Penn Hills is suing the business and its operators. The plaintiffs — Nathaniel Smiley Sr., whose son, Nathaniel Smiley Jr., was killed, and Earon Chambers, who was wounded — filed the...
Among thousands of attendees, hundreds of kids attend U.S. Open for free
As 10-year-old Elsie Trombley walked into Oakmont County Club on Tuesday, she said she was excited for souvenirs, autographs and concessions at the U.S. Open. “And golf,” her father, Matt, reminded her. Visiting from Fox Chapel, Elsie was one of hundreds of children who are attending the U.S. Open for...
Aaron Rodgers signed with Steelers because they were right fit for his ‘soul’
Aaron Rodgers wasn’t thinking with his head when he ended what seemed like an interminable wait and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers over the weekend. He wasn’t necessarily thinking with his heart, either. Rodgers reached deeper and decided the Steelers were the best fit for this stage of his career...
Fetterman: Dems lose ‘moral high ground’ when they don’t condemn protest violence, vandalism
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman slammed fellow Democrats who have not condemned incidents of violence and vandalism that have marred protests in Los Angeles over the Trump administration’s immigration raids there. “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations and immigration — but this is not that,” Fetterman, D-Braddock, said in...
Pa. state police exhume body of unidentified woman killed in Fayette County
Pennsylvania State Police this week exhumed the body of a woman killed in a Fayette County motor vehicle crash nearly 40 years ago, hoping to finally identify her through DNA. The woman was killed May 2, 1986, in a tractor-trailer rollover in Springhill Township, about 15 miles south of Uniontown....
