Top Stories category, Page 421
Longtime Kiski Area football coach Dick Dilts, remembered for lifelong impact, dies at 93
There was no greater compliment Tony Despotakis could pay Richard “Dick” Dilts than to compare him to Vince Lombardi. The former Kiski Area football coach shared many similarities to one the NFL’s greatest coaching minds. “He was a big fan of Lombardi, and he studied Lombardi and his coaching style,”...
Penn Hills graduate identified as man killed in Youngstown explosion
Authorities have identified the man who died Tuesday in a natural gas explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, as Akil Drake, a former Penn Hills resident. The blast shattered the facade of Realty Tower, which houses a Chase Bank where Drake worked, killing him and injuring seven others. One person remains in...
Josh Gibson’s great-grandson says stats inclusion shines well-deserved light on lesser known Negro League players
Josh Gibson’s great-grandson is thrilled over MLB’s incorporation of Negro Leagues statistics following an extensive research project of more than three years. Gibson, a Negro Leagues legend who lived most of his life in Pittsburgh and played for the Homestead Grays (1930-31, 1937-40, 1942-46) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-36), is the...
Pittsburgh considers sharpshooters in parks to reduce deer population
An expansion of Pittsburgh’s deer hunting program will bring limited archery into additional parks, and the city might bring in U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters in some areas. The city last year launched a limited archery pilot program in Frick and Riverview parks. Thirty archers culled 108 deer and donated...
Springdale to play home football games at Burrell, Freeport in 2024 season
Without a home field this season, Springdale’s high school football team is planning to play two home games at Freeport’s football field and a pair of games at Burrell’s Buccaneer Stadium. During a school board discussion last week, Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Pat Graczyk said the Dynamos football team...
1786 log cabin estate listed for $3.9 million in Fox Chapel
An original log cabin from the 1700s is still going strong as the oldest residence in Fox Chapel. And now it’s for sale. Originally known as Summer Seat, the cabin was bought from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1786 for just under three British pounds. The log cabin portion remains...
Spork Pit Barbecue closes on Pittsburgh’s South Side
After being open less than a year, Spork Pit Barbecue has closed. The idea was to transform the former Double Wide Grill on Pittsburgh’s South Side into a new dining concept of ribs and wings, pulled pork and brisket as well as retain some vegan and vegetarian dishes the Double...
Pittsburgh poised to fund 2 Juneteenth events after controversy over dueling celebrations
Pittsburgh has figured out a way to defuse a controversy over dueling Juneteenth celebrations: Give money to both. The city is now poised to help fund two separate Juneteenth events next month after a longtime event organizer last week condemned Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration for initially proposing to steer cash...
Ex-home health aide sentenced to probation for sexually assaulting Pittsburgh client
A Pittsburgh woman took a deep breath from her motorized wheelchair as she prepared to describe the impact of being sexually assaulted last year by her home health aide. “I was once a vibrant and outgoing person,” the victim said in court Wednesday. “I would not wish this on my...
Pitt names 1st woman as engineering dean
Michele V. Manuel, a leading materials engineer in Florida, is the University of Pittsburgh’s new dean of engineering, a discipline dominated by males nationally that has sought to identify talented women and minorities. Her appointment as U.S. Steel Dean of the Swanson School of Engineering is effective Sept. 1, officials...
Jurors in Trump hush money trial end 1st day of deliberations after asking to rehear testimony
NEW YORK — The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial ended its first day of deliberations without a verdict Wednesday but asked to rehear potentially crucial testimony about the alleged hush money scheme at the heart of the history-making case. The 12-person jury was sent home around 4 p.m....
Pa.’s fracking wastewater could be a reliable source of lithium, study says
Newly published research by a University of Pittsburgh doctorate student estimates that up to 40% of the lithium needed in the U.S. could be extracted from wastewater created by unconventional drilling operations in Pennsylvania. Most batteries used in technology — like smartwatches and electric cars — are made with lithium,...
Police say West Wilmerding fire chief choked fellow firefighter
West Wilmerding’s fire chief faces a court date on assault charges, after police say he choked another firefighter during an emergency call in May. James R. Pusey, 33, of North Versailles was charged Tuesday with simple assault and misdemeanor terroristic threats. According to a criminal complaint, West Wilmerding was one...
Morning Roundup: Grand jury charges Cranberry man in cruise ship strangling
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, May 29: Cranberry man charged in cruise ship assault A Cranberry man has been charged in federal court with strangling another person while aboard a cruise ship. A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted Quintin Owens, 27, of...
TV Q&A: Where has Jeff Verszyla been?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Why haven’t I seen Jeff Verszyla on WTAE-TV lately? How come? — John, via email Rob: I reported on May 16 that Verszyla would be off...
Hillcrest Shopping Center in Lower Burrell to be auctioned, starting bid at $1.14 million
With progress made at Burrell Plaza, all eyes have turned to Hillcrest Shopping Center in Lower Burrell. The shopping center off Leechburg and Wildlife Lodge roads will be auctioned off online from June 10 to 12, according to a listing. The starting bid is $1.14 million. “From a city standpoint,...
Rustic Ridge family that lost home to explosion awaits completion of new house
As Rick and Beth Napoleon planned their new house in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood, they knew it had to be different. “With every decision, we’re pretty much trying to do the complete opposite of the last house,” Rick Napoleon said. “Every decision is the opposite. We want something new, different...
Greensburg Diocese asks county detectives to probe failure of worker background checks
The Westmoreland County Detective Bureau is reviewing a request by the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg to investigate what the diocese describes as a potential conspiracy to conceal the criminal background of a now-former Irwin parish cemetery employee. Spokesman Cliff Gorski said Tuesday the diocese has asked county detectives to determine...
Pitt’s David C. Frederick Honors College expands to Greensburg campus
The University of Pittsburgh’s David C. Frederick Honors College is expanding to include high-achieving students enrolled at its suburban Greensburg campus in Hempfield, officials announced Tuesday. Effective this fall, undergraduates with the necessary academic qualifications can enroll in the newly formed David C. Frederick Honors College at Pitt-Greensburg. Students there,...
Date errors on Pa. mail-in ballots void votes, spur lawsuit
Pittsburgh resident Otis Keasley has not missed voting in an election in more than five decades. The 2024 primary was no different — except that Keasley, a Vietnam War veteran, decided to mail in his ballot for the first time. His sister-in-law was ill and needed him to help care...
1 dead, 7 injured in natural gas explosion in Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — One person was killed and seven injured following a natural gas explosion Tuesday afternoon that caused extensive damage to a building in downtown Youngtown, Ohio, authorities said. The Youngstown Police Department said a 27-year-old employee of Chase Bank, where the blast happened, was killed in the explosion....
Pittsburgh reveals details about controversial $6M master plan
A citywide master plan meant to guide Pittsburgh for the next 20 years has faced criticism for being nonbinding, too expensive — and vague. On Tuesday, a top city official rendered that last complaint moot by providing details about the $6 million project to the city’s Planning Commission. The master...
New Kensington shooting suspect arrested in Brackenridge
An Ohio man wanted on attempted homicide charges was taken into custody early Monday in Brackenridge. Tarentum police were dispatched shortly before midnight Sunday to the Devil Dog Saloon along Sixth Avenue on a tip that a man wanted as a suspect in a New Kensington shooting was inside the...
Storms leave widespread outages across Texas, cleanup continues after deadly weekend across U.S.Video
Strong storms with damaging wind and baseball-sized hail pummeled Texas on Tuesday, leaving more than 1 million businesses and homes without power as much of the U.S. recovered from severe weather, including tornadoes, that killed at least 25 people during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Widespread outages were reported in...
Pittsburgh City Council schedules more private meetings despite Sunshine Act concerns
Pittsburgh City Council has scheduled two closed-door meetings next week despite concerns from legal experts and good government advocates that such private sessions might flout the spirit of Pennsylvania’s open-meetings law. The two private meetings for next Wednesday mark the first such closed-doors sessions — or briefings, as council calls...
