Top Stories category, Page 179
Pet cremation scandal victims urged to honor pets on May 9
Tina Moore of Greensburg paid to have her cats — Pickle, Daisy and LaLa — cremated. She learned this week they may have been thrown into a landfill instead. “I’ve spent the past three days so angry and bitter,” Moore said. “I need to concentrate my energy on positivity rather...
Public should be told how arson attack at governor’s mansion occurred, top lawmaker says
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 — Pennsylvania State Police officials should at least make public how a brazen arson attack on the governor’s residence occurred, and whether there were...
Ligonier Country Market gets township OK of permit change, set to open 50th season
Ligonier Country Market will open its regular season as planned May 17, with the approval of Ligonier Township. Township Supervisors Dan Resenic, John Beaufort and John Fraser this week approved a modification of the market’s conditional-use permit, allowing the market to begin its season this year and going forward on...
Taco Bell manager sentenced to life for killing employee from Harrison
A Taco Bell manager who chased an employee off the Scott restaurant’s property and fatally shot him at a nearby business was sentenced Thursday to serve the rest of his life in prison with no chance for parole. Zairyre Simmons, 26, of Pittsburgh, apologized to the victim’s family and his...
Pittsburgh controller portrays city’s fiscal situation as serious but not dire
Pittsburgh is facing concerning but manageable financial challenges amid declining revenues, an end to federal pandemic relief money and broad economic uncertainty, city Controller Rachael Heisler said Thursday. “I am very concerned about where things are headed,” Heisler said as she released the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which outlines...
‘We hope the best for him’: Pirates praying for fan who fell over Clemente Wall to pull throughVideo
Andrew McCutchen had just hit a go-ahead double against the Chicago Cubs when the Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter reached second base and realized a fan had fallen over the Clemente Wall at PNC Park. McCutchen put his hands above his head as he stared at the scene at the right...
Real ID deadline looms: TSA to enforce at airports nationwide
In less than a week now, the federal Real ID requirement goes into effect and will be enforced by TSA agents at airports across the country. Starting May 7, anyone 18 years of age or older will need a Real ID or another acceptable form of identification like a passport...
Trump taps national security adviser Waltz for U.N. envoy in major national security team switch-up
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s nominating his national security adviser Mike Waltz to serve as United Nations ambassador in a major shake-up of his national security team. The president said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve simultaneously as acting national security adviser while maintaining his position...
For those without power, experts offer next steps after severe storms
As hundreds of thousands go without electricity after severe storms battered the region, officials and experts have begun weighing in with guidance about how to proceed. Though some customers have had their power restored since the storm, Duquesne Light said it could take five to seven days to fully restore...
Penn State faculty senate asks admin to pause campus closure decision
The Penn State faculty senate passed a positional report this week opposing the closure of commonwealth campuses and asked the university administration to pause the decision until an impact assessment can be conducted. Faculty senators have not shied away from expressing their concerns about closing campuses and how even before...
Some fear effort to aid developers in Pittsburgh will doom broader housing reform
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced a bill to shrink the minimum size of lots for residential development, casting further doubt on the future of a broader housing reform package that has been stalled for months. The measure, sponsored by Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, would allow developers to build...
Tax diversion for Esplanade project approved by Pittsburgh Public Schools board
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board on Wednesday approved a tax diversion for the sprawling Esplanade development, which plans to bring a Ferris wheel, housing and other amenities to the city’s Chateau neighborhood. The developer, Cecil-based Piatt Companies, has now secured approval from the city and school district for the tax...
More storms expected in Western Pennsylvania
Another round of storms is expected to hit Western Pennsylvania on Thursday, even as communities are still reeling from severe weather that knocked down trees, ripped roofs from buildings and left thousands without power on Tuesday. A threat of thunderstorms — some severe — will return Thursday afternoon and evening,...
Fan in critical condition after falling from Clemente Wall during Pirates game
A fan fell over the Clemente Wall, a 21-foot drop onto the right-field warning track at PNC Park, halting play Wednesday night in the seventh inning of the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Andrew McCutchen had just reached second base following an RBI double that ricocheted off...
School districts deal with lost power, cleanup
Schools throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley and well beyond were shuttered Wednesday, and maybe longer, after Tuesday’s fast-moving thunderstorms. Several trees, two power poles and a transformer were brought down by strong winds at New Kensington-Arnold’s Valley High School and a portable toilet was flipped upside down. The district canceled school...
Lawsuit blames bar for serving man who caused cousin’s death in DUI crash
A man who caused a drunk-driving crash last year in Pittsburgh that killed his cousin is being sued for negligence in her death along with the Mt. Washington bar where they were said to be drinking that night. Eonna Page, 25, was killed on March 2, 2024, in a crash...
Evergreen Drive-In screen toppled; Westmoreland County recovers from storms, 79 mph winds
Joe Warren has been in the drive-in movie scene for about six decades. But he has rarely seen devastation to an outdoor theater like he did Wednesday morning at Evergreen Drive-In. Warren, owner of the East Huntingdon theater, surveyed the splintered wooden trusses and bent metal scraps piled in the...
What is a derecho? Meteorologists weigh label after powerful storms slam Western Pa.
After powerful storms swept through Western Pennsylvania this week, meteorologists hesitated to apply labels — though terms like derecho began to circulate. A derecho is a fast-moving, long-lived windstorm that the National Weather Service says can produce tornado-like damage — but in a single, straight path. To qualify, it must...
Prosecutor says officer killed in gunman’s Pennsylvania hospital attack was hit by fire from police
YORK — An officer killed while responding to a Pennsylvania hospital siege was struck by a shotgun blast fired by police that also hit an armed man holding hostages, a prosecutor disclosed at a news conference Wednesday. The attacker and West York Patrolman Andrew W. Duarte were killed in the...
School districts weigh options on instruction as power restoration work continues
School leaders spent most of Wednesday reviewing their options as many districts were forced to cancel classes after a destructive storm cut through the region Tuesday evening, knocking out electricity and leaving some roads impassable. And just like a snow day in winter, those same leaders were looking at their...
Costly cyber charter tuition is consuming tens of millions of new state dollars for poor Pa. schools
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 surge of taxpayer money approved last year to help students in Pennsylvania’s poorest schools is being used by dozens of districts to...
Harrison funeral home tied to pet cremation scandal expected to be sold
The listing agent facilitating the sale of Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison said he was unaware the owner was entangled in alleged criminal activity. Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood was charged Monday by the state Attorney General’s Office with theft of almost $660,000 after taking money for pet cremations but...
Western Pa. buildings offer charging stations, supplies, shelter after storms
Municipalities and local organizations around the region have stepped up as shelters, offering residents a place to charge their devices and get assistance in the wake of Tuesday’s severe storms, which left thousands without power. People can find electricity at: Plum Borough Municipal Building is operating on a generator and...
Photo gallery: Evergreen Drive-In in East Huntingdon damaged in storm
Evergreen Drive-In in East Huntingdon Township was damaged Tuesday during the severe storms that hit the region. Related • `Short, sharp storm`: Fast-moving squall line leaves death, widespread destruction in Western Pa. • Power companies expect restoration time to be 5-7 days in wake of storms • Photo gallery: Storm...
‘Short, sharp storm’: Fast-moving squall line leaves death, widespread destruction in W.Pa.
Crews and residents in Southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday began the long process of cleaning up after a severe storm described by officials as an “unprecedented event” left at least three people dead and hundreds of thousands without power. Duquesne Light Co. estimated it could take five to seven days to...
