Top Stories category, Page 21
Scott Township man detained by ICE in Plum being held in West Virginia jail
Vishavdeep Singh, the Scott Township man detained by ICE agents in Plum on Wednesday, is being held in Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE records. Singh, 22, was detained at the office of District Judge Mike Doyle after, police say, he attempted to flee...
After $82K Pittsburgh airport cash seizure, woman takes TSA to court
Six years ago, security officers at Pittsburgh International Airport seized $82,000 from Rebecca Brown’s carry-on luggage as she tried to fly home to Boston to set up a bank account for her father. What began as a daughter trying to help her father spiraled into a legal battle with the...
79 stolen guns, 8 teens arrested, more than 1,400 charges
Authorities have arrested eight teenagers they say stole dozens of guns in “smash-and-grab” robberies at Pittsburgh-area gun shops last year — weapons later linked to multiple shootings, including the death of a 7-year-old boy. The suspects, seven of them juveniles, used stolen cars to travel between break-ins at gun shops...
Pittsburgh man dies after jumping from Route 28 bridge in Buffalo Township
A Pittsburgh man died after jumping from the Route 28 bridge over Buffalo Creek. State police are investigating the public death of William I. Tegethoff, 45. Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers said Tegethoff died from multiple blunt force trauma. Myers ruled his death a suicide. Tegethoff jumped from the high-level...
State budget plan includes $30M performance-based fund for Pitt, Penn State
The state’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year includes $30 million in performance-based grants to be distributed among the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University and Temple University, through a new state-related university performance fund. General support appropriations, however, remain flat for Pitt, at $151.5 million, and Penn State,...
Sprawling data center campus proposed next to old Bruce Mansfield power plant in Beaver County
The data center boom has arrived in small-town Beaver County with little of the fanfare that’s accompanied similar proposals across Southwestern Pennsylvania. Shippingport Council granted several zoning modifications last week that allow Texas-based Aligned Data Centers to build a sprawling campus — dubbed “Project Phoenix” — next to the old...
Harrison police still trying to resolve mystery of metal shards on roadways
The mysterious metal shards that littered Harrison roads remain a head-scratcher for police. Chief Brian Turack said officers continue to investigate after his phone lines were flooded Wednesday with reports of sharp fragments causing flat tires. Social media saw dozens of people saying their vehicles fell victim to the uniform-shaped...
Innamorato launches Housing Investment Fund to ‘address full spectrum of housing needs’
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on Thursday signed an executive order creating a new housing strategy, including a fund aimed at investing in affordable and workforce housing. Dubbed HOUSING for All, the order directs county agencies to work with nonprofit, municipal and private partners to “address the full spectrum of...
Walnut Capital seeks exception from inclusionary zoning mandate in Oakland apartment project
Pittsburgh developer Walnut Capital is asking the city’s zoning board to allow it to build a new apartment complex in Oakland without earmarking any units as affordable housing. Oakland is one of several neighborhoods — along with Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Polish Hill — where Pittsburgh’s inclusionary zoning ordinance mandates that...
TV sales up during Super Bowl week as customers chase bargains
Super Bowl-related television sales typically bring a bit of a boost at a time of year when there can be a lull in sales, said Craig Kantoris, co-owner and project manager at ConnectedLife Designs By The StereoShop in Greensburg. A handful of recent customers looked to upgrade their screens in...
Vote scheduled on future of EMS in Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge
After a scheduling glitch in January, a public hearing to formalize a paid ambulance authority in Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge is back on the books. The meeting will be March 25 at the Brackenridge American Legion. “We encourage residents to come out, listen, ask questions and help us think through...
State police find 2 pounds of cocaine after traffic stop of Penn Hills man on turnpike
A Penn Hills man was arrested Tuesday after state police said they found 2 pounds of cocaine in the vehicle he was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County, according to court papers. Troopers initiated a traffic stop at 1:30 p.m. near the border of Donegal and Cook townships...
Pa. House panel approves bill to limit exceptions to Sunshine Act notice requirement
State lawmakers hope to close a loophole in one of Pennsylvania’s government transparency laws with a bill headed to the House for consideration. The state Supreme Court in November clarified a 2021 amendment to the state Sunshine Act that created four exceptions to the law’s public notice requirement. One, the...
Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democrats’ ICE demands
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House. Democrats say they...
More frigid weather for the weekend, snow not so much
Bundle up, the frigid cold weather won’t be going away this weekend. The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold weather alert for the region, from Friday night into Saturday morning. The wind chill could cause temperatures to feel like they are in the double-digit negatives as Friday night...
Morning Roundup: Train strikes box truck in West Newton; wrong-way driver on I-79
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Feb. 5: Train strikes box truck in West Newton Emergency crews responded Thursday morning a report of a train striking an unoccupied box truck in West Newton. Responders were called shortly after 5 a.m. to the intersection of...
Man hospitalized after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood
A man was hospitalized in critical but stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. Public Safety spokeswoman Eliza Durham said officers responded to the 2100 block of Spring Street around 12:30 p.m. . Police found a man inside a residence suffering from a gunshot would to...
Savannah Guthrie posts message to her mother’s kidnapper asking to provide proof she is aliveVideo
TUCSON, Ariz. — NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie said Wednesday that her family is ready to talk to people holding their mother, but they want to see proof that she is alive. Guthrie said in a recorded video posted on social media that her family has heard about a...
Environmentalists urge DEP to make Tenaska power plant meet air pollution requirements to get permit
Environmental regulators should revise a draft permit for a natural gas-fired power plant to operate in South Huntingdon to make the plant comply with air pollution regulations or reject the permit. That’s what a group of residents and environmentalists told state officials Wednesday. The 90-minute hearing attracted about 60 people...
Clairton Coke Works to resume work at battery that saw fatal explosions in August
Almost exactly six months after two workers were killed and 11 injured in a series of explosions at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, the nation’s largest coke manufacturing facility will resume operation at one of its batteries Thursday. The first of three explosions occurred at the facility around 10:45 a.m....
Plum police: ICE detains Scott Township man at court hearing after he tried to run
A Scott Township man arrested last year in connection with a series of road rage incidents was detained by ICE agents following an altercation at the district court office in Plum, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Vishavdeep Singh, 22, of Scott was charged in November with multiple felonies after...
‘She had a presence’: Fashionistas recall model Jacinta Stevens, who died in Monongahela River crash
The Pittsburgh fashion industry is mourning Jacinta Stevens, a promising model who was killed last week when her car crashed into the icy Monongahela River. North Hills fashion designer Eva Dixon will always remember the 31-year-old mother of two in a single outfit: the striking, emerald halter-top gown Dixon designed...
Pitt researcher studies lingering health impacts from East Palestine train derailment
University of Pittsburgh researcher Juliane Beier is a leading authority on how colorless, sweet-smelling vinyl chloride can cause cancer and worsen liver disease. Her expertise meant she feared the worst when vinyl chloride vapors — the result of a controversial vent-and-burn operation by first responders — began billowing from derailed...
Pittsburgh property owners could see later deadline for early-filing discount
Pittsburgh property owners are set to get a bit more time to take advantage of the tax discount offered to early filers. Mayor Corey O’Connor and City Council members want to extend the deadline for the 2% property tax discount by one week, to February 17 from February 10. Officials...
Former Heinz Endowments IT manager pleads guilty to embezzling nearly $1M
The former IT manager for the Heinz Endowments pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to embezzling nearly $1 million from his former employer. Charles A. Richardson, of Pittsburgh, will be sentenced on June 4 before U.S. District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand. A message left for Richardson’s attorney on Wednesday was...
